JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Eight of the Southeastern Louisiana University track & field team members are ready to compete in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships East First Round which starts Wednesday at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium.
The Lions get started early on the first day of the competition as Terrell Webb will kick things off for Southeastern in the hammer throw, which starts at 9 a.m. central time. His season best toss of 64.09 meters (210’3”) from last month’s Pelican Relays was the 28th best in the region and he’ll look to improve that mark to make it to the national final. He will be in the second flight of three with all three flights containing 16 competitors each, looking to have one of the top 12 throws on the day as that would qualify him for the national final in Austin, Texas.
Day one of the competition for the Lions ends with the preliminary rounds on the track. Eugene Omalla will be the first to called to action as he looks to advance out of the first round of the 400-meter dash. His season best time of 46.06 seconds at the Southland Conference Championships is currently the 28th fastest time run in the region. In Jacksonville, he will have to finish as one of the top-three finishers in his heat, the fourth heat of six in the first round, in order to make it to Friday’s quarterfinal round where they will determine who advances to Austin.
Right after the men’s 400-meter dash completes is the 800-meter run and it’ll be Javon-Taye Williams’ turn to run. His season best 1:48.64 at the Pelican Relays is the 42nd best time in the East Region. Much like Omalla in the 400m, Williams is looking for a top-three finish in his heat, the third heat of six, to automatically move on to Friday’s quarterfinal for a chance to go to the national finals or be one of the next six fastest times in order to advance. The 800-meter run is set to start at 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday.
Day one of competition wraps up with Agerian Jackson taking to the track for the 400-meter hurdles shortly after Williams finishes up in his event. Jackson had he 29th best time in the East Region this season when he finished in 51.21 seconds at the Southland Conference Championships. He will also look to finish in the top three of his heat, the fourth of six, to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal round or be one of the next six fastest times in order to get a shot at advancing to Austin and the national final. The 400-meter hurdles are set to start at 7:20 p.m. central time.
After a day off Thursday, the Lions are back at it on Friday with the men’s high jump competition kicking off at 1:30 p.m. central time, a discipline that was dominated this season by SLU’s Slavko Stevic. Stevic enters the East First Round with the sixth-best height cleared in the region, going over 2.22 meters (7’3.25”) at the Strawberry Relays in April. He will look to finish with one of the 12 best heights cleared on the day in Jacksonville, which would send him on to the national final in Austin.
Friday’s competition wraps up with the aforementioned track quarterfinals, should the Lions runners advance. The 400-meter dash quarterfinal will run at 5:50 p.m., the 800-meter run at 6:05 p.m., and the 400-meter hurdles at 6:25 p.m. central time. If a SLU runner is in the quarterfinal, a top-three finish in his heat or being one of the next three fastest on time will earn him a spot in the field in Austin. Friday’s action wraps up at 7:45 p.m. central as Jaimie Omalla joins his brother Eugene as well as Jackson & Williams for the 4x400-meter relay. That Lion quartet currently has the 28th best time in the region at 3:06.48 from the Southland Conference Championships. The Lions will be in the second of three heats and will be attempting to get a top-three finish in their heat or be one of the next three fastest times in order to earn a spot in the national final in Austin.
Saturday’s action belongs solely to the Lady Lions and starts with the day’s first event at noon central time, the discus and Kristian Jackson. Jackson’s qualifying throw came at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in late April as she launched the discus 54.40 meters (178’6”) which was the 21st farthest in the East Region. She will compete in the second flight of three total flights on the day and will need to have one of the top 12 distances on the day in order to earn a trip to Austin and the national final.
SLU’s last competitor in the meet will be Katrine Olsen in the women’s high jump. Her qualifying jump came at the Southland Conference Championships where she cleared 1.77 meters (5’9.75”), the 24th highest jump from the East Region. She will be in the second of two flights in the competition, looking to be a top-12 finisher in order to move on to the NCAA Championship in Austin.
The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships East First Round runs May 24th-27th in Jacksonville, Fla. at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida. The meet will be live streamed on ESPN+ with live results also available.
PODIUM CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the track and field program are encouraged to join the Podium Club. Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. All membership fees and donations to Podium Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern track and field program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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