The Lincoln track and field team qualified 20 individuals -- 11 women and nine men -- for 12 events in the 2023 NCAA Division II outdoors track and field national championships, which begin today at Colorado State-Pueblo’s Thunderbowl Stadium.
Lincoln will open Day 1 of the three-day event by competing in six events tonight.
Starting the national championships at 5:50 p.m. is the Lincoln women’s 4x100-meter relay of Hughasia Fyffe, Shenese Walker, Monea Carey and Jovanna Gustave. They are the No. 2 seed of 14 entries after clocking a time of 44.66 seconds earlier this month during the MIAA championships at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
The final for the women’s 4x100 relay is at 6:10 p.m. Saturday.
Next for Lincoln is the men’s 4x100 relay, which runs in the first round at 6 p.m. today. Dimitri Beckford, Troy Whyte, Shemar Fletcher and Jamar Treasure are seeded 15th out of 15 entries after posting a time of 40.29 seconds at the MIAA championships.
The final for the men’s 4x100 relay is at 6:20 p.m. Saturday.
Reuben Nichols will then compete in the men’s 400-meter dash at 6:55 p.m. today. Nichols is seeded ninth out of 19 national qualifiers after finishing with a time of 46.61 seconds at the MIAA championships.
The final for the men’s 400 is at 7:25 p.m. Saturday.
Gustave and Walker will run in the first round of the women’s 100-meter dash at 7:10 p.m. today. Walker is the No. 1 seed out of 23 national qualifiers with a time of 11.21 seconds from the MIAA championships, while Gustave is the No. 12 seed with a time of 11.45 seconds, which also came at the MIAA championships.
The final for the women’s 100 is at 7:35 p.m. Saturday.
Maria Diamond will compete in the first round of the women’s 400-meter hurdles at 8:40 p.m. today. She is the No. 2 seed of 21 qualifiers with a time of 57.88 seconds from last month’s Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State.
The final for the women’s 400 hurdles is at 8:20 p.m. Saturday.
Wrapping up Day 1 for the Blue Tigers will be Shanthamoi Brown, Kewani Campbell and Whyte in the men’s 400 hurdles first round at 8:55 p.m. today. Whyte is the No. 2 seed of 20 qualifiers with a time of 50.58 seconds from the Jesse Owens Classic, while Campbell is seeded 13th (51.74 seconds) and Brown is seeded 15th (51.90 seconds), also clocking their times at the Jesse Owens Classic.
The final for the men’s 400 hurdles is at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
On Day 2, up first for Lincoln is Nichols in the men’s 200-meter dash first round, which begins at 6:45 p.m. Friday. Nichols is the No. 16 seed of 24 national qualifiers with a time of 20.82 seconds from the MIAA championships.
The final for the men’s 200 is at 8:55 p.m. Saturday.
Shanette Allison and Sophia Myers are next for Lincoln in the women’s 100-meter hurdles first round at 7:35 p.m. Friday. Myers is the No. 7 seed out of 22 qualifiers with a time of 13.57 seconds from the MIAA championships and Allison is the No. 10 seed with a time of 13.67 seconds, also from the MIAA championships.
The final for the women’s 100 hurdles is 6:55 p.m. Saturday.
Rashane Bartlett and Whyte will follow in the men’s 110-meter hurdles first round at 7:50 p.m. Monday. Whyte is seeded sixth out of 22 qualifiers with a time of 13.67 seconds from the MIAA championships and Bartlett is the No. 8 seed with a time of 13.81 seconds, also from the MIAA championships.
The final for the men’s 110 hurdles is at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
Lincoln will wrap up Day 2 of competition with the 4x400-meter relays.
Denita Jackson, Diamond, Chrissani May and Shantae George will run in the women’s 4x400 relay first round at 8:50 p.m. Friday. They are seeded fifth out of 14 qualifiers with a time of 3:41.81 from the MIAA championships.
Leondre Francis, Whyte, Brown and Nichols will compete in the men’s 4x400 relay first round at 9:10 p.m. Friday. They are seeded 10th out of 13 qualifiers with a time of 3:09.76 from the MIAA championships.
The women’s 4x400 relay final is at 9:55 p.m. Saturday, followed by the men’s 4x400 relay final at 10:05 p.m.
Annalisa Barclay is Lincoln’s lone national qualifier in a field event, as she will compete in the women’s triple jump at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Barclay is seeded ninth out of 20 competitors with a distance of 40 feet, 11 inches from last month’s Rock Chalk Park at Kansas.
The Lincoln women enter the national championships ranked No. 6 in Division II by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, while the men are ranked No. 18.
III
Missouri Southern junior Brendan Rozier (Jefferson City High School) will compete in the men’s javelin at 3:45 p.m. Saturday. Rozier enters the event as the No. 11 seed with a throw of 214-6 earlier this month in the Pittsburg State Last Chance meet.
Central Missouri freshman Brockton McLaughlin (School of the Osage High School) will run on the Mules’ 4x100 relay in the first round at 6 p.m. today. Central Missouri is the No. 9 seed after posting a time of 40.04 seconds last month at the Pittsburg State Tune-Up meet.