SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The opening day of the NCAA West preliminary rounds held at Hornet Stadium produced six qualifiers to Eugene for the Aggies, bringing Texas A&M's current total to eight athletes bound for Hayward Field, host site of the NCAA Championships, in six events.
Advancement to the quarterfinal round in running events at the NCAA West preliminaries went very well for the Aggies. A total of 16 athletes advanced in eight events, which included 10 athletes on the men's side in five events while there were six athletes on the women's side in three events.
The first pair of Aggies to advance from the NCAA West meet were javelin throwers Kristen Clark and Maddy Stulce, who finished third and sixth with throws of 173-4 (52.84) and 170-2 (51.88). Stanford's Mackenzie Little produced the top throw of 187-7 (57.19).
Another Texas A&M tandem to qualify for Eugene came in the men's pole vault as Jacob Wooten and Audie Wyatt both cleared 17-2 ¾ (5.25). Wooten finished in a three-way tie for first based on misses while Wyatt placed seventh overall.
A third round attempt of 25-2 ¾ (7.69) placed Tahar Triki 10th in the long jump as the effort moved him up from 14th place. Teammate Will Williams, the NCAA Indoor long jump champion, did not compete due to an injury sustained the previous day. Triki, the collegiate leader in the triple jump, will contest that event on Friday.
Tyra Gittens, already a NCAA qualifier in the heptathlon, added the long jump to her workload in Eugene as she placed 10th in the women's event with a mark of 19-9 (6.02). That third round effort moved her from 40th place with the 18-7 ¼ (5.67) she established in the second round following an opening foul. Lajarvia Brown had three fouls in the competition.
Prior to the long jump, Gittens cleared 5-8 ¾ (1.75) in the high jump, missing at 5-10 ¾ (1.80) to place 18th in the event.
Karis Jochen closed out the first night of action with a career best of 34:02.84 in the 10,000 meters. The effort placed her 33rd in the field of 48 as she became the No. 5 performer with the No. 10 performance on the Aggie all-time list.
In the men's 400m hurdles three earned auto qualifier positions and another claimed a time qualifier to the NCAA West quarterfinals. Heat winners included Ilolo Izu (50.56) and Infinite Tucker (50.24) while Jackson Davis (51.65) finished third. Tyler Hart (51.25) placed fourth in his heat to earn a time qualifier. Dewitt Thomas (53.84) palced seventh in the same heat with Davis.
Alex Riba secured an automatic qualifying position in the 1,500m by placing fifth in his heat with a 3:52.34. Teammate Cameron Villarreal ran faster, 3:49.50, but placed 10th in another heat. The final time qualifier was 3:46.94.
Jace Comick ran 10.27w (2.6 wind) to place third in his heat of the 100m, earning an auto qualifier to the quarterfinal. Brenessa Thompson (11.44) and Amber Ivy (11.60) followed suit in the women's 100m. Thompson finished as runner-up in her heat while Ivy, the last time qualifier, placed fourth in hers. The difference between Ivy and another 11.60, produced by Baylor's Raven Grant, was 0.001 of a second.
In the men's 400m two Aggies reached the quarterfinals as Bryce Deadmon finished runner-up in his heat with a 46.27 while Kyree Johnson earned one of the final time qualifiers with a 47.02 as he finished fifth. Johnson matched the time of UCLA's Joe Herrera as both were timed 47.019.
Richard Rose (47.10) placed fifth in another heat of the 400m while Mylik Kerley (48.09) was seventh in his heat.
Julia Madubuike clocked 52.95 as the third place finisher in her heat to claim an auto qualifier. Just missing a time qualifier at 54.03 was Jarra Owens. The last time qualifier was 53.93. Glorilisha Carter placed sixth in her heat with a 55.01.
In the men's 800m, Devin Dixon won his heat in 1:49.20 while Efrain Hernandez earned a time qualifier at 1:50.23 in placing fifth in another heat. JaQwae Ellison, eighth in the same heat with Dixon, ran 1:54.76.
Three Aggies advanced to the quarterfinals in the women's 800m as Sammy Watson (2:06.46) and Jazmine Fray (2:06.76) were heat winners as Brittany Parker (2:06.44) finished third in another heat. Jean Jenkins (2:10.05) finished fifth in the same heat as Fray.
The women's 400m hurdles produced seventh place heat finishes for Lauren Lawless (59.02) and Gabrielle McDonald (1:00.14). Lawless just missed the final time qualifier position of 58.91.
NCAA West Preliminary Rounds – Sacramento, California – Texas A&M Schedule
Friday, May 25 (Pacific Time)
12:00 p.m. M Discus Gabriel Oladipo (Flight 2)
4:30 p.m. W Discus Serena Brown (Flight 3)
4:30 p.m. W Pole Vault Emily Gunderson, Augusta Thomason, Sara Kathryn Stevens (all Flight 1)
4:30 p.m. M 110m Hurdles Tyler Guillory (Heat 4)
5:00 p.m. W 100m Hurdles Zharia Moore (Heat 1), Chinyere Njoku (Heat 3)
5:30 p.m. M 400m (QF) Bryce Deadmon, Kyree Johnson
5:45 p.m. W 400m (QF) Julia Madubuike
6:00 p.m. M 100m (QF) Jace Comick
6:15 p.m. W 100m (QF) Brenessa Thompson, Amber Ivy
6:30 p.m. M 800m (QF) Devin Dixon, Efrain Hernandez
6:45 p.m. W 800m (QF) Jazmine Fray, Sammy Watson, Brittany Parker
7:00 p.m. M 400mH (QF) Infinite Tucker, Ilolo Izu, Jackson Davis, Tyler Hart
7:55 p.m. W 200m Diamond Spaulding, Amber Ivy (both Heat 2)
8:20 p.m. M Steeple (QF) Raymond Gonzales (Heat 2)
Advancement to the quarterfinal round in running events at the NCAA West preliminaries went very well for the Aggies. A total of 16 athletes advanced in eight events, which included 10 athletes on the men's side in five events while there were six athletes on the women's side in three events.
The first pair of Aggies to advance from the NCAA West meet were javelin throwers Kristen Clark and Maddy Stulce, who finished third and sixth with throws of 173-4 (52.84) and 170-2 (51.88). Stanford's Mackenzie Little produced the top throw of 187-7 (57.19).
Another Texas A&M tandem to qualify for Eugene came in the men's pole vault as Jacob Wooten and Audie Wyatt both cleared 17-2 ¾ (5.25). Wooten finished in a three-way tie for first based on misses while Wyatt placed seventh overall.
A third round attempt of 25-2 ¾ (7.69) placed Tahar Triki 10th in the long jump as the effort moved him up from 14th place. Teammate Will Williams, the NCAA Indoor long jump champion, did not compete due to an injury sustained the previous day. Triki, the collegiate leader in the triple jump, will contest that event on Friday.
Tyra Gittens, already a NCAA qualifier in the heptathlon, added the long jump to her workload in Eugene as she placed 10th in the women's event with a mark of 19-9 (6.02). That third round effort moved her from 40th place with the 18-7 ¼ (5.67) she established in the second round following an opening foul. Lajarvia Brown had three fouls in the competition.
Prior to the long jump, Gittens cleared 5-8 ¾ (1.75) in the high jump, missing at 5-10 ¾ (1.80) to place 18th in the event.
Karis Jochen closed out the first night of action with a career best of 34:02.84 in the 10,000 meters. The effort placed her 33rd in the field of 48 as she became the No. 5 performer with the No. 10 performance on the Aggie all-time list.
In the men's 400m hurdles three earned auto qualifier positions and another claimed a time qualifier to the NCAA West quarterfinals. Heat winners included Ilolo Izu (50.56) and Infinite Tucker (50.24) while Jackson Davis (51.65) finished third. Tyler Hart (51.25) placed fourth in his heat to earn a time qualifier. Dewitt Thomas (53.84) palced seventh in the same heat with Davis.
Alex Riba secured an automatic qualifying position in the 1,500m by placing fifth in his heat with a 3:52.34. Teammate Cameron Villarreal ran faster, 3:49.50, but placed 10th in another heat. The final time qualifier was 3:46.94.
Jace Comick ran 10.27w (2.6 wind) to place third in his heat of the 100m, earning an auto qualifier to the quarterfinal. Brenessa Thompson (11.44) and Amber Ivy (11.60) followed suit in the women's 100m. Thompson finished as runner-up in her heat while Ivy, the last time qualifier, placed fourth in hers. The difference between Ivy and another 11.60, produced by Baylor's Raven Grant, was 0.001 of a second.
In the men's 400m two Aggies reached the quarterfinals as Bryce Deadmon finished runner-up in his heat with a 46.27 while Kyree Johnson earned one of the final time qualifiers with a 47.02 as he finished fifth. Johnson matched the time of UCLA's Joe Herrera as both were timed 47.019.
Richard Rose (47.10) placed fifth in another heat of the 400m while Mylik Kerley (48.09) was seventh in his heat.
Julia Madubuike clocked 52.95 as the third place finisher in her heat to claim an auto qualifier. Just missing a time qualifier at 54.03 was Jarra Owens. The last time qualifier was 53.93. Glorilisha Carter placed sixth in her heat with a 55.01.
In the men's 800m, Devin Dixon won his heat in 1:49.20 while Efrain Hernandez earned a time qualifier at 1:50.23 in placing fifth in another heat. JaQwae Ellison, eighth in the same heat with Dixon, ran 1:54.76.
Three Aggies advanced to the quarterfinals in the women's 800m as Sammy Watson (2:06.46) and Jazmine Fray (2:06.76) were heat winners as Brittany Parker (2:06.44) finished third in another heat. Jean Jenkins (2:10.05) finished fifth in the same heat as Fray.
The women's 400m hurdles produced seventh place heat finishes for Lauren Lawless (59.02) and Gabrielle McDonald (1:00.14). Lawless just missed the final time qualifier position of 58.91.
NCAA West Preliminary Rounds – Sacramento, California – Texas A&M Schedule
Friday, May 25 (Pacific Time)
12:00 p.m. M Discus Gabriel Oladipo (Flight 2)
4:30 p.m. W Discus Serena Brown (Flight 3)
4:30 p.m. W Pole Vault Emily Gunderson, Augusta Thomason, Sara Kathryn Stevens (all Flight 1)
4:30 p.m. M 110m Hurdles Tyler Guillory (Heat 4)
5:00 p.m. W 100m Hurdles Zharia Moore (Heat 1), Chinyere Njoku (Heat 3)
5:30 p.m. M 400m (QF) Bryce Deadmon, Kyree Johnson
5:45 p.m. W 400m (QF) Julia Madubuike
6:00 p.m. M 100m (QF) Jace Comick
6:15 p.m. W 100m (QF) Brenessa Thompson, Amber Ivy
6:30 p.m. M 800m (QF) Devin Dixon, Efrain Hernandez
6:45 p.m. W 800m (QF) Jazmine Fray, Sammy Watson, Brittany Parker
7:00 p.m. M 400mH (QF) Infinite Tucker, Ilolo Izu, Jackson Davis, Tyler Hart
7:55 p.m. W 200m Diamond Spaulding, Amber Ivy (both Heat 2)
8:20 p.m. M Steeple (QF) Raymond Gonzales (Heat 2)