Baylor
NCAA West Preliminary Rounds
TF: Four More Earn Coveted NCAA Berths
5/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 27, 2011
EUGENE, Ore. - Senior Tiffany Townsend won the women's 100 meters to lead a Baylor contingent of four more NCAA Championship qualifiers on Saturday at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Along with Nick Lyons' berth in the men's javelin on Thursday, Townsend (100m), Marcus Boyd (400m), Zwede Hewitt (400m) and Jessica Ubanyionwu (Triple Jump) gave Baylor a total of five NCAA Championship qualifiers through second of three days at the preliminary round competition.
"Another typical regional day, we had some that competed really well and a couple near-misses," head coach Todd Harbour said. "Tiffany (Townsend) looked as good as I have seen her all year in the 100 and 200, and the quartermilers went out there and took care of business. It's like a roller coaster out there at this meet, but we had great representation and will be back out there tomorrow."
Senior All-American Townsend earned herself at least one berth into the NCAA Championships with the top 100-meter dash performance of the day. Despite the chilly conditions, Townsend breezed to a win in her heat with a great finish for a time of 11.30, the fastest of the day. The senior also qualified for Saturday's quarterfinal in the 200 meters with a heat-winning time of 23.40.
In the men's 400 meters, the duo of Boyd and Hewitt each earned a spot in the NCAA Championships, but not without some scoreboard-watching in the case of Hewitt. Boyd got in the top three in his heat to earn an automatic qualification with a time of 46.15. Hewitt, on the other hand, finished fourth in the second heat with a time of 46.48. With the top three from each of the three heats plus the next three overall fastest times earning an NCAA berth, Hewitt sweated out the final heat as he had the second-best of those non-automatic qualifying times. Only one non-automatic qualifier from the third heat ran a faster time, leaving Hewitt with the 12th and final overall berth to the national championships.
Competing in the lone field event for Baylor on the day, triple jumper Jessica Ubanyionwu punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive season. Ubanyionwu had a solid day with a leap of 42 feet, 2.75 to finish eighth overall.
In first-round qualifying, Baylor earned spots in Saturday's quarterfinals in the women's 100-meter hurdles, as well as the 200 meters on both sides. In the hurdles, freshman Tiffani McReynolds continued her stellar season with a heat-winning time of 13.32, qualifying fifth overall. Along with Townsend in the women's 200 meters, senior Brittany Bruce turned in a solid time of 23.92 to finish fourth in her heat and qualify 15th overall.
In the men's 200 meters, Prevost got off to a great start and cruised into the finish line to win Heat 2 with a time of 21.03. His time is the third-fastest seed time heading into Saturday's quarterfinal round.
The day didn't come without some near-misses, as Christina Holland and Brittany OgunMokun weren't as fortunate as Hewitt. In the women's 400-meter hurdles, Holland finished fifth in her heat with a time of 58.58, but in the final heat, Holland was bumped from the last qualifying spot by a time of 58.57 from Arizona State's Kayla Sanchez. OgunMokun, meanwhile, found herself in the fastest heat of the women's 800 meters, turning in the third-best time of her career at 2:06.77. While her time was faster than one entire heat of automatic qualifiers, her sixth-place finish in Heat 1 led to the 13th-best overall time.
Baylor will be back in action on Saturday for the final day of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. Field events will start the day at 10 a.m., while running events will begin at 1 p.m. With the qualifiers from Friday's 100m hurdles and 200 meters, along with four relays and two field events, Baylor will have 10 entries with opportunities for more NCAA berths.
COMPLETE BAYLOR RESULTS
Note: 'Q' or 'q' denotes an NCAA Championship or quarterfinal-round performance qualifying performance
Women's 100 Meters - Quarterfinals
1. Tiffany Townsend (SR), 11.30Q
Women's 200 Meters - First Round
2. Tiffany Townsend (SR), 23.40Q (Won heat)
15. Brittany Bruce (SR), 23.92q
29. Brittany Carr (JR), 24.56
Men's 200 Meters - First Round
3. Whitney Prevost (JR), 21.03Q (Won heat)
Women's 400 Meters - Quarterfinals
19. Diamond Richardson (JR), 54.95
Men's 400 Meters - Quarterfinals
7. Marcus Boyd (SR), 46.15Q
12. Zwede Hewitt (JR), 46.48q
Women's 800 Meters - Quarterfinals
13. Brittany OgunMokun (SO), 2:06.77
Men's 800 Meters - Quarterfinals
24. James Gilreath (JR), 2:31.81 (Suffered injury with 200 meters to go)
Women's 100-Meter Hurdles - First Round
5. Tiffani McReynolds (FR), 13.32Q (Won heat)
Women's 400-Meter Hurdles - Quarterfinals
13. Christina Holland (SO), 58.58
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles - Quarterfinals
19. Gabriel El Hanbli (FR), 52.19
Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase - Quarterfinals
42. Kristen Hanselka (JR), 10:48.01
Women's Triple Jump - First Round/Quarterfinals
8. Jessica Ubanyionwu (JR), 42-2.75 (12.87m)
Players Mentioned
