The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA West Preliminary Round
Track and Field gains 10 more qualifiers to NCAA Outdoor Championships
05.30.2014 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Top-ranked women’s team qualifies all four 400-meter entries to nationals.
2014 NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY ROUND
• When: Thursday, May 29 - Saturday, May 31 - Meet Information | Meet Notes
• Where: Fayetteville, Arkansas (John McDonnell Field)
• Declarations: Men | Women
• Start Lists: Men - Day One | Women - Day One | Day Two | Day Three
• Video: Akinosun, Okolo preview NCAA West prelim (May 29, 2014)
• Results: Day One | Day Two
• Live Results: Click here
• Video Streaming: Begins at 6 p.m. Central Saturday. Click here.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Track and Field team continued to add to its total number of qualifiers for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The Longhorns entered Friday's action at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, which is being held at Arkansas' John McDonnell Field, with seven athletes on the qualifying list for nationals and added another 10 during the day.
Eight of nine athletes for the top-ranked women's team who were entered in Friday's quarterfinal running events advanced to nationals, as did both men.
The top 12 times/marks in each event at the three-day West Prelim earn berths to next month's NCAA Outdoor meet.
"We couldn't have had a better day, actually the last two days have been great," head coach Mario Sategna said. "It shows the mindset of the athletes here. It's not about the times or the distances or performances, it's about making finals and beating people. It's head to head."
The Longhorns entered the regional meet with the top four seeds in the women's 400 meters and demonstrated their strength by galloping home with four of the top five times in the 24-woman quarterfinal.
Ashley Spencer (51.38 seconds), the two-time defending NCAA outdoor champion in the event, and Briana Nelson (52.22) finished 1-2 in the second of three heats. Courtney Okolo, who set the collegiate record (50.03) in the event two weeks ago at the Big 12 Championships, won the third heat in 51.63 and Kendall Baisden was on her right shoulder, finishing in 51.96.
"They handled their business and fed off each other," Sategna said. "They make it look so easy sometimes when you watch them compete, but they have everything to lose because everyone is gunning for them. It shows where they've been from the beginning of the season, the things they've learned during indoors from the conference meet to the national championship."
Morolake Akinosun continued her strong sophomore season by finishing second overall (first in her heat) in the 100 meters in a time of 11.31. Akinosun, an All-American in the 60 meters at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships, came into the meet seeded No. 1 and clocked the second-best time in the nation -- a wind-aided (3.8 meters per second) 10.99 at the Big 12 meet where she won both the 100 and 200 meters.
Akinosun also moved from the first round of the 200 meters into the quarterfinal. She clocked a time of 23.25, winning heat four. Senior Christy Udoh also advanced after finishing second in heat five in a time of 23.66. The 200m quarterfinal is scheduled for Saturday.
The women also received a pair of somewhat unexpected qualifiers to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which will be held June 11-14 in Eugene, Ore.
Melissa Gonzalez and Katie Hoaldridge likely needed career-best performances in Friday's quarterfinal and that's exactly what the duo delivered.
In what could have been her final collegiate race, Hoaldridge, a senior, clocked a personal-best 2:05.68 in the third and final heat of the 800 meters. She finished fifth in the fastest heat, but was eighth overall. Laura Roesler of Oregon, the 2014 NCAA indoor champion in the event and the top seed, won the third heat in 2:03.01.
"She is definitely someone that you look at," Hoaldridge said of Roesler. "I was really lucky to have her in my heat because that will mean my heat will be fast so if you don't get top three, then hopefully I'll run fast enough time to qualify and that's what happened."
Hoaldridge will be making her first trip to the national meet. She was seeded No. 18 in the 48-woman field at NCAA West prelim.
"This feels incredible," Hoaldridge said. "I've come a very long way. Just goes to show that if you set your mind to something and don't give up good things can happen."
Gonzalez followed up a strong performance in Thursday's first round of the 400-meter hurdles with an even better one in the quarterfinal. The sophomore, who was seeded No. 19, clocked a first-round time of 58.58, then the second best performance of her career, and went on to post a personal-best 57.94 in the quarterfinal. She was also in the fastest heat, finishing fifth, but 10th overall.
As expected, senior Danielle Dowie moved to nationals in the 400mh. She clocked a 57.30 to finish second in heat two and post the fifth-best overall time. Dowie was eighth at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 400m hurdles and sixth the year before.
Both of the entries for the seventh-ranked men's team in Friday's quarterfinal running events advanced to the national meet.
Zack Bilderback, the 2014 Big 12 champion in both the indoor and outdoor 400 meters, heads to nationals for the second-straight year after clocking a 45.70 in the event, the fifth-fastest time in the quarterfinal.
Freshman Senoj-Jay Givans continued his strong postseason. He followed up a trip to the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships with one to outdoors. He punched his ticket by winning the final of three 100-meter quarterfinal heats in 10.16, which is tied for the fifth-fastest time in UT history. Givans won the 100 meters at the Big 12 Outdoor meet and set the school record (10.10) in the prelim.
Givans also moved from the first round to the quarterfinal in the 200 meters by clocking a time of 20.73, the sixth-best time in the 48-man field.
Two of the three first-round entries in the high hurdles moved on to Saturday's quarterfinals.
Morgan Snow posted the fifth-best time (13.31) in the 100-meter hurdles and Spencer Dunkerley-Offor clocked a personal-best 13.83 in the 110mh, which was the ninth-fastest time among the 24 heading to the quarterfinal. Senior Jake Wohlford posted a time of 14.44 and did not advance out of the first round.
Senior Brittany Marches missed out on her first trip to a national meet. She finished 22nd in the quarterfinal of the 3,000-meter steeplechase, though her time of 10:27.24 was just shy of her own school record. Marches has set the mark a number of times, most recently at the Stanford Invitational in April when she clocked a time of 10:36.90.
The NCAA West Preliminary Round concludes Saturday with field event action starting at 10 a.m. Central and running events at 6 p.m.
The Longhorns will enter the final day of the regional with 10 qualifiers for nationals on the women's side and seven for the men.
"We hope to finalize a few more individual qualifiers tomorrow then it shifts to the relays," Sategna said.
The men and women each have entries in both the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relay. The women have the top qualifying time in the nation in the 4x400.
NOTES
• The Longhorns started Friday with seven qualifiers for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. Wolf Mahler and Johannes Hock qualified in the decathlon by virtue of their regular season marks. Mahler tallied 7,602 at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships and Hock, defending NCAA champion in the event, posted a total of 7,573 at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. Those marks rank 10th and 12th, respectively, on the 2014 NCAA performer's list. On Thursday, Texas gained five more qualifiers: Ryan Crouser (shot put), Fabian Jara Dohmann (javelin), Olivia Mickle (10,000m), Kaitlin Petrillose (pole vault) and Reese Watson (pole vault).
• Senoj-Jay Givans time of 10.16 in the 100-meter quarterfinal is tied for the fifth-fastest on the UT all-time performance list. He set the school record with a time of 10.10 in the prelim at the 2014 Big 12 Championships. Givans and Johnny 'Lam' Jones are the only two Longhorns to run 10.16 or faster twice. Jones ran 10.14 at both the 1977 Texas Relays and 1978 NCAA Championships. That was the UT record until Brendan Christian ran 10.11 at the 2004 NCAA Regional.
• Brittany Marches nearly snapped her own school record in the steeplechase Friday. Marches finished 22nd in the quarterfinal in 10:27.24, just off her UT mark of 10:26.90. Marches, a senior, ends her career with the top 10 steeplechase times in school history. She snapped Dawn Domashk's school mark of 10:53.18 (set 5/19/03) by clocking a time of 10:40.45 on April 19, 2012. She went on to eclipse her own mark four times.
TEXAS ENTRIES/RESULTS – NCAA West Preliminary Round
Fayetteville, Ark. • John McDonnell Field • All Times Central
Thursday, May 29
Women
• 100 Meters - First Round: 4. Morolake Akinosun, 11.39q; 27. Christy Udoh, 11.78
• 400 Meters - First Round: 2. Courtney Okolo, 51.94q; 3. Briana Nelson, 52.05q; 5. Ashley Spencer, 52.23q; 6. Kendall Baisden, 52.45
• 800 Meters - First Round: 8. Katie Hoaldridge, 2:06.82q
• 10,000 Meters - Semifinal: 4. Olivia Mickle, 34:08.53^
• 400-Meter Hurdles - First Round: 3. Danielle Dowie, 57.49q; 16. Melissa Gonzalez, 58.58q
• Pole Vault: t1. Kaitlin Petrillose, 13-7 (4.14m)^
Men
• 100 Meters - First Round: 7. Senoj-Jay Givans, 10.28q; t30. Charles Anumnu, 10.61; 36. Basil Fares, 10.68
• 400 Meters - First Round: 8. Zack Bilderback, 46.28q; 31. Chris Irvin, 47.22
• 1,500 Meters - First Round: 37. John McNamara, 3:50.19
• 10,000 Meters - Semifinal: 20. Chris Galvin, 30:07.17; 24. Mark Pinales, 30:24.39
• 400-Meter Hurdles - First Round: 43. Josh Brudnick, 53.43
• Pole Vault: t4. Reese Watson, 17-7 (5.36m)^; t28. Casey Wicker, 16-3.25 (4.96m)
• Shot Put: 1. Ryan Crouser, 66-11.25 (20.40m)^; 17. Will Spence, 57-8.25 (17.58m)
• Javelin: 5. Fabian Jara Dohmann, 220-7 (67.25m)
Friday, May 30
Women
• 100 Meters - Quarterfinal: 2. Morolake Akinosun, 11.31^
• 200 Meters - First Round: 6. Morolake Akinosun, 23.25q; 15. Christy Udoh, 23.66q
• 400 Meters - Quarterfinal: 1. Ashley Spencer, 51.38^; 2. Courtney Okolo, 51.63^; 3. Kendall Baisden 51.96^; 5. Briana Nelson, 52.22^
• 800 Meters - Quarterfinal: 8. Katie Hoaldridge, 2:05.68^
• 100-Meter Hurdles - First Round: 5. Morgan Snow, 13.31q
• 400-Meter Hurdles - Quarterfinal: 5. Danielle Dowie, 57.30^; 10. Melissa Gonzalez, 57.94^
• Steeplechase - Quarterfinal: 15. Brittany Marches, 10:27.24
Men
• 100 Meters - Quarterfinal: 6. Senoj-Jay Givans, 10.16^
• 200 Meters - First Round: 6. Senoj-Jay Givans, 20.73q; 30. Carlton Anumnu, 21.32; 33. Charles Anumnu, 21.44
• 400 Meters - Quarterfinal: 5. Zack Bilderback, 45.70^
• 110-Meter Hurdles - First Round: 9. Spencer Dunkerley-Offor, 13.83q; 38. Jake Wohlford, 14.44
Saturday, May 31
Women
• High Jump (6 p.m.): Shanay Briscoe
• 4x100-Meter Relay - Quarterfinal (6:15 p.m.): Morolake Akinosun, Kendall Baisden, Courtney Okolo, Ashley Spencer
• 100-Meter Hurdles - Quarterfinal (5:30 p.m.): Morgan Snow
• 200 Meters - Quarterfinal (7:50 p.m.): Morolake Akinosun, Christy Udoh
• 5,000 Meters - Semifinal (8:45 p.m.): Marielle Hall
• 4x400-Meter Relay - Quarterfinal (9:45 p.m.): Briana Nelson, Courtney Okolo, Kendall Baisden, Ashley Spencer
Men
• Discus (3 p.m.): Ryan Crouser, Will Spence, Blake Jakobsson
• 4x100-Meter Relay - Quarterfinal (6 p.m.): Charles Anumnu, Zack Bilderback, Senoj-Jay Givans, Chris Irvin
• Triple Jump (6 p.m.): Nick Phynn
• 110-Meter Hurdles - Quarterfinal (5 p.m.): Spencer Dunkerley-Offor
• 200 Meters - Quarterfinal (8 p.m.): Senoj-Jay Givans
• 4x400-Meter Relay - Quarterfinal (9:25 p.m.): Chris Irvin, Wolf Mahler, Senoj-Jay Givans, Zack Bilderback
q – qualified for quarterfinal
^ – qualified for NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.
2014 NCAA West Regional - Women's Entries
| Event | Seed | Name | Time/Mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100m | 1. | Morolake Akinosun | 10.99w@ |
| 24. | Christy Udoh | 11.49w | |
| 200m | 4. | MorolakeAkinosun | 22.80w |
| 12. | Christy Udoh | 23.24w | |
| 400m | 1. | Courtney Okolo | 50.14@ |
| 2. | Kendall Baisden | 50.57@ | |
| 3. | Briana Nelson | 51.33@ | |
| 4. | Ashley Spencer | 51.41 | |
| 800m | 18. | Katie Hoaldridge | 2:06.59 |
| 5,000m | 2. | Marielle Hall | 15:19.26 |
| 10,000m | 8. | Olivia Mickle | 33:40.14 |
| 100mh | 3. | Morgan Snow | 12.86w@ |
| 400mh | 3. | Danielle Dowie | 56.73@ |
| 19. | Melisssa Gonzalez | 58.50@ | |
| Steeplechase | 39. | Brittany Marches | 10:26.90 |
| 4x100m relay | 4. | Snow, Okolo, Akinosun, Spencer | 43.62 |
| 4x400m relay | 1. | Nelson, Okolo, Baisden, Spencer | 3:25.05 |
| High Jump | 1. | Shanay Briscoe | 6 3/4 (1.85m) |
| Pole Vault | 2. | Kaitlin Petrillose | 14-9 (4.50m) |
2014 NCAA West Regional - Men's Entries
| Event | Seed | Name | Time/Mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100m | 3. | Senoj-Jay Givans | 10.19@ |
| 42. | Charles Anumnu | 10.45w | |
| 44. | Basil Fares | 10.46w | |
| 200m | 10. | Senoj-Jay Givans | 20.63w |
| 30. | Carlton Anumnu | 21.01w | |
| 34. | Charles Anumnu | 21.03w | |
| 400m | 4. | Zack Bilderback | 45.73 |
| 24. | Chris Irvin | 46.74@ | |
| 1,500m | 40. | John McNamara | 3:45.43 |
| 10,000m | 36. | Mark Pinales | 29:23.26 |
| 45. | Chris Galvin | 29:35.52 | |
| 110mh | 13. | Spencer Dunkerley-Offor | 13.84 |
| 32. | Jake Wohlford | 14.11w@ | |
| 400mh | 37. | Josh Brudnick | 51.63 |
| 4x100m Relay | 11. | Ch. Anumnu, Bilderback, Givans, Irvin | 39.71 |
| 4x400m Relay | 5. | Irvin, Whyte, Givans, Bilderback | 3:05.13 |
| Pole Vault | 7. | Reese Watson | 18-1 (5.51m) |
| 35. | Casey Wicker | 17-0 3/4 (5.20m) | |
| Triple Jump | 38. | Nick Phynn | 49-6 1/2 (15.10m) |
| Shot Put | 1. | Ryan Crouser | 70-2 1/4 (21.39m) |
| 8. | Will Spence | 63.2 (19.25m) | |
| Discus | 4. | Ryan Crouser | 207-1 (63.90m) |
| 10. | Will Spence | 192-3 (58.61m) | |
| 23. | Blake Jakobsson | 183-1 (55.80m) | |
| Javelin | 2. | Fabian Jara Dohmann | 243-7 (74.25m) |
| Decathlon | 10. | Wolf Mahler | 7,602* |
| 12. | Johannes Hock | 7,573* |
w - wind-aided time
@ - time at altitude (converted for NCAA qualifying purposes)
^ - converted time from mile
* - National rank
