March 6, 2009
NCAA Last Chance Qualifiers | Live Results Links
Arkansas (March 6) | Iowa State (March 7) | Virginia Tech (March 7)
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina track and field programs will send a select group of men and women’s athletes to the NCAA Last Chance qualifier meets in at Arkansas, Iowa State and Virginia Tech this weekend for the final opportunity to qualify athletes for the NCAA Indoor Championships that will be held at Gillam Track Center March 13-14 in College Station, Texas.
Four athletes will travel to the Lied Recreation Center in Ames, Iowa, while 35 athletes will travel to the Rector Field House in Blacksburg, Virginia. One is heading to Fayetteville, Ar., for a chance to run at the Randall Tyson Track Center.
The No. 8 women’s team has punched its ticket to the championships in two events as the 4x400m relay team currently boasts the nation’s fastest time at 3:33.50 after winning the SEC title last weekend. A pair of sophomores also ran automatic times last weekend as Lakya Brookins (7.22) and Shayla Mahan (7.23) are currently third and fourth in the nation. The No. 14 men’s team has already punched tickets to College Station in two events – the 60m hurdles and the 4x400m relay. Senior hurdler Jason Richardson earned an automatic qualifying time in the 60m hurdles in his first race of the season at a nation-leading 7.58 seconds. The relay team ran an automatic qualifying time of 3:06.11 in what is the second fastest time in the nation this year.
Antonio Sales will be the lone Gamecock traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., as the sophomore All-American looks to improve on his season best 21.19, a time that currently ranks 28th in an event that normally takes 14-18 qualifiers. Sales will run at the Randall Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas Friday night where he ran his personal best 20.83 last season.
Carolina will compete in three events at Iowa State, sending four athletes to the Saturday meet. Obakeng Ngwigwa is the lone representative from the men’s team to compete there, as he will run in the 400m dash. Like Sales, Ngwigwa currently ranks 28th in the country with a top time of 47.08.
Two women will run in the 400m dash as Nadonnia Rodrigues and Brandi Cross hope to improve their times and solidify their positions on the descending order list. Rodrigues is eighth nationally at 53.41 while Cross comes in at the bubble with a top time of 53.95. A five-time All-American, Cross took sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships last season.
The final participant in Ames will be 800m runner Danielle Barnes, who took fifth at the SEC championship last weekend in the mile run. It will mark the first time this track season that Barnes will compete in the 800m.
The large contingent of 35 athletes traveling to Virginia Tech includes three men’s and three women’s pole vaulters. Vaulting for the women will be Liza Todd, Sallie Gurganus and Vica Shobe. Todd, like Sales and Ngwigwa, moved up to 28th nationally with her sixth-place showing at the SEC Indoor Championships at a clearance of 13-01.50 (4.00m), her first provisional mark of the year. For the men, Marvin Reitze, Kevin Brinkley and Matt Shuler will each look to make their way into national’s with good showings. Reitze, the SEC bronze medalist and top freshman vaulter in the conference, currently has a top mark that is less than a meter away from earning a spot to College Station.
A bevy of scorers at the SEC meet will look to improve their marks in the sprints and hurdles. In the hurdles, Ronnetta Alexander, Janica Austin and Trier Young will all compete in the 60m hurdles. Alexander, a two-time All-American, will look to hold down a likely trip to the NCAA’s as her current top time of 8.20 ranks 10th nationally. The men will look to move three to nationals as Richardson will team with Johnny Dutch and Booker Nunley in the event. Dutch, 14th nationally at 7.83, will look to move up and remain safe while Nunley (7.92) will attempt to shed time off and make NCAA’s in his freshman season.
The women also pack star power in the 60m dash where Gabrielle Glenn and Breehana Jacobs will look to lock down bids with Brookins and Mahan. For the men, Johnathan Hancock will look to stay off the cutline for nationals. The senior currently stands 17th at 6.68 seconds. A couple of All-Americans in the 400m will look to earn their way to nationals in Porche Byrd for the women and Quentin Moore for the men. Other runners to watch in the event include Breehana Jacobs, who is a member of the 4x400m relay qualifying team, and Aaron Anderson.
Two throwers that both finished second in their events at the SEC Championships will look to earn bids to NCAA Indoors for the first time in senior Jason Cook and sophomore Michael Zajac. Cook has a top throw in the shot put of 18.53m, good for 13th nationally, while Zajac is 12th in the weight throw at 20.76m.
ARKANSAS SCHEDULE
Men’s 200m (7:45 pm FRIDAY): Antonio Sales
IOWA STATE SCHEDULE
Women’s 400m (12:30 pm): Nadonnia Rodrigues, Brandi Cross
Men’s 400m (12:50 pm): Obakeng Ngwigwa
Women’s 800m (2:05 pm): Danielle Barnes
VIRGINIA TECH SCHEDULE
Women’s Pole Vault (TBD): Liza Todd, Sallie Gurganus, Vica Shobe
Men’s Pole Vault (TBD): Marvin Reitze, Kevin Brinkley, Matt Shuler
Women’s 60m Hurdles (11:45 Prelim): Ronnetta Alexander, Janica Austin, Trier Young
Men’s 60m Hurdles (11:55 Prelim): Booker Nunley, Jason Richardson, Johnny Dutch, Curt McGill
Men’s Long Jump (12 noon): Eddie Stoudemire, Scott Pierce, Curt McGill
Men’s Shot Put (12 noon): Jason Cook
Women’s 60m (12:05 pm Prelim): Lakya Brookins, Shayla Mahan, Gabrielle Glenn, Breehana Jacobs
Men’s 60m (12:15 pm Prelim): Johnathan Hancock, Bryce Sherman, Eddie Stoudemire
Women’s Mile Run (12:25 pm): Beatrice Biwott
Women’s 400m (1:35 pm): Porche Byrd, Breehana Jacobs, Kelsey McCorkle, Radiance Basden
Men’s 400m (1:50 pm): Quentin Moore, Johnny Dutch, Aaron Anderson, Scott Pierce, Michael Varner
Men’s Weight Throw (2 pm): Michael Zajac
Women’s Pole Vault Open (3 pm): Allison Nicosia
Women’s 200m (3:05 pm): Breehana Jacobs, Kelsey McCorkle, Sade St. Louis
Women’s High Jump (3:15 pm): Kayla Blake, Staley Foster, Cory Bowen
Women’s 4x400m Relay (4:55 pm): South Carolina
Men’s 4x400m Relay (5:15 pm): South Carolina
