The Kennesaw State men’s and women’s track teams sent their best 11 athletes to Tampa Bay, Florida, from May 24-26 to compete at the NCAA Championship Preliminary Rounds, just two weeks after defending their respective Atlantic Sun Conference titles.
Of the 11 athletes that competed in the prelims, three Owls advanced to the NCAA Division I 2018 Outdoor Track and Field Championships that will be held in Eugene, Oregon. Dayo Akindele and Tyler Jones moved on after top 12 finishes in the 110-meter hurdles and long jump while Aliyah Whisby will be competing in the heptathlon championships.
Athletes who finished the regular season within the top 48 times in their respective events, as well as those with the best 24 relay times, were invited to participate in the East Preliminary Round hosted at the University of South Florida. The Owls competed in seven events over the weekend with several individuals taking part in multiple events of their own.
The men’s team fielded Akindele, Jones and Cameron Bolden in the event’s opening day. Bolden took part in the 100-meter dash, finishing with a time of 10.55 seconds, while Akindele and Jones both finished in the top 20 for the long jump with distances of 7.47 and 7.65 meters respectively.
The women saw the bulk of their athletes compete in the first day where Jocselyn Powell and Kamiyah Steet ran the 400-meter hurdles, finishing with times of 58.53 and 59.62 seconds respectively.
Powell’s time was good for advancing into the 400-meter hurdles quarterfinal, held on the second day of the prelims, where she finished 14th at 57.94 seconds.
Whisby and Julija Tarvide both had strong performances in the high jump with heights of 1.75 and 1.65 meters respectively, De’Von Johnson’s long jump distance of 5.97 meters earned her 18th overall.
On the event’s second day, the men and women competed in only two events. Akindele, participating in his second event overall, and Paris Williams ran in the 110-meter hurdles. Akindele broke into the top 10 with an eighth place finish at 13.71 seconds while Williams finished at 14.48 seconds.
Erica Sergeant, competing in the pole vault, finished at 3.93 meters.
The final day saw both Qwazon Al-Khaliq and Johnson compete in the triple jump to close out the event for the Owls. Al-Khaliq fouled in his jump while Johnson finished off her collegiate career with a distance of 12.45 meters.
The championships will be held in Eugene from June 6-9 at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.
