The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA West Preliminary Round
No. 5/5 Track and Field continues NCAA West Preliminary
05.27.2021 | Track & Field / Cross Country
The Longhorns advanced two women’s competitors to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Thursday.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 5/5 Texas Track and Field program continued the NCAA West Preliminary Round with women's action taking center stage at E.B. Cushing Stadium on Thursday. Two Longhorns punched their ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships next month on the first day of women's competition this week.
Tara Davis was the first Texas woman to advance to next month's Championship meet, doing so in the long jump. Davis, the collegiate record holder, jumped 6.86m/22-6.5 (+2.5) on her second attempt to place second among the field. She passed on her final attempt after locking up a spot in the Eugene field.
Elena Bruckner's qualification in the women's shot put featured slightly more tension, as Bruckner surged into the top-12 – the cutoff for NCAA qualifiers – on her final throw of the day. On that attempt, the senior thrower launched the shot a lifetime-best 17.36m/56-11.5 to climb to sixth on the leaderboard and punch her ticket to Eugene. Bruckner's performance also solidified her standing as the third-best shot put performer on Texas record, trailing only Longhorn Legends Michelle Carter and Eileen Vanisi.
In addition to NCAA Championships qualifiers, Texas advanced nine women into the Saturday's quarterfinal rounds. Three came in both the 200 and 400-meter dashes, two in the 100-meter hurdles and one in the 1,500-meter run.
Freshmen Emelia Chatfield (13.24, +2.2) and Aasia Laurencin (13.14, +2.4) both qualified in the 100-meter hurdles as top-three finishers in their respective heats. They finished as the 21st and 16th-fastest competitors, respectively, in the full field of quarterfinal qualifiers.
Kathryn Gillespie followed the freshmen by qualifying in the 1,500-meter run after clocking 4:22.65. Her time was good for a top-five finish in her heat, earning her an automatic berth into Saturday's quarterfinal. Gillespie finished as the 21st-fastest competitor in Thursday's opening round.
In the women's 400-meter dash, all three Longhorns entered in the field advanced to the quarterfinals. Stacey Ann Williams was the third-fastest competitor overall, clocking a 51.44 in the quarter-mile race. She was followed by Kennedy Simon (52.66 – 15th) and Serenity Douglas (53.19, SB – 19th) in the Longhorns' qualifying trio.
All three Longhorns in the field also advanced in the women's 200-meter dash, with Kynnedy Flannel (22.52, +2.9) and Kevona Davis (22.57, +2.8) standing as the two fastest competitors in the opening round. Flannel's wind-aided time is tied for the ninth-fastest all-conditions mark on Texas record and comes after she clocked a school-record 22.47 in the Big 12 Championships two weeks ago. Davis' time was a season-best and ranks just outside of Texas' top-10 all-conditions times on program record. The duo was joined by Rhasidat Adeleke (22.96, +2.3) in qualifying for the quarterfinals, as Adeleke matched her season-best, matching her Irish-record time from the Big 12 meet in Manhattan, Kan.
The Longhorns continue action in College Station on Friday, with the Texas men to step back into the spotlight when action begins at 1:30 p.m. CT.
2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships Qualifiers
Women's Long Jump: Tara Davis
Women's Shot Put: Elena Bruckner
Women's Heptathlon: Kristine Blazevica*
Men's Long Jump: Steffin McCarter, O'Brien Wasome
Men's Shot Put: Tripp Piperi
Men's Decathlon: Leo Neugebauer*
*Multi-event qualifiers are selected based on top scores this season. Multi-events are not contested at the East or West Preliminary Round
Players Mentioned
