SAN ANTONIO — Twelve members of the UTSA track & field teams will travel to College Station for the NCAA West Preliminary Round, which will be held on Wednesday-Saturday, May 26-29, at E.B. Cushing Stadium.
The four-day meet will get underway with field events at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by running events at 6 p.m. Thursday's action is scheduled for the same start times, while Friday and Saturday competition will start in the field at 1 p.m. and on the track at 5:30 p.m.
The West Preliminary is one of two Preliminary Round meets being held this week, as the East Preliminary is being hosted by North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. The top 12 competitors from each individual event and 12 teams from each relay event advance from each Preliminary Round site to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which are set for June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore.
The UTSA women will send seven athletes to the Texas A&M campus for the first round of the NCAA postseason.
The duo of Faith Roberson and Alanah Yukich will enter the meet with the fourth- and fifth-fastest times in the 400-meter hurdles field. Roberson bettered her own school record with a 56.89 clocking to win the Conference USA Outdoor title and break the meet record on May 16. Yukich was a close second in that race with a personal-best time of 57.00.
A pair of Roadrunners will compete in the long jump, as Ingeborg Gruenwald and Oreoluwa Adamson rank 20th and 45th in the field. Gruenwald collected a silver medal with a leap of 6.36m (20-10.5) at the C-USA Outdoor, while Adamson was third with a mark of 6.17m (20-3).
Danielle Spence will begin her pursuit of a second career All-America certificate in the triple jump. The Jamaica native owns a season-best 12.62m (41-5) measurement and sits atop the school's career chart with a school-record 13.42m (44-0.5) set at the 2019 conference meet.
Maia Campbell is armed with the 10th-best shot put mark in the field after shattering her own school record with a heave of 17.33m (56-10.25) in winning her second career C-USA title.
Lacee Barnes will make her NCAA postseason debut this week in the discus, as the Cayman Islands record-holder ranks in the top 40 with her school-record throw of 51.52m (169-0).
The men will have five athletes competing this week in Aggieland.
Bashiru Abdullahi will represent UTSA in the 110m hurdles. The Benin City, Nigeria, native owns a wind-legal season-best time of 13.84 and his 13.61 clocking — the fastest under any conditions in school history — would put him in a tie for 11th in the field.
Andrew Pirog is set to make his fourth career NCAA West Preliminary appearance in the 400m hurdles. The San Antonio Reagan High School product clocked a personal-best time of 51.08 to secure the silver medal at the C-USA Outdoor, putting him 24th in this week's field.
Sam Healy and Christie Le Roux both qualified in the long jump. Healy measured 7.59m (24-11) to take runner-up honors at the conference meet, while Le Roux owns a wind-legal season-best mark of 7.48m (24-6.25) from the Texas A&M Team Invitational in April.
Grant Szalek will make his NCAA postseason debut in the triple jump, as the Perth, Australia, native ranks 30th with his wind-legal mark of 15.63m (51-3.5) posted in taking second place at the C-USA Outdoor. His wind-aided season-best of 15.84m (51-11.75) would stand in the top 25 in the field.
Meanwhile, Jack Turner has earned a berth in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the decathlon, which is not contested at the Preliminary Round sites. The freshman from England will enter the national championship meet with the 11th-best point total in the field, his school-record 7,659 tally registered in winning his third conference crown earlier this month.
UTSA's 2021 NCAA West Preliminary Round Qualifiers
Women
Oreoluwa Adamson, Long Jump (6.17m/20-3)
Lacee Barnes, Discus (51.52m/169-0)
Maia Campbell, Shot Put (17.33m/56-10.25)
Ingeborg Gruenwald, Long Jump (6.36m/20-10.5)
Faith Roberson, 400-Meter Hurdles (56.89)
Danielle Spence, Triple Jump (12.62m/41-5)
Alanah Yukich, 400-Meter Hurdles (57.00)
Men
Bashiru Abdullahi, 110-Meter Hurdles (13.84)
Sam Healy, Long Jump (7.59m/24-11)
Christie Le Roux, Long Jump (7.48m/24-6.5)
Andrew Pirog, 400-Meter Hurdles (51.08)
Grant Szalek, Triple Jump (15.63m/51-3.5)
-UTSA-
