It’s the final countdown.
Two more Gators qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships Thursday. Arianne Duarte-Morais and Claire Bryant locked in spots to Eugene, Oregon, in their respective events. The Gators have four entries so far after Thomas Mardal and Connor Bandel reached glory Wednesday.
Duarte-Morais catapulted her javelin 51.89 meters (170-3) in the women’s javelin. Bryant threw herself 6.64 meters (21-9½) in the women’s long jump. The freshman hit this mark in round one of the event to make herself the fourth-best performer in NCAA East Preliminary Round history, according to USTFCCCA.
Six Gator runners advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Grace Stark earned a spot in the women’s 100-meter hurdles quarterfinals. The No. 3 seed glided across the hurdles to finish with a 12.77 second time, .03 seconds off her seed time she ran at SEC Outdoors.
The trio of Talitha Diggs, Taylor Manson and Doneisha Anderson will race together in the women’s 400 quarterfinal. Diggs (51.43) and Manson (52.01) were the top two finishers in the first round, and Anderson (52.94) landed the 16th spot.
Gabrielle Wilkinson and Imogen Barrett will race in the women’s 800 quarterfinal. The pair sit .7 seconds apart after Wilkinson finished at 2:05.03 and Barrett at 2:05.73.
Saturday also features the Gators women’s 4x400 relay. The No. 1 seed team of Manson, Sterling Lester, Anderson and Diggs won silver at SEC Outdoors.
The men’s finals continue Friday in Jacksonville. Coverage is scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. on UNF's SWOOPLife Live network.
Contact Kaitlyn Wadulack at kwadulack@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @kwadulack
