Murray State’s Hagans Jumps Into NCAA Finals

Thursday, June 9

Eugene, Ore.

5 p.m.

Murray State

NCAA

6/7/2022 5:49:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

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Long Jump Rachel Hagans is the first Racers to appear in the NCAA finals since Alexis Love in 2012

Murray State's Rachel Hagans is ready to compete this week at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Finals in Eugene, Oregon.

Her competition will be held on Thursday, June 9 at 7 p.m. Pacific Time at Hayward Field.

"For every collegiate track and field athlete getting a chance to compete at Hayward field is a dream come true," Murray State head coach Adam Kiesler said. "The work Rachel has put into her goals to participate at the highest level has been awesome to see. Coach Kelsey Riggins and Rachel have worked tirelessly into improving all of the small things in the long jump and it has paid off. It has been great to see their relationship over the years grow and to get this opportunity for the both of them to compete and coach at this meet. We have high expectations of Rachel this week as we have all year. I know she wants to represent Murray State and her Racer family well."

To qualify for the NCAA Finals, Hagans got the job done on her first jump at the East Prelims in Bloomington, Indiana. Her effort of 6.29m put her into the top-12. 2022 NCAA Track & Field Finals Logo

Having made the finals, Hagans is assured of Second Team All-America status, but she wants more. She enters the NCAA Finals ranked 12^th this spring nationally with her leap of 6.59m, a leap at the Kentucky Invitational and one that set the Murray State record that had stood for 41 years.

Monae' Nichols of Texas Tech has the nation's best long jump of 2022 of 6.97m and Texas A&M's Deborah Acquah is second at 6.89m.

There are 24 competitors at the NCAA Finals and Hagans will be in the second of two flights of 12.

Hagans is the first student-athlete from Murray State to reach the NCAA Finals since 2012, when MSU Hall of Famer Alexis Love did it in the 100m where she placed sixth. In the summer of 2012, Love also competed in the USA Olympic Trials in the 100m and the 200m. Love was inducted into the Murray State Hall of Fame in 2019.

About Murray State Athletics
Located in Murray, Kentucky, the athletics department of Murray State University is a NCAA Division I member and plays in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Racers have 15 programs including men's teams for baseball, basketball, cross country, football and golf and women's teams for basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball, as well as a mixed gender rifle team. Currently a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, the Racers join the Missouri Valley Conference on July 1, 2022. The Racers will become a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2023.