SAN ANTONIO – Thirteen UTSA track & field student-athletes are set to compete the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary, which will be contested May 24-26 at Hornet Stadium on the campus of Sacramento State in Sacramento, Calif.
The Event
The West Preliminary features the top 48 student-athletes in each individual event and the top 24 relay teams in the West Region. Individuals and relays that finish in the top 12 will advance to the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., taking place June 6-9.
Competing Roadrunners
The UTSA men's team earned 10 total event entries and the women's team one to the West Preliminary.
The Roadrunners have their most entries coming in the men's high jump with three. Senior Ty Anderson leads the way with the West's No. 9 seed, clearing a UTSA-record-tying 2.18m at the Texas Invitational. Davante Edwards, a junior, is seeded 31st with a 2.12m height, while sophomore Quillan Haughton is the 43rd seed with a season-best height of 2.10m.
Adrian Riley will represent UTSA in the men's long jump as he enters the meet seeded 18th with a season-best mark of 7.77m. Andre Douglas, a freshman, qualified for the men's triple jump with a personal-best distance of 15.56m, which is seeded 27th. Freshman Danielle Spence will compete in the women's triple jump as she is seeded 26th in the event with a season-best distance of 12.93m.
On the track, Vasha Sheriff will enter the starting blocks in the 400m dash holding the 17th seed with a time of 46.21. Luca Chatham qualified for the 800m after running a personal-best 1:49.91 the Conference USA Championships to claim the 37th seed.
Hurdlers Patrick Prince and Andrew Pirog will compete in the 110m and 400m versions, respectively. Prince – the owner of two Conference USA 110m hurdles titles – is seeded eighth with a season-best time of 13.75. Pirog ran a personal-best 51.58 at the C-USA Championships, which earned the 34th seed.
The men's 4x400m relay team rounds out the UTSA qualifiers. The foursome of Austin Crocker, Desmond Jefferson, Byron Taylor and Sheriff clocked a UTSA record 3:06.69 at the C-USA Championships to claim the No. 11 seed.
UTSA Competition Schedule
Men's 400m Hurdles – Andrew Pirog (51.58)
First Round - Thurs., 6:30 PM CT
Quarterfinal - Fri., 9:00 PM CT [if advances from first round]
Men's Long Jump – Adrian Riley (7.77m)
First Round - Thurs., 6:30 PM CT
Men's 400m – Vasha Sheriff (46.21)
First Round - Thurs., 9:20 PM CT
Quarterfinal - Fri., 7:30 PM CT [if advances from first round]
Men's 800m – Luca Chatham (1:49.91)
First Round - Thurs., 10:10 PM CT
Quarterfinal - Fri., 8:30 PM CT [if advances from first round]
Men's 110m Hurdles – Patrick Prince (13.75)
First Round - Fri., 6:30 PM CT
Quarterfinal - Sat., 9:05 PM CT [if advances from first round]
Men's High Jump – Ty Anderson (2.18m), Davante Edwards (2.12m), Quillan Haughton (2.10m)
First Round - Sat., 6:00 PM CT
Women's Triple Jump – Danielle Spence (12.93m)
First Round - Sat., 6:30 PM CT
Men's Triple Jump – Andre Douglas (15.56m)
First Round - Sat., 9:30 PM CT
Men's 4x400m Relay – Austin Crocker, Desmond Jefferson, Byron Taylor, Vasha Sheriff (3:06.69)
Quarterfinal - Sat., 11:25 PM CT
West Preliminary Results
Live results can be found HERE and final results will be available on goUTSA.com each day following the event. Live video coverage of the West Preliminary will be shown of FloTrack.org, which is available for a small subscription fee.
NCAA National Championships
Decathlete Adrian Riley has earned a berth directly to the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., as he ranks 16th nationally with a season-best score of 7,576 points. NOTE: The decathlon and heptathlon are not contested at the preliminary rounds top-24 athletes in those events earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championship site.
Tweet #BirdsUp