Trojans Head to North Carolina For NCAA First Round

Meet Information

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Eight Trojans have earned spots in the 2013 NCAA Track and Field First Round in Greensboro, N.C. Competition begins on Thursday, May 23, and concludes on Saturday, May 25.

“Of the eight athletes making the trip, five are in their last seasons as Troy Trojans,” said head coach Jill Lancaster. “The experience and accolades these athletes have accumulated is outstanding. We are very proud of them. Each and every athlete representing us this week has made our program and university proud.”

The top 12 finishers in each event will advance to the 2013 NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., with the finals taking place June 5-8.

“The athletes and the staff feel we have athletes with legitimate opportunities to make the cut to the final National Championship in Eugene, Ore.,” Lancaster said. “We have been talking about the last time we were at regionals in Greensboro, N.C., when we sent two to the National Championships and brought back two All-Americans in Leander McKenzie in the hurdles and Lamontrey Stamper in the long jump.”

The men's team, currently ranked 15th in the South Region, sends six athletes to the meet. Senior Neko Freeman is making his fourth trip to the NCAA First Round. He qualified in a number of sprinting events in the past, and will be competing in the 100-meter dash this season.

Teammate Benjamin Martin will also be competing in the 100-meter dash, after winning the event at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships two weeks ago. He is looking to follow in his father's footsteps, a former All-American for the Trojans. Troy is one of 10 schools with at least two competitors in the 100-meter dash.

Thaddeus Curtis will be making his third trip to the NCAA First Round. He competed in the 4x100 meter relay once before, and will be competing in the 110-meter hurdles for the third time. Curtis placed second at the Sun Belt Championships in the event.

Lizzie Clough will be making her second appearance in the NCAA First Round, competing in the javelin. The Academic All-American won the Sun Belt Conference Championship two weeks ago with a school-record throw of 47.28 meters.

Nicolo Bolla enters the hammer throw competition ranked fifth in the region at 65.78 meters, a school and conference record. Bolla placed second at the Sun Belt Conference Championships and will be making his second trip.

“I am very excited for all of these athletes,” said assistant coach Shawn Williams, who works mainly with the throwers. “They have all worked extremely hard and on a daily basis are examples of how it is supposed to be done. I look forward to seeing what they do in the throws on the big stage.”

Larry Henry is the other Trojan to be making a return trip to the NCAA First Round and will be competing in the high jump. Henry placed second in the competition at the Sun Belt Conference Championships this year.

Senior Jasmine Patton will be making her NCAA First Round debut this weekend in the 100-meter hurdles. Patton has the second fastest time in program history at 13.55 seconds, set at the Sun Belt Conference Championships.

Jordan Landburg is Troy's final competitor this weekend. The junior will be competing in the 400-meter dash and will look to improve upon his current season-best time while competing in only one event for the first time this season.

“After an exciting first year as part of the Trojans' coaching staff, it is an honor to be able to take such a talented group of athletes to the regional meet,” said assistant coach Chris Best. “They have all worked very hard since the fall to be able to represent the school and themselves at such an elite meet against some of the best athletes in the country.”

Preliminaries for the men's 100- and 400-meter dashes will take place on Thursday evening, with the finals on Friday. Both hurdle events, the women's 100-meter and the men's 110-meter will begin on Friday and conclude on Saturday. All of the Trojans competing in field events will be in action on Saturday, with the men's hammer starting off the day. The women's javelin will begin at noon and the men's high jump will close out the field events at approximately 6 p.m.

Check back all weekend for updates and results.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or on Facebook at Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.

Troy University Athletics

Trojans Head to North Carolina For NCAA First Round

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