Terps Prep for NCAA East Regional

5/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field

By: Maryland Athletics

MARYLAND

NCAA EAST REGIONAL

May 25-27, 2017 || UK Outdoor Track and Field Complex || Lexington, Ky.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Maryland track and field team will send nine athletes to the 2017 NCAA East Regional Meet May 25-27 in Lexington, Ky. The Terps will have athletes in action on all three days of the event held at the UK Outdoor Track and Field Complex on the campus of the University of Kentucky.

The top 48 declared student athletes in an event from each region are accepted into the competition, with the top 12 regional placers advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon June 7-10. A full list of qualifiers can be found here.

Maryland's nine qualifiers is the most for the team at the East Regional since the 2008 season, when the Terps sent 16 athletes to Tallahassee, Fla.

Maryland Daily Schedule

Maryland NCAA East Regional Schedule
Time	Event	Division	Round	Athlete(s)
Thursday, May 25
11:30 AM	Hammer Throw (Flight 1)	Women	First Round	Emma O'Hara
4:30 PM	400 Hurdles (Heat 3)	Women	First Round	Lisa Meneau
5:30 PM	1500 Meters (Heat 2)	Women	First Round	Alexandra Lucki
7:15 PM	Long Jump (Flight 1 & 2)	Women	First Round	Kayla Richardson, Jewel Smith
7:20 PM	400 Meters (Heat 6)	Women	First Round	Micha Powell
Friday, May 26
2:00 PM	Discus (Flight 3)	Women	First Round	Claudia Ababio
4:30 PM	High Jump (Flight 2)	Women	First Round	Peyton Wade
5:30 PM	400 Meters	Women	Quarterfinal	Micha Powell
7:00 PM	400 Hurdles	Women	Quarterfinal	Lisa Meneau
Saturday, May 27
2:00 PM	Discus (Flight 3)	Men	First Round	Greg Thompson
6:00 PM	Shot Put (Flight 1)	Women	First Round	Claudia Ababio
6:30 PM	1500 Meters	Women	Quarterfinal	Alexandra Lucki

How They GOT HERE

Senior Micha Powell is a three-time NCAA East Regional qualifier in the 400 meter dash, and enters this year's Regional with the No. 20 seed in the event. Powell's season-best mark of 53.05 came at the Big Ten Championships, where she medaled in the 400 with a third place finish. Last season Powell ran a 51.97 in the finals of the 400 to qualify for the 2016 NCAA Championships. The mark reset her own school record, and was fourth in the field in the East quarterfinal round as the Ontario, Canada native punched her ticket to her first career outdoor appearance at the NCAA Championships.
Senior Lisa Meneau will compete in her second career NCAA East Regional in the 400 meter hurdles as the No. 8 overall seed. The Winchester, Va. native finished with Second Team All-Big Ten honors after finishing as the runner up at the B1G Championships, and set a new school record in the process. Her time of 56.78 was almost a second faster than her previous PR, and topped Terrapin great Kiani Profit's ('11) school record of 57.35 set back during the 2010 season.
Junior Alexandra Lucki will make her second career appearance at the NCAA East Regional in the 1500 meter run. Lucki's season-best mark of 4:18.87 at the Florida Relays earned her the No. 14 qualifying time in the region, as the time set a new career best for the Toronto, Ontario native. Lucki came through with a huge performance at the East Regional last season, out-running her No. 44 seed to eventually finish 12th in the field and advance to her first NCAA Championship.
Junior Peyton Wade secured her third career NCAA East Regional bid in the high jump after jumping a career-best 5'11.5” at the UVA Challenge this season. Wade's mark ranks tied for eighth in the region, and moved her into the No. 7 spot on the Maryland all-time list. Wade is coming off a runner up performance in the heptathlon, where she scored 5323 points to earn Second Team All-Big Ten honors.
Junior Claudia Ababio has qualified for her first East Regional in two events, as she gets set to compete in both the shot put and discus throw. Ababio currently owns the No. 8 seed in the discus, after throwing a school-record 180' 8" (55.08m) at the Virginia Quad Meet. Ababio will also compete in the shot put, where she enters as the No. 42 seed after throwing a career-best 50' 4" (15.34m) in the Hopkins Invitational.
Junior Emma O'Hara will compete in her first career regional meet after setting a new school record in the hammer throw. O'Hara's mark of 191' 4" (58.32m) at the Larry Ellis Invitational moved her into first all-time in the event at Maryland, while she took ninth in the field at the Big Ten Championships. She will enter the event as the No. 44 seed.
Junior Kayla Richardson has earned her first career regional bid in the women's long jump as the No. 35 seed. Richardson jumped a career-best 20' 1.75" (6.14m) at the Virginia Challenge to qualify, and moved into a tie for seventh all-time at Maryland with the mark.
Sophomore Greg Thompson will make his first career NCAA Regional appearance as the No. 9 seed in the discus. Thompson made history for the Terps this year in the event, breaking the school record with a throw of 197' 9" (60.28m) at the Kehoe Twilight Meet. The mark broke Alan Baginski's 34-year school record in the event (196-00 – 1983), and the London, England native was named the Big Ten Men's Field Athlete of the Week for his efforts.
Sophomore Jewel Smith was added to the field in the women's long jump as the No. 48 seed after a medical scartch was announced in the event Sunday. Smith will make her first career NCAA East Regional appearance after jumping 19' 11" (6.07m) at the Penn Relays this season.

A LOOK AT THE FIELD

Hammer Throw: Princeton's Julia Ratcliffe is the top thrower in the region after winning the Ivy League Championship with a monster throw of 227'2”.
400 Hurdles: Tyler Brockington of South Carolina enters this week's East regional as the only runner with a sub-56 second time, after running 55.97 to win the SEC title. If Meneau can match or improve upon her career-best 56.78 set at the Big Ten Championships, she will be a prime candidate to earn a spot at NCAAs.
1500m: Samford's Karissa Nelson owns the top time in the 1500m at this year's regional, after she ran a 4:10.91 at the Payton Jordan Invitational on May 5. It is also the No. 1 time in the country.
Long Jump: Alabama's Quanesha enters the regional with the top seed after hitting 22”7.75” at the SEC Relays last month. She in one of three competitors at the event that has cleared over 22 feet this season.
400m: Miami's Shakima Wimbley is the top seed in the East region for the second straight season after winning the ACC title with a mark of 50.40. Her time is also tops in the country this season. Powell will need to jump 11 spots from her qualifying time to advance out of the weekend.
Women's Discus: Florida State's Kellion Knibb is the lone entrant in the East to throw over 200 feet this season, earning the top seed in the event with a mark of 203'8” set at the Penn Relays this season. Ababio is one of ten athletes in the East to throw over 180 feet this season.
High Jump: Logan Boss turned in the best jump of any collegian in the East this season, clearing 6'2.25” at the Crimson Tide Invitational back in April. Six other jumpers scheduled to compete have cleared 6'0” this season.
Men's Discus: Brian Williams of Ole Miss is the East's top seed in the discus after throwing 213'8” to win the SEC Crown. Six different East athletes have eclipsed 200 meters in the event this season.
Shot Put: Raven Saunders is again the top seed in the shot put this season, entering the regional with a season-best throw of 60”8.75”. Ababio will see several of the same competitors from the discus in Sunday's shot put.