Bulls Finish First Day of NCAA East Preliminaries
5/23/2013 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
GREENSBORO, NC – The NCAA East track and field preliminaries began Thursday at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T, with the first group of Buffalo athletes competing. The team came into the event with a program-record 20 athletes, in a competition where the top 12 qualifiers earning a bid to the national championship in Eugene, OR.
Meghan Manley had one of the best performances on the team, finishing 34th overall in the 800-meter race. She was part of one of the top overall heats in the race, with her time of 2:08.02 good for a seventh-place finish in the heat. The only other member of the women's team in action on Thursday was Donna Jeanty, who finished 38th overall in the 400-meter hurdles, and sixth in her heat with a time of 1:00.10.
On the men's side, senior William Cole finished 36th in the 400-meter hurdle, as he went for a time of 52.74 and placed sixth in his heat. Junior sprinter Miles Lewis finished 41st in a very competitive 100-meter race, putting up a time of 10.548 that saw him finish seventh in the heat.
A trio of field athletes also competed for the men, in the long jump and discus throw. Freshman Austin Ashby had a promising day in his first-ever NCAA qualifier. He was able to jump 6.78 meters on his third try of the prelims, after fouling on his first two attempts. That put him seventh in his flight, and 40th overall. Sophomore Donald McCann would finish just behind him at 43rd, with his jump of 6.62 meters. He was able to convert on all three attempts, going for 6.2 meters in the first attempt before hitting his longest jump on the middle try.
In the discus throw, Evan Palmer finished 11th of 16 in his heat and 41st overall. The junior hit his longest throw on the very first attempt, which went for 47.41 meters. He wasn't able to improve on it in the second throw, and fouled on his third try.
The event will continue through Saturday. Live results will be available through BuffaloBulls.com.
