BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Auburn juniors Kyle Brown and James Courson each earned their first-ever trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships as both punched their tickets during the first day of the NCAA East Preliminaries meet at the Billy Hayes Track & Field Complex on the Indiana University campus.
Brown was 10th in the men's hammer throw with a toss of 68.02m/223-2 to become the first Tiger to advance to nationals in the event since Cory Martin in 2008.
Junior James Courson won a jump off with Kentucky's Matthew Pearce to receive the 12th and final spot for nationals. Both cleared 5.29m/17-4.25 and had the same misses, creating a jump off. After both missed at 5.39m, the bar was set at 5.34m with Courson clearing and Pearce missing, making Courson Auburn's first NCAA participate outdoors in the pole vault since Clark Humphreys in 22 years.
Junior sprinter Dante Brown equaled a personal-best in the men's 100m dash, crossing in 10.14 seconds, good for second in his heat to earn an automatic qualifier spot for Friday's quarterfinal round. Brown's 10.14 was 10th overall during Wednesday's first round. He will look for a top 12 spot on Friday when he runs at 6:35 p.m. ET.
Erik Ebel just missed out on a trip to nationals in the hammer throw as he was 13th (67.43m/221-2), just six inches behind the next competitor and one spot out of qualifying. The top 12 in each event at the preliminaries earn a spot to nationals. Freshman Kyle Moison was 27th in the men's hammer with a mark of 61.47m/201-8.
Competing in their first preliminaries meet, sophomore Ryan Kinnane was 39th in the men's 1500m in 3:50.93, while freshman Cooper Atkins crossed in 3:55.59 to finish 44th.
Auburn's women will begin competing on Thursday with a busy day of action. A total of 12 Tigers will be in action, beginning with Madi Malone and Dani Gregory in the hammer throw at 10 a.m. ET.
A live stream of the NCAA East Preliminaries can be found here. Live stats can be found at https://auburntige.rs/TFEastPrelims.
NCAA EAST PRELIMINARIES
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 RESULTS
Men's Hammer
10. Kyle Brown 68.02m/223-2 (NCAA Q)
13. Erik Ebel 67.43m/221-2
27. Kyle Moison 61.47m/201-8
Men's 1500m First Round
39. Ryan Kinnane 3:50.93
44. Cooper Atkins 3:55.59
Men's Pole Vault
12. James Courson 5.29M/17-4.25 (NCAA Q)
Men's 100m First Round
10. Dante Brown (Q) 10.14 (=PR)
THURSDAY, MAY 26 SCHEDULE (ET)
10 A.M. W Hammer -- Madi Malone, Dani Gregory
2 P.M. W Javelin -- Ashley Carter, Keira McCarrell, Shaniya Holley
6 P.M. W Long Jump -- Janaya Jones, Essence Thomas
7 P.M. W Shot Put -- Maura Huwalt
7:25 P.M. W 400m -- Aalliyah Francis
7:50 P.M. W 800m -- Presely Weems
8:20 P.M. W 400m Hurdles -- Tylar Colbert, Asia Jinks
