May 17, 2018

Tech lands program-best five in NCAA East Preliminary

INDIANAPOLIS – Five Golden Eagles will continue their 2017-18 collegiate track & field seasons in next week’s NCAA East Preliminary, as announced by the NCAA on Thursday.

By Layne Weitzel, TTU Sports Information

INDIANAPOLIS – Five Golden Eagles will continue their 2017-18 collegiate track & field seasons in next week's NCAA East Preliminary, as announced by the NCAA on Thursday.

D'Airrien Jackson, Micayla Rennick, Khemani Roberts, Na'Asha Robinson and Purity Sanga all secured top-48 qualifying marks and times and will represent Tech in four events at the preliminary in Tampa, Florida.

The NCAA East and West Preliminaries are the final stage before the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June. Qualifiers from the two regional preliminaries will move on to the national meet.

The University of South Florida and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission will jointly host the NCAA East Preliminary from Thursday, May 24 through Saturday, May 26 at the USF Track & Field Stadium.

MEET INFO

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | TICKETS | HEAT SHEETS (TBA) | EAST PRELIMINARY QUALIFIERS

LIVE RESULTS | FloTrack streaming link ($): http://bit.ly/2IdZWYf

Robinson and Jackson return to the East Preliminary for the third time of their careers, while Rennick and Sanga will go for the first time. Roberts competed in the high jump at last year's East Preliminary while at Coppin State.

ATHLETE	EVENT	TIME/MARK	RANK IN EAST
D'Airrien Jackson	400m dash	53.42	38^th
Micayla Rennick	10,000m	34:25.22	23^rd
Khemani Roberts	high jump	1.77m/5'9¾"	24^th
Na'Asha Robinson	200m dash	23.02	14^th
	400m dash	53.04	25^th
Purity Sanga	10,000m	35:11.23	44^th

Tech's five qualifiers and six entries are the most of any Ohio Valley Conference women's program this season and the most in school history.

Jackson and Robinson must finish in the top 24 in both the 200m and 400m dashes to advance to the events' quarterfinals. From there, the top 12 finishers qualify for the NCAA Championships in June. For Rennick, Sanga and Roberts, the top 12 finishers in the 10,000m run and high jump advance directly to the national meet.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday, May 24

4 p.m. CT – high jump first round (Roberts)

6:45 p.m. CT – 400m dash first round (Jackson, Robinson)

8:40 p.m. CT – 10,000m run (Rennick, Sanga)

Friday, May 25

4:45 p.m. CT – 400m dash quarterfinal (if necessary)

6:55 p.m. CT – 200m dash first round (Robinson)

Saturday, May 26

6:50 p.m. CT – 200m dash quarterfinal (if necessary)

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