NC State Heads to Florida for NCAA East Preliminary

Thursday, May 23

Jacksonville, Fla.

ALL DAY

NC State

NCAA Regionals

NC State Heads to Florida for NCAA East Preliminary

5/21/2019 8:12:00 AM | Track

Wolfpack Schedule Live Results Declared Athletes - Women Declared Athletes - Men

The Pack Will be Represented by 21 individuals and two relays

RALEIGH -- The NC State track and field team is set to compete at the NCAA East Preliminary Round on Thursday, May 23 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Pack will be represented by 21 individuals, the most since 2016, and two relay teams.

The meet acts as a gateway to the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships, which will be held June 5-8 at the University of Texas at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. At this weekend's preliminary meet, 48 competitors in each individual event and 24 teams in each relay event will be in action, with the top 12 finishers in each of those events advancing to the NCAA Championships.

NCAA East Preliminary Meet
Date: May 23-25
Location: Jacksonville, Fla.
Stadium: Hodges Stadium

SPRINTS
Gabriele Cunningham leads the way for the Pack women sprinters with entries in both the 100m dash and 100m hurdles. The senior enters the meet off an impressive performance at the ACC Outdoor Championships, which included a personal-best 13.13 mark in the women's 100m hurdles to notch a bronze-medal finish. The Charlotte, N.C., native has qualified for the 100m dash regional event in each of her four seasons.

Competing in the 200m dash, freshman McKenzie Long will make her outdoor regional debut.

On the men's side, NC State features three sprinters that have collected All-ACC honors in their respective events. Cravont Charleston is entered in the 100m dash and 200m dash, marking the third consecutive year the Charlotte, N.C., native has qualified in the 100m dash. Quashawn Cunningham, making his second appearance at the regional in the 200m dash, and Shannon Patterson, making his third appearance at the regional in the 200m dash, will join Charleston in the 200m dash.

MID-DISTANCE/DISTANCE
Nevada Mareno is the lone competitor in the women's 1500m with a personal-best time of 4:17.45, a top-15 mark in the region this season. The freshman will also run in the 5000m with Dominique Clairmonte, who earned first team all-conference honors after clocking in at 16:07.86 in the event at the conference championship. Clairmonte's 16:04.68 mark at the Virginia Challenge qualified her for the regional in the 5000m for the second consecutive season.

In the women's 3000m steeplechase, Nell Crosby and Julia Zachgo are set to compete.

Crosby enters the event with a season-best 10:04.39 mark at the Penn Relays, standing as the sixth-fastest time in the east and the second-fastest time in NC State history.

On the men's side, Gavin Gaynor will run in the men's 3000m steeplechase at the regional for the second season in a row, while Ben Barrett, Ian Shanklin, and Patrick Sheehan are entered in the 5000m. Shanklin enters the meet with a personal-best time of 13:55.13 after an impressive performance at the Raleigh Relays and collected all-conference honors in the 5000m in his last start.

JP Flavin rounds out the Pack distance runners with a with a top-15 time in the men's 10,000m (28:58.98).

THROWS
Lauren Evans, the 2019 ACC Outdoor Shot Put Champion, looks to qualify for her second consecutive NCAA Championship. In 2018, the redshirt senior placed ninth to advance to the championship. Evans looks to continue her success after out-throwing her PR in each of her last two starts. She has qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary the past four seasons.

Tyson Fortenberry is now a two-time qualifier in the men's discus throw.

JUMPS
First Team All-ACC performer Janel Pate will compete in women's long jump.

Teammates Javonne Antoine and Michelle Cobb will represent the Pack in women's triple jump. Antoine has qualified for the regional in three straight seasons and Cobb has qualified the past two seasons.

Jamar Davis qualified in men's long jump with teammate Von Douglas, and Davis will also try to qualify for the championship in men's triple jump. Both Pack jumpers are set to make their first regional appearance.

Davis garnered all-conference honors in triple jump at the ACC Outdoor Championships and Douglas jumped his way to the all-conference team in long jump.

RELAYS
NC State will compete in the men's and women's 4x100m relays.

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