Camilla’s McKinely West has big day ahead at NCAA track finals

Southern Miss sprinter McKinely West finds himself in some exclusive company at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

West, a junior from Camilla, is one of eight finalists in two of track’s premiere events, the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. He’s just one of two that qualified in both events this year, the other being Florida State’s Andre Ewers.

Friday night will be a busy one for West. In addition to competing in the finals of the 100 and 200, the Mitchell County graduate is also part of the Southern Miss 4×100 relay team that also qualified for the finals.

“McKinely was absolutely incredible (Wednesday),” Southern Miss head coach Jon Stuart said in a Southern Miss news release. “Reporters are creating nicknames for him right now. To make finals in three world class level events is almost unheard of at this level, and I am excited to see what Friday brings him.”

Reaching the final round of NCAA competition in the 100 and the 200 required West, in his first year at Southern Miss after two years at Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kansas, to finish a split second faster than his competition. Qualification heats in both events Wednesday night were so close that times had to be broken down to thousandths of a second.

Both the 100 and the 200 had three heats, with the top two runners from each heat advancing alongside two wild-card finishers. West took second in his 100 and 200 heats, just beating out the third-place sprinter in both events.

In the 100, just two-thousandths of a second separated the top three spots in the second heat. Houston’s Mario Burke won the heat at 10.093 seconds, with West second at 10.094 seconds. Arkansas State’s Jaylen Bacon, who finished at 10.095 seconds, was shut out of the final.

The finish in the 200 rivaled the drama in the 100. North Carolina A&T’s Rodney Rowe won the third heat in 20.49 seconds. West finished second at 20.531 seconds, with Alabama’s Keitavious Walter third, shut out of the final, at 20.538 seconds.

“It takes a lot of time, effort and sacrifice to compete at this level, especially with all these athletes,” West said in the Southern Miss release. “My teammates and coaches push me every day to be the best, and I think (Wednesday) I just went out and showcased my skills to the best of my ability.”

Southern Miss’ run in the 4×100 was much less dramatic. The Golden Eagles finished second to Houston in the third heat, nearly half a second ahead of third-place Texas Tech. LSU, which was expected to contend for a finals spot in the same heat, was knocked out by an exchange issue, while Oklahoma was disqualified.

Friday’s championship action, televised by ESPN, begins at 8:30 p.m. with the 4×100 final. The 100 final is scheduled for 9:22 p.m., with the 200 final set to go off at 10:07 p.m.

West is scheduled to run in Lane 7 in the 100 final and in Lane 2 in the 200 final. Southern Miss is also scheduled to run in Lane 7 in the 4×100 final.