Tigers Add Four NCAA Qualifiers at East Prelims Saturday

TAMPA, Fla. – In addition to the eight Tigers that qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Championships on Friday, Clemson tallied four more qualifying marks for the national championship meet Saturday at the NCAA’s East Prelims on the campus of USF. Among those are the Tiger women’s 4x100m relay, men’s 4x400m relay, Grace Barnett (1500m) and Jeremiah Green (triple jump). The Clemson women racked up eight semifinal qualifying times – the most since 2013 – while the men advanced in four events.

“We’ve got a pretty big group going. It’s about what we expected, maybe a little bit more,” said Clemson head coach Mark Elliott. “We’re excited with the group that has qualified and moving on to the national championship meet. Our ultimate goal is come away with a national title. We’re on the right track. Sometimes we’re a bit impatient, but I want to give all the kids credit for the way they performed in these first two rounds.”

In first race of the day, Torie Robinson, Rebekah Smith, Ebony Williams and Markeeta Thomas clocked Clemson’s season-best time in the women’s 4x100m relay. Despite coming in fifth in the first heat, their time of 44.07 seconds held firm to secure a spot in the semifinal at the NCAA Championships, which are slated for June 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon.

[tweet https://twitter.com/ClemsonTrackXC/status/1000422846391357442 width=’200′]

Following the women’s 4x100m relay, Grace Barnett became the fourth Tiger among the middle distance group to earn a spot at the national championship. The senior won the first section of the women’s 1500m, separating herself from the pack at final straightaway in rainy conditions. Barnett turned in her season best 4:14.22 – good for third overall – in route to automatically qualifying for the semifinal round. Barnett joins teammates Kamryn McIntosh, Fellan Ferguson and John Lewis as the Tigers went a perfect 4-for-4 in qualifying all middle distance competitors that made the trip.

?? Grace Barnett (4:14.22) clocks her season best to win the first heat of the women's 1500m quarterfinal!#ClemsonTrackXC?? #ncaaTFEast pic.twitter.com/PoEEWkekbC
— Clemson Track & Field (@ClemsonTrackXC) May 26, 2018

The men’s 4x400m relay consisting of Deonte Tolbert, Cordell Lamb, Nate Gordonand Jeffrey Green turned in 3:07.60 – also in difficult conditions like the women’s 4x100m – to claim one of the three remaining qualifying times after placing fourth out of lane No. 7 in the third heat. Green ran a saving split of 45.84 seconds, passing two teams on the final lap of the race to put Clemson ahead of Memphis and Hampton.

?? Our women’s 4×100 and men’s 4×400 are moving on to Eugene! ?#ClemsonTrackXC ?? #ncaaTFEast pic.twitter.com/IIR4ThNfBO
— Clemson Track & Field (@ClemsonTrackXC) May 27, 2018

With his family and friends in attendance, Jeremiah Green was the first to jump in the flight No. 4 of the triple jump. The Tampa, Florida native achieved his furthest jump of 15.91m on his first leap of the day. Green went on to place eighth overall in route to advancing to his second national championship meet (indoor) this year.

Jeremiah Green is flying high all the way to Eugene!#ClemsonTrackXC?? #ncaaTFEast pic.twitter.com/TZYQ7kdNkw
— Clemson Track & Field (@ClemsonTrackXC) May 27, 2018

Coverage of the 2018 NCAA Track & Championships will stream on ESPN3. Live will appear 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.

Saturday’s NCAA East Prelims Results

Women’s 4x100m Relay (Quarterfinal)
Advance top 3 from each ht. plus next best 3 times to Eugene

Torie Robinson, Rebekah Smith, Ebony Williams, Markeeta Thomas, 44.07 (q); season best, placed fifth in heat No. 1

Women’s 1500m (Quarterfinal)
Advance top 5 from each qtr. plus next 2 best times to Eugene
3.Grace Barnett, 4:14.22 (Q); season best, won heat No. 1

Men’s 110m Hurdles (Quarterfinal)
Advance top 3 from each qtr. plus next best 3 times to Eugene
22. Kirk Lewis, 14:42; placed eighth heat No. 3

Men’s 4x400m Relay (Quarterfinal)
Advance top 3 from each ht. plus next best 3 times to Eugene

Deonte Tolbert, Cordell Lamb, Nate Gordon, Jeffrey Green, 3:07.60 (q); placed fourth in heat No. 3

Women’s 4x400m Relay (Quarterfinal)
Advance top 3 from each ht. plus next best 3 times to Eugene

Lakeisha Warner, Ebony Williams, Kamryn McIntosh, Fellan Ferguson, 3:39.03, placed sixth in heat No. 1

Men’s Triple Jump (First Round)
Advance top 12 placers from final to Eugene. No ties
8. Jeremiah Green, 15.91m (q); placed seventh in flight No. 4
22. D.J. Ledell, 15.23m; placed fourth in flight No. 2
34. Ishmael Kamara, 14.61m; placed fourth in flight No. 1

Women’s 5000m (Semifinal)
One round. 2 heats. Advance top 5 from each ht. plus next best 2 times to Eugene
42. Logan Morris, 17:15.15; placed 20th in heat No. 1

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