The 2019 NCAA West Preliminary Rounds sounded off on Thursday with five Aggies advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas.
Day one of the three round event began in Sacramento, California, with the majority of the evening consisting of field events.
Entering the weekend, the Texas A&M men and women each ranked top-five nationally by the USTFCCA. The Aggie women (251.65) come in at No. 3 and the men (217.96) are not far behind at No. 4.
Maddy Stulce was the first Aggie to punch her ticket to Austin after placing fifth overall in the Javelin with a mark of 167-1 (50.92).
In the men’s 400m hurdles, all five Aggies that ran advanced to the second round of the NCAA West prelims. Infinite Tucker (50.03), the SEC 400m Champion, was the top qualifier in the event after his performance. DeWitt Thomas (50.18), Ilolo Izu (50.58), Robert Grant (50.83) and Tyler Hart (51.19) followed Tucker as they all advanced to day two.
Tyra Gittens (5-10 ¾, 1.80) had another big day as she qualified for Austin after placing sixth in the high jump. In addition to high jump, Gittens has qualified for the championship rounds of the heptathlon after her performance in the SEC Championships.
In the 100m, A&M men and women each had one runner advance to the quarterfinals. Jace Comick (10.38) was runner-up, and Brenessa Thompson (11.36) came in first in her heat.
Two Aggie men pole-vaulters qualified for Austin as Jacob Wooten cleared 17-7 (5.36) to advance. Carl Johansson won the tie-breaking jump-off to claim the last spot in the championships.
Tierra Robinson-Jones (52.56), Syaira Richardson (52.69) and Jaevin Reed (53.36) all advanced to the quarterfinals after their performances in the women’s 400m.
On the men’s side, Aggies Bryce Deadmon (46.91), and Kyree Johnson (46.97) each advance to the quarterfinals behind their 400m runs.
The last Aggie to qualify for Austin was Deborah Acquah, after her impressive field-leading jump of 21-1 ½ (6.44). Her jump on Thursday was the No. 7 performance on the Aggie all-time list.
A trio of Aggies advanced to the quarterfinal in the 800m, on the men’s side Devin Dixon (1:48.81) came in first in his heat and Carlton Orange (1:49.86) as the runner-up in his heat, as both moved on. On the women’s side, Jazmine Frey won her heat behind a run of 2:07.22.
Day two of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds will take place Friday at Hornet Stadium.