The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA West Preliminary Round
No. 5/5 Track and Field concludes NCAA West Preliminary
05.29.2021 | Track & Field / Cross Country
The Longhorns finished regional action with 24 entries to the NCAA Outdoor Championships next month.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 5/5 Texas Track and Field program concluded the NCAA West Preliminary by earning 15 bids to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Saturday. Texas finished the meet with 24 total bids (12 men/12 women) to next month's meet in Eugene, Ore.
The men's 4x100-meter relay team of Daniel Garland, Steffin McCarter, Caleb Hulbin and Micaiah Harris clocked a 39.17 to punch the Longhorns' first ticket of the day to Eugene. The quartet's time ranks as the eighth-fastest in school history and was the fifth-fastest in Saturday's field.
Texas added six more entries on the men's side following the 4x100-meter relay, bringing their total to 12 men's entries for next month's Championship meet.
The first of those came from Jonathan Jones in the 400-meter dash, as he clocked a 45.45 to punch his ticket back to the national meet. Jones finished fourth in 2019 when the Longhorns hosted the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin. His time on Saturday ranks as the 12th-fastest in school history and gives him possession of six of the top-15 times on UT record.
In the men's 800-meter run, a pair of freshman – Yusuf Bizimana and Crayton Carrozza – qualified as top-three finishers in their heat. Bizimana, the Big 12 champion in the 800m and 1500m, clocked 1:49.03 to win the heat, while Carrozza placed third at 1:49.43. Bizimana is undefeated in 800-meter competition during the outdoor season this spring. Both will be heading to the national meet for the first time outdoors in their career.
Charles Brockman III booked another ticket for Texas in the 400-meter hurdles by clocking a 49.69 to finish fifth in the field overall. He advanced as an automatic qualifier due to a top-three finish in his heat.
The last individual Longhorn to earn an NCAA berth on the men's side was Micaiah Harris in the 200-meter dash. Harris clocked a wind-legal 20.20 to finish as the second-fastest man in the field and booked his return to the national meet. His performance was the third-fastest time on UT record. The Virginia Beach, Va. native finished fifth in the event at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin.
Texas capped its men's entries with success in the 4x400-meter relay, clocking a 3:03.53 to finish third in the field as a whole. The team, made up by Matthys Nortje, Willington Wright, Jon Maas and Jonathan Jones, ran the fifth-fastest time in school history to secure the Longhorns' spot in Eugene.
On the women's side, Texas added eight entries, highlighted by three in the women's 200-meter dash. The Longhorns got NCAA-qualifying performances from Rhasidat Adeleke (23.03), Kevona Davis (22.87) and Kynnedy Flannel (22.67) in that event.
Flannel's effort secured her return to the NCAA Outdoor Championships after placing 12th in the 200-meter dash two years ago in Austin. Saturday secured the first national meet berth for Adeleke and Davis outdoors.
Texas added two more qualifiers in the 400-meter dash, with Stacey Ann Williams (50.34) and Kennedy Simon (51.78) each earning a top-12 spot in Saturday's field. Williams' time is the second-fastest in the collegiate ranks this season and moved her up to No. 4 on Texas' top performers list. The only Longhorns she now trails in the 400-meter dash are Courtney Okolo, Sanya Richards and Chrisann Gordon, all of whom have won Olympic medals in 400-meter or 4x400-meter competition. Simon's time was a personal-best for her collegiate career.
Aasia Laurencin rounded out Texas' sprints qualifiers with a time of 13.24, good for 11th in the field, in the 100-meter hurdles on Saturday. Laurencin's time got her in underneath the cutline and punched her ticket to her first NCAA Outdoor Championships.
In the field, Sophia Falco earned a bid to Eugene with a personal-best triple jump of 13.23m/43-5. It will be Falco's second NCAA Outdoor Championships appearance as a Longhorn. She previously finished 19th in the women's long jump at the 2019 meet in Austin.
The Longhorns wrapped up their NCAA Championships entries with bids in the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays. Texas' quartet of Chanel Brissett, Kevona Davis, Rhasidat Adeleke and Kynnedy Flannel clocked a 43.01 – the ninth-fastest time in school history – to get the Longhorns into the Eugene field. In the 4x400-meter relay, Texas' Serenity Douglas, Kennedy Simon, Brooke Jaworski and Stacey Ann Williams finished in 3:29.49 to punch UT's final ticket of the West Preliminary.
The 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships are scheduled to be held June 9-12 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships Qualifiers
Women's 200m: Rhasidat Adeleke, Kevona Davis, Kynnedy Flannel
Women's 400m: Kennedy Simon, Stacey Ann Williams
Women's 100m Hurdles: Aasia Laurencin
Women's 4x100m: Brissett-K.Davis-Adeleke-Flannel
Women's 4x400m: Douglas-Simon-Jaworski-Williams
Women's Long Jump: Tara Davis
Women's Triple Jump: Sophia Falco
Women's Shot Put: Elena Bruckner
Women's Heptathlon: Kristine Blazevica*
Men's 200m: Micaiah Harris
Men's 400m: Jonathan Jones
Men's 800m: Yusuf Bizimana, Crayton Carrozza
Men's 400m Hurdles: Charles Brockman III
Men's 4x100m: Garland-McCarter-Hulbin-Harris
Men's 4x400m: Nortje-Wright-Maas-Jones
Men's Long Jump: Steffin McCarter, O'Brien Wasome
Men's Triple Jump: 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
