Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech To Send 29 To NCAA West Preliminaries
May 21, 2015 | Track and Field
JaCorian Duffield will lead 29 Texas Tech athletes into the NCAA West Preliminaries, May 28-30.
May 21, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The qualifiers for the NCAA Track & Field West Preliminary Round were announced today, and the Texas Tech No. 11 women's and No. 12 men's teams combined to earn 29 of those spots.
On the men's side, Tech earned 21 qualifications from 16 athletes and a relay. That relay consists of Steven Champlin, Joseph Richards III, C.J. Jones and Kyle Collins, who enter with the No. 2 4 x 400m relay time in the region, a 3:03.47.
Richards III will also compete in the 400 meter dash, where he is ranked fifth, with a 45.61. Champlin and Collins both easily qualified for that event as well, but will rest themselves for the relay rather than compete in that event.
NCAA Indoor and Big 12 outdoor high jump champion JaCorian Duffield enters with the No. 1 mark in the region (2.31m/7-7), and NCAA Indoor runner-up Bradley Adkins will head to Austin with the region's No. 4 mark (2.24m/7-4.25). Tech freshmen Trey Culver will join them, as he occupies the No. 29 spot (2.14m/7-0.25).
Trevor Mackey & Nigel Bethel each earned qualifications in the 100 meter dash (10.29, 10.44) and 200 meter dash (20.76, 20.81). Kareem McBride will also run the 200 after the 20.74 he ran at the Red Raider Open.
In the hurdles, No. 6 Chris Caldwell (13.56), and No. 14 Tramaine Maloney (13.80) will run the 110m version, while No. 10 JW Smith (50.73) and No. 19 Darien Tennon (51.19) will run the 400m variety.
Evans Tuitoek will run the 3,000m steeplechase, and event in which his mark of 8:57.13 ranks 37th in the region. Kyle Thompson enters with the No. 21 pole vault mark in the region, a clearance of 5.30m/17-4.50 at the Wes Kittley Invitational.
Jerome Wilson qualified in both the long jump (No. 28, 7.47m/24-6.25), and the triple jump (No. 17, 15.71m/51-6.5). He will be joined in the long jump by indoor All-American Keniel Grant (No. 38, 7.40m/24-6.25).
Kole Weldon will bring two top-10 regional marks to Austin. He has the region's top discus throw, a launch of 59.39m/194-10. He also has the West's No. 10 shot put mark, a throw of 19.10m/62-8 at last weekend's Big 12 Championships.
On the women's side, the Lady Raiders picked up 15 qualifying marks from 10 different athletes.
Texas Tech will look to do plenty of damage in the triple jump, where they have three top-10 marks. Paetyn Revell (13.43m/44-0.75) is No. 1, Viershanie Latham (13.17m/43-2.5) holds the No. 5 spot and Gionna Jackson (12.98m/42-7.0) ranks eighth.
Jackson (6.13m/20-1.50) and Latham (6.07m/19-11) also have the No. 20 and No. 32 long jumps in the region. Le'Tristan Pledger joins them in the long jump with the 11th-ranked leap in the region, a mark of 6.24m/20-5.75. Pledger also brings a fourth-ranked mark into Austin, the 12.99 she ran at the Texas Relays in the 100 meter hurdles.
Big 12 Performer of the Year Hannah Carson will enter with the region's No. 2 javelin mark (56.36m/184-11), and the No. 13 discus throw (54.98m/180-4), the two events she won at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships. Carson will be joined in the javelin by Natalie Baker (46.85m/153-8), who holds the No. 30 spot.
Cierra White holds the region's No. 4 marks in both the 100 meter dash (11.14), and the 200 meter dash (22.78), both of which she clocked last weekend in Ames.
Montene Speight also brings a top-10 regional mark into Austin, a 52.21 in the 400 meter dash, a mark she clocked twice this season.
Natalie Thompson is the 19th-ranked high jumper in the region, after clearing a personal-best height of 1.79m/5-10.25 last weekend in Ames.
Haley Cook earned a qualification in the pole vault, after clearing a personal-best 4.08m/13-5.0 in Ames, good enough for the West's no. 32 spot in the event.
The NCAA West Preliminary Round will take place May 28-30, in Austin, Texas. The top 12 marks in each event will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Players Mentioned
