Track & Field Squads Seek To Punch NCAA Championship Tickets
May 25, 2016 | Track & Field
NCAA East Preliminary Meet Headquarters
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After competing in the nation's top conference track and field meet two weeks ago, Mississippi State now heads to Jacksonville, Florida, looking to punch tickets to Eugene, Oregon.
The 13th-ranked women's squad and 21st-ranked men's team head to the NCAA East Preliminary meet looking to land one of the coveted 12 spots in each event for the June 8-11 NCAA Championships.
"Our athletes have worked very hard to earn this opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships," MSU head coach Steve Dudley said. "We are excited for this challenge, and we feel that we are ready after competing among the nation's best teams at the SEC Championships."
Action at Hodges Stadium on the North Florida campus gets underway Thursday at Noon CST with Willie Reed and Erica Bougard in the long jump.
In addition to the long jump, Bougard also seeks to earn championship spots in the high jump and 100-meter hurdles on Friday. She qualified for Eugene in the heptathlon by winning her second-straight SEC title with a nation's second-most 6,170 points.
The Byhalia, Mississippi, native rates 31st nationally in the long jump (20-07.25), second in the high jump (6-02) and 22nd in the 100m hurdles (13.09).
Thursday's action also includes Marta Freitas and Ffion Price in the 1,500 meters, and Brandon McBride in the 800 meters.
Freitas seeks to cap her MSU career with an NCAA title after winning the SEC's 1,500-meter crown. The Lisbon, Portugal, native tops the country in the event with her 4:11.52 time run at the Virginia Challenge.
Price enters the weekend 19th in the event with a 4:17.47 that also came at the Virginia Challenge. Â
McBride begins the quest for his second NCAA title in the 800 meters after winning the SEC championship in the event two weeks ago. McBride tops the country with his 1:44.63, the third-fastest time in NCAA history and first in MSU annals, run at the Jace Lacoste Invitational.
Vince Castillo and Rasheed Tatham begin qualifying in the men's 400-meter hurdles on Thursday, while Rodrigo Rocha enters the blocks in the men's 100 meters opening round.
Thursday also sees the first round of 400 meters action. Shayla Luckett and Kimari Martin compete on the women's side, while Alfred Larry, who boasts the country's 17th-fastest time, joins Juston Waters in men's qualifying.
Shannon Fair closes the opening day in the 10,000 meters. Â
Friday's competition begins with Curtis Thompson in the javelin. Thompson is coming off a third-place finish at the SEC Championships, and he boasts the nation's second-longest heave with a 265-10 mark at the Florida Relays.
Logan Boss joins Bougard in the high jump on Friday. Bougard also competes in the 100m hurdles opening round alongside Tiffany Flynn.
Ro'Derick Spears runs the 110m hurdles preliminary Friday, followed by Rocha in the 200 meters.
Cornelia Griesche and Antonia Hehr close the second day in Jacksonville looking to qualify for the 3,000-meter steeplechase field in Eugene. At the SEC Championships, Griesche ran the nation's ninth-fastest time while Hehr claimed the 22nd-lowest mark.
Live results and other information can be found here.
