May 24, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Two members of the Vanderbilt women’s track team will be competing in the East Preliminary Round of the 2010 NCAA Championships (formerly NCAA Regionals) in Greensboro, N.C. The East Preliminary Round will take place Thursday-Saturday, May 27-29, and is hosted by North Carolina A&T State University at Aggie Stadium.
Junior Rita Jorgensen will be competing in the 1,500 meter run as she qualified with her time of 4:22.77 from the Vanderbilt Invitational, held on April 16-17. This is Jorgensen’s third postseason appearance, as she is also a two-time regional qualifier.
“Rita has had a very good outdoor season, running the 2nd fastest times in VU history in both the 1,500 and 800 this season,” commented Vanderbilt distances coach Steve Keith. “I know that she is excited about going head to head with the best runners in the country.”
The women’s 1,500 meter first round is scheduled to take place at 5:00pm on Thursday, May 27th. If Jorgensen advances, she will compete in the quarterfinal on Saturday, May 29th at 6:45pm.
“Rita has put herself in a good position for the East Preliminary,” Vanderbilt Head Coach D’Andre Hill commented. “Her time is incredibly competitive and we’re hoping to have another great performance from her. She is experienced in the postseason and we’re expecting great things from her in the 1,500.”
The top 12 runners from the quarterfinal will advance to the semifinals at the NCAA Championships, along with the 12 qualifiers from the West Preliminary Round, hosted by the University of Texas at Austin at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
“This format places a premium on head to head competition and being able to finish fast,” Keith added. “We will focus on placing in the top five of our preliminary race. There should be some very exciting races.”
Senior Buky Bamigboye, along with qualifying for NCAA Nationals in Eugene, Ore. June 9-12, will represent Vanderbilt in the long jump in Greensboro, qualifying for the East Preliminary Round of the 2010 NCAA Championships with her school record-tying jump of 19-10.25 at the Tennessee Invitational on May 8th.
“I think Buky has a chance to do really well,” Hill commented. “She was a little banged up at SECs and this is her opportunity to have a strong competition before she competes in the Heptathlon at Nationals. She has a lot of time in between SECs and Nationals, so this competition comes at a perfect time to see if she is progressing well.”
There is only one qualifying round for field events, rather than the two rounds that are part of the running events. The women’s long jump qualifying round will take place at 1:00pm on Thursday, May 27th. The format is the same for this round as the quarterfinals for the running events and the top 12 finishers from the East and the West will compete in Eugene at the NCAA Championships. Please see further for full explanation.
“It’s her favorite event, so any time a kid is gung-ho about an event, it just makes it that much better,” Vanderbilt assistant coach Clark Humphreys noted. “You always want to kind of ride that wave. She qualified for high jump and long jump, but we chose to do long jump to make sure we don’t wear her out as she’s recovering from SECs.”
Humphreys added, “Buky is going to be around high-level athletes and she will be competing at that quality of competition, so we’re just excited that she’s in the mix and has a chance to contend for a spot in the long jump in Eugene, as she already qualified for Nationals in the heptathlon.”
From USTFCCCA: A total of 96 athletes in each event (except the combined events and relays) will compete in the opening rounds in each of the individual events contested at a national championship this weekend. Events from the 100 meters to the 1500 meters will consist of four rounds total, two of which will be contested this weekend in the opening rounds. In the 100 to 800, fields will be cut from 96 total (48 in a region) to 48 total (24 to a region) in the first round and from that 48 total (24 region) to 24 total (12 in a region) in the quarterfinals to form the Eugene “24”, those who will advance to Eugene, Ore., to finish competition and find a national champion.
All the other events are similar, but will have unique compositions of rounds and advancement formulas. For example, the 10,000 meters will consist of two rounds total, a semifinal held at each prelim site and a final held in Eugene. The 10k will be the only event in which all 48 contestants in a region will compete at the same time; all vying for those 12 spots that will advance to Eugene. The field events are of a similar animal with the bottom line of being in the top 12 in the region necessary to advance. Relays will have a total of 48 teams (24 to a region) and will compete in one round this weekend, with the top three in each heat, plus the next three fastest times (in a region) advancing to Eugene where a total of 24 relays will be on display at the final site.
