ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s track and field team had five of its athletes qualify for the 2016 NCAA Track and Field East Preliminaries that will be held on May 26-28 in Jacksonville, Fla., as announced on Thursday afternoon, May 19.
NCAA East Prelims Declared List | NCAA East Prelims Schedule
For the third straight season, the two-time defending Colonial Athletic Association outdoor track and field champion Phoenix will send a program-record five athletes to the preliminary round of the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. This will be the third straight season that the East prelims will be held at the University of North Florida at Hodges Stadium.
Qualifying for the third straight year to the NCAA Preliminaries are senior hurdlers Jen Esposito (400-meter hurdles) and Sydney Griffin (100-meter hurdles). Joining the duo for the second straight year will be the distance tandem of Kimberly Johansen (1,500-meter) and Tereza Novotna (3,000-meter steeplechase). Rounding out the Elon quintet is first-time qualifier sophomore Bryanna Hames (discus).
Esposito qualifies for the 400-meter hurdles for the third consecutive season. The Mansfield, Mass., native is 21st on the East Region prelim list with a time of 58.01 that she set at the Raleigh Relays on March 26. She won her second straight CAA title in the race at the league championship meet on May 7.
Griffin continues her terrific senior campaign with her third straight trip to the NCAA East Prelims. The Marietta, Ga., native checks in on the preliminary list at 13.62 in the 100-meter hurdles and captured the CAA individual championship in the event. She was later named the CAA Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet and the Elon Athletics’ Female Basnight award recipient.
Johansen and Novotna both return for their second straight trip to the NCAA East Prelims. Last season at the preliminary meet, Novotna set a new school-record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:10.04 and was the CAA runner-up in the event at the league championships. Johansen also earned All-CAA honors in the 1,500-meters after finishing as the runner-up.
Hames enters the meet as the Phoenix’s highest-ranked qualifier at No. 20 in the discus throw. The Charlotte, N.C., native broke her own school-record in the event with a toss of 52.27m at the CAA Championships, finishing as the runner-up.
The NCAA Selection Committee accepted the top-48 performers in each individual event and the top-24 relay teams in both relays to compete at each site hosting the NCAA Preliminary Rounds for a total of 96 individuals and 48 relays competing nationwide.
When competing in the NCAA Preliminary Rounds, the top-12 finishers in each open and relay event will qualify for the national semifinal and final rounds of the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships scheduled to run June 8-11at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.