LEXINGTON, Ky. – Day two of the NCAA East Preliminaries featured the Gators Track & Field women's program which had five athletes advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon and two more advance to quarterfinals in their respective events.
Claire Bryant (Long Jump),
Anthaya Charlton (Long Jump),
Gracelyn Leiseth (Shot Put),
Alida van Daalen (Shot Put) and
Parker Valby (10,000m) have secured spots in Oregon with place finishes of twelfth or higher in each of their events.
Flomena Asekol (1500m) and
Grace Stark (100m H) both claimed auto-qualifying spots in their respective events and will compete in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Outlined below is how the athletes advanced and performed during Friday's action.
Women's Long Jump
Just as the men had done yesterday, the Gators had two women punch their ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Long Jump. Bryant and Charlton, just as they had done at the SEC Outdoor Championships, finished first and second, respectively.
Bryant tallied a mark of 6.53m/21'5.25" which allowed her to place first at the NCAA East Preliminaries for the third time in her career and qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Long Jump for the fourth time in four years.
Charlton jumped a distance of 6.44m/21'1.5", placing her second and securing her spot in the second NCAA Outdoor Championship of her career and the first time competing in the Long Jump at NCAA Outdoors.
Women's Shot Put
Van Daalen and Leiseth were the second Gator duo to finish back-to-back and lock up spots in Eugene, Oregon during Friday's action. The sophomore and the freshman recorded second and third-place finishes in the Shot Put.
In just her second year competing in college, van Daalen is set to make her second trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Shot Put after recording a mark of 18.01m/59'1.25".
Leiseth's mark of 17.70m/58'1" stands as her fifth personal record of the outdoor season while competing in Shot Put and is now the No. 5 mark on Florida's All-Time Top 10 List.
Women's 10,000m
Valby will return to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, this time in a new event. After making her 10,000m debut earlier this season at the Bryan Clay Invitational, Valby has now qualified for the National Championship in the event. She did so by recording a NCAA East Preliminaries record time of 32:43.91 and placing first in the semifinal round on Thursday night.
Women's 100m H
Southeastern Conference 100m H Individual Champion Stark advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships quarterfinals after placing first in her heat behind a time of 12.88.
Women's 1500m
Shortly after Stark advanced to quarters, another Southeastern Conference Individual Champion, Asekol, advanced to the quarterfinal round. The Kenya native recorded a time of 4:07.43 which led to an auto-qualifying finish in her first-round action. The time also stands as a personal best for Asekol, the second-best time in program history and the No. 12 time in NCAA history.
NCAA EAST PRELIMINARIES MEET INFORMATION
BROADCAST INFORMATION
| Streaming |
ESPN+ |
| Streaming Links |
Wednesday: ESPN+ Stream
Thursday: ESPN+ Stream
Friday: ESPN+ Stream
Saturday: ESPN+ Stream |
| Broadcast Times |
Wednesday, May 22: 6:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, May 23: 6:00 p.m. ET
Friday, May 24: 5:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 25: 5:00 p.m. ET |
RESULTS
| Thursday, May 23 – Track |
| Events / Time (EST) |
Athlete Entries |
| 100m H (First Round) |
3. Grace Stark – 12.88 | Advanced to Quarterfinals (Saturday) |
| 1500m (First Round) |
2. Flomena Asekol – 4:07.43 | Advanced to Quarterfinals (Saturday)
- No. 2 on UF's All-Time Top 10 List |
| 800m (First Round) |
41. Jess Edwards – 2:07.46 |
| 10,000m (Semifinals) |
1. Parker Valby – 32:43.91 | Advanced to NCAA Championships |
| Thursday, May 23 – Field |
| Events |
Athlete Entries |
| Long Jump First Round |
1. Claire Bryant – 6.53m/21'5.25" | Advanced to NCAA Championships
2. Anthaya Charlton – 6.44m/21'1.5" | Advanced to NCAA Championships
40. Kendall Brown – 5.72m/18'9.25" |
| Shot Put First Round |
2. Alida van Daalen – 18.01m/59'1.25" | Advanced to NCAA Championships
3. Gracelyn Leiseth – 17.70m/58'1" | Advanced to NCAA Championships
- No. 5 on UF's All-Time Top 10 List |
ATHLETE ENTRIES
| Friday, May 24 – Field |
| Events / Time (EST) |
Athlete Entries |
| Discus Throw (First Round) / 1:00 p.m. |
Calvin Bostic
Kai Chang |
| Triple Jump (First Round) / 6:00 p.m. |
Sean Dixon-Bodie
MJ Holloway II |
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