Nine Panthers Qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Round

Nine Panthers Qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Round

5/20/2021 1:18:00 PM | Track and Field

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The UNI Track and Field team will be sending nine Panthers to College Station, Tex. to compete in the West Preliminary Round of the NCAA Championship, May 26-29. The NCAA announced the full field of competitors on Thursday with 48 qualifiers in each individual event and 24 qualifying relay teams in each relay category.

In the men's hammer throw, graduate student Kyler Yodts is ranked 20th in the West Region, after posting a toss of 65.16m at the MVC Outdoor Championships on May 14. Senior Anna Hoyman is ranked 42nd in the women's hammer throw with her mark of 59.40m recorded on April 22 at the Drake Relays. The men's hammer throw is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26, and the women's hammer throw is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 27.

Graduate student Darius King ranks sixth in the West Region in the men's shot put with his personal-best and school record mark of 20.14m, which was set on April 16 at the Gibson Invitational. King will be joined in competition by fellow graduate student Thomas Yezek, who ranks 40th in the region after posting a toss of 18.04m at the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships on May 14. The first round of the men's shot put will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26.

Graduate Student Taylor Raines qualified in the women's 100 meters, ranking 42nd in the West Region with a time of 11.60, which she clocked on April 30 at the Illinois State Invite. The first round of the women's 100 meters is scheduled for Thursday, May 27, at 7:00 p.m. and the quarterfinals are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, May 29.

Yezek and sophomore Cameron Jones will be competing in the men's discus with Yezek landing 28th in the West Region with a mark of 55.76m, recorded at the MVC Outdoor Championships on May 14 and Jones ranking 48th with a mark of 53.91m, recorded on May 1 at the Illinois State Invite. The first round of the men's discus is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 28.

The 4x100-meter relay team of junior Rylan Santi, freshman Libby Wedewer, Raines, and freshman Paishence Johnson are ranked 21st in the women's 4x100-meter relay prelims, with a seed time of 45.31, which was clocked at the MVC Outdoor Championships on May 16. The women's 4x100-meter relay quarterfinals will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 29.

The West Preliminary will be available for streaming on Watch ESPN and ESPN+.