JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Braden Presser qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the javelin during the first day of the East Preliminaries on Wednesday in Jacksonville, Fla.
 
The junior advanced to nationals for the second-straight year with a second-place effort of 75.95m (249' 2"). His mark also broke the Navy record by over two meters, which was set by Jay Stell in 2016 (73.81m / 242' 2").
 
Presser will be one of 24 athletes competing in the event at nationals on June 7 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.
 
"Braden (Presser) was the star of the day. He broke the school record, smashed his own personal record and once again qualified for nationals with another amazing performance," said Director of Track and Field / Cross Country Jamie Cook. "This was a huge moment for him and coach (Chris) Campbell, both have been working extremely hard. He has been chasing the school record for quite a while and it's great to see him achieve his goal."
 
Highlighting the track events was Nathan Kent advancing to the 400m quarterfinal. The freshman recorded the 10th-fastest time in school history at 46.37 to earn an automatic qualifying spot by placing third in his heat and 15th overall. Kent will need to place in the top 12 in the quarterfinal race in order to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship. The quarterfinal is scheduled for Friday at 6:50 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
 
"Nathan (Kent) ran a really smart race today. He set a personal record by a hundredth of a second and earned an automatic qualifying spot to advance to the quarterfinals on Friday," said Cook. "Only 48 people per individual event make this meet and only 12 make it through to nationals. To have these athletes make it here is a huge accomplishment in itself. Everybody is good at this level and for us to get a pair of athletes to advance is awesome."
 
Jacques Guillaume barely missed out on qualifying for the 400m quarterfinals. He placed fifth in his heat and 28th overall with a time of 47.07. His time was less than .10 seconds off of the final qualifying time (46.98).
 
Brahmir Vick ran the ninth-best 110m hurdles time in program history at 13.88 to earn fourth place in his heat and 31st overall.
 
"Jacques (Guillaume) just missed out on qualifying and Brahmir (Vick) was dealing with an injury and sometimes you can't control those things," said Cook. "Really proud of his effort, ability to compete and be a good example and leader for his teammates."
 
Alex Rizzo posted the fifth-best time in his heat and placed 46th in the 800m with a time of 1:55.15.
 
Sam Kwatkosky finished in 40th place in the hammer throw with a mark of 57.97m (190' 2").
 
Joshua Boamah didn't record a mark in the hammer throw, but did post a distance of 16.98m (55' 8.5") to place 40th in the shot put.
 
The women's track and field team begins its first day of the East Preliminaries tomorrow. Renny Murphy will compete in the javelin at 1:30 p.m. and Molly Mangan will race in the first round of the 400m at 7:25 p.m. Fans will be able to watch Mangan's race on ESPN+.
 
"The key for our athletes tomorrow and the following days is just to go out and prepare the same way we have been all year," added Cook. "They'll be ready for whatever comes at them whether it's raining, there is a delay or whatever it could be, they'll handle it the best way possible. Renny (Murphy) and Molly (Mangan) are both very experienced performers and hoping tomorrow is another good day."