Kent State Track and Field to Send 17 Competitors to NCAA East Prelims
5/17/2018 3:26:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
INDIANAPOLIS – The Kent State University track and field program has 17 student-athletes who have earned spots to compete at the 2018 NCAA East Preliminary Championships, the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Committee announced on Thursday. The competition will be held May 24-26 in Tampa, Florida and hosted by South Florida.
For the second year in a row, TJ Lawson has already qualified for the NCAA National Championships in the decathlon, as the multi-events are not held at preliminary championships sites.
For each individual event contested at each of the preliminary sites, the top 48 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition. For each relay event, the top 24 declared relay teams were accepted into the competition.
The men's team has 11 qualifiers, led by Riak Reese's pair of entries. Named the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships this past weekend, Reese will compete in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash.
The Golden Flashes qualified two competitors in four field events. Christian Champen and Evan Lesnick will compete in the pole vault, Craig Stevens, Jr. and Anthony Milliner will compete in the triple jump, Walter Petzel and David Paliscak will compete in the shot put and Trevor Detillion and Douglas Moorer, Jr. will compete in the discus throw.
Rounding out the qualifiers on the men's side are Samory Fraga (long jump) and Brad Jones (high jump).
Six members of the women's team qualified for the East Preliminary Championships, including three entries in the pole vault. Sam Tollerud, Maria Horrigan and Ally Thompson will seek to be Kent State's first female pole vaulter to advance to the National Championships since 2005.
In other field events, Gabrielle Figueroa qualified in the hammer throw and Vanessa Vodan qualified in the javelin throw.
Nicole Yeargin earned a qualifying spot in the 200-meter dash.
The top 12 performers from each preliminary site will advance to the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon.
The complete list of participants is available on the following website.
For more information regarding the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, including how to purchase tickets, log on to NCAA.com/trackandfield.
Kent State Qualifiers
Christian Champen – Men's Pole Vault
Trevor Detillion – Men's Discus Throw
Samory Fraga – Men's Long Jump
Brad Jones – Men's High Jump
Evan Lesnick – Men's Pole Vault
Anthony Milliner – Men's Triple Jump
Douglas Moorer, Jr. – Men's Discus Throw
David Paliscak – Men's Shot Put
Walter Petzel – Men's Shot Put
Riak Reese – Men's 100m, Men's 200m
Craig Stevens, Jr. – Men's Triple Jump
Gabrielle Figueroa – Women's Hammer Throw
Maria Horrigan – Women's Pole Vault
Ally Thompson – Women's Pole Vault
Sam Tollerud – Women's Pole Vault
Vanessa Vodan – Women's Javelin Throw
Nicole Yeargin – Women's 200m
Players Mentioned
