AMES, Iowa – After three LSU Track & Field athletes moved into the Top 10 of the NCAA rankings with their performance at the LSU NCAA Indoor Qualifier on Friday, senior Riker Hylton moved into the NCAA’s Top 20 in the 400 meters on Saturday at the Iowa State National Qualifier.
Hylton clocked a 2012 indoor seasonal best of 46.47 seconds to take third place overall in the meet held at Iowa State’s Lied Recreation Center to move to No. 19 in the NCAA rankings this season.
Pending the results of other “last chance” meets being held across the country this weekend, Hylton is the No. 19-ranked 400-meter runner in the NCAA for the 2012 indoor season as he looks to receive a berth in the NCAA Championships field that will be announced Monday night.
The start of the 2012 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships is six days away as the meet will be held March 9-10 at the Jacksons Indoor Track in Nampa, Idaho.
Hylton dropped his seasonal-best time to 46.47 on Saturday after entering the weekend with a best time of 46.62 that was set in the 400-meter prelims at the SEC Indoor Championships on Feb. 25. With the NCAA selecting the Top 16 performers in each event to compete at the NCAA Championships, this Tiger senior will await his selection as one of the Top 16 declared 400-meter runners on Monday.
Freshman sprinter Aaron Ernest also competed at the Iowa State National Qualifier on Saturday hoping to position himself for selection to compete in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Ernest clocked a time of 21.22 in his heat on Saturday afternoon to take third place in the event held at the Lied Recreation Center. He ends the 2012 indoor season as the NCAA’s No. 25-ranked performer for 200 meters with a seasonal-best time of 21.13, pending the final results from this weekend.