Results
The final day of the NCAA Division I Track and Field West Preliminary Round inside Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas featured four more Big West qualifiers for next month’s nationals. A total of 10 athletes in 11 events will represent the conference at the NCAA Championships.
Seniors Damajeria Dubose and Ryan Swafford of UC Riverside joined Hawai’i senior Amanda Alvarez on the list of Big West participants for the NCAA Championships, which run June 5-8 at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. In addition, Cal State Northridge junior Carl Horsley became the lone Big West athlete to qualify for two events at nationals.
Dubose ran a personal-best 4:20.04 in the women’s 1,500-meters to finish within the Top 12 that qualify for Eugene. She placed 11th overall.
Later in the day, Swafford cleared 52-00.00 on his first attempt to punch his ticket to nationals. The jump was good for seventh overall, making him the third Highlander who will have a shot at a national title. On Thursday, long jumper Ted Hooper leapt 25-06.75 to secure his spot.
Alvarez turned in a career-best in her signature event, the women’s triple jump. The senior from Vancouver, Wash., placed fifth with a leap of 43-07.75 to easily qualify for the national competition. Alvarez shattered her previous best of 42-9.5, which she set at the Stanford Invitational in March. Her new mark puts her in the top 10 nationally.
Horsley’s impressive display of speed continued as the Matador qualified for a second event at nationals. On Friday, he advanced in the 100-meters after breaking the school record in 10.23 in Thursday’s first round. He later squashed another school record with a blistering 20.73 in the first round of the 200-meters, paving the way for another opportunity at Eugene on Saturday. Horsley delivered with the seventh-fastest time, 20.79, giving him two shots at a national title in Eugene.
UC Davis and UC Riverside lead the Big West with three representatives apiece at nationals. The Aggies will send Katie Fry (women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase), Lauren Wallace (women’s 800-meters) and Ashley Marshall (women’s 100-meters). The Highlanders will deliver three athletes to nationals for the second straight year.
Other Big West participants at nationals will include Long Beach State’s Willie Alexander (men’s long jump) and UC Santa Barbara’s Jennifer Carey (women’s 400-meters).