EUGENE, Ore. — For the second consecutive year, Terrell Smith got to compete for a national championship in the men’s 200-meter dash.

And, for the second consecutive year, he left the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field disappointed.

Smith, the Kansas State sprinter and former Vicksburg High star, finished 17th overall and failed to qualify for the finals in the 200 meters during Wednesday’s preliminary round at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Smith clocked a time of 20.89 seconds and finished sixth in the second of three eight-man heats. The top two finishers in each heat, plus the next two best times, advanced to the eight-man final on Friday.

A total of 24 sprinters competed in Wednesday’s semifinals.

Smith also reached the NCAA Championships in 2015, but finished 21st overall.

“What Terrell ran in lane one is honestly not all that bad of a time,” Kansas State coach Cliff Rovelto said. “It is unfortunate that he was in lane one, but that is just the luck of the draw and the way that it worked out.”

LSU’s Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake was the top qualifier in the 200 meters, with a time of 20.17 seconds on Wednesday. Tennessee’s Christian Coleman was second, with a time of 20.32 seconds, and Clemson’s Tevin Hester third in 20.45 seconds.

Also qualifying for the final were Arkansas’ Jarrion Lawson, LIU-Brooklyn’s Brendon Rodney, Ohio State’s Nick Gray, LSU’s Renard Howell and Arkansas’ Kenzo Cotton.

Howell and Cotton qualified on time. Cotton grabbed the final spot, with a time of 20.61 seconds. Nineteen of the 24 runners finished in under 21 seconds, and only eight-tenths of a second separated Mitchell-Blake from 19th-place finisher Nicholas Taylor of Utah Valley.

In other events, Mississippi State sophomore Curtis Thompson won the national championship in the men’s javelin. After advancing to the finals with a throw of 240 feet, 11 inches, he delivered the knockout blow at 254-9.

To earn the title, Thompson held off Ionnis Kyriazis of Texas A&M (253-5) and John Ampomah of Middle Tennessee State (250-9).

“What a feeling,” Thompson said. “All the hard work has paid off. This is why you compete, to be an NCAA champion. That can never be taken away.”

Mississippi State’s Brandon McBride, the 2014 NCAA champion in the men’s 800 meters, finished first in his semifinal heat Wednesday with a time of 1 minute, 45.48 seconds.

Donavan Brazier of Texas A&M had the top qualifying time at 1:45.07. The final is Friday night.

“It was a good race, but now I have to get ready for Friday,” McBride said. “This is what it’s all about.”

The Bulldogs’ 4×400 team punched their tickets to the finals after finishing sixth with a time of 3:05.16.

Ole Miss’ Dempsey McGuigan finished eighth in the men’s hammer throw. Craig Engels and Robert Domanic both qualified for the final in the men’s 1,500 meter run, and teammate M.J. Erb for the 3,000 meter steeplechase.