CALIFORNIA (July 7) – California (PA) graduates Divonne Franklin '22 and Jae'Len Means '19, '21 will both be competing in the 200-meter dash at the USA Track & Field (USATF) Outdoor Championships this weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Franklin and Means will both compete in the first round of the 200 meters tomorrow, Saturday, July 8, with Means set to race at 7:43 p.m. EST and Franklin to run at 8:09 p.m. EST. The top-three times from each preliminary heat and next four times advance to the semifinals on Sunday, July 9, while the finals will also be on Sunday and will feature the top-three times from each semifinal heat and next .

An eight-time All-American, Franklin will be competing at the USATF Championships for the second time in 2023 as she previously competed in the 60-meter dash at the indoor championships in New Mexico in February. She qualified for the outdoor championships in the 200 meters with her time of 22.65 seconds during the finals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships in May. Franklin ranks second all-time on the performance list in NCAA Division II history with that mark, which is only three-hundredths of a second behind the record that was established in 2013 with altitude. The Philadelphia native will be competing in the fourth preliminary heat alongside sprinters from Mississippi and Duke, plus four professionals with Tamari Davis of adidas boasting the top time in the heat while ranking No. 11 in the world in the event.

Means will be making his debut at the USATF Championships after closing his collegiate career with the Vulcans in 2019. He recorded a qualifying time of 20.93 seconds in May while competing in the 200 meters at Track Night NYC. Means, who won eight individual PSAC titles at Cal, will be racing in the fourth preliminary heat with eight other entries and Robert Gregory of Florida boasts the top time in the heat while sitting No. 18 in the world in the event.