Staff report

TOKYO — Livingstone graduate Quanera Hayes will compete in a semifinal in the 400 meters at 6:30 a.m. (EDT) on Wednesday morning.

The 29-year-old Fayetteville native competed at Livingstone for head track and field coach Justin Davis, a West Rowan graduate.

Hayes competed from 2011-15 for the Blue Bears and was coached by Davis and sprints specialist Tim Dunlap.

The 5-foot-9 Hayes advanced in the heats in the Olympic Games debut with a 51.07 clocking for second place in her heat, as the field was trimmed from to 24 competitors.

Hayes’ USA teammates Allyson Felix and Wadeline Jonathas also advanced to the semifinals and will run in separate heats.

There will be seven other competitors in Hayes’ semifinal heat —  Ama Pipi of Great Britain, Eleni Artymata of Cyprus, Roxana Gomez of Cuba, Marleidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, Candice McLeod of Jamaica, Lada Vondrova of the Czech Republic and Susanne Walli of Australia.