CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Senior Shon Pratcher will represent Western Carolina at the NCAA East Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Fla., as the list of qualifiers was announced on Thursday morning. The Germantown, Wis., native will compete in the men's long jump competition on Wednesday, May 26 at 3 p.m. on the campus of the University of North Florida.
 
"We're very excited about Shon qualifying for the NCAA Regional Championships," said Jesse Norman, WCU track & field head coach. "This was a goal of his since I've been here and it's awesome to see his hard work pay off and him having earned this opportunity. We turn our attention to bettering his current ranking and seeing if he can qualify for the finals."
 
Pratcher posted a qualifying mark of 7.43 meters, achieved on May 1 as he claimed the Southern Conference title in the event. Pratcher's leap was a new outdoor personal best, eclipsing his previous top mark of 7.39 meters (24'3") set at the 2019 SoCon Championships. He enters the regional meet as the 39^th seed.
 
Live results and video will be available via links on CatamountSports.com. The University of North Florida is allowing 2,500 spectators per day with a $15 admission fee per day and $40 for the duration of the meet.
 
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