The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA West Preliminary Round
Five Longhorns punch tickets to NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships
05.23.2013 | Track & Field / Cross Country m, Track & Field / Cross Country
May 23, 2013
Results |
NCAA West Preliminary Round Headquarters | NCAA Outdoor Championships - Declarations/Start Lists/Results | NCAA West Preliminary Notes (PDF)
Home-field advantage was kind to the Texas Longhorns on the opening day of the NCAA Division I Track and Field West Preliminary Round as five athletes earned berths to the national meet.
Ryan Crouser, Blake Jakobsson and Clint Harris qualified in the discus Thursday afternoon for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Ryan Dohner and Craig Lutz each posted national meet qualifying times in the 10,000 meters, the final event of the day at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Eighth-ranked Texas also had three athletes - Zack Bilderback (400 meters), Patrick McGregor (1,500m) and Kyle Merber (1,500m) - advance from the first round to quarterfinals.
Needing to finish among the top 12 to head to the national meet, Crouser, Jakobsson and Harris went 4-5-6, respectively, in the 48-man discus field. Crouser posted a mark of 189 feet, 9 inches (57.84m) and Jakobsson had a personal-best 188-0 (57.30m) on his first attempt, but that was good enough.
"I started going for it and changing everything so I wasn't able to get another one in, but it was such a relief to get that first one in," Jakobsson said. "I felt good about it last year, PR at this meet again to get to nationals."
Crouser, who leads the nation in the shot put and came in seeded sixth in the West Region in the discus, and Jakobsson will be making their second-straight trip to the national meet in the event.
For Harris, a first-semester transfer from Stephen F. Austin, this will be his first trip to the national meet after posting a toss of 187-5 (57.12m) on his fourth attempt, the first in the 16-man finals.
"The first two throws of the finals beat me so I was sitting 14th, having to be top 12," Harris said. "That really set me off and I finally got a good throw in."
Will Spence and Hayden Baillio didn't fare as well as their teammates. Spence entered the meet seeded 13th in the West Region, but couldn't get on track, fouling on his first two attempts and finishing 24th with a throw of 173-5 (52.87m).
Baillio was 27th with a toss of 174-8 (53.25m), but his signature event is the shot put, which is scheduled for Friday evening. Baillio is seeded 10th in the shot put. Spence is ninth.
Dohner kept up his strong postseason by finishing fifth in a time of 30:04.45. The junior was third in the 10,000 and fourth in the 5,000 at the Big 12 meet.
Lutz was ninth in the 10,000 with a time of 30:18.01. He also scored in both the 5,000 and 10,000 at the league outdoor meet.
Bilderback clocked a 400m time of 46.67 and finished second in his heat, automatically advancing to Friday's quarterfinals.
McGregor and Merber were also auto qualifiers in the 1500. McGregor was third in his heat (3:44.52), as was Merber (3:49.04).
Kyle Thompson and Josh Brudnick saw their season come to an end. Thompson clocked a 1:50.83 in the 800m and finished 34th. Brudnick, who was battling a leg strain, clocked a 55.90 in the 400-meter hurdles.
Friday's action gets underway at noon with field events. Running events begin at 5 p.m. The three-day meet concludes Saturday.
Notes:
- Blake Jakobsson is making his second-straight appearance in the NCAA Championships. He finished ninth in the 2012 NCAA West Preliminary Round with what was then a personal-best toss of 187-11 (57.28m) and went on to place 20th at nationals. His father, Oskar, was a eight-time All-American for the Longhorns, including three in the discus. He finished third at the 1980 NCAA meet, sixth in 1982 and third again in 1983.
- Craig Lutz will be making his first appearance at an NCAA indoor or outdoor meet. He finished first for the Longhorns and 33rd overall at the 2011 NCAA Cross Country Championships (30:02.0), earning All-America honors.
- Ryan Dohner will appear in the 10,000 at the national meet for the second-straight year. He claimed first team All-America honors in the 10,000 with a seventh-place finish (personal-best 29:05.11) at the 2012 meet.
Quotes:
- Freshman Zack Bilderback (400m quarterfinalist)
On his performance: It was a good performance, I came off that two-week layoff, just wanted to come out here and get the first run out of my legs. I will be ready to go tomorrow.
- Senior Patrick McGregor (1,500m quarterfinalist)
On his race: I haven't raced in three weeks so its good to get the rust off. I know I'm in really good shape. I just had come out here and show it. Survive and advance.
On Saturday's quarterfinal: For the race, I am not going to focus on the competitors. I am going to focus on all the things that I can control. If I do that, I should be fine.
TEXAS ENTRIES/RESULTS- NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY ROUND (All times Central)
Austin, Texas - Mike A. Myers Stadium
Thursday, May 23
- Discus - First Round: 4.>Ryan Crouser, 189-9 (57.84m)*; 5. Blake Jakobsson, 188-0 (57.30m)*; 6. Clint Harris, 187-5 (57.12m)*; 23. Hayden Baillio, 174-8 (53.25m); 27.>Will Spence, 173-5 (52.87m)
- 400-Meter Hurdles - First Round: 47. Josh Brudnick, 55.90
- 1,500 Meters - First Round: 9. Patrick McGregor, 3:44.52; 12. Kyle Merber, 3:49.04
- 400 Meters - First Round: 10. Zack Bilderback, 46.67
- 800 Meters - First Round: 34.>Kyle Thompson, 1:50.83
- 10,000 Meters - Semifinal: 5. Ryan Dohner, 30:04.45*; 9. Craig Lutz, 30:18.01*; 36. Rory Tunningley, 31:53.35
Friday, May 24
- 110-Meter Hurdles - First Round (5:30 p.m.): Keiron Stewart, Jake Wohlford
- Shot Put - First Round (6:00 p.m.):>Ryan Crouser,>Will Spence, Hayden Baillio
- 400 Meters - Quarterfinal (6:15 p.m.): Zack Bilderback
- 3,000-Meter Steeplechase - Quarterfinal (9:30 p.m.): Austin Bussing, Trevor Van Ackeren, Austin Roth
Saturday, May 25
- Pole Vault - First Round (1:00 p.m.): Reese Watson, Casey Wicker, Mark Thomas
- Triple Jump - First Round (6:00 p.m.): Jarard Bruner
- 1,500 Meters - Quarterfinal (6:45 p.m.): Kyle Merber, Patrick McGregor
- 110-Meter Hurdles - Quarterfinal (7:20 p.m.): Keiron Stewart, Jake Wohlford
* Advances to NCAA Championships
