Nine Wildcats Advance to NCAAs on Friday at East Prelims
Nine Wildcats earned
places in the NCAA Championships field during the East Preliminary
Championships on Friday at North Florida’s Hodges Stadium.
The
NCAA East Preliminary Championships are a numbers game, with teams
looking to move as many athletes as possible on to the next round. No
championships can be won at the meet.
UK had a respectable
output on Friday. Fifteen Wildcats had the opportunity to advance to
the NCAA Championships, to be held in two weeks at Oregon’s Hayward
Field.
Four of UK’s seven Friday running-event quarterfinalists advanced to the Big Dance.
Five of UK’s eight field-event entries on Friday booked spots on the trip to Eugene, Oregon.
Six
of the eight Wildcats in Friday’s first-round races qualified for
Saturday quarterfinals, which is the ultimate round of the preliminary
championships.
The top-12 finishers in each NCAA East Preliminary Championship events move on to the Big Dance.
Kentucky
has now advanced 10 athletes (eight women, two men) to the NCAA
Championships through two of the three days of the meet.
Harrison breaks two facility records, heads to Eugene as 100-meter hurdles as NCAA –leader
Kendra Harrison continues to build her form on the road to TrackTown, USA, and Friday’s performances were no exception.
She
advanced to the national semifinal in the 400m hurdles with a time of
55.05, which broke the three-year old Hodges Stadium Record.
Earlier
in the day, she ran 12.61 to enter Saturday’s 100m hurdles qualifier as
the top seed. Her time also broke the 100m hurdles facility record.
She
is the current NCAA 100m hurdles leader with a personal-best of 12.50,
which she ran two weeks ago en route to the Southeastern Conference
Championship.
Bryant PRs in 100m and 200m, advances to Eugene in 100m
Dezerea Bryant showed her ever-increasing form and confidence, winning both of her races on Friday.
The senior won the de facto East Regional 100m title with a PR and school-record lowering time of 11.14.
She then ran a 200m PR of 22.62, and will now enter tomorrow’s quarterfinal as the top seed.
Friday NCAA Field-event qualifiers
Raymond
Dykstra wasted little time in moving a step closer to his ultimate goal
as a collegiate athlete. His first javelin attempt travelled
236'4"/72.04m, good enough for a second-place finish.
UK’s
discus dynamic duo of Rebecca Famurewa and Madison Jacobs will join
their male-thrower teammate in Eugene as those two also advanced.
Famurewa
finished fourth, although she needed her final toss of 178’9”/54.48m to
give her a qualifying mark. Jacobs’s top throw traveled 177’6”/54.10m,
for fifth place.
The Wildcats’ long-jump dynamic duo also
advanced on Friday. Sha’keela Saunders jumped 21’0.75”/6.42m for third
place. Kenyattia Hackworth needed her third jump, a mark of
20’3.75”/6.19m to make the plane to Oregon.
Friday NCAA running-event qualifiers
Kentucky
had the top two 400m hurdles qualifiers to the NCAA Championships, as
Leah Nugent ran a significant PR to place second to Harrison’s first.
Nugent won her heat in 55.71, her first time covering the race in fewer than 56 seconds.
Keilah Tyson won her 100m heat in a time of 11.44 to qualify for the NCAA Championships once again.
Friday advancements to quarterfinals
Three Wildcats entered the women’s 200m first round, and three moved on to the quarterfinals.
Bryant
will be the top seed, while Dominique Booker ran a PR of 23.29 to place
second in her heat. Keilah Tyson ran 23.48, also placing second in her
heat and earning automatic qualification to the next round.
Two
Wildcats entered the women’s 100m hurdles first round, and two advanced
as Jacklyn Howell placed 18th in 13.32 to go along with Harrison’s
qualification.
Nick Anderson advanced to the 110m hurdles
quarterfinal with a time of 13.98. He will likely have to produce a
significant improvement on Saturday to move past the quarterfinals.
Other results of note
Justin Kretchmer cleared 6’10.25”/2.09m in the high jump, but finished 13th, coming agonizingly short of a qualifying place.
He
lost a three-athlete jump off to Ole Miss’ Adam Aguirre, who cleared
6’11.75”/2.13m, while Kretchmer was unable to get over that height.
Charles
Moushey made it over the pole-vault bar on his first attempt at
16’4.75”/5m, but was unable to clear 16'10.25"/2.09m. He finished 18th
and did not advance.
Keffri Neal placed sixth in his 800m heat with a time of 1:48.79. He did not advance.
Booker ran 11.59 for sixth place in her 100m heat, and did not advance.
Adriana Brown’s discus mark of 161'4"/49.18m was not enough to send her to Oregon.
Daje Pugh ran 58.99, and didn’t advance out of the 400 hurdles quarterfinal.
Kentucky’s NCAA East Preliminary Championships picture
In
total, 28 Wildcats (15 women, 13 men) qualified for this week’s NCAA
East Preliminary Championships. Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium is the
host site for the NCAA West Preliminary Round, also being held this
weekend.
For each individual event contested at
each of the preliminary sites, the top 48 declared student-athletes
were accepted into the competition. For each relay event, the top 24
declared relay teams were accepted into the competition.
Friday Running Results Rnd Start List
Men 110 Meter Hurdles 1st Round 21. Nick Anderson: 13.98q (+1.7)
Women 100 Meter Hurdles 1st Round 1. Kendra Harrison: 12.66Q (+0.4)
18. Jacklyn Howell: 13.32Q (+0.6)
Women 100 Meter Dash Quarterfinal 1. Dezerea Bryant: 11.14Q (+1.4)
4. Keilah Tyson: 11.44Q (+0.7)
17. Dominique Booker: 11.59 (+0.7)
Men 800 Meters Quarterfinal 18. Keffri Neal: 1:48.79
Women 400 Meter Hurdles Quarterfinal 1. Kendra Harrison: 55.05Q
2. Leah Nugent: 55.71Q
18. Daje Pugh: 58.99
Women 200 Meter Dash 1st Round 1. Dezerea Bryant: 22.62 (+0.8)
8. Dominique Booker: 23.29Q (+1.2)
15. Keilah Tyson: 23.48Q (+0.5)
Men 3000 Meter Steeplechase 1st Round 24. Spencer Hrycay: 8:55.22
40. Mackay Wilson: 9:10.08
Friday Field Results Rnd Start List
Women Discus Throw 1st Round 3. Rebecca Famurewa: 178’9”/54.48m q
4. Madison Jacobs: 177’6”/54.10m q
22. Adriana Brown: 161’4”/49.18m
Men Javelin Throw 1st Round 2. Raymond Dykstra: 236’4”/72.04m q
Men Pole Vault 1st Round 18. Charles Moushey: 16’4.75”/5m
Men High Jump 1st Round 13. Justin Kretchmer: 6’10.25”/2.09m
Women Long Jump 1st Round 3. Sha’Keela Saunders: 21’0.75”/6.42m q
5. Kenyattia Hackworth: 20’3.75”/6.19m q
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