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NCAA Track & Field: 41 Pac-12 athletes punch their tickets to the NCAA outdoor finals

by Taylor Dutch
May 30, 2014

Day 2 of the NCAA west preliminaries didn’t disappoint, especially for the Oregon flock, as 41 athletes from the Pac-12 punched their tickets to the NCAA outdoor finals in Eugene June 11-14. Expectations were met by the favorites who got the job done, but a number of athletes had breakout marks to earn their first NCAA outdoor final berth with some incredible performances.

Oregon

Greg Skipper got momentum going for the Ducks with a second-place finish in the men’s hammer throw this morning. The All-American and Pac-12 runner-up threw 68.61m to come up behind Oklahoma State’s Nick Miller who threw 71.36m.

Devon Allen and Johnathan Cabral are both on their way to compete in the quarterfinals of the men’s 110m hurdles tomorrow as the two Ducks finished first and second in their heats. Freshman Sasha Wallace followed in heat one of the women’s 100m hurdles with a second-place finish and automatic qualification into the quarterfinals.

Pac-12 champion Mike Berry ran a comfortable 45.39 to take down the field in heat three of the men’s 400m. The performance punched his ticket to the NCAA outdoor finals in Eugene for his final NCAA championship as a Duck. NCAA indoor champion Phyllis Francis also earned her spot on the line in Eugene after running away with the win in heat one of the women’s 400m. Pac-12 runner-up Chizoba Okodogbe will join Francis in Eugene after clinching a spot based on time in the final heat of the women’s 400m.

Pac-12 champion Jenna Prandini secured her spot in the women’s 100m at the NCAA outdoor finals after running 11.17 in heat three for the fastest time of the day. She also qualified in the long jump yesterday after winning the event.

Boru Guyota will be representing for the Ducks in the men’s 800m after a tight finish for fourth place in heat three. His time of 1:48.16 was the fifth-fastest time of the day. Annie Leblanc kicked comfortably to the win in heat two of the women’s 800m for a 2:05.83 finish and an automatic spot on the line at the NCAA outdoor finals. NCAA Div. I leader Laura Roesler cruised to the win in the final heat of the women’s 800m in 2:03.01.

Arthur Delaney got the job done in the men’s 200m with a runaway win in heat four with a time of 20.76 to advance to the quarterfinal tomorrow. Jenna Prandini completed her already stellar day with a win in heat three of the women’s 200m to secure her spot in the quarterfinal.

Laura Bobek will return to Eugene with a spot in the women’s discus lineup at the NCAA outdoor finals after finishing eighth overall today.

Tanguy Pepiot closed hard in the men’s 3k steeplechase to nearly edge out Arkansas’ Stanley Kebenei for the win, but just barely missed him as the two runners finished in 8:42.61 and 8:42.67 to automatically qualify for the NCAA outdoor finals in Eugene. Pepiot’s time was a season’s best for the junior. Megan Patrignelli held nothing back on the track in the final event of the women’s 3k steeplechase. The senior finished fourth in heat three with a time of 10:10.86, which was good for ninth-place overall and a ticket to the finals in Eugene.

Arizona

Freshman phenom Jordan Young will complete his freshman season for Arizona at the NCAA outdoor finals as the Wildcat punched his ticket in the men’s hammer throw this morning with an eighth-place finish overall.

Senior Shapri Romero secured her spot at the NCAA outdoor finals after a runner-up finish in heat one of the women’s 400m. She also returned later in the day to finish third in her heat of the women’s 200m to earn her spot in the quarterfinal tomorrow.

Pac-12 champion Nick Ross secured his NCAA outdoor final berth with a clearance of 2.16m in the men’s high jump for a first-place tie. Ross will also attempt to qualify in the men’s triple jump tomorrow.

Nnenya Hailey earned her first NCAA outdoor final berth as a freshman with a grind-out win in the first heat of the women’s 400m hurdles.

Arizona State

William Taylor got the job done in round one of the men’s 110m hurdles as the Sun Devil finished fifth in heat two to qualify for the quarterfinals based on time.

Brianna Tate punched her ticket to Eugene after qualifying based on time in heat two of the women’s 400m. Her time of 52.96 was eighth overall out of three heats.

Bryan McBride punched his ticket to Eugene after clearing 2.16m in the men’s high jump for a first-place tie.

Devan Spann earned a spot on the line in the quarterfinal of the men’s 200m tomorrow with a second-place finish in heat five of round one.

Senior Anna Jelmini punched her ticket to Eugene with a seventh-place finish in the women’s discus with a mark of 53.72m.

California

Milan Ristic earned his spot in the quarterfinal of the men’s 110m hurdles tomorrow as the Golden Bear finished second in heat five for a time of 13.98.

Colorado

Blake Theroux will represent for the Buffaloes in the men’s 3k steeplechase after finishing fourth in heat one with a time of 8:49.95. This is the first time Theroux has qualified for the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.

2012 Olympian and NCAA Div. I leader Shalaya Kipp put on a show in the women’s steeplechase as the senior ran away with an easy win in heat one in a time of 10:03.

Stanford

Lucas Rowley was the first Card to make the cut this morning as the junior threw a mark of 61.84m for 11th place in the men’s hammer throw, and a chance to compete at the NCAA outdoor finals.

Luke Lefebure turned on the jets in heat one of the men’s 800m with a tight runner-up finish and an automatic qualification to the finals in Eugene behind a strong close from Patrick Rono of Arkansas. All-American Amy Weissenbach left nothing to chance as the sophomore won her heat of the women’s 800m in 2:04.84 to punch her ticket to Eugene. Claudia Saunders also earned her spot on the line of the finals after finishing second to Oregon’s Laura Roesler in the final heat of the women’s 800m.

Freshman Valarie Allman made a statement in the women’s discus today with a runner-up finish to earn the first NCAA outdoor finals berth of her career at Stanford.

UCLA

Brea Buchanan advanced to the quarterfinal of the women’s 100m hurdles after finishing second in heat four behind NCAA Div. I leader Tiffani McReyolds of Baylor. Trinity Wilson followed in the final heat of the women’s 100m hurdles with a second-place finish and automatic qualification in the quarterfinal.

Nick Hartle ran a gutsy race in heat two of the men’s 800m with a runner-up finish and automatic qualification to the NCAA outdoor finals in Eugene.

USC

Pac-12 champion Aleec Harris got the job done in the first round of the men’s 110m hurdles as the senior won heat three to advance to the quarterfinal round tomorrow. Teammate Melia Cox also advanced to the quarterfinal of the women’s 100m hurdles with a runner-up finish in heat three. Unfortunately, Pac-12 champion Lauren Blackburn suffered a fall after clipping the sixth hurdle and will not advance to the quarterfinal tomorrow.

Vanessa Jones rounded out the Pac-12 domination in the women’s 400m after finishing third in heat one behind Oregon’s Phyllis Francis and Arizona’s Shapri Romero to lock in her spot at the NCAA outdoor finals.

Pac-12 champion Aaron Brown continues to blow out the competition as the senior edged his way to the win in heat one of the men’s 100m for an automatic qualification to the NCAA outdoor finals. BeeJay Lee will follow Brown to the line after finishing third in heat two of the men’s 100m. The Trojan sprint contingent followed with a third-place finish in heat one of the women’s 100m by Tynia Gaither who will also represent for USC at the NCAA outdoor finals. After two false starts in heat two, Jessica Davis finished fourth in 11.52 to qualify on time and join her teammates in Eugene.

Pac-12 heptathlon champion Amalie Iuel punched another ticket to Eugene in the women’s 400m hurdles after placing second in heat three.

After winning his heat in the men’s 100m, Aaron Brown returned later in the day to dominate heat three of the men’s 200m and qualify for the quarterfinal tomorrow. Again, BeeJay Lee followed Brown with a quarterfinal qualification by finishing third in heat six.

Senior Kemi Olonade is making her final season count as a ninth-place finish in the women’s triple jump gave her a ticket to the NCAA outdoor finals. This is Olenade’s first NCAA outdoor finals berth.

Tynia Gaither also secured her spot in the quarterfinal of the women’s 200m by dominating the final heat with a winning time of 23.16. Her teammate, Jessica Davis, also locked in her spot based on time with a fourth-place finish in heat two.

Pac-12 champion Alexandra Collatz earned her spot at the NCAA outdoor finals in Eugene with a fifth-place finish in the women’s discus to round out the field events for the Trojans.

Utah

Rosalie Waller fought through till the very end of the final heat of the women’s 800m to secure a third-place finish and an automatic spot in the NCAA outdoor finals in Eugene. It is the first NCAA outdoor final berth for the senior.

Washington

Pac-12 champion Derrick Daigre became the first Husky to qualify for the NCAA outdoor finals today with a third-place finish in heat three of the men’s 800m.

Gianna Woodruff was the first female Husky to qualify in day 2 for the NCAA outdoor finals with a third-place finish in heat two of the women’s 400m hurdles. Her teammate Kayla Stueckle also qualified after finishing fourth in heat two.

Liberty Miller closed out the day with a stellar performance in the women’s 3k steeplechase. Her second-place finish in heat three gave her an automatic qualification to Eugene, which will be the second NCAA outdoor finals berth of her career.

Washington State

Freshman Daniel Zmuda edged his way into the quarterfinal of the men’s 110m hurdles after finishing sixth in heat two to qualify based on time to tomorrow’s races. Shaquana Logan also qualified based on time after running 13.87 to finish fourth in heat one of the women's 100m hurdles.

Jesse Jorgensen turned on the jets in the final homestretch of the men’s 800m to clinch third in heat two and secure his spot in the NCAA outdoor finals, his first finals berth after just barely missing the qualification mark last year at regionals.

Andrew Gonzalez made his mark in the second heat of the men’s steeplechase with a fourth-place finish in a time of 8:47.14 to qualify for a spot on the line in Eugene. It is the first time the senior has qualified for the NCAA outdoor finals in his career.

 

For full results, free live streaming, and meet schedule visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

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