Kent State begins NCAA postseason run in Greensboro
5/22/2013 12:00:00โฏAM | Track and Field, Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
KENT, Ohio - The Kent State track and field teams will be well represented during the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round beginning tomorrow, Thursday, May 23, through Saturday, May 25, at North Carolina A&T State University's Irwin Belk Track in Greensboro, N.C.ย The Golden Flashes will have 22 student-athletes competing in 23 events as determined by the NCAA selection committee.
Forty-eight student-athletes in individual events and 24 teams in relay events will compete at each of the preliminary round sites, Greensboro, N.C. in the East and Austin, Tex. in the West.ย The top 12 competitors in each individual event and top 12 teams in each relay event from each of the preliminary round sites advance to the NCAA Finals June 5-8 hosted by the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore.
Thursday's field action in Greensboro begins at 10 a.m. with the men's discus.ย The women's 400-meter hurdles kick off the track events at 4:30 p.m.ย ย Click here for the full three-day schedule of events.ย
Click here to follow the competition each day with live scoring from Greensboro.
Kent State's women's team, fresh off its fourth straight Mid-American Conference championship on May 11 at the University of Akron, has a bevy of talent making the trip to Greensboro.
Leading the way is freshmanย Dior Delophontย (Nancy, France), who qualified in the high jump and the triple jump.ย Delophont, the Outdoor MAC champ in both events, is ranked 13thย in the high jump at 6 feet and 28thย in the triple jump at 41-8.ย She was an All-American in both events during the Indoor season in March.
The Flashes also have preliminary round qualifiers and MAC champs in freshmanย Hannah Fleckย (Celina, Ohio) in the 1,500; sophomoreย Roseanne Ericksonย (Alexandria, Minn.) in the long jump; juniorย Joh'vonnie Mosleyย (Youngstown, Ohio) in the shot put; and seniorย Sara Oczypokย (Pittsburgh, Pa.) in the javelin throw.ย
Fleck is ranked 45thย at 4 minutes, 24.22 seconds; Erickson is 18thย at 20-4.25; Mosley is 15thย at 52-9.25; and Oczypok is 17thย at 156-5.
Juniorย Shanequa Williamsย (Akron, Ohio) qualified in the 200 and the 400.ย Williams is ranked 43rdย in the 200 at 23.84 and 45thย in the 400 at 54.35.
Juniorย Ann Marie Duffusย (North Clarendon, Jamaica) and freshmanย Danniel Thomasย (Shrewsbery, Jamaica) each also qualified in a pair of events.ย
Duffus is ranked 45thย in 13.68 in the 100 hurdles and 47thย in 19-10.75 in the long jump.ย Thomas is 11thย in the discus at 172-8 and 21stin the shot put at 51-2.75.
Sophomoreย Jackie Leppelmeierย (McComb, Ohio), the Kent State record holder, is 14thย at 199-5 in the hammer throw.
Also qualifying to Greensboro on the women's side are seniorย Melinda Sawnorย (Rochester, N.Y.) in the 800, 36thย at 2:07.47; seniorย Domenica Rossiย (Middleburg Heights, Ohio) in the pole vault, 24thย at 13-1.75; and juniorย C.J. Carlisleย (Garrettsville, Ohio) in the javelin, 18thย at 155-11.
Sophomoreย Matthias Tayalaย (McDonald, Ohio) leads a strong contingent on the men's team, which is coming off a third straight runner-up finish in the MAC.ย Tayala, the MAC hammer throw champ, is ranked 4thย in that event at 217-9 and is 16thย in the discus at 185-7.ย
Four other MAC champs on the men's team will be competing at the East prelims as well with seniorย Brian Florekย (Matawan, N.J.) in the javelin; seniorย Brandon Baileyย (Pittsburgh, Pa.) in the 400; sophomoreย Jacob Swordsย (Akron, Ohio) in the 800; and freshmanย Wayne Gordonย (Amherst, N.Y.) in the 200.
Florek is 18thย in the javelin at 223-5; Bailey is 36thย in the 400 at 47.21; Swords is 40thย in the 800 at 1:49.93; and Gordon is 44thย in the 200 at 21.00.
Freshmanย Reggie Jagersย (Cleveland, Ohio) is 20thย in the discus at 183-8.
The Flashes have four other qualifiers on the men's side including sophomoreย Miles Dunlapย (McDonald, Ohio) in the 400 hurdles, 37thย at 52.43; freshmanย Cody Jonesย (Canton, Ohio) in the high jump; 37thย at 6-10.75; freshmanย Jesse Oxleyย (Sugar Grove, Ohio) in the pole vault, 32ndย at 16-8.75; and freshmanย Michael Kingย (Salem, Ohio) in the shot put, 46thย at 56-2.5.
Clickย hereย for more information on the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
