BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Auburn junior high jumper Dontavious Hill qualified for his first NCAA Outdoor Championships on Friday after clearing 2.18m/7-1.75 to finish fourth at the NCAA East Preliminaries and earn one of the 12 spots for nationals in two weeks. Hill becomes the seventh Tiger to punch their ticket to NCAA Outdoors.
The Mobile, Alabama native cleared his first three heights, all on his first attempt, clearing 2.05m, 2.10m and 2.15m. At 2.18m, Hill missed on his first attempt, but cleared his second try, earning him a top 12 spot and an automatic spot for NCAAs. Hill is the first Auburn high jumper since Shawn Johnson in 2015 to qualify for outdoor nationals.
Auburn was close to qualifying the 4x100m relay as well as sprinter Dante Brown in the men's 100m dash but came up just short. Brown crossed in 10.22 to finish 13th, just one hundredth of a second shy of the 12th and final spot for nationals. The quartet of Brown, Brandon Smiley, Jason Reese and David Edmondson finished 15th in the 4x100m relay in 39.75, 12 hundredths of a second behind the last qualifying spot.
A total of seven Auburn individuals have qualified for the outdoor championships in Eugene, Oregon, June 8-11. The Tigers headed to nationals include Kyle Brown (hammer), James Courson (pole vault), Hill (high jump) and Alex Spyridonidis (decathlon) on the men's side and Ashley Carter (javelin), Shaniya Holley (javelin) and Madi Malone (hammer) on the women's side.
Saturday's fourth and final day of action begins for Auburn at 1 p.m. ET with Maura Huwalt and Jocelynn Budwig in the women's discus throw. The Tigers will have six athletes and one relay on Saturday vying for eight spots at the national meet.
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
FRIDAY, MAY 27
Men's High Jump
4. Dontavious Hill 2.18m/7-1.75 (NCAA Q)
Men's 4x100m Relay
15. Auburn 39.75
Men's 100m
13. Dante Brown 10.22
SATURDAY, MAY 28 SCHEDULE (ET)
1 P.M. W Discus -- Maura Huwalt, Jocelynn Budwig
5:40 P.M. W 3000m Steeplechase -- Joyce Kimeli
6:50 P.M. W 400m -- Aalliyah Francis
7:05 P.M. W 800m – Presley Weems
7:25 P.M. W 400m Hurdles – Asia Jinks
8:10 P.M. W 5000m -- Joyce Kimeli
8:45 P.M. W 4x400m Relay – Auburn
