JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - On the third day of competition in Jacksonville, Florida at the NCAA East Preliminaries, Auburn sprinter Makanakaishe Charamba posted the fastest 200m time in the nation, crossing the line in 19.79 (+2.4 m/s) to punch his ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Auburn track & field also saw nine athletes advance to NCAAs.
Racing at the Hodges Stadium on the University of North Florida campus, Charamba qualified for his second NCAA Outdoor Championships in back-to-back outdoor seasons.
Racing in the same 200m heat as Charamba, senior Dario Matau ran 20.19 (+2.4 m/s). Matau’s time was the ninth fastest of the day and this will be the Sandton, South African native’s first time competing in the 200m at the outdoor championships at the highest level.
Auburn’s 2025 SEC silver medalist in the 110m hurdles, Ja'Kobe Tharp, qualified in the event after running 13.14, the top time of the event and breaking his own program record by one-hundredth of a second.
Auburn discus thrower Seth Allen came up big for the Tigers. Allen entered the meet ranked 19th nationally and delivered the furthest throw of the day, tying his collegiate best (60.95m). The junior from Austell, Georgia, will compete in his second NCAAs and first for Auburn.
The 100m sprinting duo of sophomore Kayinsola Ajayi and freshman Israel Okon punched their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Ajayi, who broke the freshman record in the 100m at last year’s NCAA East Preliminaries, ran the second fastest time of the day. He delivered a personal best time of 9.95, just one-hundredths of a second off the Auburn record.
Israel Okon ran 10.13 in the race, which was good enough to earn the final spot in Eugene.
Auburn’s 4x100m relay advanced to nationals, hoping to defend their national title. The quartet of junior Azeem Fahmi, Ajayi, Matau, and Charamba finished second in their heat to automatically qualify for nationals with the second fastest time overall (38.51).
After the women’s pole vault competition was pushed back due to inclement weather during the original start time on Thursday, junior Alyssa Quinones-Mixon punched her ticket to the championships earlier in the day. The San Antonio, Texas native cleared 4.24m, tying for fifth and advancing to NCAAs for the second year in a row. She is the second Auburn woman in school history to advance to nationals, joining Jessie Johnson, who advanced in 2015.
The women’s shot put event was also pushed back to Thursday for inclement weather. Sophomore Megan Hague saved her best throw for last. She earned her second trip to NCAAs in shot put with a toss of 17.00m. She went on to finish eighth overall.
The fourth and final day of the NCAA East Preliminaries starts Saturday at noon CT with the women’s discus throw. Freshman Camryn Massey and seniors Maura Huwalt will compete in the event along with nine individual women and one relay competing to secure spots at the national championships in Eugene, Oregon, at the historic Hayward Field.
NCAA East Preliminaries – Day 3 Results
Hodges Stadium; University of North Florida – Jacksonville, Florida
May 30, 2025
Women’s Pole Vault
- Alyssa Quinones-Mixon, 4.24m *NCAA QUALIFIER
Women’s Shot Put
- Megan Hague, 17.00m *NCAA QUALIFIER
16. Camryn Massey, 16.41m
28. Maura Huwalt, 15.35m
Men’s Discus
- Seth Allen, 60.95m *NCAA QUALIFIER
Men’s 4x100m Relay
- Auburn, 38.51 *NCAA QUALIFIER
Fahmi, Ajayi, Matau, Charamba
Men’s 110m Hurdles
- Ja’Kobe Tharp, 13.14 *NCAA QUALIFIER
Men’s 100m
- Kayinsola Ajayi, 9.95 *NCAA QUALIFIER
12. Israel Okon, 10.13 *NCAA QUALIFIER
16. Azeem Fahmi, 10.20
22. Ian Myers, 10.31
Men’s 200m
- Makanakaishe Charamba, 19.79 *NCAA QUALIFIER
9. Dario Matau, 20.19 *NCAA QUALIFIER
21. Ian Myers, 20.73