Samford Sends 11 To NCAA East Preliminaries
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A total of 11 Bulldogs from the Samford University Track and Field program have recently been announced as participants of the2015 East Preliminary Round that is set to take place on May 28-30, at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville Florida.
The 11 participants surpass the previous program-record total of nine from just one season ago and is headlined by six outstanding freshmen student-athletes who will be accompanied by three juniors and a pair of seniors.
Samford's top qualifier is freshman high jump standout Keyth Fightmaster who will enter the preliminaries with the third highest mark in the east with a jump of 2.20m. The Calhoun, Georgia native posted the mark with a first place finish at the University of Tennessee Challenge on May 2.
A pair of freshmen in Tray Oates and Gavin Gautreau both qualified for the men's pole vault competition as Oates earned a spot with his 15th best mark of 5.30m which he secured on March 19, at the Alabama Relays while Gautreau enters with a 5.10m vault to rank 38th in the east.
Junior Javion Lee and freshman Marquis Barnes both qualified for the preliminaries in the triple jump and long jump respectively to round out the field side of competition for the Samford men. Lee enters with a the 36th best jump in the east with a 15.39m leap while Barnes ranks 41st with a 7.40m in the long jump. Both Lee and Barnes posted their marks on April 25, at the SoCon Outdoor Championships and each secured individual championships with the recorded marks.
On the track side for the men, juniors Brandon Hazouri and Adam Jones will both be making a return trip to the NCAA East Preliminaries for the second-consecutive season. Hazouri clocks in with a 1:48.05 time in the men's 800 meters which is 49 seconds faster than his qualifying time from last year. Jones also improved on his qualifying time from last season as he posted a time of 3:44.79 at the Pepsi Florida Relays.
Freshman Arsène Guillorel rounds out the men's side of competition as he qualified for the men's 5,000 meter race with a time of 14:06.51. The Pontchateau, France native has been nothing short of sensational for Samford this season in the distance events and recorded his qualifying run with a first place finish at the Pepsi Florida Relays on April 4, in Gainesville.
The Samford women will send a trio of student-athletes down to Jacksonville this season. Seniors Marie Demedicis and Claire Goodson compete in the 800-meter race and the pole vault competition respectively.
Demedicis qualified with a time of 2:07.48 which she set on April 10, at the Alabama vs. Mississippi Border Clash early in the outdoor season while Goodson makes her second-consecutive trip to the preliminaries with a mark of 4.12m which she posted on May 9, during Samford's last meet at the Georgia Invitational.
Freshman standout Sarah Sanford rounds out the Bulldogs list of participants as she qualified for the women's 400-meter hurdles. Sanford posted a time of 58.25 in the event on April 25, at the SoCon Outdoor Championships when she earned an individual conference championship.
Nine Catamounts Qualify for NCAA East Preliminary Round
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Both the Western Carolina men's and women's track and field teams will have representation at the 2105 NCAA East Preliminary Round, which will be contested Thursday through Saturday, May 28-30 at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
The women qualified six individuals in seven different events while the men are sending three individuals in three events.
Junior Tayla Carter earned her third-straight trip to the NCAA Preliminary Round (formerly known as the NCAA First and Second Rounds) in both the 100m and 200m events. Carter goes into the 2015 meet as the 32nd ranked sprinter in the 100m with her time of 11.52 which she achieved twice this season including her win at the Southern Conference Championships. She also will enter as the 34th ranked sprinter in the 200m with a time of 23.60 set back at the Catamount Classic.
Senior Michaela Birek will make her first appearance in the NCAA East Preliminary as the highest ranked Catamount at the event. She enters the 400m hurdles as the 30th ranked sprinter with her time of 58.72 which she achieved at the SoCon Championships.
Senior Alisha Bradshaw will also be heading to the postseason for the first time as she qualified 34th in the discus. Her school record toss of 49.81m (163-05), which she achieved at the Florida Relays, earned her a spot at the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
Another first time competitor will be sophomore Anisia Starege who earned a spot in the high jump with her leap of 1.75m (5-08.75) which she achieved last weekend at the Aggie Last Chance meet. Starege enters the competition tied for 36th overall.
Freshman Brenden Caldwell is the top ranked male Catamount as he qualified in 38th for the men's 100m. His time of 10.50 at the SoCon Championships earned him a spot in his very first season.
Senior Xaviera Bass makes her second trip to the NCAA East Preliminary Round. Last season, Bass qualified for the women's high jump but she will go this season as the 39th ranked sprinter in the women's 100m hurdles. Bass barely missed out on qualifying in the high jump but will look to improve on her school record time of 13.54 which she ran at the Aggie Last Chance meet last weekend in the 100m hurdles.
Freshman Henry Kiedy also qualified for the postseason event in his very first season at WCU. He earned the 40th spot in the men's 400m with his time of 47.04 which he ran at the SoCon Championships.
Sophomore Hailey Cook used a school record performance in the shot put to earn her first trip to the NCAA East Preliminary Round. Her toss of 14.99m (49-02.25) at the Catamount Classic earned her the 42nd spot at the event.
Senior Abraham Faison is WCU's final qualifier. Faison will be making his second trip to the NCAA East Preliminary Round. Last season he qualified in the 400m hurdles but this season he will compete in the 110m hurdles. His time of 14.28 which he achieved at the SoCon Championships earned him the 47th spot in the event.
WCU's nine individual qualifiers in 10 events is the most for Western Carolina since 2009 when the Catamounts sent nine individuals in 11 events plus four relay teams for a total of 15 competitors.
Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., will host the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships from June 10-13. The top-12 finishers in each event at the NCAA East Preliminary Round will advance to compete in the event. They will be joined in Eugene by 12 qualifiers per event from the NCAA West Preliminary Round, which takes place in Austin, Texas.
Furman Distance Athletes Qualify For NCAA East Regional
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Furman distance athletes Tripp Hurt, Tanner Hinkle, Sinead Haughey and Allie Buchalski have qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Regional, which will be held May 28-30, in Jacksonville, Fla.
A senior from Bogart, Ga., Hurt qualified for the regional meet in the men's 3,000m Steeplechase after recording a time of 8:47.76 at the Virginia Challenge last month. Last season, he finished 20th with a time of 8:57.27 in the 3,000m Steeplechase national semifinals after placing sixth with a time of 8:44.28, a new Paladin record, in the event at the NCAA East Regional.
Hurt, the 2015 Furman Male Athlete of the Year, was named the SoCon Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year after winning the individual title and leading the Paladins to their second-straight conference team championship. He was also named the SoCon Men's Indoor Track Most Outstanding Athlete and Most Outstanding Performer after winning the league title in both the 3,000m and 5,000m in February. The first Furman men's runner to earn All-SoCon honors four-consecutive years for cross country, Hurt helped the Paladins to a second-place finish at the NCAA regional cross country meet, where he led the team with an eighth place finish to earn all-region honors.
Hinkle, a sophomore from Mason, Mich., will compete in the men's 10,000m at the NCAA regionals for the second-consecutive season after posting a time of 29:16.77 at the Stanford Invitational in April, topping his own school record in the event. This outdoor season, he also set a new Furman outdoor 5,000m record with a time of 14:09.61.
The Paladin team MVP for outdoor track, Hinkle was also named to the All-SoCon first team for cross country, indoor, and outdoor track. He placed third in the 5,000m with a time of 14:25.53 at the 2015 SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championships then took second place in the event after crossing the line in 14:46.70 at the league outdoor championships.
A senior from Central, S.C., Haughey qualified for the regional meet in the women's 10,000m for the second-straight year after recording a time of 33:53.34 to set a new Paladin record at the Stanford Invitational in April.
Haughey, who was chosen the Paladins' Team MVP for outdoor track and field for the second-consecutive season, bested her own school record in the 5,000m with a time of 16:26.04 at the Raleigh Relays in March. She won the league title in the 5,000m with a time of 17:04.84 and finished fifth with a time of 4:23.40 in the 1,500m at the SoCon outdoor meet. Haughey also holds Paladin indoor records in the 3,000m (9:27.51) and the 5,000m (16:35.17).
Buchalski, a redshirt freshman from Johns Creek, Ga., will compete in the women's 3,000m Steeplechase. She holds the Furman record of 10:13.10 in the event, which she set at the Stanford Invitational in April.
The SoCon Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year, Buchalski was chosen the team MVP for cross country after winning the individual title and leading the Paladins to their second-consecutive conference team championship. She placed ninth at the NCAA regional meet to earn all-region honors and advance to the NCAA Championships as an individual. Buchalski was also chosen the SoCon Women's Indoor Track Most Outstanding Athlete and Most Outstanding Performer after winning the mile and finishing second in both the 3,000m and 5,000m. During the outdoor track season, she was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year after winning the 1,500m and placing second in the 5,000m at the league championship meet.
The East Regional will be hosted by the University of North Florida and the city of Jacksonville. The first round of the women's 10,000m event will be held on Thursday, May 28, at 9 p.m., followed by the men's 10,000m at 9:40 p.m. The opening race of the women's 3,000m Steeplechase will take place on Friday, May 29, at 8:50 p.m., followed by the men's race at 9:30 p.m. The top 12 finishers in each race will advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Eugene, Ore., June 10-13.
Three Bucs to Compete at NCAA East Prelims
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The ETSU track and field team will have three athletes competing in the NCAA Outdoor East Preliminary, which begins Thursday at North Florida’s Hodges Stadium.
Senior Dede Edgecombe and sophomores Brett Squibbs and Mike Williams will be representing the Blue and Gold this weekend in the River City.
Edgecombe qualified in the women’s 100mH, while Squibbs will be competing in the pole vault and Williams in the 400mH.
Edgecombe, the Southern Conference Most Outstanding Track Performer and Most Outstanding Athlete, turned in her fastest time in the 100mH at last month’s conference championship. The Buccaneer senior clocked in with a SoCon and ETSU record-setting time of 13:35, marking the 23rd fastest time in the East Prelim. This is Edgecombe’s third straight appearance in the NCAA Regional with her top finish coming in 2014 where she placed 32nd.
Squibbs featured his best mark in the pole vault earlier this month at the UT Challenge where he cleared 5.06m (16-7.25). The Buccaneer sophomore is ETSU’s record holder in the event at 5.20m (17-00.75), which was set at the 2014 War Eagle Invitational in Auburn, Ala.
Like Squibbs, Williams will be making his second straight trip to the NCAA Regional after setting a qualifying mark in the 400mH at the SoCon Championships. Williams registered his fastest collegiate time at 52.03 to win the event. The Mt. Laurel, N.J., native finished 31st in the 400mH at last year’s NCAA Regional, while his mark of 52.03 ranks him 45th in the region.