Track And Field Preview: NCAA East Preliminaries

Thursday, May 23

Jacksonville, Fla.

All Day

University of Memphis

NCAA East Preliminaries

Photo by: Matthew Kamph

May 22, 2019 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

NCAA East Preliminaries (Schedule Of Events)NCAA East Preliminaries (Heat Sheets)

Nineteen Tigers head to NCAA postseason meet in Jacksonville, Fla.

NCAA East Preliminaries (Live Results)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After learning which athletes earned bids late last week, 19 University of Memphis track and field Tigers are off to Jacksonville, Fla., for this weekend's NCAA East Preliminaries. The three-day meet runs Thursday through Saturday, May 23-25.

The University of North Florida (UNF) is the school host for the NCAA East Preliminaries. UNF's Hodges Stadium is the host site. The stadium last hosted the NCAA East Preliminaries in 2016.

The 19 postseason qualifiers are the second-most in Memphis program history, trailing only last year's 23 NCAA East Preliminaries competitors. The 19 Tigers are competing in 14 events.

The schedule starts at 11 a.m. (CT) with the field events Thursday and Friday. The running events begin at 3:30 p.m. (CT) both days. On Saturday, the field events kick off at 1:45 p.m. (CT), with the running events to follow at 5 p.m. (CT).

Head coach Kevin Robinson comments
"You can call it (NCAA postseason) madness or mayhem – whatever you want. It's crazy. It's a great time of the year because the kids are not in class now, and they don't have the additional stress they normally have during the season. This is a chance for them to just be an athlete for a couple of weeks.

"We're excited to take 19 athletes to the regionals. Knowing who we redshirted, I'm confident that we would have hit our goal of 20 qualifiers had they competed. I'm pleased with the number (we're taking), but as a coach, you always want more.

"Now, as we move into regionals, the only thing that matters is to make the top-12 and qualify (for the NCAA Championships). It's a clear mission, a clear goal. We just have to go and execute.

"For those that enjoy competing in heat and humidity, this weekend is going to be a great environment in Jacksonville. I believe our coolest day down there is going to be 94 (degrees). But, it's going to be dry and that's a good thing. Conditions are going to be the same for everybody. We have to mentally and physically tough."

Tigers Tidbits

This is the ninth-straight outdoor season and 11^th time in the last 13 years – all under Robinson – that Memphis has a double-digit number of performers qualify for the NCAA East Preliminaries. In this current nine-year run, the Tigers' average number of postseason representatives each season is 16 (148 total).
Davon DeMoss and Ashley Pryke are the only two Tigers who have previously competed in the NCAA postseason at the University of North Florida (UNF). The duo qualified for the NCAA postseason in 2016 when UNF last hosted the NCAA East Preliminaries.
Ten Tigers are making return trips to the NCAA postseason. They are: Noah Agnew, Calvin Austin III, Saida Burns-Moore, Davon DeMoss, Mona Jaidi, Samantha Lenton, Olushola Olojo, Imri Persiado, Ashley Pryke, and Julian Sanchez-Pinto.
One other Tiger, Vigdis Jonsdottir, makes a return appearance at the NCAA East Preliminaries, but her first postseason trip wearing the Blue and Gray. In 2018, Jonsdottir qualified in the women's hammer for the NCAA East Preliminaries as a member of the Southeastern Louisiana program.
Eight Tigers are getting a taste of the NCAA postseason for the first time this weekend. They are: Andrew Bishop, Sandra Ekblom, Tanalya Gordon, Christian Hill, DeeNia McMiller, Paige Sandwell, Adar Sheere, and Amber Simpson.
For the second year in a row, Mona Jaidi qualified in three events – discus, hammer, javelin – for the NCAA East Preliminaries. Last year, Jaidi became the first thrower, male or female, in Memphis history to qualify in three postseason events.
Davon DeMoss is appearing in three events this weekend when he runs in the 100 and 200 meters and the 4x100-meter relay. It is the third-straight year that he qualified in three events for the NCAA regional meet. DeMoss ran in the 100 and 200 meters in 2017 and 2018, and also was a member of the 4x400-meter relay in 2017 and 4x100-meter relay in 2018.
Ten Tigers heading to the NCAA East Preliminaries hold school records in their respective events. The school record holders are: Calvin Austin III (men's 4x100m relay), Andrew Bishop (men's 4x100m relay), Saida Burns-Moore (women's high jump), Davon DeMoss (men's 100m/men's 4x100m relay), Tanalya Gordon (women's long jump), Mona Jaidi (women's discus), DeeNia McMiller (women's hammer), Imri Persiado (men's 4x100m relay), Ashley Pryke (women's javelin), and Paige Sandwell (women's 3000m steeplechase). Nine of those 10 athletes set their school records this outdoor season. Jaidi's women's discus school record was set in the 2018 outdoor campaign.

Memphis NCAA East Preliminaries Schedule

Day	Time (CT)	Event	Memphis Qualifier
Thursday	11 a.m.	Women's Javelin	Mona Jaidi
			Ashley Pryke
	2:30 p.m.	Women's High Jump	Saida Burns-Moore
		Men's Long Jump	Olushola Olojo
	3 p.m.	Women's Hammer	Mona Jaidi
			Vigdis Jonsdottir
			DeeNia McMiller
			Amber Simpson
	5:45 p.m.	Women's Long Jump	Tanalya Gordon
	5:55 p.m.	Men's 100m	Davon DeMoss
Friday	11 a.m.	Women's Discus	Mona Jaidi
			Samantha Lenton
	3 p.m.	Men's Discus	Adar Sheere
	5:15 p.m.	Men's 100m (if advance)	Davon DeMoss
	6:55 p.m.	Men's 200m	Davon DeMoss
			Imri Persiado
	7:20 p.m.	Women's 3000m Steeplechase	Paige Sandwell
	8 p.m.	Men's 3000m Steeplechase	Julian Sanchez-Pinto
Saturday	2 p.m.	Women's Triple Jump	Saida Burns-Moore
			Sandra Ekblom
			Christian Hill
	3 p.m.	Men's High Jump	Noah Agnew
	5:15 p.m.	Men's 4x100m Relay	DeMoss/Persiado/Austin III/Bishop
	6:50 p.m.	Men's 200m (if advance)	Davon DeMoss
			Imri Persiado