Eight Qualify for NCAA Championships Friday

TAMPA, Fla. – Eight Clemson track & field student-athletes qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track Field Championship Friday for their performances at the NCAA East Prelims at USF’s Track & Field Stadium. Rebekah Smith(women’s 100m), John Lewis (men’s 800m), Fellan Ferguson and Kamryn McIntosh (women’s 800m), Deron Gordon (men’s 400mH), Markeeta Thomasand Lakeisha Warner (women’s 400mH), and Logan Morris (women’s 3000m steeplechase) all finished in either the top-3 of their heat or achieved a qualifying time to advance to the national championship meet, which is slated for June 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon.

“Today was a great day,” said Clemson head coach Mark Elliott. “With the system we have of getting our athletes to the semifinals – we took advantage of it today. Yesterday was also a great day and we could see it building from last year, where we had a good number of [qualifiers] at the meet. This year, we’re not getting just barely there – we have people advancing with big performances.”

CU in Eugene. ?? . . #ClemsonTrackXC ?? #ncaaTFEast

A post shared by Clemson Track & Field / XC (@clemsontrackxc) on May 25, 2018 at 2:14pm PDT

One of those big performances was Smith, who bested her own No. 2 program record in the women’s 100m dash, which she set in yesterday’s first round. The sophomore recorded a time of 11.22 seconds to give Clemson its first representative on the national stage.

In the men’s 800m quarterfinal, Lewis automatically qualified for the semifinal round after placing second in heat No. 3. The junior turned in a time of 1:48.39, which was the eleventh-fastest time of the day in the event.

The women’s race saw two personal bests from Ferguson and McIntosh. Ferguson won the third heat with a time of 2:03.15, which is good for No. 3 in Clemson history, while McIntosh placed fourth in a competitive first heat. McIntosh crossed the finish line at the 2:03.77, which is the fourth-fastest time in CU history, right behind Ferguson’s time today.

Gordon clocked a time of 50.28 seconds in the third heat of the men’s 400m hurdles. The senior achieved his personal best in Friday’s quarterfinal, moving him from No. 8 to sixth all-time in program history.

In the women’s 400mH quarterfinal, Thomas achieved her personal best as she clocked 57.11 to earn a third-place finish in heat No. 2, which secured her semifinal spot. Thomas, a junior, now moves from sixth to fifth in Clemson history in the 400mH. Despite not placing in the top-3 of her heat, Warner claimed the 12th overall, which was good for the final spot of the semifinal. The sophomore placed fourth in a competitive third heat with a time of 57.52 seconds.

Morris rounded out Friday’s action on the track, leaving her mark in the women’s 3000m steeplechase as she became the eighth Tiger of the day to successfully bid for a spot in the national championship meet. The sophomore ran a textbook race staying towards the front of the pack for the majority of the third heat before making up a jump to second place after hitting the water on the final lap. Morris passed both Michigan’s Sarah Zieve and Indiana State’s Taylor Austin on the final stretch to secure her semifinals spot by just 0.34 seconds.

In the first event of the day, Kirk Lewis clocked his personal best – 13.95 seconds – in heat No. 4 of the men’s 110m hurdles (first round). The senior placed fourth in his heat, but advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinal as his time fell in the top-6 times among all competitors that did not earn a top-3 finish in their respective heat.

MOVING ON! ???

Senior Kirk Lewis PR's in the men's 110mH to advance to Saturday's quarterfinal after clocking a 13.95 on the near straightaway!#ClemsonTrackXC?? #ncaaTFEast pic.twitter.com/nkPUo6gz7E

— Clemson Track & Field (@ClemsonTrackXC) May 25, 2018

Clemson returns to the USF Track & Field Stadium Saturday, beginning women’s 4x100m relay at 12:45 p.m. Grace Barnett is the first Tiger that will compete in an individual event in the women’s 1500m quarterfinal, which is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. FloTrack.org will stream live coverage via its paid subscription service. Live results can be accessed on ClemsonTigers.com.

For complete coverage of the Tiger cross country/track & field team, follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter and Instagram, and ‘Clemson University Track & Field’ on Facebook.

Friday’s NCAA East Prelims Results

Men’s 110m Hurdles (First Round)
6 Heats. Advance top 3 from each heat plus next 6 times to qtr.
21. Kirk Lewis, 13.95 (q); personal best, advanced to quarterfinals, placed fourth in heat No. 3

Women’s 100m Hurdles (First Round)
6 Heats. Advance top 3 from each heat plus next 6 times to qtr.
35. Ebony Williams, 13.52; placed fourth heat No. 2

Men’s 400m Dash (Quarterfinals)
Advance top 3 from each qtr. plus next best 3 times to Eugene.
15. Cordell Lamb, placed fifth heat No. 3

Women’s 100m Dash (Quarterfinals)
Advance top 3 from each qtr. plus next best 3 times to Eugene.
11. Rebekah Smith, 11.22 (q); No. 2 in Clemson history, placed fourth in heat No. 3

Men’s 800m (Quarterfinals)
Advance top 3 from each qtr. plus next best 3 times to Eugene.
11. John Lewis (Q), 1:48.39; placed second in heat No. 3

Women’s 800m (Quarterfinals)
Advance top 3 from each qtr. plus next best 3 times to Eugene.
3. Fellan Ferguson, 2:03.15 (Q); No. 3 all-time in program history, won heat No. 3
6. Kamryn McIntosh, 2:03.77 (q); No. 4 all-time in program history, placed fourth in heat No. 1

Men’s 400m Hurdles (Quarterfinals)
Advance top 3 from each ht. plus next best 3 times to Eugene.
5. Deron Gordon, 50.28 (Q); No. 6 all-time in program history, placed second in heat No. 3

Women’s 400m Hurdles (Quarterfinals)
Advance top 3 from each ht. plus next best 3 times to Eugene.
7. Markeeta Thomas, 57.11 (Q); No. 5 all-time in program history, placed third in second heat
12. Lakeisha Warner, 57.52 (q); placed fourth in heat No. 3

Women’s 200m (First Round)
Advance top 3 from each ht. plus next best 3 times to Eugene.
34. Rebekah Smith, 23.36; placed seventh in heat No. 6

Men’s 3000m Steeplechase (Quarterfinals)
Advance top 3 from each ht. plus next best 3 times to Eugene.
26. James Quattlebaum, 9:08.14; placed 11th in heat No. 2

Women’s 3000m Steeplechase (Quarterfinals)
Advance top 3 from each ht. plus next best 3 times to Eugene.
12. Logan Morris, 10:07.45 (Q); place second in heat No. 3

Thursday’s NCAA East Prelims Results

Men’s 400m Hurdles (First Round)
6 Heats. Advance top 3 from each heat plus next 6 times to qtr.
10. Deron Gordon, 51.16 (Q); placed second in heat No. 2

Women’s 400m Hurdles (First Round)
6 Heats. Advance top 3 from each heat plus next 6 times to qtr.
6. Markeeta Thomas, 57.42 (Q); season best, won heat No. 4
10. Lakeisha Warner, 57.94 (Q); placed third in heat No. 6

Women’s 1500m (First Round)
4 Heats. Advance top 5 from each ht. plus next 4 times to qtr.
T-4. Grace Barnett, 4:17.21 (Q); won heat No. 4

Women’s 100m (First Round)
6 Heats. Advance top 3 from each heat plus next 6 times to qtr.
11. Rebekah Smith, 11.23 (Q); No. 2 all-time in CU history, placed third in heat No. 4
27. Torie Robinson, 11.45; placed fourth in heat No. 5

Men’s 400m (First Round)
6 Heats. Advance top 3 from each heat plus next 6 times to qtr.
17. Cordell Lamb, 46.22 (Q), placed third in heat No. 5

Women’s 400m (First Round)
6 Heats. Advance top 3 from each heat plus next 6 times to qtr.
47. Kendra Clarke, 55.25; finished eighth in heat No. 2

Men’s 800m (First Round)
6 Heats. Advance top 3 from each heat plus next 6 times to qtr.
1. John Lewis, 1:47.81 (Q); facility record, placed first among all 48 competitors

Women’s 800m (First Round)
6 Heats. Advance top 3 from each heat plus next 6 times to qtr.
1. Fellan Ferguson, 2:03.20 (Q); No. 3 time in program history, facility record
5. Kamryn McIntosh, 2:04.06 (Q); placed second in heat No. 1 behind Ferguson

Men’s Long Jump (First Round)
Top-12 Advance to NCAA Championships
37. DJ Ledell, 7.21m (3.1w)