GREENSBORO, N.C. - Norfolk State junior Champagne Bell placed sixth on Thursday night in the long jump at the NCAA East Preliminary Round on the campus of North Carolina A&T, earning her a spot in next month's NCAA National Outdoor Championships.
 
Bell's top leap was 20 feet, 2.25 inches. That bested all but five out of the field of 48 competitors and easily punched her ticket to the outdoor nationals at the University of Oregon, June 5-8. The top 12 finishers in each event make it past the preliminary rounds to the national meet.
 
Bell will be making her second trip to the outdoor nationals and first since her freshman season in 2011, when she earned honorable mention All-America honors.
 
In other events on Thursday, sprinters Brittney McCants and Torie Cunningham ran well in the 100 meters but failed to make the next round. McCants ran her second-best time of the season, 11.63 seconds, to finish 30th overall. Cunningham clocked a time of 11.73, good for 39th.
 
On the men's side, freshman Damian Smith ran a personal-best time of 46.78 seconds in the 400 meters. He placed 25th out of 48 competitiors, and just finished qualifying for the next round at the preliminary meet. The top 24 advance to tomorrow's national quarterfinal heat at N.C. A&T, with the top 12 from those rounds advancing to nationals.
 
James Taylor (200 meters) and Keith Nkrumah (110 hurdles) compete in their first races on Friday.