For the third consecutive year, the Seattle University track and field team will be represented at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary Championships, as junior Shaddye Melu (Auburn, Wash.) has been selected to compete in the men’s high jump.
Melu qualified for the high jump at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships by clearing 2.14 meters (7’ 0.25”) at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif., April 17, winning the event at the prestigious meet. He is ranked 27th among the 48 competitors who will compete in the West Preliminary Championships at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, May 28-30.
Melu is a three-time Western Athletic Conference champion this year, winning the high jump title at both the WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Orem, Utah. In addition, Melu set a school record in winning the 400 meter dash at the outdoor conference meet last weekend.
This will be Melu’s first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary Championships, but he is no stranger to elite competitions, having competed at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships last July representing Zambia. Dylan Burnett competed in the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in the javelin throw in each of the past two seasons.
Melu is scheduled to compete in the high jump at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas next Thursday, May 28, starting at 6 p.m. local time (4 p.m. Pacific time). If he finishes in the top 12 in the event, he will advance to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore., June 10-13.