Fleming Takes Down Hurdle Record, Tigers Wrap Season at NCAA East Championships

Wednesday, May 22

Lexington, Ky.

TBA

University of Memphis

NCAA East Regional Championships

Fleming Takes Down Hurdle Record, Tigers Wrap Season at NCAA East Championships

May 25, 2024 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Memphis track and field team wrapped four days of competition as 11 student-athletes (14 total entries) competed at the NCAA East Regional Championships in Lexington, Kentucky, hosted by the University of Kentucky.

"I am very disappointed that we were unable to advance any of our athletes through to nationals," head coach Kevin Robinson said. "This is the first time, in quite a while, that this has happened. It is good that these younger athletes had the opportunities to compete at this level because it will certainly help with their poise and competitive maturity in future championships."

The Tigers were highlighted by Madison Fleming as she broke the program record in the 100-meter hurdles (13.18) in Thursday's first round to advance to Saturday's quarterfinals 14^th-fastest overall. Fleming went on to run 13.51 in the quarterfinals and finish 22^nd overall to conclude her record-breaking season in Lexington. Her finish today capped a season that saw her take down the 60-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles school records, win an AAC Championship in the 60-meter hurdles and win a bronze medal in the 100-meter hurdles.

All in all, 11 Tigers competed over the four days of competition. Additional top-30 finishes included Sascha Salesius Schmidt in the men's shot put and discus (17^th, 29^th), Will Dibo in the men's discus and shot put (20^th, 25^th), Poorna Raorane in the women's shot put (23^rd), Gizel Clayton in the women's 100-meter hurdles (26^th), Arina Razina in the women's pole vault (27^th) and Iason Machairas in the men's shot put (30^th).

"Like I told the group, regionals is not the goal. Regionals is another step towards the mission of advancing to the national meet," Robinson added. "Although I am not pleased with this meet, I am very excited for the future. Now, we prepare. Success favors the well prepared."

NOTABLES

WEDNESDAY:
• Three Tigers advanced to Lexington in the men's shot put and the group led by school-record holder Sascha Salesius Schmidt kicked off competition for Memphis Wednesday night. Salesius Schmidt entered the weekend as the No. 10 seed in the East with a personal-best and program-record throw (19.39m) set at the home Memphis Invitational. The sophomore from Borsdorf, Germany, threw the shot 18.58 meters to finish 17^th overall. Teammate Will Dibo threw a lifetime-best 18.03 meters to improve from the No. 47 seed to a top-25 finish (25^th) while Iason Machairas made it three Tigers in the top-30 spots with a 17.75-meter throw.

THURSDAY:
• On Thursday, Julia Konigshofer competed in the women's javelin where she entered competition as the No. 32 seed. The freshman threw the javelin 40.77 meters to finish 43^rd and conclude her inaugural season as a Tiger.
• In the 100-meter hurdles first round, Madison Fleming ran a program-record time of 13.18 to qualify for Saturday's quarterfinals 14^th-fastest overall. Teammate and AAC runner-up Gizel Clayton ran 13.44 and missed advancing to the quarterfinal round by one-hundredth of a second, finishing 26^th overall.
• Jadaja Baxter competed in the women's long jump and finished 37^th overall with a mark of 5.78 meters (18'11.75").
• In the women's shot put, Poorna Raorane improved her seed by two spots with a 23^rd-place finish, throwing the shot 15.53 meters.
• Kyndia Matlock competed in both the 100 meters (11.65) and 200 meters (23.89) and finished 43^rd and 46^th overall, respectively.

FRIDAY:
• In the women's pole vault originally scheduled for Thursday morning that was moved to Friday due to weather, Arina Razina finished 27^th overall with a clearance of 4.10 meters (13'5.25").
• Dibo and Salesius Schmidt competed in their second events of the weekend in the men's discus Friday afternoon. Dibo improved his No. 24 seed to a 20^th-place finish with a throw of 54.78 meters while Salesius Schmidt finished 29^th with a 52.39-meter throw, improving his seed from 46^th.
• Lewis LaGrant competed in the men's high jump and finished 47^th overall, clearing 1.99 meters (6'6.25").

SATURDAY:
• Fleming stepped to the line in the 100-meter quarterfinals with a chance to punch a ticket to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, with a top-12 finish. The junior hurdler ran 13.51 and finished 22^nd overall to conclude her record-breaking season.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tiger Track & Field, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.