Samford Competes at NCAA East Prelims, Jones Qualifies for NCAA Championships
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Samford University track and field team sent a contingent of nine student-athletes to compete in 10 events at the NCAA East Prelims which was held at the University of North Florida on May 29-31. It was the most Samford had sent in the programs history.

Sophomore Adam Jones led the way for the Bulldogs as he became the first student-athlete in two years to qualify for the NCAA Championships. An exhausted Jones finished sixth in his heat with a time of 3:45.80 and had to wait for the second heat to finish before he could punch his ticket to Eugene, Oregon.

The Columbus, Georgia native improved his time five seconds from the first race on Thursday, a move that was more about the strategy of preparing for the final race.

Senior Nicole Charley made a valiant effort to push on an qualify for the championships in Eugene as on her third leap in the triple jump she posted a mark of 12.60m which set a new school-record for the Bulldog product out of Hoover, Alabama.

Nicole wasn't the only Charley however to compete in the NCAA East Prelims as she was accompanied by her sister Simone Charley, a freshman at Vanderbilt University, and her brother Myles, a sophomore at Troy University.

On Thursday Justin Emerson posted a time of 10.86 in the men's 100m dash for a 40th place finish while, Charley finished 29th in the long jump with a leap of 5.92m.

Brandon Hazouri qualified for the next round of competition in the men's 800m after turning in a time of 1:48.82. Hazouri only had a 24 hour window to rest and recover before an attempt to make it to the championships.

The Birmingham native finished 21st overall in the event after he turned in a time of 1:50.44.

Owen Wagoner and Claire Goodson turned in valiant efforts in the men's and women's pole vault as Wagoner finished with a mark of 5.02m for a 31st place finish and Goodson tallied a 3.75m for a spot at 33rd.

Marie Demidicis and Steven Bastien rounded out the Bulldogs efforts as Demidicis placed 40th with a time of 2:08.39 in the women's 800m and Bastien tallied a mark of 7.19m for a 28th place finish in the men's long jump.

 

Western Carolina Competes at NCAA East Prelims
Jacksonville, Fla. –Six Western Carolina track and field athletes competed in the NCAA East Prelim Track & Field meet with four Catamounts improving on their standings entering meet.

After a 30 minute weather delay on day one, the gun sounded for the first event, the 400m hurdles prelims.  Abraham Faison, who qualified 36th, moved up six spots finishing in 30th with a time of 52.37.  Faison finished in fifth in his heat.

The women’s 100m dash prelims started around 7:25 p.m. with Tayla Carter representing the Catamounts as 14th qualifier.  Carter slid down to 38th place with a time of 11.94 seconds failing to advance.

The men’s 400m dash started at 7:50 p.m. with Earl Rahming, who was the 39th qualifier entering the meet, representing WCU.  Rahming improved one spot finishing in 38th with a time of 47.40 seconds.

Genevieve Emrick was the final WCU athlete to compete on the first day as she took the track in the 400m,which started at 8:15 p.m.  Emrick, who was the 48th qualifier, improved her standing finishing in 40th with a time of 54.44 seconds.

On day two, Xaviera Bass finished in a tie for 29th in the women’s high jump clearing the bar at a height of 1.72 meters.  Bass, who was ranked 24th entering the meet, slipped in the final standings.

David Johnson competed for WCU in the men’s triple jump as the 19th qualifier.  Johnson slipped to 42nd at the meet jumping a distance of 14.29m.

In the women’s 200m, Carter competed in her second event of the meet.   She entered the meet with the 23rd fastest time, but finished in 38th after a time of 24.10 seconds.

None of WCU’s athletes qualified for the semifinals or advanced to the NCAA National Championship Meet ending the season for the Catamounts.

 

Furman Competes at NCAA East Prelims
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Furman junior Tripp Hurt placed sixth with a time of 8:44.28 in the 3,000m Steeplechase Friday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Regional Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla., shattering the school record and qualifying for the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Eugene, Ore., June 5-8.

Hurt, who qualified for the regional meet after recording the previous Furman record of 8:58.13 to take first place at the SoCon Outdoor Championships, finished second in his heat, qualifying automatically for the championships after claiming one of the top three spots in the heat. 

The national semifinals of the 3,000m Steeplechase will be held at 5:35 p.m. on Thursday, June 12, with the finals scheduled for 2:57 p.m. on Saturday June 14.  

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Elon Competes at NCAA East Prelims
JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – The Elon University women’s track and field team completed competition at the 2014 NCAA East Preliminaries today, May 30, at Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida.

The Elon sophomore duo of Sydney Griffin and Megan Kirschling were in action for the maroon and gold on the second day of the preliminary round. Griffin competed in the 100-meter hurdles and clocked in a time of 14.12 in the race.

Kirschling cleared the bar at 5’5.75” (1.67m) in her first attempt in the high jump, but was unable to advance any further as she saw her season come to an end.  Of the program-record five athletes that competed at the NCAA East Prelims this year, Elon only loses seniors Bria Bell and Allyson Oram to graduation while Griffin, Kirschling and freshman Jennifer Esposito each return next season. Another sophomore, Tereza Novotna, also returns after narrowly missing out on reaching the preliminary round by one spot and a time of .1 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

 

Henderson Represents Mocs  in NCAA East Prelims
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga redshirt freshman Teghan Henderson (Pickering, Ontario) placed 10^th in the second heat Saturday night at the NCAA East Regional and 19^th overall.

Henderson ran the race in a time of 16:29.51 and, according to UTC head coach Bill Gautier, she was possibly the closest of all runners to their PR time. She set her PR of 16:13.03, a school record earlier this season at the Stanford Invitational on April 4.

Temperatures in Jacksonville, Fla., reached the mid-80’s late Saturday afternoon with humidity levels hitting near 80 percent.

Henderson was near the front of the pack early, but gradually fell back. She was sitting 14^th with 400 meters to go and made a push on the final lap passing runners from North Carolina, Missouri State and Brown for 10^th in the heat.

Henderson wrapped up a very successful outdoor season. Along with her school record in the 5K, she set a Southern Conference record in the 10K at the league championships. She won both the 5K and 10K at the SoCon finals and was named the conference Freshman of the Year.

 

Sumney Sisters Represent UNCG at NCAA East Prelims
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG senior runners and twin sisters Shaina Sumney (Washington, Pa./Trinity) and Chelsea Sumney (Washington, Pa./Trinity) ran Friday and Saturday at 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Regionals in Jacksonville, Fla., hosted by North Florida. Neither Sumney qualified for to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, but finished out their UNCG running careers admirably.

Both Shaina and Chelsea ran in the second of three heats in the 3,000-meter steeplechase Friday night with the top three times in each heat along with the next three top times advancing to the national championship. Shaina placed seventh in her heat with a time of 10:21.35 while Chelsea was 14^th with a time of 10:43.16.

Rachel Sorna of Cornell won the second heat with a time of 9:52.88 while Leah O’Connor of Michigan State had the overall top time of 9:52.69 in heat one. Sarah Martinelli of West Virginia turned in the final at-large time at 10:10.25. Shaina time was 19^th overall in the three heats while Chelsea was 41^st overall.

Shaina ran in the 5,000-meter race Saturday night to close out her running collegiate career. She finished 35^th overall in the two heats, including 17^th in heat number one. She posted a time of 16:55.55 while Elino Kirk of UAB turned in the top overall time of 15:53.95.

Shaina qualified for the 3,000-meter steeplechase this season with a time of 10:18.13 on May 4 at the Payton Jordan Invitational. Chelsea earned a spot in the race by posting the 44^th best time in the region. She clocked in at a time of 10:27.64 at the Virginia Challenge May 9, in her second to last race of the season.

 

The Citadel Competes at NCAA East Prelims
Jacksonville, Fla. - Capers Williamson, Clay Allen and Eddie Jones concluded their 2014 track and field season on Thursday at the NCAA East Preliminary round in Jacksonville, Fla. 

Williamson finished 13th overall with his personal-best javelin toss of 213'6", just missing his chance to advance to the finals in Eugene, Ore., while Allen threw 206'6" to finish in 23rd place. 

Jones jumped 22'10" to place 39th in the long jump. 

 

Appalachian State Competes at NCAA East Prelims
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Appalachian State University women's track members Breanna Alston and Brianna Tate wrapped up the NCAA East preliminaries this weekend, after each qualifying earlier this season.

Alston finished off her decorated Appalachian career on Thursday, placing 44th in the 400m dash with a time of 55.16. Alston leaves App State with eight individual conference titles and as the current record holder in the 400m dash.

Tate, a sophomore, placed 45th in the shot put in the field of throwers with a mark of 44-9.75. Tate qualified for prelims with a throw of 50-0.50 earlier this season, the third best mark in Appalachian history.

 

Davidson Competes at NCAA East Prelims

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –Sarah  Paddon concluded an impressive season by competing in the 1,500-meter run and Andrew Lantz capped an outstanding career by running the 800-meter event at the 2014 NCAA East Regional Track & Field Meet at the University of North Florida Thursday evening.

Paddon took 11th in her heat, running a time of 4:25.30. Her time gave her a 33rd-place overall finish, which was two spots better than her initial ranking of 35th entering the meet.

The race concluded an historic season for Paddon, who was the 2014 Southern Conference Champion in the 1,500-meter event. She broke the program record numerous times throughout the season, posting a career best 4:22.90 at the Virginia Challenge on May 10. Paddon became the first female Wildcat to qualify for the NCAA Regional Meet since 2007.
 

Lantz donned the red and black for the final time and narrowly missed advancing, taking 28th overall. His time of 1:49.33 was not only a personal best, but a new Davidson record in the event. He finished sixth in his heat.
 

A two-time NCAA East Regional qualifier, Lantz advanced from the first round to the quarterfinals of the event in 2013. He was the runner-up in the 800m at the 2014 SoCon Outdoor Championships and departs with his name etched in the Davidson record books in six places.