Seven Members of Men’s Track & Field Qualify for NCAA Regionals
5/19/2017 12:48:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Seven members of the Kent State University men's track & field program have qualified for the 2017 NCAA East Regional Championships as announced Thursday afternoon. The University of Kentucky will host the east preliminary at the UK Outdoor Track & Field Complex in Lexington, Ky., May 25-27.
Full List of Regional Qualifiers
In order to qualify for the regional championships, student-athletes had to finish in the top-48 of the respective event, or be one of the top-24 relay teams in the region. In order to qualify for the National Championships, competitors must finish in the top-12 of the respective events.
The list of regional qualifiers for Kent State include: DJ Ohlson, Christian Champen, Samory Fraga, AJ Stevens, David Paliscak, Reggie Jagers III and Trevor Detillion.
Ohlson, a sophomore, will make his regional championship debut following his career-best high jump mark of 2.09m (6' 10.25") from the Mid-American Conference Championships. An All-MAC Second Team honoree, Ohlson enters the regional competition as the No. 40 seed.
Champen is one of Kent State's two freshmen to qualify for the regional competition. The freshman pole-vaulter enters is the 16th seed, stemming from his mark of 5.25m (17' 2.75") at the Northeast Ohio Quad. Like Ohlson, Champen earned second team All-MAC honors this season.
Fraga, a sophomore and native of Brazil, posted a career-best long jump mark of 7.63m (25' 0.5") to take third-place at the conference championships and qualify for regionals as the 24th seed.
Stevens, a sophomore, will represent Kent State in the triple jump at the regional championship. At the conference championships, Stevens captured his first MAC title with a career-best mark of 16.06m (52' 8.25"). At No. 11, Stevens is the top seed in the triple jump, amongst MAC competitors.
Paliscak also used a PR at the MAC Championships to qualify for the East Regional. In the shot put, Paliscak threw 17.70m (58' 1") to take second-place and qualify as the 38th seed.
Jagers and Detillion will compete in the discus at the regional competition. Jagers garnered the MAC's Most Oustanding Field Performer Award, following his conference championships in the discus and hammer throws. Jagers ranks fourth in the region in the discus with his school record mark of 61.64m (202' 3").
Detillion represents Kent State's second freshman to qualify for the regional championships. He enters the discus competition as the 33rd seed with his personal-best mark of 54.49m (178' 9").
For updates on the Golden Flashes' performances at the NCAA East Regional Championships, check with KentStateSports.com and follow the Golden Flashes on Twitter @KentStTrackXC.
Players Mentioned
