University of Tennessee Athletics
Photo by: Cayce Smith/Tennessee Athletics
Vols Punch 10 Tickets To Nationals Friday At NCAA East Prelims
May 26, 2023 | Track & Field, Cross Country
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The eighth-ranked Tennessee men's track & field program battled windy conditions and qualified 10 entries for the 2023 NCAA Outdoor National Championships on Friday at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, running the team total to 11 for the upcoming national meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Junior sprinter Javonte Harding secured two spots at nationals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, finishing eighth and third in those events respectively. With a heavy tailwind measured at +5.5 m/s, the Prince George, Virginia, dipped under 10 seconds for the first time in his career with a mark of 9.98 in the 100-meter, then came back in the 200 to run a slightly wind-aided (+2.2 m/s) time of 20.00 to win his heat and automatically advance to Austin.
Including marks at all conditions, Harding's time in the 200-meter ties former Vol Christian Coleman for the 14th-fastest in the world this year.
A pair of Vols punched their tickets to nationals in the 5,000-meter run under the lights of Hodges Stadium, beginning with junior Yaseen Abdalla placing third in the opening heat with a time of 13:53.80. Graduate student Dylan Jacobs earned his second entry to nationals in the second heat, crossing the line first in 14:03.91 to automatically book a spot in the NCAA 5k final.
Alongside Harvard's Graham Blanks, Jacobs was one of two athletes out of the East Region to qualify for the national meet in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter run.
Tennessee also saw a pair of international athletes qualify in the 400-meter hurdles. Rasheeme Griffith (Bridgetown, Barbados) took third in his heat with a time of 50.76 seconds to automatically advance, while Clement Ducos (Bordeaux, France) was the fastest timed qualifier with a mark of 50.90. The Vols nearly sent a trio of quarter hurdlers to Austin, as senior Jakwan Hale was the first man out after finishing with a time of 51.40.
Opening Friday's competition with the 110-meter hurdles, UT graduate student Rasheem Brown booked his second consecutive trip to nationals after winning Heat 1 with a wind-aided (+5.8 m/s) time of 13.45 seconds.
Entering the weekend as the nation's leader in the 110-meter hurdles, Tennessee grad student Devon Brooks competed in the first heat of Friday's quarterfinal, suffered an apparent upper body injury and was unable to finish the race. In the second heat, redshirt freshman Leonard Mustari sustained a lower body injury after another competitor's false start and was unable to complete the event.
Graduate student Jesse Henderson represented the Vols in the third heat of the 110-meter hurdles, running a time of 13.73 to place 12th overall — missing the cut for the NCAA Championships by three hundredths of a second.
Competing in his first career NCAA outdoor quarterfinal as an individual, Tennessee senior Emmanuel Bynum punched his ticket in the 400-meter dash. The Memphis native took second in his heat with a time of 46.27 seconds, placing fourth overall in the regional field.
Arriving in Jacksonville as the No. 29 regional seed in the triple jump at 15.44 meters (50-8), UT senior Garison Breeding used his final attempt on Friday to go 15.80 meters (51-10) to take an early lead after two flights of competition. With 24 competitors remaining, his mark held on for an 11th-place finish to qualify the Midland, Texas, native for his first career national championship.
UP NEXT: The 2023 NCAA East Preliminary Rounds will wrap up Saturday with the Lady Vols competing in 10 events. Freshman high jumper Cheyla Scott gets the action started at 2:30 p.m., and the meet will conclude with the 4x400-meter relay at 8:45 p.m.
Junior sprinter Javonte Harding secured two spots at nationals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, finishing eighth and third in those events respectively. With a heavy tailwind measured at +5.5 m/s, the Prince George, Virginia, dipped under 10 seconds for the first time in his career with a mark of 9.98 in the 100-meter, then came back in the 200 to run a slightly wind-aided (+2.2 m/s) time of 20.00 to win his heat and automatically advance to Austin.
Including marks at all conditions, Harding's time in the 200-meter ties former Vol Christian Coleman for the 14th-fastest in the world this year.
A pair of Vols punched their tickets to nationals in the 5,000-meter run under the lights of Hodges Stadium, beginning with junior Yaseen Abdalla placing third in the opening heat with a time of 13:53.80. Graduate student Dylan Jacobs earned his second entry to nationals in the second heat, crossing the line first in 14:03.91 to automatically book a spot in the NCAA 5k final.
Alongside Harvard's Graham Blanks, Jacobs was one of two athletes out of the East Region to qualify for the national meet in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter run.
Tennessee also saw a pair of international athletes qualify in the 400-meter hurdles. Rasheeme Griffith (Bridgetown, Barbados) took third in his heat with a time of 50.76 seconds to automatically advance, while Clement Ducos (Bordeaux, France) was the fastest timed qualifier with a mark of 50.90. The Vols nearly sent a trio of quarter hurdlers to Austin, as senior Jakwan Hale was the first man out after finishing with a time of 51.40.
Opening Friday's competition with the 110-meter hurdles, UT graduate student Rasheem Brown booked his second consecutive trip to nationals after winning Heat 1 with a wind-aided (+5.8 m/s) time of 13.45 seconds.
Entering the weekend as the nation's leader in the 110-meter hurdles, Tennessee grad student Devon Brooks competed in the first heat of Friday's quarterfinal, suffered an apparent upper body injury and was unable to finish the race. In the second heat, redshirt freshman Leonard Mustari sustained a lower body injury after another competitor's false start and was unable to complete the event.
Graduate student Jesse Henderson represented the Vols in the third heat of the 110-meter hurdles, running a time of 13.73 to place 12th overall — missing the cut for the NCAA Championships by three hundredths of a second.
Competing in his first career NCAA outdoor quarterfinal as an individual, Tennessee senior Emmanuel Bynum punched his ticket in the 400-meter dash. The Memphis native took second in his heat with a time of 46.27 seconds, placing fourth overall in the regional field.
Arriving in Jacksonville as the No. 29 regional seed in the triple jump at 15.44 meters (50-8), UT senior Garison Breeding used his final attempt on Friday to go 15.80 meters (51-10) to take an early lead after two flights of competition. With 24 competitors remaining, his mark held on for an 11th-place finish to qualify the Midland, Texas, native for his first career national championship.
UP NEXT: The 2023 NCAA East Preliminary Rounds will wrap up Saturday with the Lady Vols competing in 10 events. Freshman high jumper Cheyla Scott gets the action started at 2:30 p.m., and the meet will conclude with the 4x400-meter relay at 8:45 p.m.
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