Frogs Ready For NCAA Preliminary Round
5/25/2010 12:00:00 AM
May 25, 2010
START LISTS | | NOTES | TCU BREAKDOWN
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU track and field program will take the next step in postseason competition this week when it travels to Austin for the 2010 NCAA West Preliminary Round."This is the fun part of the year for us. We have a lot of NCAA qualifiers and are really prepared for the preliminary round of the NCAA Championships," said head coach Darryl Anderson. "I feel good about our chances this week in Austin in the first round of the NCAA meet. I think we are really ready to run and look forward to the challenge. We have two of the best horizontal jumpers in the country and five guys in the 100 meters at the NCAA Preliminary Round, which is phenomenal."
"Overall, I am expecting a high percentage of our student-athletes to advance to the final round of the NCAA meet following competition in Austin," said Anderson. "Getting to the NCAA meet is a feat all by itself, but we don't do this just to get to the NCAA meet. We do this, so that we can do well as a team and bring back All-America honors. There is only one way to earn All-America accolades in track and field, which is place in the top 8 in the country on that particular given day. We don't have honorable mention or second team, so our kids have to be at their very best in their respective events during the day they compete. The history of the TCU track and field program beams with plenty of All-America honors and high levels of success at the NCAA meet, which is what the next three weeks are all about for us."
Overall, 25 Horned Frogs, including all four relays, will compete at Mike A. Myers Stadium this week. The three-day meet will begin on Thursday afternoon at Noon with the men's javelin, while running events open at 3:30 p.m. with the men's 400-meter hurdles. Friday's action also begins at Noon with the women's discus in Austin. Competition on the track starts at 4:30 p.m. with the first round of the men's 110-meter hurdles. On Saturday, the qualifying round of the men's discus will open at Noon, while quarterfinal action of the women's 4x100 will start at 6 p.m. Preliminary round competition will close at 9:45 p.m. Saturday night with the running of the men's 4x400 quarterfinals.
Following competition in Austin, the top 12 finishers in each open and relay event will qualify for the national semifinal and final rounds of the 2010 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which will be held in Eugene, Ore., on June 9-12.
TCU comes into the NCAA West Preliminary Round having had a breakout showing at the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships two weeks ago. Overall, the Horned Frogs, won 11 conference titles, set two MWC Championship records and broke three school records to conclude action at the 2010 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M.
NCAA West Preliminary Round Information
Fans not able to attend the NCAA West Preliminary Round this week can follow the action live by logging onto www.gofrogs.com. There you will find a link to the live results tab and video tab, which is located on the schedule page. Following action in Austin each day, a full recap and final results will be posted on the TCU athletics website. Additional meet information can be found on www.ncaa.com.
Thursday's Opening Round Schedule
TCU will open competition this week in Austin on Thursday at 1 p.m. with the qualifying round of the women's shot put. First round running event will open on the track at 3:30 p.m. with the running of the men's 400-meter hurdles. Following the hurdles, the men's 100 meters will take to the track at 5:30 p.m., while the women's 100 meters will follow at 6 p.m. In the field events, the men's shot put will open at 5:30 p.m. inside Mike A. Myers Stadium, while the men and women's 400 meters will begin at approximately 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. Finally, the men's 800 meters will close the Frogs' first day of the West Preliminary Round at 7:30 p.m.
Breaking Down TCU At Preliminary Round
TCU will have representatives in 10 events on the women's side and 11 events on the men's side in Austin at the 2010 NCAA West Preliminary Round.
Freshman Chaniqua Corinealdi will represent the Frogs in both the 100 and 200 meters, while senior and four-time All-America honoree Neidra Covington will look to advance in both the long and triple jump in Austin. After a strong showing at the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships, the Frogs will look to Kristal Juarez and Quinterra Charles to lead them in the women's 400 meters, while junior Rose Tanui will make her first NCAA appearance in the women's 5,000 meters. Freshman Larissa Matthews will don the Purple and White in the women's 100-meter hurdles in Austin. Matthews will open NCAA competition on Friday. In the field events, sophomore Whitney Gipson will take to the runway in the women's long jump after breaking a school record in her last outing. TCU will have two representatives in the women's shot put in Austin as both Stormy Harrison and Kelsey Samuels will look to move on to semifinal round competition.
On the men's side, Charles Silmon, Mychal Dungey, Skye Dawson, Mark Barnes and OJ Stoneham will represent the Purple and White in the men's 100 meters this week. Dungey, Silmon and Barnes will also take to the track in the men's 200 meters on Friday. In the men's 400 meters, senior's Dell Guy and Clemore Henry will open competition on Thursday. The Frogs will also have two representatives in the men's 800 meters on Thursday in Jack O'Brien and Sean Zurko, while Festus Kigen will open in the men's 5,000 meters on Saturday. Following his third-straight conference title, junior Jordan Pitts will compete in both the 110 and 400-meter hurdles inside Mike A. Myers Stadium. Fellow junior Clint Renfro will join Pitts in the opening round of the men's 400-meter hurdles on Thursday. Finally, Tommy Killen and Cameron Tabor will lead TCU in the men's discus. Tabor will also compete in the men's shot put in Austin.
TCU will also look to advance all four relays this week in Austin. The men's 4x100, which currently sits No. 3 in the West Region, will open 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, while the women's 4x100 will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Both 4x400 quartets will close competition at the preliminary round on Saturday night.
TCU Earns All-Conference Accolades
After winning 10 of the 28 events on the final day of competition at the 2010 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships, the TCU track and field team was honored with the announcement of the league's Men's and Women's All-MWC Outdoor team.
As announced by the league office, TCU had 20 student-athletes named to the Mountain West Conference Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field team. Following a third-place finish the men's team had nine honorees, while the women's team had 11 selections after earning runner-up honors.
In total, TCU's men's team had all-conference selections in eight events, while the women's team had all-conference selections in 11 different events.
Headlining the Frogs selections on the men's side was Mychal Dungey who made the squad four times, while both Jordan Pitts and Charles Silmon were honored three times. Earning all-conference accolades in two different events were Dell Guy and Clint Renfro.
On the women's side, Chaniqua Corinealdi and Kristal Juarez earned all-conference recognition in three different events, while Quinterra Charles, Neidra Covington, Whitney Gipson, Larissa Matthews and Rose Tanui were all-conference honorees in two events.
Silmon Finds His Mark
Heading into the NCAA West Preliminary Round, freshman Charles Silmon has started to find his mark, quickly. Fresh off a dominating performance at the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships, the Waco native could make some real noise this week in Austin. In his last outing, Silmon, who was honored with the Men's Most Outstanding Performance award following the conference championships, captured the 100 meters event-title with a personal best time of 10.24 seconds, which set a new MWC Championship record and is currently No. 8 in the West Region and No. 19 in the NCAA. Silmon just missed his second conference title in the 200 meters, earning runner-up accolades with a personal-best time of 20.65 seconds. In the 200 meters his time ranks No. 8 in the West Region and No. 23 in the NCAA.
Covington Heads To Preliminary Round On Fire
Neidra Covington has made a habit as of late of winning when it counts, bringing home first-place accolades in her last four outings in the women's triple jump, including a conference title two weeks ago. At the conference championships, Covington, who currently sits No. 2 in the NCAA and No. 1 in the West Region, closed her remarkable Mountain West Conference career in style, crushing the rest of the field in the women's triple jump with a new stadium, school and MWC Championships record. The four-time All-American, who bettered her previous school record in New Mexico, soared 44 feet, 2 inches to win championship accolades.
Top Marks In The Mountain West Conference
Heading into the NCAA West Preliminary Round, TCU currently holds the top spot in the Mountain West Conference in nine different events. Overall, the Horned Frogs lead the conference in the men's 100, 200, 400, 110-meter hurdles, 4x100 and 4x400. On the women's side, the Purple and White top the conference in the 100-meter hurdles, 4x400 and triple jump. In addition, TCU has the top-two times posted in the men's 200 and 400 meters.
Regionally Ranked Horned Frogs
The men's outdoor track & field team stayed put in the South Central regional rankings this week, heading into the 2010 NCAA West Preliminary as the No. 6 ranked squad in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) South Central rankings.
TCU currently ranks in the top 30 in the West Region in 17 different events. Overall, the Horned Frogs are regionally ranked in the men's 100, 200, 400, 1,500, 5,000, 110-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, 4x100, 4x400 and discus. On the women's side, the Purple and White sit inside the top 30 in the 400, 5,000, 100-meter hurdles, 4x100, long jump, triple jump and shot put.
TCU In World Rankings
Heading into the first round of the NCAA Championships, the men's 4x100 currently ranks in the top 30 in the world standings according to IAAF.
The men's 4x100 clocked the No. 17 ranked time in the world rankings earlier this season at the Texas Relays, while senior Neidra Covington ranks No. 29 in the women's triple jump. Fellow jumper Whitney Gipson cracked the world rankings two weeks ago, moving up to No. 18 in the women's long jump.
The National Rankings Breakdown
Heading into the NCAA Preliminary Round, the Frogs have 11 student-athletes and one relay ranked in the top 40 in the national rankings.
Freshman Charles Silmon leads TCU in the men's 100 meters, ranking No. 19 in the nation, while junior Mychal Dungey currently sits No. 21 in the men's 200 meters. Silmon follows at No. 23 in the 200 meters after collecting runner-up accolades two weeks ago at the MWC Championships.
After winning a conference championship, Kristal Juarez cracked the top 25, ranking No. 24 in the women's 400 meters.
In the men's 5,000 meters, junior Festus Kigen sits at No. 35 after his showing at the Mt. SAC Relays. On the women's side, Rose Tanui is currently No. 36 in the NCAA.
In the 110-meter hurdles, junior Jordan Pitts is currently ranked No. 35 in the NCAA, while Clint Renfro moved up the national rankings in his last outing in the men's 400-meter hurdles, climbing to No. 25. Pitts sits No. 37 in the NCAA in the event. On the women's side, Larissa Matthews will look to improve upon her No. 40 ranking this week in the women's 100-meter hurdles.
The men's 4x100 heads into preliminary round action, sitting No. 7 in the NCAA.
TCU has excelled in the women's long jump rankings with both Whitney Gipson and Neidra Covington ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA. Gipson is currently No. 5, while Covington follows at No. 21. Covington also moved into the top 5 in the women's triple jump after the conference championships, soaring to the No. 2 jump in the country.
Senior Tommy Killen leads the Frogs in the men's discus, ranking No. 12. He will look to improve his standing this weekend in Austin.
Up Next
Following competition in Austin, TCU will look to continue its season at the 2010 NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. Competition is slated to begin on Wednesday, June 9 at Hayward Field.
Players Mentioned
