Two University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff sprinters opened the postseason on Wednesday by advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals.
UAPB sophomore Jordan Pierre and junior Ross Walrond advanced in their respective preliminaries at the Outdoor Track and Field West First Round hosted by Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.
Each preliminary featured 48 runners split into six heats. The top three runners from each heat qualified automatically for Friday’s quarterfinals, with the next six fastest times overall also qualifying.
On Friday, the top three times from each heat and the next three fastest times overall will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships next month in Eugene, Ore.
Pierre qualified in the 400-meter dash with a time of 46.04 seconds, good for 14th overall. He finished fifth in his heat by 0.004 seconds behind Cal Poly senior Chase Walter. He had the third best time among runners not to finish top three in their heats.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Pierre’s time would have been top three in three of the six heats. He would have finished first in heat five, where the top time was 46.19 seconds.
Walrond ran the 200-meter dash in 20.99 seconds, finishing third in his heat to automatically advance. He entered the meet with the slowest personal best in his heat and ran in lane two but nonetheless outpaced most of the group.
He finished 30th overall, but his top three finish ensured he advanced over six other runners who ran faster times but didn’t make the cut.
UAPB senior Jared Sylvester also ran the 200 meters, albeit in a different heat than Walrond. His time of 21.11 seconds wasn’t enough to advance, with Sylvester finishing eighth in his heat and 36th overall.
Sophomore long jumper Pierre Brownlee-Ford was the lone Golden Lion to compete in the field events. He jumped 7.12 meters on his first attempt, which was his best of three jumps, and finished 35th out of 48 jumpers. The top 12 advanced to next month’s NCAA Championships, with the shortest qualifying distance being 7.61 meters by Arkansas senior Henry Kiner.
Brownlee-Ford fell well short of the 7.50 meters he jumped at the SWAC Championships, a mark that would have been good for 16th in College Station.
Pierre will run in the 400-meter quarterfinals at 6:50 p.m. Friday, while Walrond will run in the 200-meter quarterfinals at 7:50.
UAPB will also have two relay teams running on Friday. The 4×100-meter team will run at 5 p.m., while the 4×400-meter team will run at 8:45. There were no preliminaries for the relay events. As with the individual events, the top three from each heat and the next three fastest times will advance to the NCAAs in Oregon.