Alabama
NCAA East Preliminary
Alabama Track & Field Advances Three Women to NCAA Championship Finals on Day Two of the East Preliminary
5/27/2021 8:59:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
The Crimson Tide advanced three individuals to Eugene, Oregon, site of the NCAA Championship Finals, with five moving on to Saturday’s semifinals
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Alabama women's track and field team advanced three individuals to the NCAA Championship Finals while five more earned a spot in Saturday's semifinal round of the NCAA East Preliminary on Thursday.
A total of 48 student-athletes earned a spot in each event at the two NCAA Preliminary meets being held this week, with the top 12 finishers from both the East and West Preliminary meets advancing to the NCAA Championship Finals in Eugene, Ore., next month. In the field and long-distance events, the top-12 finishers come from the first round. In the other running events, the top 24 finishers in the first round move on to the semifinals, with the top-12 finishers from semis advancing to Eugene.
Nickolette Dunbar and Taylor Gorum both advanced to the NCAA Championship Finals in the shot put while Mercy Chelangat punched her ticket in the 10,000 meters with an NCAA East Preliminary record time.
In addition, Tamara Clark (100 and 200 meters), Daija Lampkin (200 meters), Natassha McDonald (400 meters), Christal Mosley (400 meters) and Amaris Tyynismaa (1,500 meters) all advanced to Saturday's semifinals.
With the men and women alternating over the four days of the Preliminary, the Tide men return to the track on Friday.
Head Coach Dan Waters Said
"We had another good day. I'm super proud of Mercy, Nickolette and Taylor for going out there and earning a spot in the NCAA Championship Finals. That's something that we never take for granted. We also had a good day in the shorter races with Amaris, Tamara, Natassha, Christal and Daija all moving forward with a chance to advance to Eugene on Saturday. We've done a good job to this point in the week and now we need to finish strong."
Tickets Punched for the NCAA Championship Finals
- Taylor Gorum used a career-best throw of 16.84 meters to take fifth-place in the shot put and move on to Eugene
- Nickolette Dunbars finished eighth with a throw of 16.74 meters in the shot put to advance to the NCAA finals
- Mercy Chelangat closed out the night by running away from the pack in the 10,000 meters, earning a place in Eugene with a time of 33:06.83, a new NCAA East Preliminary and Hodges Stadium record
Competing in Saturday's Semifinals
- Amaris Tyynismaa dominates the first round of the 1,500 meters, going 4:11.45 to finish more than four seconds ahead of the field and move on to Saturday's semis
- Tamara Clark ran a 11.31 in the 100 meters and a 22.62 in the 200 meters to earn berths in Saturday's semifinals
- Daija Lampkin also advanced to the NCAA semfinals in the 200 meters after running a time of  23.53
- Natassha McDonald (52.23) and Christal Mosley (53.16) both earned a spot in the NCAA 400 meters semifinals
Up Next
- The Crimson Tide men finish off their stint at the NCAA East Preliminary on Friday
- Chago Basso will compete in the discus, Christian Edwards and Keshun McGee will go in the triple jump and Vincent Kiprop in the 5,000 meters along with the 4x400-meter relay
- Eliud Kipsang advanced to seminfinals of the 1,500 meters with a 3:37.17, NCAA Preliminary and Hodges Stadium record
- Robert Dunning went 13.56 to take second in the first round of the 110-meter hurdles, moving on to the semifinals
- Champion Allison dropped a PR of 45.40 to finish fourth in the first round of the 400 meters, earning a spot in the semifinals
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaTrack on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
