The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA West Preliminaries
Women's Track and Field claims three spots at NCAA Championships
05.26.2022 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Twelve Longhorns advance to Saturday's quarterfinals.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Three more Longhorns of the women's No. 1 track and field team punched their ticket to the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Ackelia Smith and Tyra Gittens finished in the top 10 of the women's long jump to earn a spot a nationals and were the first Longhorns on the women's side to earn a spot. Gittens finished fifth with a jump of 6.40m (21-0) to book a spot, while Smith finished seventh at 6.32m (20-9). As a freshman, Smith will now represent the Longhorns in both the indoor and outdoor championships.
Marilyn Nwora was the final Longhorn to earn a spot at Nationals in the shot put with a throw of 17.04m (55-11). This will be the first time in career that Nwora will compete at the NCAA Championships.
The track was hot for Texas as 12 of the 13 entries advanced to Saturday's quarterfinals.
Starting the day, Emelia Chatfield finished second in Heat 1 with her time of 13.23 to advance to the next round.
All three Longhorns advanced to the 100m quarterfinals, including Julien Alfred who recorded the fastest time of the day at 11.00 for a facility record. Kevona Davis qualified for her first of two quarterfinals with a time of 11.37, while Kynnedy Flannel also advanced at 11.50.
Both Stacey Ann Williams and Kennedy Simon advanced to the next round of the 400m, with Williams running the top time of the day at 50.70 seconds. Simon ran the third-fastest at 51.27.
Valery Tobias won Heat 2 of the 800m to advance to Saturday with a time of 2:05.92.
In the 400m hurdles, Milan Young finished second in Heat 4 with her time of 57.62, while Brooke Jaworski finished with a time of 58.14 to move on.
The men return to action tomorrow for their chance to reach the National meet starting at 1 p.m., in the discus.
Players Mentioned
