MYRTLE BEACH, SC – Day two of the 2024 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships saw the University of Rochester women's track & field team send one more athlete to Saturday's finals, while two more grabbed All-America honors with their finishes on Friday at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.
 
Megan Bell won the first heat of the 800 meters to qualify for Saturday's final, clocking in with a time of 2:11.09. Bell placed third in the preliminaries, winning the first of three heats to earn an automatic qualifier for Saturday's final, which will take place at approximately 5:50 p.m.
 
Elsewhere on the day on Friday, Ashley Heffernan wrapped up the heptathlon with Second-Team All-America honors, while Madeline O'Connell earned her second All-America accolade of the outdoor championships and 10th of her career in the 400 meters.
 
Heffernan began UR's day on day two of the NCAA Championships with the final three events of the heptathlon. The senior entered the day in 15th place in the seven-event competition, and wrapped up the heptathlon in the same spot, placing 15th with a score of 4,472 points.
 
Heffernan opened her day with a 16th-place result in the long jump, landing a 5.08m leap on her second attempt, before garnering 15th in both the javelin toss and 800 meters. In the heptathlon javelin toss, Heffernan's 26.20m throw, again on her second attempt, scored the senior 15th, while Heffernan wrapped up the competition with a time of 2:31.14 in the 800 meters to secure the second-to-last All-America spot.
 
Just minutes later, O'Connell ran in the first round of the 400 meters, finishing third in the third and final heat of the prelim with a time of 56.27, good for 12th overall in the 22-person field. With the finish, O'Connell scored her second All-America honor of the championships after finishing fourth in the pole vault on Thursday, and the 10th of her career.
 
Through nine events, the Yellowjackets, as a team, sit tied for 25th with five points, with Loras leading the 54-team field with 32 points. MIT and Central College round out the top three teams headed into the final day of competition, with 26 and 20 points, respectively.
 
Bell and O'Connell, as well as the rest of the Yellowjackets' 4x400-meter relay team, will have another opportunity to add to their All-America honors on the final day of competition at the 2024 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday, May 25 beginning at 1:00 p.m. Bell will run in the 800-meter final at approximately 5:50 p.m., while the women's 4x400-meter relay final is scheduled for 7:50 p.m.