Track & Field Sends 28 Individuals to NCAA Opening Rounds
5/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 25, 2011
| NCAA East Preliminary Round Coverage | |
| Dates | Thursday-Saturday, May 26-28 |
| Location | Bloomington, Ind. | Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex |
| East Central | Information |
| Event Schedule | Weekend Schedule |
| Start Lists | Women's Start Lists | Men's Start Lists |
| Live Video (Free) | Day One | Day Two | Day Three |
| Live Results | |
| Qualification | Procedure Summary |
| Social Media | @ msutrackfieldxc  | Facebook  |
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State track & field team will send 28 individuals to the NCAA Opening Rounds this weekend in Bloomington, Ind., on Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21. The competition is being hosted by the University of Indiana at the E.C. Billy Hayes Track at Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex. Action begins at 11 a.m. on Thursday, and continues through Saturday, May 28.
The team's 28 qualifiers are the most MSU has had qualify for the NCAA Opening Rounds since the format was introduced in 2003, breaking last year's record by two individuals.
Qualifiers at a Glance...
For the men, 16 individuals will be traveling to Indiana for the NCAA Opening Rounds. Senior Yury Ratomski is the lone male sprinter for MSU as he qualified 41st overall in the 400m dash with a season-best time of 47.25. This marks Ratomski's second appearance all-time at the NCAAs.
The male throwers comprise the biggest group as they are made up of six individuals throwing in seven events. Leading the charge is senior Anthony Agrusa who will be making his fourth-straight appearance. Agrusa earned a bid in the hammer throw as he ranks 13th regionally with a 62.25m mark. Sophomore Lonnie Pugh returns to the NCAA Opening Rounds for his second time as he has earned a spot in both the discus and hammer throw events. Pugh ranks 17th in the discus (54.65m) and 12th in the hammer (62.82m). Pugh is the school-record holder in both events.
Juniors Aaron Ide, Brad Wentzel and Jay Gillespie will join Agrusa and Pugh in Indiana. Ide will represent the Spartans in the shot put, ranking 47th in the region with a 16.85m mark. For Wentzel and Gillespie, they will both represent the Green and White in the hammer throw with marks of 59.30m and 58.43m, respectively. Wentzel is 27th regionally and Gillespie is 44th.
Freshman Zack Hill rounds out the throwers, ranking eighth in the shot put with a season-best toss of 18.22m.
Wentzel is a two-time qualifier, while Hill, Ide and Gillespie are making their first appearances.
MSU will be represented by five male jumpers at the NCAA Opening Rounds. Junior Kevin Jackson was accepted in the high jump with a 2.10m mark. Joining Jackson with identical marks in the high jump is classmate Cliff Miller and sophomore Kurt Schneider. Jackson, Miller and Schneider were three of 11 individuals who posted 2.10m marks on the season. Both Miller and Schneider are making their second appearances all-time with Jackson making his debut this weekend.
In the pole vault, the Spartans have placed sophomore Codi Mattix and freshman Derik Peterman into the competition. Mattix is currently 22nd with a 5.13m mark and Peterman is 42nd with a 5.03m height. This marks both Mattix and Peterman's first appearance in their careers.
Just like the jumpers, the male distance runners have placed five individuals into the NCAA Opening Rounds. Senior Patrick Grosskopf leads the way as he is 14th regionally in the 10,000m run with a time of 29:40.03. Classmate Spencer Beatty is 25th in the 3,000m steeplechase, turning in a time of 8:55.56. Beatty is joined by junior Aaron Simoneau in the steeplechase as he is 19th with an 8:52.88 mark.
Sophomore Josh McAlary makes his second-straight appearance in the 1,500m run, ranking 37th regionally with a 3:46.65 season-best time.
Each distance runner is qualifying for their second time in their careers.
The women qualified 12 individuals for the NCAA Opening Rounds next weekend. The women are highlighted by four-time qualifier senior Emily MacLeod who is ranked second in the region in the 5,000m run with a time of 16:00.40.
Joining MacLeod in the 5,000m run will be junior Carlie Green with her 25th-best mark of 16:25.74. This will mark Green's second trip to the NCAA Opening Rounds.
Junior Tiffany Evans and sophomore Katie Haines round out the female distance runners for the Spartans. Evans was accepted in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 10:35.19 (43rd) while Haines will compete in the 10,000m run with a career-best 35:27.92 mark (42nd). This will be both Evans and Haines first trip to the NCAA post season.
Junior Leslie Aririguzo and freshman Jaelynn Pryor will both compete as the lone hurdlers for MSU in Indiana. Aririguzo will make her third appearance as she was accepted in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.51, good enough for 28th regionally. Pryor makes her debut in the 400m hurdles with the 41st-best time of 59.84.
The female jumpers and throwers have qualified three individuals in four events, each. For the jumpers, junior Becca Buchholtz leads all jumpers as she is sixth regionally in the high jump with a school-record mark of 1.82m, set at the Big Ten Championships last weekend. Buchholtz will be jumping in her second-straight NCAA post season.
Senior Ashley Smith is the most experience jumper as she is making her third appearance in the women's pole vault. Smith qualified 47th regionally as she posted a season-best 3.86m height.
Freshman Ashley Stacey rounds out the jumpers as she qualified in both the triple jump and the long jump. In the long jump, Stacey's best regional mark, she is 16th with a distance of 6.24m while she is 44th in the triple jump (12.48m).
Senior Ashley Lawrence leads a pair of sophomore throwers with her 20th-best discus mark of 50.91m. Lawrence has qualified for the NCAA Opening Rounds for the past three seasons.
Sophomore Beth Rohl leads all throwers as she is 2-for-2 in terms of qualifying for the discus and hammer throw in her career. In what will be her second appearance at the NCAA Opening Rounds, Rohl is currently third in the discus with a school record 55.94m mark. In the hammer throw, Rohl is 11th with a school-record distance of 60.28m.
Sophomore Shatora Lewis rounds out MSU's competitors next weekend as she is 40th in the shot put. Lewis has a season-best mark of 14.93m entering the competition. Lewis will make her debut this weekend in Indiana.
Qualifying for the Preliminary Championships...
Qualification to Preliminary Championship Competition is based on the descending order list for the season, segregated by east and west sites, and prepared solely from the mandatory submission of meet results during the season and adhering to the Qualifying Regulations published in the Championship Handbook. For each individual event contested at each Preliminary Championship Competition, the top 48 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. For each relay event contested at each Preliminary Championship Competition, the top 24 declared relay teams will be accepted into the competition.
Recapping the 2010 NCAA Opening Rounds...
Keenan Michael placed third in heat two of the 400m hurdles with a career-best time of 50.65 to qualify for nationals as the ninth overall runner in the event.
Beth Rohl placed seventh in the hammer throw with a personal-best toss of 57.44m. A day after advancing to the NCAA Championships in the hammer throw, Rohl placed fourth in the discus throw with a school record and personal-best toss of 54.48m to advance in the event.
Becca Buchholtz broke the school record in the high jump with a leap of 1.81m to tie for first in the event. With Buchholtz's first-place finish, she advanced to the NCAA Track & Field Nationals.
Kyron Foster was the first Spartan to advance during the final day of competition to the NCAA Nationals when he placed sixth in the triple jump with a season-best leap of 15.79m.
Josh McAlary placed fifth in the 1,500m run with a personal-best time of 3:43.87. McAlary was the top freshman finisher and entered the regional ranked 44th in the region. McAlary advances to the NCAA Championships with his top-12 finish.
Emily MacLeod became the sixth individual to qualify for the NCAA Championships when she closed out action for the Green and White in the 5,000m run when she won the event with time of 16:14.52. MacLeod finished atop the standings of heat one over the next closest runner by 1.54, automatically advancing to the NCAA Championships in the event.
Indoor All-Americans...
Three members of the Michigan State track & field team earned All-America honors following their performances last weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday, March 14. Earning first team honors for the Spartans were sophomores Lonnie Pugh and Beth Rohl while freshman Zack Hill received second team distinction.
Mid-Season USTFCCCA Report...
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its annual program report through the indoor track season and the Michigan State women's track & field and cross country programs rank 21st nationally. The Spartans are one of four Big Ten teams currently on the Terry Crawford Program of the Year Award list.
Big Ten Outdoor Champs...
Highlighting the opening day was sophomore Beth Rohl in the women's weight throw with a career-best and facility record mark of 60.28m.
After fouling her first two throws of the day, Rohl recorded a distance of 56.01m to qualify for the finals in third place. Rohl regained her composure in the finals, posted back-to-back 60.0m-plus marks for her fourth and fifth marks. Rohl's fifth mark of 60.28m gave the women 10 points towards the team total.
Sophomore Lonnie Pugh led the team during day two in the men's discus throw. Pugh placed first in the event with a toss of 53.81m. Pugh entered finals in first place, and only extended his lead with his first throw of the finals. Two of Pugh's three legal throws were the top marks recorded in the competition, while fouling the other three attempted tosses.
Rohl was the first to capture a Big Ten Championship in the final day of competition when won the women's discus throw. Rohl captured her second crown of the weekend when she posted a toss of 55.94m. Rohl's mark was her second school- and facility-record of the weekend.
Junior Becca Buchholtz posted a school record height of 1.82m to win her second-straight high jump crown. Buchholtz opened the competing on a quick pace as she cleared 1.67m, 1.70m, 1.73m, 1.76m and 1.79m all on her first attempt. After missing her first tries at 1.82m, Buchholtz finally cleared the height on her third attempt.
Senior Emily MacLeod was the third be victorious today as she won the 5,000m run for her fourth individual crown during the 2010-11 school year. MacLeod posted a time of 16:09.10 to win the race by 2.91 seconds.
Big Ten Indoor Champs...
Senior Emily MacLeod opened the 2011 Big Ten Indoor Championships with a win in the 3,000-meter run. The Loveland, Ohio, native started the event on a high note for MSU as she won the first event title indoors in school history with a time of 9:22.83. MacLeod closed out the weekend with her second win when she clocked in a 16:25.65 in the 5,000-meter run.
Freshman Ashley Stacey captured her first conference crown of her career when she posted a personal-best leap of 12.69m in the triple jump. Stacey became only the second Spartan all-time to win an indoor triple jump title, joining Sherita Williams who won the event in 2001.
Post-Season Conference Honors...
Sophomore Beth Rohl was named both Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year and Big Ten Field Athlete of the Championships, as announced by the conference office on May 18. Rohl earned field athlete of the year and of the championships following her pair of Big Ten Championships in the hammer throw and discus throw. Rohl kicked off the competition with a solid performance in the weight throw to post her first championship of the weekend.
Rohl becomes the first Spartan to ever be named Big Ten Athlete of the Year or Big Ten Athlete of the Championships in either field or track.
Also receiving conference laurels for their performances at the conference championship was junior Becca Buchholtz, senior Emily MacLeod, sophomore Lonnie Pugh and freshman Ashley Stacey. Buchholtz, MacLeod and Pugh all were First Team All-Big Ten honorees, while Stacey received Second Team All-Big Ten kudos.
MacLeod and Stacey both received First Team All-Big Ten distinction for their conference championships. Joining MacLeod and Stacey with Second Team All-Big Ten honors were freshman Zack Hill, Pugh and Rohl.
Record-Breaking Spartans...
With the season winding down, the Spartans have already rewritten the MSU record books during the 2011 season. So far, six school records have been broken during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Outdoor:
• Becca Buchholtz
High Jump (1.82m (5-11 1/2)) - Big Ten Outdoor Championships
• Lonnie Pugh
Hammer Throw (62.82m (206-1)) - Big Ten Outdoor Championships
• Beth Rohl
Hammer Throw (60.28m (197-9)) - Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Discus Throw (55.94m (183-6)) - Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Indoor:
• Lonnie Pugh
Weight Throw (20.69m (67-10 3/4)) - Big Ten Indoor Championships
• Beth Rohl
Weight Throw (20.44m (67-0 3/4)) - GVSU Big Meet
• Carlie Green, Alysson Bodenbach, Amelia Bannister and Emily MacLeod
Distance Medley Relay (11:17.62) - Meyo Invitational
Next Up...
Advancing members from the Spartan track & field team will travel to Des Moines, Iowa for the NCAA Championships held in Drake Stadium. Competition will begin on Wednesday, June 8, and continue through Saturday, June 11. To view the NCAA Championships qualification guidelines for each event, click here.
Players Mentioned
