May 29, 2010
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Auburn men's and women's track and field teams advanced seven more individual athletes and three relays to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday during the final day of competition at the 2010 NCAA East Region Preliminary Round.
Auburn finished the three-day meet with 17 qualifying marks for the championship meet in Eugene. On the men's side, the ninth-ranked Tigers had six individuals and one relay advancing to compete in nine events, while the No. 8 women had five individuals and two relays advance in eight total events. To advance to Eugene, individuals and relays at both of two regional qualifying sites needed to finish in the top 12 during the preliminary round competition.
"We had a big day and finished strong," said head coach Ralph Spry. "I'm excited about how we competed. Everybody really stepped up and represented Auburn well. We had a few setbacks this weekend but there were a lot more good things than bad. We'll be taking a lot of firepower to Oregon and looking forward to lining up and competing."
The Tigers had three of the 12 qualifiers in the women's 200 meters Saturday, led by NCAA indoor champion Sheniqua Ferguson. The junior had the second-best time in the field of 22.87 seconds, which ranks third best in school history. Sophomore Nivea Smith was seventh overall with a time of 23.15 seconds, while freshman Kai Selvon smasher her previous personal best of 23.86 with a time of 23.52 to earn the 12th and final qualifying spot.
Ferguson and Smith also ran on the women's 4x100-meter relay team that posted the best time in the field of 43.48 seconds. Senior Shaquela Williams and junior Joanna Atkins ran the first two legs before Ferguson and Smith closed for the Tigers.
Auburn had two qualifiers in the men's 5,000 meters, as both sophomore Ben Cheruiyot and senior Jean-Pierre Weerts finished fourth in their heats to move on to Eugene. Cheruiyot, who had already qualified in the 10,000 meters, had a time of 14:04.22 in the second heat, while Weerts posted a mark of 14:13.28 in the first heat. Senior Elkanah Kibet, who was also already qualified in the 10,000 meters, was 27th overall with a time of 14:28.08.
Senior Eric Werskey, who qualified for Eugene in the shot put on Friday, also advanced in the discus on Saturday. While his shot put performance was not a surprise, he was a longer shot in the discus, entering the competition ranked 28th in the field. He snuck into the 16th and final spot in the finals by one centimeter with a throw of 52.24 meters (171-4). Then, on his sixth and final throw, still in 16th place, he improved to 53.32 (174-11), moving all the way up to 10th and earning a spot in the NCAA field.
The men's 4x100-meter relay team also made the field, as the squad of junior Stephen Fly, redshirt freshman Harry Adams, junior Michael DeHaven and sophomore Marcus Rowland finished with a time of 39.47 seconds, which ranked sixth best in the field.
Senior Felix Kiboiywo advanced to Eugene in the men's 1500 meters, although it wasn't easy. The SEC champion and national leader in the event charged from behind late in the race, but was unable to catch the leaders and finished sixth in his heat with a time of 3:44.07, with only the top five earning automatic spots in the NCAA meet. But when the second heat finished with a slower time, Kiboiywo earned the first of two at-large spots in the field.
The evening concluded with the Auburn women winning their heat easily and finishing fourth overall in the 4x400-meter relay to earn their spot in Oregon. The team of junior Cache Armbrister, sophomore CeCe Williams, senior Amelia Anderson and Atkins clocked a time of 3:33.86 while winning their heat by nearly four seconds, just missing their season best of 3:33.16.
Auburn's other competitor on Saturday was senior Scott Novack, who finished 36th in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:13.18.
Auburn's NCAA Championship qualifiers will compete June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore.
Auburn's NCAA Outdoor Championship Qualifiers
Men
Ben Cheruiyot (5000 meters/10,000 meters)
Elkanah Kibet (10,000 meters)
Felix Kiboiywo (1500 meters)
Marcus Rowland (100 meters)
Jean-Pierre Weerts (5,000 meters)
Eric Werskey (shot put/discus)
4x100-meter relay
Women
Joanna Atkins (400 meters)
Sheniqua Ferguson (100 meters/200 meters)
Maya Pressley (high jump)
Kai Selvon (200 meters)
Nivea Smith (200 meters)
4x100-meter relay
4x400-meter relay