DES MOINES, Iowa – Ariana Ince, a former volunteer assistant with Texas A&M, won the javelin title at the USA Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium while six Aggies advanced to the semifinal of their respective events.
Finals held on the opening day of the USATF Championships included Maggie Malone placing fifth in the javelin while Ciynamon Stevenson finished sixth in the triple jump.
Advancing to Friday semifinals were Ameer Webb (100m), Sammy Watson (800m), Donavan Brazier (800m), Jessica Beard (400m), Fred Kerley (400m) and Mylik Kerley (400m). The final of the 100m will be held on Friday as well.
Ince's winning javelin throw of 200 feet, 4 inches (61.06) defeated eight-time national champion Kara Winger, who was runner-up with a toss of 195-11 (59.73). Ince moved from seventh to first place with her mark coming in the fifth of six rounds. Malone produced a throw of 178-8 (54.47) in the final round to move up from eighth place.
"My series was all over the place, so as soon as I threw one that was decent I was just happy," noted Ince, who finished third last year and was runner-up in 2017. "Luckily, it only takes one. I thought it would take more than that to win, but sometimes other people have an off day and you have an ok day. That's how it worked out today.
"It was surprising to win. It's always fun to win, but you also want others to have a good day as well. It's kind of bittersweet. My goal wasn't necessarily to come in and win, my goal was to come in and throw as far as I could. Sometimes it works out for you."
Having thrown a career best of 208-5 (63.54) last month, Ince has the qualifying standard for the IAAF World Championships, which will be held in Doha, Qatar, from September 27 to October 6.
"This is the most relaxed I've ever been coming into USA's," said Ince, who will compete in the Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru, in two weeks. "Just because I already had the standard for Doha. So, I didn't need to worry about it. I'm glad it's over and I know that I have all the qualifying stuff I need to do."
Stevenson opened with a leap of 43-5 ¼ (13.24) in the triple jump and was in fifth place after three rounds. She was passed by one jumper in the final three rounds to place sixth.
Brazier won his heat of the 800m in 1:47.66 while Fred Kerley claimed his heat of the 400m in 45.09 from lane two. Watson clocked 2:03.69 as runner-up in her heat of the 800m, finishing behind a 2:03.52 by Ce'Aira Brown.
Beard ran 52.25 for third in her heat of the 400m while Webb placed third in his heat of the 100m in 10.29 to automatically qualifying for the semifinal. Webb finished behind Isiah Young (10.14) and Justin Gatlin (10.16) in to a -0.8 wind.
Mylik Kerley advance on time to the 400m semifinal round placing fourth with a time of 45.56, while Bryce Deadmon finished sixth in the same heat with a 46.06 to finish 18th overall with 16 advancing.
Aaliyah Brown finished fifth in her heat of the 100m with a time of 11.58 into a headwind of 1.9. Brown placed 17th overall. The top 16 advanced to the semifinal, with the last time qualifier being 11.57.
USATF Championships – Texas A&M schedule – Des Moines, Iowa
Friday, July 26
4:30 p.m. M 1500m First Round Donavan Brazier
6:02 p.m. M 100m Semifinal Ameer Webb
6:18 p.m. W 800m Semifinal Sammy Watson
6:32 p.m. M 800m Semifinal Donavan Brazier
6:56 p.m. W 400m Semifinal Jessica Beard
7:14 p.m. M 400m Semifinal Fred Kerley, Mylik Kerley
7:53 p.m. M 100m FINAL (Ameer Webb)
Saturday, July 27
11:30 a.m. W Hept 100m Hurdles Annie Kunz
12:20 p.m. W Hept High Jump Annie Kunz
1:33 p.m. W 200m First Round Aaliyah Brown
1:58 p.m. M 200m First Round Ameer Webb
2:00 p.m. M Pole Vault FINAL Jacob Wooten, Audie Wyatt
2:15 p.m. W Hept Shot Put Annie Kunz
2:20 p.m. M Javelin FINAL Sam Hardin
2:40 p.m. W High Jump FINAL Shaina Burns
3:19 p.m. W Hept 200m Annie Kunz
4:09 p.m. W 400m Hurdles Semifinal Shamier Little
4:34 p.m. W400m FINAL (Jessica Beard)
4:43 p.m. M 400m FINAL (Fred Kerley, Mylik Kerley)
Sunday, July 28
3:00 p.m. W Hept Long Jump Annie Kunz
4:05 p.m. W Hept Javelin Annie Kunz
5:00 p.m. M 200m Semifinal (Ameer Webb)
5:14 p.m. W 200m Semifinal (Aaliyah Brown)
5:42 p.m. W Hept 800m Annie Kunz
6:00 p.m. M Long Jump FINAL Will Williams
6:02 p.m. M 800m FINAL (Donavan Brazier)
7:04 p.m. W 400m Hurdles FINAL (Shamier Little)
7:12 p.m. W 800m FINAL (Sammy Watson)
7:33 p.m. M 1500m FINAL (Donavan Brazier)
7:43 p.m. M 200m FINAL (Aaliyah Brown)
7:51 p.m. M 200m FINAL (Ameer Webb)
Finals held on the opening day of the USATF Championships included Maggie Malone placing fifth in the javelin while Ciynamon Stevenson finished sixth in the triple jump.
Advancing to Friday semifinals were Ameer Webb (100m), Sammy Watson (800m), Donavan Brazier (800m), Jessica Beard (400m), Fred Kerley (400m) and Mylik Kerley (400m). The final of the 100m will be held on Friday as well.
Ince's winning javelin throw of 200 feet, 4 inches (61.06) defeated eight-time national champion Kara Winger, who was runner-up with a toss of 195-11 (59.73). Ince moved from seventh to first place with her mark coming in the fifth of six rounds. Malone produced a throw of 178-8 (54.47) in the final round to move up from eighth place.
"My series was all over the place, so as soon as I threw one that was decent I was just happy," noted Ince, who finished third last year and was runner-up in 2017. "Luckily, it only takes one. I thought it would take more than that to win, but sometimes other people have an off day and you have an ok day. That's how it worked out today.
"It was surprising to win. It's always fun to win, but you also want others to have a good day as well. It's kind of bittersweet. My goal wasn't necessarily to come in and win, my goal was to come in and throw as far as I could. Sometimes it works out for you."
Having thrown a career best of 208-5 (63.54) last month, Ince has the qualifying standard for the IAAF World Championships, which will be held in Doha, Qatar, from September 27 to October 6.
"This is the most relaxed I've ever been coming into USA's," said Ince, who will compete in the Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru, in two weeks. "Just because I already had the standard for Doha. So, I didn't need to worry about it. I'm glad it's over and I know that I have all the qualifying stuff I need to do."
Stevenson opened with a leap of 43-5 ¼ (13.24) in the triple jump and was in fifth place after three rounds. She was passed by one jumper in the final three rounds to place sixth.
Brazier won his heat of the 800m in 1:47.66 while Fred Kerley claimed his heat of the 400m in 45.09 from lane two. Watson clocked 2:03.69 as runner-up in her heat of the 800m, finishing behind a 2:03.52 by Ce'Aira Brown.
Beard ran 52.25 for third in her heat of the 400m while Webb placed third in his heat of the 100m in 10.29 to automatically qualifying for the semifinal. Webb finished behind Isiah Young (10.14) and Justin Gatlin (10.16) in to a -0.8 wind.
Mylik Kerley advance on time to the 400m semifinal round placing fourth with a time of 45.56, while Bryce Deadmon finished sixth in the same heat with a 46.06 to finish 18th overall with 16 advancing.
Aaliyah Brown finished fifth in her heat of the 100m with a time of 11.58 into a headwind of 1.9. Brown placed 17th overall. The top 16 advanced to the semifinal, with the last time qualifier being 11.57.
USATF Championships – Texas A&M schedule – Des Moines, Iowa
Friday, July 26
4:30 p.m. M 1500m First Round Donavan Brazier
6:02 p.m. M 100m Semifinal Ameer Webb
6:18 p.m. W 800m Semifinal Sammy Watson
6:32 p.m. M 800m Semifinal Donavan Brazier
6:56 p.m. W 400m Semifinal Jessica Beard
7:14 p.m. M 400m Semifinal Fred Kerley, Mylik Kerley
7:53 p.m. M 100m FINAL (Ameer Webb)
Saturday, July 27
11:30 a.m. W Hept 100m Hurdles Annie Kunz
12:20 p.m. W Hept High Jump Annie Kunz
1:33 p.m. W 200m First Round Aaliyah Brown
1:58 p.m. M 200m First Round Ameer Webb
2:00 p.m. M Pole Vault FINAL Jacob Wooten, Audie Wyatt
2:15 p.m. W Hept Shot Put Annie Kunz
2:20 p.m. M Javelin FINAL Sam Hardin
2:40 p.m. W High Jump FINAL Shaina Burns
3:19 p.m. W Hept 200m Annie Kunz
4:09 p.m. W 400m Hurdles Semifinal Shamier Little
4:34 p.m. W400m FINAL (Jessica Beard)
4:43 p.m. M 400m FINAL (Fred Kerley, Mylik Kerley)
Sunday, July 28
3:00 p.m. W Hept Long Jump Annie Kunz
4:05 p.m. W Hept Javelin Annie Kunz
5:00 p.m. M 200m Semifinal (Ameer Webb)
5:14 p.m. W 200m Semifinal (Aaliyah Brown)
5:42 p.m. W Hept 800m Annie Kunz
6:00 p.m. M Long Jump FINAL Will Williams
6:02 p.m. M 800m FINAL (Donavan Brazier)
7:04 p.m. W 400m Hurdles FINAL (Shamier Little)
7:12 p.m. W 800m FINAL (Sammy Watson)
7:33 p.m. M 1500m FINAL (Donavan Brazier)
7:43 p.m. M 200m FINAL (Aaliyah Brown)
7:51 p.m. M 200m FINAL (Ameer Webb)