NCAA Championships Info
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American saw 17 more athletes punch tickets to the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships from the East and West Preliminary meets Friday, increasing the conference’s total number of NCAA berths to 23 through two days. Houston’s Amere Lattin (400m hurdles) and Kahmari Montgomery (400m), along with Wichita State's Rebekah Topham (3,000m SC) set all-time American records in their respective events.
The regional action wraps up on Saturday with the final 17 events. The University of North Florida in Jacksonville is hosting the East Preliminary and California State University at Sacramento is hosting the West Preliminary. NCAA track and field fans can watch live and on-demand coverage of the NCAA Division I East and West Preliminary Championships on FloTrack with a Pro subscription.
The top 12 individuals and top 12 relays in each event advance to the 2019 NCAA Championships held June 5-8 in Austin, Texas, at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Houston led the way with seven athletes earning NCAA bids out of the West Regional. Lattin clocked a time of 49.45 seconds, besting his previous personal record, program record and conference record to take first-place in his heat. Quivell Jordan will be joining Lattin in Austin after hurdling to a fourth-place finish in his heat. Montgomery posted a collegiate best, program record and conference record en route to his top finish in the 400-meter dash (44.78 seconds). Obi Igbokwe secured his lane in Austin, cruising to a first-place finish in his 400m heat with a season-best time of 45.35 seconds. The 100-meter dash would conclude with a pair of Cougars in the top-12 of the standings as Mario Burke and Travis Collins punched tickets to the NCAA Championships. Burke, Lattin and Montomery each return to the NCAA Championships after helping Houston finish third overall a year ago.
On the women’s side, Houston freshman Ashley Seymour posted a personal best 100-meter dash time of 11.40 seconds to earn a trip to Austin. SMU’s Chelsea Francis will join her in the field after clocking the seventh-fastest 100-meter time of 11.33 seconds.
Two Wichita State athletes are Austin-bound following top-12 performances in their respective events recorded in Sacramento. All-America javelin thrower Aaron True finished third in his event with a toss of 71.03m/233-11 to return to the national meet. Topham punched her first-career NCAA ticket with a top-12 finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase. She clocked a personal-best time of 9:53.92, bettering her previous school record.
In the East Region, Memphis increased its total number of NCAA bids to six with three more athletes advancing. Davon DeMoss, Julian Sanchez-Pinto and Adar Sheere all punched tickets. DeMoss earned his first-career Outdoor Championships berth in the men's 100 meters. Sanchez-Pinto shaved nearly 10 full seconds off his personal-best in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase with his qualifying time. Sheere, The American’s Outdoor Freshman of the Year, earned his first trip to the national meet with a ninth-place performance in the men's discus. His 189-3 (57.69m) effort improved his personal-best by eight inches.
Tulane and UConn both saw a pair of athletes advance to the NCAA Championships Friday. Pole vaulter Rebekah Markel cleared all three heights on her first attempt, easily earning a berth to the national meet. Markel tied for first in the regional with four other jumpers after clearing 4.17 meters. Emmanuel Rotich won his heat in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to earn his third-straight trip to the national championship meet. Rotich finished fifth in the region with a season-best time of 8:39.68.
UConn’s senior duo of Kat Surin (400m) and Susan Aneno (800m) ran top-12 times in the East Region to earn trips to Austin. Surin placed eighth in the field after tying her PR of 52.44 seconds. Aneno clocked 2:04.17 and placed fifth overall in a field of 24.
Eleven track athletes additionally advanced out of Friday’s prelims into Saturday’s finals and will be looking to clock top-12 times in their respective event to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships field. Saturday also features the final five field and two relay events.