AUSTIN, Texas (5/27/15) – Fifteen members of the Arkansas State University track and field team – four women and 11 men -- will begin competition at the 2015 NCAA Division I West Region Preliminary Championships this week (May 28-30) in Austin, Texas.
“It's an honor to be able to compete at the regionals and it takes talent and a lot of hard work throughout the year to get to this point,” A-State head coach Jim Patchell said. “Regionals are the gateway to the National Championships and we have several that have a really good chance of moving on if we compete well. I know that the focus and effort will be there and it should be a good meet for us.”
A-State will have 15 student-athletes competing at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas during the three-day meet, which gets underway Thursday with first-round competition in both the field and running events. The field events start at 12 p.m. (CT) with the men's discus throw and running events commence at 4:30 p.m. (CT) with the women's 400-meter hurdles.
The A-State women's athletes to qualify for this year's West Region Preliminaries are freshman Kristina Knott (100-meter dash and 200-meter dash), freshman Darragh May (high jump), freshman Calea Carr (discus throw) and sophomore Erin Farmer (shot put). Ranked 30th nationally, the A-State men will have freshman Jaylen Bacon (100-meter dash and 200-meter dash), junior Billy Ellis (110-meter hurdles), senior Ethan Sandusky (pole vault), sophomore Roelf Pienaar (long jump), freshman Jonah Wiley (long jump), senior William Oliver (long jump), senior Richard Chavez (shot put and discus throw) and freshman Cristian Ravar Ladislau (hammer throw). The Red Wolves 4x100m relay team of Bacon, Pienaar, senior Joey Meyer and freshmen Elijah Ross will also compete. Junior Henry Offiah travels to the meet as the alternate for the 4x100m relay.
The NCAA West Prelims will feature 48 competitors in each individual event along with 24 relays squads, all vying for a national-qualifying spot among the top 12 in each event. Those athletes registering top 12-place marks/times, along with the fastest 12 relay teams, in both the West and East Region Preliminaries will advance to the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, which will take place June 10-13 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
The schedule for A-State athletes and their heat are listed below.
Arkansas State 2015 NCAA West Preliminary Qualifiers
Thursday – May 28
12:00 PM > Richard Chavez: Discus Throw – Flight 1
1:30 PM > Jonah Wiley: Long Jump – Flight 1
1:30 PM > William Oliver: Long Jump – Flight 1
1:30 PM > Roelf Pienaar: Long Jump – Flight 4
6:30 PM > Kristina Knott: 100-meters – Heat 5
6:55 PM > Jaylen Bacon: 100-meters – Heat 1
Friday – May 29
12:00 PM > Calea Carr: Discus Throw – Flight 1
2:00 PM > Cristian Ravar Ladislau: Hammer Throw – Flight 1
5:30 PM > Billy Ellis: 110-meter hurdles – Heat 5
6:00 PM > Darragh May: High Jump – Flight 2
6:00 PM > Richard Chavez: Shot Put – Flight 4
6:30 PM > Kristina Knott: 100-meters quarterfinal (if advance)
6:45 PM > Jaylen Bacon: 100-meters quarterfinal (if advance)
8:00 PM > Kristina Knott: 200-meters – Heat 4
8:25 PM > Jaylen Bacon: 200-meters – Heat 5
Saturday – May 30
1:00 PM > Ethan Sandusky: Pole Vault – Flight 2
6:00 PM > Erin Farmer: Shot Put – Flight 2
6:15 PM > Men's 4x100m Relay – Heat 2
(Jaylen Bacon, Joey Meyer, Elijah Ross, Roelf Pienaar Alt*- Henry Offiah)
7:20 PM > Billy Ellis: 110-meter hurldes quarterfinal (if advance)
7:35 PM > Kristina Knott: 200-meter dash quarterfinal (if advance)
7:50 PM > Jaylen Bacon: 200-meter dash quarterfinal (if advance)
