May 24, 2018
Sacramento, Calif.----- Sophomore long jumper Destiny Longmire became the first San Jose State University women's track and field athlete in the five-year history of the program to qualify for a NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship with her sixth-place finish at the NCAA West Preliminary Round meet at Hornet Stadium.
Her best mark of 6.13 meters wind-aided came on her first attempt, which was good for third place in the field of 48.
"I felt good. I was prepared It was really cold. San Jose can be cold and I was prepared in that aspect," said Longmire, the two-time Mountain West women's long jump champion.
"I knew the first jump was a good start off. It felt good. I felt fast and I felt like I jumped pretty far."
The previous best finish by a San Jose State women's track and field athlete at a NCAA Preliminary Round meet was a year ago when Longmire's teammate Kelsey Johnson-Upshaw was 15th in the long jump. Longmire was 24th in the same event a year ago as a freshman.
"It means a lot making history. It's a special moment to me because I did it," Longmire said about becoming the first San Jose State female track and field to qualify for a NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship meet.
"She got it done on the first jump. It was a competition where the jumpers weren't jumping too well on the first two flights due to the wind, the cold weather and it being late at night. For some reason, people weren't jumping (well), and she put it together on her first jump," said San Jose State director of track and field Jeff Petersmeyer.
"She looked great on the runway. She's really fast and that helped her on the first jump."
The top 12 competitors qualified for the 2018 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 6-9.  
Longmire, the 2018 Mountain West champion, was one of two Spartans in the long jump. Teammate Cambree Harbaugh, the 2018 Mountain West indoor champion in the long jump, finished 30th with a 5.77 meter jump. Iowa's Jahisha Thomas was the top qualifier in the event with a 6.40 meter mark. It took a 5.99 jump by Houston's Samiyah Samuels to earn the first qualifying spot in the event.
Sophomore Jennifer Sandoval was the Spartans' third female competitor of the night and broke her own school record in the 10,000 meters. She posted a time of 33:52.88 to place 25th. Sandoval's previous school record was 34:03.65 set at the 2018 Stanford Invitational. A time of 33:02.89 by Oregon's Alli Cash was good for the 12th and final qualifying position in the event.
"It was good night for our program to get a person through (to the NCAA Championships) for the first time. It's special. She (Destiny) gets to jump at Hayward Field (in Eugene)," Petersmeyer summarized.
"It's sad to see Cambree (Harbuagh) finish her last meet with us. It's been a great four years (for her)," he added about the first Spartan to compete in the NCAA Preliminary Round meet in each season of outdoor eligibility.
Three Spartans are in action on May 25, the second day of the three-day NCAA West Preliminary Round meet. Junior Brittany Brown starts off the afternoon for the Spartans in the women's 100 meter hurdles first-round qualifying. At the end of the night, Craig Huff is competing in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase and Jeanette Zambrano is running in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships West Preliminary Round
Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, Calif.
May 24, 2018
San Jose State results only
Women's long jump -- 6, Destiny Longmire, 6.13m (w). 30, Cambree Harbaugh, 5.77m.
Men's 10,000 meters -- 41, Jose Piña, 30:37.05.
Women's 10,000 meters -- 25, Jennifer Sandoval, 33:52.88, new school record. Old school record, 34:03.65 by Sandoval, March 30, 2018.