Austin, Texas – The UTEP track and field team had eight athletes compete on day one of the NCAA West Preliminaries. Florence Uwakwe, Aiyanna Stiverne and Abiola Onakoya did what they had to doThursday to keep their season alive.
Stiverne (53.63) and Uwakwe (54.24) both notched third-place finishes in the 400m dash in their respective heats. Both runners made the cut from 48 to 24 runners. Tomorrow night (5 p.m. MT), the quarterfinals will take place. In order for Stiverne or Uwakwe to advance to the NCAA Championships, they must place in the top three of their heat or have one of the next three fastest times (top 12 runners).
Onakoya (47.09) barely edged his way into the quarterfinals. The senior registered the 23rd-fastest time to make the cut. He faces the same situation as Stiverne and Uwakwe; he must finish in the top three of his heat or have one of the next three fastest times. 12 runners will advance to the NCAA Championships.
A-Shawni Mitchell clocked a 400m time of 47.92 to finish 41st overall. Senior Roberto Camacho ran his last 400m hurdle race for the Orange and Blue. The Copperas Cove native clocked a time of 52.33 to finish 26th; the top-24 times advanced.
In the men’s long jump, Brandon Moss collected a leap of 7.61m (24-11.75) to place 19th, and Carlos Hernandez registered a bound of 7.25m (23-9.50) to notch a 25th-place showing. Both Hernandez and Moss were outside the top 12, all of whom advanced to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Championships.
Hernandez pulled double duty and competed in the men’s high jump as well. The El Paso native was able to clear 2.03m (6-8.00) on his first try, but was unable to clear the next height (2.08m).
Israel Ramsay recorded her second-longest bound of the year in the long jump, but it wasn’t enough; the junior registered a mark of 5.95m (19-6.25) to finish in 27th place.
Springing into action tomorrow will be a bevy of Miners. Samantha Hall and Taylor Gunn will start the day with the discus throw at 11 a.m. (MT). Ramsay will be back in action as she will try and qualify for nationals in the high jump.
On the track, Anna-Kay James and Greta Kerekes will look to make the initial cut in the 100m hurdles, and two-time defending 3,000m steeplechase champion Anthony Rotich will close out the night at 8:30 p.m. (MT).
