Track And Field Sets School Record For NCAA Postseason

Nina de Poorter, 2017-18 Women's Track and Field

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Track And Field Sets School Record For NCAA Postseason

May 18, 2018 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Tigers sending a record 23 athletes to next week's NCAA East Preliminaries in Tampa.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It's sounding like a broken record – a broken school record.

In recent years as the month of May rolls in, it has become commonplace to see the University of Memphis track and field program sending large contingents of athletes to the NCAA postseason. And, that's the story again this season.

On Friday, the Tigers, under the direction of head coach Kevin Robinson, announced that a school-record 23 student-athletes have qualified for the 2018 NCAA East Preliminaries set for Tampa, Fla., May 24-26.

USF is hosting the NCAA meet at its on-campus track and field stadium, which also held the 2014 American Athletic Conference Championships.

The 23 athletes heading to this year's NCAA East Preliminaries surpasses the previous record of 19 in the 2013 outdoor campaign. Last year, 17 Tigers competed at the NCAA's qualifying meet.

This is the eighth-straight outdoor season and 10^th time in the last 12 years – all under Robinson – that Memphis is sending a double-digit number of performers to the NCAA East Preliminaries. In this current eight-year run, the Tigers' average number of postseason representatives each season is 16.

Memphis At The NCAA East Preliminaries/Last 8 Years

Year	Number of Competitors
2018	23 (school record)
2017	17
2016	16
2015	14
2014	12
2013	19
2012	14
2011	14
*Total*	*129 (16.1 per meet)*

Of the 23 performers, 11 are making return trips to the NCAA postseason, including three that competed at the NCAA West Preliminaries at different institutions prior to transferring to Memphis. The following are the 23 Tigers heading to next week's NCAA East Preliminaries.

Men (Event)	Women (Event)
Noah Agnew (high jump)	Saida Burns-Moore (high jump/triple jump)
Calvin Austin III (4x100m relay/4x400m relay)	Nina de Poorter (discus)
Ryan Champlin (400m/4x400m relay)	Mona Jaidi (discus/hammer/javelin)
Michael Criticos (javelin)	Samantha Lenton (discus)
Davon DeMoss (100m/200m/4x100m relay)	Ashley Pryke (javelin)
Kolbeinn Gunnarsson (4x100m relay)	Martina Rodriguez Sala (1500m)
Jason Kimmet (400m hurdles)	Jasmine Wilson (javelin)
Adam Neelly (discus/shop put)
Naaman Norment (4x400m relay)
Olushola Olojo (triple jump)
Jarred Pasley (400m/4x400m relay)
Imri Persiado (200m/4x100m relay)
Julian Sanchez-Pinto (3000m steeplechase)
Rafael Vallery (discus/shot put)
Luke Vaughn (discus/shot put)
Jordan Wesner (high jump)