Eight University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff athletes were selected for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field First Round, the NCAA announced Thursday.
Men’s senior high jumper Caleb Snowden, currently ranked No. 2 in the West region, will be joined by six other men and one woman in representing UAPB in the West First Round meet at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, hosted by the University of Arkansas. The meet will be held May 22-25.
Snowden, coming off a SWAC championship earlier this month, is second only to Nebraska junior Tyus Wilson. Snowden’s season-best jump was 2.27 meters, a mark Wilson beat this month with a leap of 2.29 meters.
UAPB women’s high jumper Jaylynn Hampton will also compete in Fayetteville. She is ranked 44th in the West with a season-best of 1.75 meters.
The two jumpers will be joined by six men’s sprinters. Ross Walrond, Jared Sylvester and Mohamed Soumare all qualified in the men’s 200-meter dash, while Jordan Pierre qualified in the men’s 400-meter dash.
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UAPB’s men’s 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relay teams also qualified. The above four sprinters are joined by Dwight Henry and Christopher Coleman as the potential runners in those events.
The top 48 competitors in the West in each individual event qualified for the meet, along with the top 24 relay teams. The top 12 finishers in each event will advance to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Nationals will be held June 5-8.
Snowden is considered a sure bet to qualify after spending much of the year ranked No. 1. The rest of UAPB’s participants will likely need to set new personal records to advance.
UAPB has an athlete or team ranked in the top 20 in three other events. The 4×400 team enters the meet ranked 17th. Walrond is ranked 18th in the 200-meters, and Pierre is ranked 20th in the 400-meters.
The Golden Lions’ sprinters will compete in preliminaries Wednesday. The 400-meter prelims are scheduled for 7:25 p.m., with the 200-meter prelims at 8:45.
Snowden will compete at 2 p.m. Friday with the sprint finals and relay events that evening. The 4×100-meter relays will run at 5 p.m. The 400-meter finals will start at 6:50, with the 200-meter finals at 7:50. The 4×400-meter relay will be the final event of the day, running at 8:45.
Hampton will wrap up the weekend for UAPB when she competes at 2 p.m. Saturday.