Troy University Athletics
NCAA East Region Announces Field
5/21/2010 9:00:00 PM | Track & Field
INDIANAPOLIS - The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced the field for the East Region Meet to take place next week in Greensboro, North Carolina and hosted by North Carolina A&T.
Unlike in years past, the student-athletes could not qualify for the region meet based on a standard to be met during the season. This season, the field has been trimmed from four regions to just two; and the top 48 student-athletes based on performance were allowed space in the region meets.
The Trojans qualified 12 student-athletes for the meet, with eight male student-athletes competing for spot at the outdoor national championships; along with four female student-athletes.
On the men's side, the Trojans placed four student-athletes in the 100-meter dash top 48; the most of any team in the East Region. Following the Trojans in the number of runners entered into the event are Auburn and Florida with three runners each, with multiple teams having a pair of runners entered into the competition. The top runner for the Trojans this season is freshman Neko Freeman, running the 21st fastest time in the region with a time of 10.37 seconds. He is followed by sophomore Payton McGhee (10.45 seconds), junior Antonio McLeod (10.48 seconds) and junior Stanley Arukwe (10.49 seconds).
Those same four, along with senior Burke Leonce, make up the five runners who have alternated on the 4x100-meter relay team during the 2010 season. The relay team is seeded 13th overall in the East Region heading into the meet, running a season-best time of 39.92 seconds. The Sun Belt Conference championship team is just 0.21 seconds out of being in the top 10 in the region. McKenzie advanced out of the region last season to qualify for the 2009 NCAA Outdoor National Championships.
Meanwhile, after running in just two races this season, senior Leander McKenzie is entered into the 110-meter hurdles in the East Region. McKenzie, the Sun Belt Conference champion in the event, is seeded 14th overall with a time of 13.92 seconds. He is just 0.12 seconds out of being in the top seven overall in the event.
The Trojan men also have a pair of student-athletes who qualified in field events for this year's regional meet.
Senior Lamontrey Stamper qualifed 21st overall in the East Region, with a jump of 7.56 meters (just missing the top 16 by 0.05 meters). Meanwhile, in the javelin, freshman Matt Braswell is seeded 28th overall in the region with a season-best mark of 65.63 meters.
On the women's side, two-time Sun Belt Conference champion Tiphanie Baker qualified for the East Region meet in both the hammer and the discus. Baker qualified in the discus fifth overall in the region with a throw of 54.09 meters. She is just three meters short of qualifying as the top participant in the region meet, trailing throwers from the Big East, Big Ten and SEC.
Baker also qualified in the hammer, seeded 17th overall with a season-best throw of 58.68 meters. She is less than a meter from qualifying in the top 10 overall in the region. Much like McKenzie, Baker knows what it takes to come out of the region meet as she did so last season en route to qualifying for the 2009 NCAA Outdoor National Championships.
Meanwhile, a pair of runners thought to be on the edge of the region rankings, qualified for the East Region meet in the 100-meter hurdles. A pair of juniors Latoya Ragland and Naquita Rowe qualified 44th (13.73 seconds) and 47th (13.77 seconds), respectively.
The last student-athlete to qualify for the 2010 East Region meet is freshman Lizzie Clough in the javelin. Clough, also a Trojan volleyball player, broke the school record in the javelin on the way to a third-place finish at the Sun Belt Conference Championship. She is seeded 13th overall in the event with a season-best throw of 46.70 meters.
The East Region meet begins Thursday, May 27 at North Carolina A&T; with a berth to the 2010 NCAA Outdoor National Championships at Heyward Field (Eugene, Oregon) on the line.
