JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – SATURDAY – Four more Hokies and the men's 4x400m relay punched their tickets to the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships on the final day of preliminary competition in Jacksonville. Essence Henderson, Lindsey Butler, Lauren Berman, and Eszter Bajnok all qualified in their events for a trip to Eugene, Ore.
After placing 14th in the shot put competition, just 0.28m away from qualifying for nationals, Essence Henderson secured her spot in the national championships with a school record performance in the discus. Beating her previous PR and school record of 180' 4" (54.98m) twice on the day, Henderson finished with a heave of 182' 7" (55.66m) to finish seventh at the East Prelims and advance to Eugene.
Lindsey Butler's consistent and dominant performances in the 800m continued on Saturday, as the sophomore secured her shot at national glory. Qualifying for the NCAA Championships with a time of 2:02.27, the middle-distance standout looks to make a mark in a talent-saturated event.
Lauren Berman's storied career continues as the graduate advanced in the 1500m. With a qualifying time of 4:13.87, the Fairfax native earned a chance to further impress in Oregon.
Eszter Bajnok avenged her heartbreaking 13th place finish in the long jump by advancing to the national championships in Saturday's triple jump competition. With a leap of 43' 5.25" (13.24m), the Hungarian qualifies for her third outdoor national championships and looks to make her return to Oregon a memorable one.
Following a bizarre sequence of events in which a lighting outage midrace put the qualification of the men's 4x400m squad in limbo, Saturday's ruling that the times posted in the event would stand meant that Patrick Forrest, Cameron Rose, Tyreke Sapp, and Jacory Patterson confirmed their spot at the NCAA Championships.
HOKIES IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The five qualifiers on Saturday bring the total number of Hokies headed to Eugene to 11 in addition to the men's 4x400m.
Eszter Bajnok – triple jump
Rachel Baxter – pole vault
Lauren Berman – 1500m
Lindsey Butler – 800m
Essence Henderson – discus
Cole Beck – 100m
Chauncey Chambers – triple jump
Jacory Patterson – 400m
Alexios Prodanas – hammer
Fitsum Seyoum – 3000m steeplechase
Diego Alejandro Zarate – 1500m
4x400m Relay (Patrick Forrest, Cameron Rose, Tyreke Sapp, Jacory Patterson)Gallery: (5-29-2021) 2021 NCAA TRACK & FIELD REGIONAL DAY 4
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – FRIDAY – Virginia Tech men's track and field ran the lights out of Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville on the final day of men's competition at the 2021 NCAA East Prelims. Five Hokies qualified for the NCAA Championships in Oregon, with the 4x400m relay squad waiting to confirm their qualification after a lighting malfunction has rescheduled the second heat of the event for noon on Saturday.
Cole Beck, Chauncey Chambers, Jacory Patterson, Fitsum Seyoum, and Diego Alejandro Zarate all clinched spots at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. with their performances on Friday, with temperatures rising and winds swirling.
Beck advanced to the NCAA Championships in a thriller of a 100m race, with just two thousandths of a second separating the sixth and 12th place finishers. Grinding out a 10.098, the Blacksburg native broke the school record that he set at the ACC Outdoor Championships on May 15. Beck becomes just the second Hokie to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the men's 100m, joining Darrell Wesh who qualified in 2013.
Chauncey Chambers delivered a clutch triple jump performance early in the day, sitting just outside the 12 qualifying spots with one jump remaining. Leaping to a personal best 52' 5.5" (15.99m), the junior moved into ninth place and earned a trip to Eugene.
Jacory Patterson delivered yet another breathtaking 400m performance, his feet a blur as the junior from South Carolina advanced to Oregon with a time of 45.65 seconds. The indoor and outdoor 400m champion in the ACC will look to further bolster his status among the best sprinters in the nation at the competition in Eugene.
Fitsum Seyoum entered the 3000m steeplechase with the fastest time in the nation, and the lanky distance runner backed up his title of steeplechase king with an 8:41.73 qualifying time, winning his heat with ease as he moves on to the finals of his event in Oregon.
Diego Zarate battled through carnage and tough running in the 1500m, fighting his way out of walling runners and fast times in his heat to qualify with a time of 3:39.88.
An early highlight from Friday's action emerged from the very first event of the day, where EJ Bell forced a jump-off in the high jump competition. Tied with senior Clayton Brown of Florida at the 7' 1" (2.16m) bar, the freshman battled in a high stakes situation before narrowly losing out on a spot at Eugene.
In the final event of the men's prelims, the Hokies' 4x400m squad of Patrick Forrest, Cameron Rose, Tyreke Sapp, and Jacory Patterson posted a time of 3:07.15 in the third and final heat of the event. Because of a power outage at Hodges Stadium that caused the lights to go out during the second heat, five teams will run their relay again at noon on Saturday. As it stands, the Hokies' qualifying time in the 4x400m relay would see them through to the NCAA Championships in Oregon, but the four sprinters will have to wait until the second heat is rerun to confirm their ticket.
Aside from the men's 4x400m running tomorrow, Saturday's action sees the final day of preliminary competition for the women's teams. Eight Hokies will compete for spots at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, starting with Essence Henderson and Enid Duut in the discus at 1:30 p.m.Gallery: (5-28-2021) 2021 NCAA TRACK & FIELD REGIONAL DAY 3
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – THURSDAY – Rachel Baxter clinched a spot in the pole vault competition at the 2021 NCAA Championships with her confident and convincing performance at the East Prelims on Thursday. One of only seven athletes to clear the final height of 14' 0" (4.27m) at the qualifying meet, Baxter's punched her ticket with three clears and only one miss.
Baxter's pole vault success headlined several other highlights from the first day of women's competition, as four other Hokies advanced to their quarterfinal rounds on Saturday. Lauren Berman, Sarah Edwards, Lindsey Butler, and Grace Boone will all fight for qualification to Eugene on the last day of the preliminary meet.
Lauren Berman posted the second fastest first round time in the 1500m, crossing the line at 4:16.13 to earn a spot in Saturday's quarterfinals.
Joining Berman was Sarah Edwards, who qualified for the second round of the 1500m with her time of 4:16.85.
In the 800m, both Lindsey Butler and Grace Boone advanced to the quarterfinals in Jacksonville. Butler and Boone finished first and third in their heat to automatically qualify for the next round with their times of 2:05.17 and 2:05.85 respectively.
Friday will see the final day of men's competition at the East Regional Championships, as action begins in the high jump at 1:00 p.m. On the track, Cole Beck, Jacory Patterson, and Diego Alejandro Zarate will contest the quarterfinals of their events while Fitsum Seyoum and Ben Fleming will take on the 3,000m steeplechase.Gallery: (5-27-2021) 2021 NCAA TRACK & FIELD REGIONAL DAY 2
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – WEDNESDAY – Alexios Prodanas punched his ticket to the 2021 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. on Wednesday, as three other Hokies advanced to Friday's quarterfinal round. With a mark of 223' 4" (68.07m), Prodanas finished the hammer throw prelims in third position.
"It was a great performance by Alexios today," Associate Head Coach Andrew Dubs said. "This is the most challenging meet of the year – a qualification scenario, with only three attempts. He remained calm and collected throughout and was not only able to advance, but to place inside the top six to secure the second flight in the championship, which is very valuable. I am proud of his effort and focus."
Prodanas's performance in the hammer was joined by three other Hokies who highlighted the first day of action at the East Regionals. Cole Beck, Jacory Patterson, and Diego Alejandro Zarate all advanced to Friday's quarterfinals in their respective events.
Staking his place among some of the top sprinters in the nation, Beck secured a spot in the next round of the 100m with a qualifying time of 10.24 seconds.
Patterson delivered another trademark 400m performance, advancing to the quarterfinals of the event with a time of 45.40.
Zarate left his mark on the 1500m as the senior qualified for the quarterfinal round with a time of 3:44.54.
Thursday's action sees the Hokies women take the track, with field events beginning at 1:30 in the hammer throw before track events begin for Tech at 6:00.Gallery: (5-26-2021) 2021 NCAA TRACK & FIELD REGIONAL DAY 1