Track and field: Athletes have one last chance to qualify for Regionals

The Panthers will compete in two of the most anticipated meets in collegiate track and… The Panthers will compete in two of the most anticipated meets in collegiate track and field this weekend. The men’s and women’s teams will have their last chance to make a push for the NCAA Regional Championships.

Pitt will send 15 men and 15 women to Princeton, N.J., this weekend to compete against athletes from 90 other schools along the East Coast. The two teams will compete in what is essentially the same meet, but the men will compete in what is known as the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America championships (the IC4A), while the women will take part in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships.

Coach Alonzo Webb said he has high hopes for several athletes to earn points for Pitt.

“We have to have a great showing this weekend to make it to the regional championships,” Webb said.

The NCAA changed the format for its championships this year, and now it is more difficult to qualify for a regional championship.

Instead of the usual four regions, the NCAA now only has two: East and West. Pitt’s location in the East doesn’t help either.

“[The East] is always the most competitive region,” Webb said.

Now the East is even bigger.

In previous years, there were qualifying standards, times and distances that had to be met at any point in the season to be eligible for the regional championships. If an athlete achieved the qualifying mark in the first meet of the season, that athlete knew she would compete in the regional championship at the end of the season.

But this year only the top 48 qualify in each event. The deadline is May 16, so this is the final weekend for athletes to qualify.

The only exception is the decathlon. The top 25 athletes in this event automatically qualify for the NCAA championships. Webb said Pitt freshman Rachael McIntosh is currently 25th in the country, so she needs a strong performance this weekend to make sure nobody passes her.

“There are some other big conference championships this weekend,” Webb said.

The Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten Conference will host their championships this weekend.

The IC4Ais one of the oldest competitions in track and field. The competition, which has been held for 134 years, is for men only because it was in existence before women were allowed to compete.

Webb said several men have a chance to earn points for the Panthers.

“Jermaine Lowery should be one of the top athletes in the 400 [meter] hurdles,” he said. “He is ranked in the top 25 in the country.”

Folarin Ijelu injured his hamstring three weeks ago in the Penn Relays, and then aggravated it the following week at the Big East Championship.

Webb said he hopes Ijelu can compete in the triple jump.

“He’ll be one of our top scorers, if he’s in there,” Webb said.

On the women’s side, Webb said senior Brianna Broyles should be competitive in the 400 hurdles. He also said the 4×100 relay and the 4×400 relay teams can earn the Panthers some valuable points.

The 4×100 relay team consists of freshman Ashley Woodford, junior Da’Lynn Mills, freshman Jonnique Lawrence and sophomore Cambrya Jones. Webb said that it’s a very strong relay team.

“All of them will be back next year,” he said.

The 4×400 relay team consists of Broyles, senior Kaetlyn Brown, freshman Arielle Fonrose and Lawrence.

Panthers who finish the season in the top 48 of the East region will travel to Greensboro, N.C., on Memorial Day weekend to compete in the NCAA Regional Championship.

The top 12 at that meet will move on the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., June 9-12.