FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The UTSA track & field made it a milestone day on Friday at Arkansas’ John McDonnell Field during the third day of NCAA West First Round competition. The Roadrunners qualified two relay squads and another pair of individuals for the next level in Eugene, Ore., adding the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays that bookended the day, while freshman Nabil Tezkratt and junior Jemuel Miller punched their tickets in the 400-meter and triple jump, respectively. The new additions bring UTSA’s current qualifiers to four individuals and two relays.
A rookie from East London, England, Tezkratt holds the honor of heading to his first trip to Hayward Field and first National Championships, as a member of both relays and as an individual qualifier – the only Roadrunner advancing in three events. In the late afternoon, Tezkratt sliced .63 seconds off his previous 400m best in the toughest heat, qualifying for Nationals with a career-best 45.85 – the top mark among UTSA quarter-milers this year.
The 4x100m squad of freshman Martín Kouyoumdjian, Tezkratt, junior Brice Chabot and junior Gabriel Binion set the tone early with a combined 39.37-second clocking via an automatic qualifier finish in the first heat.
Miller’s triple jump mark of 15.76m (51-8.5) was 12th in the field, giving UTSA another jumper heading to the national meet, while it also secured Miller a second national appearance in three years as a Roadrunner. In 2022, he earned second-team All-America honors in the event. Just missing on qualification, Perth, Australia junior Dylan James was 14th at 15.60m (51-2.25), while junior Jacob Jenkins (14.54m) was 39th and Binion (14.18m) was 41st.
UTSA closed the night in laudable fashion, taking on the most difficult 4x400m heat in the nation and using it to secure a school record of 3:03.72 for eighth in the field. The team of Kouyoumdjian (46.48), Noah Rhodes (46.51), Tezkratt (45.07) and junior Mike Roth (45.68) lopped 2.97 seconds off the 2018 mark by Luca Chatham, Austin Crocker, Caleb Devereaux and Desmond Jefferson.
Chabot also competed in the 200m quarterfinal, finishing 21st in a time of 20.81.
The four qualifying bids on the men’s side join one more from Binion in the long jump from the opening day, and women’s long jumper Ida Breigan from day two. The NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held June 5-8 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
The women’s final day at the NCAA West Region First Round is on Saturday’s schedule, with Roadrunners competing in the 100m hurdles quarterfinal (Ayumi Kobayashi) and the high jump (Edlin Laur). For the jumps, the top 12 marks from the four flights will move on to Nationals, while in the hurdles, the top three times from each heat and the next three fastest times will head to Eugene for the semifinals.
Saturday’s competition can be viewed live on ESPN+ and results can be tracked here. For more information about the NCAA West First Round, check out the Meet Information Website.
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