The Razorbacks and Lady Razorbacks start their quest towards the national championships today. Today is not the actual NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Meet, but it decides who will compete there.
This is how this meet works.
The best 48 athletes in each event in this West Region and the East Region(and best 24 relays in the two relays) will compete. That means 48 athletes competing in the 100 meter dash in the West and 48 athletes competing in the 100 meter dash in the East for a total of 96 athletes across the nation. (24 and 24 for the relays, making a total of 48)
The top 12 in each region will advance to the National Championships in Eugene, OR in a few weeks. That means 12 from the West and 12 from the East to total 24 qualifiers for the national championships in Eugene in each event.
So we want our Arkansas athletes to be top 12.
Here is the spreadsheet that is projection of the NCAA Meet BEFORE these regionals get started. I will update this as the regionals progress and finish:
Men: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-ct8FqzqrUyhzYVfW-oHjMbl7KRiMwP-YEQ0614DjHU/edit?usp=sharing
Women: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Uu91sr2UOceuzGIUPUD-H24DsfGfoHtRkG2s3CLpdEI/edit?usp=sharing
Sorry, forgot to share the documents. My fault. Will do now.
I'll finalize this once the event is completely over, but the Lady Razorbacks start off with a bang. Alexis Weeks, Victoria Weeks, and Desiree Freier will all advance to Eugene, Oregon for the National Championships in the Pole Vault.
The Women's Pole Vault has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
3. Alexis Weeks - 4.30m - Qualified for Nationals
3. Victoria Weeks - 4.30m - Qualified for Nationals
8. Desiree Freier - 4.30m - Qualified For Nationals
All projected national scorers qualified out of the West Region, so the projections and spreadsheet have not changed.
The Men's Javelin Throw has finished. No Razorbacks were in it and all national scorers who were projected to score qualified from the West region so the spreadsheet and projected scores have not changed.
The Women's Hammer Throw has finished in the West. No Lady Razorbacks competed.
Every projected national scorer qualified out of the West so no changes on the spreadsheet/projections.
The First Round of the Men's 400 Meter Hurdles has finished. At these regionals in events that are shorter than the 5K and 10K, there will be two rounds you have to advance through to get to Nationals.
Here's how the Razorbacks did:
9. Kemar Mowatt - 51.49 - Qualified for the next round.
11. Travius Chambers - 51.65 - Qualified for the next round.
27. Larry Donald - 52.25 - Did not qualify for the next round.
Everyone projected to score at nationals out of the West regional qualified so no changes to the projections.
The First Round of the Women's 1500 Meter Run has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
5. Nikki Hiltz - 4:24.27 - Qualified for the next round.
9. Therese Haiss - 4:25.00 - Qualified for the next round.
13. Carina Viljoen - 4:26.43 - Qualified for the next round.
39. Sydney Brown - 4:35.31 - Did not qualify for the next round.
No changes to the projections.
The First Round of the Men's 1500 Meter Run has finished. The Razorbacks had no runners in this.
No changes to the projections.
The First Round of the Women's 400 Meter Hurdles has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
6. Damajahnee Birch - 58.56 - Qualified for the next round.
No changes to the projections.
The First Round of the Women's 100 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
8. Jada Baylark - 11.19 - Qualified for next round.
11. Kiara Parker - 11.20 - Qualified for next round.
No changes to the projections.
The Men's Long Jump has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
6. Andreas Trajkovski - 7.77m - Qualified For Nationals
7. Harrison Schrage - 7.76m - Qualified For Nationals
20. Travonn White - 7.59m - did not qualify for nationals
37. Brandon Workman - 7.34m - did not qualify for nationals
We have our first change in projections for men or women. Ja'Mari Ward, who was projected to finish 2nd at nationals, did not even start the long jump competition for Missouri with an injury. He wasn't the only one, with Kemonie Briggs of Long Beach State also not making the nationals where he was projected to finish 7th. Damarcus Simpson of Oregon also missed and he was on the verge of being projected to score.
Check the men's spreadsheet to see how projected scores have changed.
The Men's Hammer Throw has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
F. Erich Sullins - did not qualify for nationals
Projections have not changed.
The First Round of the Men's 100 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
3. Kenzo Cotton - 9.96 - Qualified for next round.
15. Roy Ejiakuekwu - 10.16 - Qualified for next round.
No change to projections.
The Women's Javelin Throw has finished. The Lady Razorbacks had no one compete.
Projections have not changed.
The First Round of the Women's 400 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
2. Daina Harper - 51.91 - Qualified for the Next Round.
Projections have not changed.
The First Round of the Men's 800 Meter Run has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
9. Rhayko Schwartz - 45.97 - Qualified For Next Round
10. Eric Janise - 46.01 - Qualified For Next Round
22. Obi Igbokwe - 46.86 - Qualified For Next Round
23. Jamarco Stephen - 46.90 - Did Not Qualify For Next Round
No changes in projections.
The First Round of the Women's 800 Meter Run has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
14. Ceara Watson - 2:08.76 - Qualified For Next Round
No changes in projections.
The First Round of the Men's 800 Meter Run has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
3. Carlton Orange - 1:49.31 - Qualified For Next Round
No changes in projections.
The Women's Long Jump has finished. The Lady Razorbacks had no one competing.
We have our first change in projections on the women's side. Samiyah Samuels of Houston, who was projected to finish 8th at the national meet, did not qualify for nationals.
You can look at the spreadsheet for the Women now to see how projected scores have changed.
The Women's 10000 Meter Run has finished. In the 10K, since it is such a long running event, there is only one round to advance to nationals. There were no Lady Razorbacks competing.
No changes in projections.
The Men's 10000 Meter Run has finished. No Razorbacks competed.
No projections have changed.
The East Preliminaries were going on yesterday, too, and here's some of the changes in projections based off people who were expected from that region to qualify who didn't:
Gennard Paul of Southeastern Louisiana, who was projected to finish 2nd at the national meet, did not even qualify for the national meet in the Men's Javelin Throw yesterday.
In the Men's Hammer Throw, Elias Hakansson did not qualify for the Men's Hammer Throw even though he was projected to finish 7th at the NCAA Meet.
In the Women's 10000 Meter Run, Anne-Marie Blaney was projected to finish 5th at the NCAA meet. She did not qualify. Molly Seidel did not even start the race to qualify and she was projected to finish 6th at the NCAA meet.
In the Men's 10000 Meter Run, Zach Herriot of Virginia was projected to finish 8th at the NCAA meet, but did not qualify for it.
Check the spreadsheets to see how things have changed.
The Men's Pole Vault has finished. The Razorbacks had no one competing.
The projections have not changed.
The Women's Discus Throw has finished. The Lady Razorbacks had no one competing.
Cion Hicks of Baylor was projected to finish 5th at the national meet, but did not qualify out of this West Region. Agnes Esser, who was also projected to score in 7th place at the national meet, did not qualify out of the West Region.
Look at the women's spreadsheet to see how projections have changed.
The Women's 100 Meter Hurdles First Round has finished. No Lady Razorbacks competed.
The projections/spreadsheet hasn't changed.
The First Round of the Men's 110 Meter Hurdles has finished. No Razorbacks competed.
The projections/spreadsheet hasn't changed.
The Women's 400 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
3. Daina Harper - 51.45 - Qualified For NCAA Meet
No changes to the projections/spreadsheets.
The Men's 400 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
11. Obi Igbokwe - 45.72 - Qualified For NCAA Meet.
21. Rhayko Schwartz - 46.60 - Did Not Qualify For NCAA Meet.
23. Eric Janise - 46.73 - Did Not Qualify For NCAA Meet.
Steven Champlin of Texas Tech was projected to finish 5th at the National Championships and did not qualify out of this West Region. Kyle Collins, another Texas Tech runner, was projected to finish 7th at the NCAA meet and did not qualify.
Check the spreadsheet/projections see how they have changed.
The Men's Shot Put has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
36. Sam Kempka - 16.24m - Did not qualify for the NCAA Meet.
Dotun Ogundeji of UCLA was projected to finish 5th at the NCAA meet and did not qualify out of the West Region.
The Women's 100 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
8. Kiara Parker - 11.19 - Qualified for the NCAA Meet.
12. Jada Baylark - 11.29 - Qualified for the NCAA Meet.
The projections and spreadsheet has not changed.
The Men's 100 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
7. Kenzo Cotton - 10.10 - Qualified For NCAA Meet.
15. Roy Ejiakuekwu - 10.24 - Did not Qualify for NCAA Meet.
Elijah Hall of Houston was projected to finish 8th at the NCAA Meet and did not qualify out of the West region. He scratched out of the 2nd round for some reason.
Check the spreadsheet and projections to see how they have changed.
The Women's 800 Meter Run has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
20. Ceara Watson - 2:09.85 - Did not Qualify for NCAA Meet.
The spreadsheet/projections have not changed.
The Men's 800 Meter Run has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
8. Carlton Orange - 1:48.03 - Qualified for the NCAA Meet.
The spreadsheet/projections have not changed.
The Women's 400 Meter Hurdles has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
7. Damajahnee Birch - 57.77 - Qualified for NCAA Meet.
The projections/spreadsheet has not changed.
The Men's 400 Meter Hurdles has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
3. Kemar Mowatt - 49.10 - Qualified for NCAA Meet.
12. Travius Chambers - 50.85 - Qualified for NCAA Meet
The projections/spreadsheet has not changed.
The First Round of the Women's 200 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
13. Kiara Parker - 23.05 - Qualified for Next Round
17. Jada Baylark - 23.28 - Qualified for Next Round
Hannah Cunliffe of Oregon, who was projected to finish 8th at the NCAA meet, did not start and thus did not qualify out of the West Region.
Check the spreadsheet/projections to see how they have changed.
The First Round of the Men's 200 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
2. Kenzo Cotton - 20.20 - Qualified for the Next Round
9. Josh Washington - 20.60 - Qualified for the Next Round
11. Roy Ejiakuekwu - 20.65 - Qualified for the Next Round
19. Kevin Harris - 20.89 - Qualified for the Next Round
We've suffered a "casualty" for a projected winner. Elijah Hall of Houston was projected to win the 200 Meter dash at the NCAA Meet but did not start, presumably from some injury.
Check the spreadsheet/projections to see how they've changed.
The Women's 3000 Meter Steeplechase has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
25. Rachel Nichwitz - 10:43.25 - Did not Qualify for the NCAA Meet.
31. Regan Ward - 10:49.19 - Did not Qualify for the NCAA Meet.
Erica Birk of BYU was projected to finish 7th at the NCAA Meet. She did not qualify out of the West Region.
Check the spreadsheets/projections to see how they've changed.
The Men's 3000 Meter Steeplechase has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
23. Cale Wallace - 9:12.71 - Did not Qualify for NCAA Meet.
28. Aidan Swain - 9:20.11 - Did not Qualify for the NCAA Meet.
The projections/spreadsheet has not changed.
On Friday, the East had their 2nd day of qualifying action, too. Here's how projections changed based on their 2nd day.
Sarah Hillman of Delaware was projected to finish 7th at the NCAA Meet in the Women's Discus throw, but fouled all of her throws and failed to qualify.
Brittny Ellis of Miami (FL) was projected to finish 7th at the NCAA Meet in the Women's 400 Meter dash, but did not qualify out of the East Region.
Lawrence Crawford of Mississippi State was projected to finish 3rd at the NCAA Meet in the Men's 100 Meter Dash and did not qualify out of the East Region.
Rachel Pocratsky of Virginia Tech was projected to finish 6th in the Women's 800 Meter Run at NCAA Meet but failed to qualify out of the East Region.
Tyler Brockington of South Carolina was projected to finish 4th at the NCAA Meet in the Women's 400 Meter Hurdles, but she failed to qualify out of the East Region.
Laura Rose Donegan of New Hampshire was projected to finish 8th at the NCAA Meet but failed to qualify out of the East region.
Check the spreadsheets/projections to see all these changes.
The Men's Discus Throw has finished. No Razorbacks competed.
No changes to the projections/spreadsheet.
The Men's Triple Jump has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
2. Clive Pullen - 16.64m - Qualified for the National Meet.
23. Rubin Owens - 15.47m - Did not Qualify For National Meet
O'Brien Wasome of Texas was projected to finish 8th at the NCAA meet, but did not qualify out of the West region.
Check the projections/spreadsheet to see how they've changed.
The Men's High Jump has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
26. Rubin Owens - 2.10m - Did not qualify for national meet.
27. Brendon Rivera - 2.10m - Did not qualify for national meet.
NH. Ken LeGassey - Did not qualify for national meet.
Randall Cunningham of USC was projected to finish 7th at the NCAA meet, but failed to qualify out of the West region.
Check the projections/spreadsheet to see how they've changed.
The Women's 4 x 100 Meter Relay has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
4. Arkansas - 43.77 - Qualified for the National Meet
Probably the biggest loss so far in these prelims was Oregon's team being DQ'd in this and not qualifying for the national championship. They were projected to win this event and maybe even break the meet record.
Check the spreadsheet/projections to see how they've changed.
The Women's Triple Jump has finished. No Lady Razorbacks competed.
No changes to the projections/spreadsheets.
The Women's Shot Put has finished. No Lady Razorbacks competed.
No changes to the projections/spreadsheets.
The Men's 4 x 100 Meter Relay has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
1. Arkansas - 38.77 - Qualified for the National Meet.
No changes to the projections/spreadsheet.
The Women's 1500 Meter Run has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
1. Nikki Hiltz - 4:18.39 - Qualified for the National Meet
3. Therese Haiss - 4:18.77 - Qualified for the National Meet
9. Carina Viljoen - 4:26.60 - Did not Qualify for the National Meet
Elise Cranny of Stanford was projected to finish 3rd at the NCAA meet but did not qualify out of the West Region. Jessica Hull of Oregon was projected to finish 8th but did not qualify out of the West Region.
Look at the spreadsheet/projections to see how they've changed.
The Men's 1500 Meter Run has finished. No Razorbacks competed.
Sam Prakel of Oregon was projected to finish 6th at the NCAA meet and did not qualify out of the West Region. Jonah Koech of UTEP was projected to finish 8th at the NCAA meet and also did not qualify.
Check the projections/spreadsheet to see how they've changed.
The Women's 100 Meter Hurdles has finished. No Lady Razorbacks competed.
No changes to the projections or spreadsheet.
The Men's 110 Meter Hurdles has finished. No Razorbacks competed.
Ashtyn Davis of California was projected to finish 6th at the NCAA meet and failed to qualify out of the West region.
Check the spreadsheet and projections to see how they've changed.
The Women's 200 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
15. Jada Baylark - 23.11 - Did Not Qualify for NCAA Meet
18. Kiara Parker - 23.34 - Did Not Qualify for NCAA Meet
No changes to projections/spreadsheet.
The Men's 200 Meter Dash has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
6. Kenzo Cotton - 20.31 - Qualified for NCAA Meet.
8. Josh Washington - 20.38 - Qualified for NCAA Meet.
12. Roy Ejiakuekwu - 20.55 - Qualified for NCAA Meet.
22. Kevin Harris - 21.05 - Did Not Qualify for NCAA Meet.
Just'N Thymes was projected to finish 6th at the NCAA Meet and failed to qualify out of the West Region.
Check the spreadsheet/projections to see how they've changed.
The Women's 5000 Meter Run has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
3. Taylor Werner - 16:32.12 - Qualified For NCAA Meet
7. Abby Gray - 16:41.35 - Qualified For NCAA Meet
19. Maddy Reed - 16:56.37 - Did Not Qualify For NCAA Meet
44. Sydney Brown - 18:02.24 - Did Not Qualify For NCAA Meet
DNF. Regan Ward - Did Not Qualify For NCAA Meet
A pretty big surprise, Charlotte Taylor of San Francisco did not qualify for the NCAA Meet in this event, though she was projected to win it. Not only that, Amy Eloise-Neal of Washington who was projected to finish 3rd at the NCAA Meet also did not qualify.
Check the spreadsheet/projections for changes.
The Men's 5000 Meter Run has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
5. Jack Bruce - 14:17.07 - Qualified For NCAA Meet
9. Austen Dalquist - 14:28.81 - Did Not Qualify For NCAA Meet
15. Cameron Griffith - 14:36.55 - Did Not Qualify For NCAA Meet
DNF. Alex George - Did Not Qualify For NCAA Meet
Here's another big loss, again out of Oregon, Edward Cheserek, one of the most decorated NCAA track athletes of all time's career is over after he does not start and fails to qualify out of the West Region. He was projected to finish 2nd. Mike Tate of Southern Utah who was projected to finish 3rd at NCAAs also did not qualify out of the region. Get this, Jefferson Abbey who was projected to finish 4th at the NCAA Meet, also did not qualify out of the West region.
Check the projections/spreadsheets for all the changes.
The Women's 4 x 400 Meter Relay has finished. Here's how the Lady Razorbacks did:
6. Arkansas - 3:32.27 - Qualified for NCAA Meet.
No changes to projections/spreadsheet.
The Men's 4 x 400 Meter Relay has finished. Here's how the Razorbacks did:
5. Arkansas - 3:03.54 - Qualified for NCAA Meet.
No changes to projections/spreadsheets.
The East region also had their final day of action yesterday. Let's see if there were any misses:
Kord Ferguson of Alabama was projected to finish 7th in the Men's Discus and did not qualify out of the East Region.
Tequan Claitt of Eastern Kentucky, who was projected to win the Men's High Jump, did not qualify out of the East Region. Jordan Wesner of Memphis who was projected to finish 5th in the High Jump also did not qualify. Dionte Heath of Louisiana-Lafayette who was projected to finish 8th also did not qualify for the NCAA Meet.
Iana Amsterdam of Clemson was projected to finish 5th in the Women's Triple Jump but failed to qualify out of the East Region.
Western Kentucky was projected to finish 5th in the Men's 4 x 100 Meter Relay but did not qualify out of the East Region.
Eliud Rutto of Middle Tennessee State, who was projected to finish 7th in the Men's 1500 Meter Run, failed to qualify out of the East.
Freddie III Crittenden of Syracuse was projected to finish 3rd in the Men's 110 Meter Hurdles but failed to qualify out of the East Region.
Anna Rohrer of Notre Dame, who was projected to finish 4th in the Women's 5000 Meter Run at NCAAs, failed to qualify out of the East Region. Anne-Marie Blaney of UCF, who was projected to finish 5th in the 5000, also did not qualify.
In the Men's 5000, Henry Wynne of Virginia was projected to finish 7th and failed to qualify out of the East Region.
So after the Preliminaries wrapped up, this is the number of entries and who the entries are that the Razorbacks and Lady Razorbacks are sending to Eugene, OR for the NCAA Track and Field Championships.
Women - 17 Entries
Kiara Parker - 100 Meter Dash
Jada Baylark - 100 Meter Dash
Daina Harper - 400 Meter Dash
Nikki Hiltz - 1500 Meter Run
Therese Haiss - 1500 Meter Run
Taylor Werner - 5000 Meter Run
Abby Gray - 5000 Meter Run
Damajahnee Birch - 400 Meter Hurdles
4 x 100 Meter Relay Team
4 x 400 Meter Relay Team
Alexis Weeks - Pole Vault
Desiree Freier - Pole Vault
Victoria Weeks - Pole Vault
Taliyah Brooks - Heptathlon
Payton Stumbaugh - Heptathlon
Leigha Brown - Heptathlon
Kelsey Herman - Heptathlon
Men - 16 Entries
Kenzo Cotton - 100 Meter Dash
Kenzo Cotton - 200 Meter Dash
Josh Washington - 200 Meter Dash
Roy Ejiakuekwu - 200 Meter Dash
Obi Igbokwe - 400 Meter Dash
Carlton Orange - 800 Meter Run
Jack Bruce - 5000 Meter Run
Kemar Mowatt - 400 Meter Hurdles
Travius Chambers - 400 Meter Hurdles
4 x 100 Meter Relay Team
4 x 400 Meter Relay Team
Andreas Trajkovski - Long Jump
Harrison Schrage - Long Jump
Clive Pullen - Triple Jump
Derek Jacobus - Decathlon
Gabe Moore - Decathlon
I think the Lady Razorbacks can take Runnerup. Men lack depth but could finish well above projection. I say 8th.