BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Rayniah Jones advanced to the 60-meter hurdles final with a strong showing on the opening day of the 2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.
Jones opened the weekend with a personal best 7.21 in the 60-meter dash to finish 11th in the preliminary round. She returned to the track 40 minutes later as one of eight qualifiers to run a sub-eight second 60-meter hurdles. Jones turned in her second-fastest time in the event at 7.96 to advance to Saturday's final. The Miami native finished third in her heat and was the sixth-fastest time in the prelims.
In her NCAA Championship debut, Latasha Smith ran 53.92 in the 400-meter dash. She finished fourth in her heat and 14th overall in the preliminary round.
Both Jones and Smith picked up second team All-America honors with their 60-meter and 400-meter performances, respectively.
Jones' 60-meter hurdles final is slated for an 8:40 p.m. ET start on Saturday and will stream on ESPN3.