Three Spartans Qualify for NCAA East Prelims
5/16/2013 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Parker, kparker@uscupstate.edu
NCAA Release | East Prelim Qualifiers
INDIANAPOLIS – The USC Upstate men's track & field team landed three Spartans on the participant list for the 2013 NCAA Outdoor East Preliminary Championships May 23-25 in the senior trio of Gilbert Kemboi, Cameron Thomas and Kenny Sugishita as announced by the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee Thursday afternoon.
This marks the program's second time sending athletes to the NCAA Regionals and second-straight appearance for both Kemboi and Sugishita.
"Getting to this level in our sport is quite honestly the ultimate goal that we have with our athletes," said Upstate Head Coach Natalie Smith. "Once you get to the first round there is a lot that can happen from here and this gives our program an opportunity to be noticed and that is key, not only for our current student-athletes, but also for prospective student-athletes as well."
Kemboi once again qualified for the East Prelims in the 10,000-meter, crossing the line this season with a school record time of 29:15.69, which he recorded at Stanford's Payton Jordan Invite April 28. He enters the first round seeded ninth.
Sugishita also returns to the NCAA East Prelims in the same event as last season, qualifying in the hammer throw. The Spartan hurler turned in a program-best toss of 197-11.00 (60.34-meters) at the Charlotte Invitational April 19, which ranks him 30th entering the preliminary round.
This will be Thomas' first trip to the East Regional as the senior snagged a spot on the qualifiers list with his performance in the 800-meter last weekend at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships. He picked-up the gold medal in the event with an A-Sun meet record of 1:49.29. The time was also a school record for the Spartans, beating his previous program-best mark of 1:50.57. Thomas has the 24th-best qualifying time entering the East Primary round.
"The men that we have representing us next week are all seniors and I know they will do a phenomenal job because they are all competitors and believe in what they have done to get this far," Smith said. "We have been fortunate over the last two seasons to embark upon a lot of 'firsts' for the our program and hopefully that will be continued if we have any of our men if not all three in the top 12 next week needless to say we will come back excited and ready to ravel to Oregon."
The NCAA East Preliminary will be held May 23-25 at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C. Live results information for the NCAA Preliminary Championships can be found here. Follow the Spartans this season on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Players Mentioned
