Five Gators Advance to NCAA Championships; Asekol and Stark Advance to Quarterfinal Action - Florida Gators (2024)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Day two of the NCAA East Preliminaries featured the Gators Track & Field women's program which had five athletes advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon and two more advance to quarterfinals in their respective events.

Claire Bryant (Long Jump), Anthaya Charlton (Long Jump), Gracelyn Leiseth (Shot Put), Alida van Daalen (Shot Put) and Parker Valby (10,000m) have secured spots in Oregon with place finishes of twelfth or higher in each of their events.

Flomena Asekol (1500m) and Grace Stark (100m H) both claimed auto-qualifying spots in their respective events and will compete in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Outlined below is how the athletes advanced and performed during Friday's action.

Women's Long Jump

Just as the men had done yesterday, the Gators had two women punch their ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Long Jump. Bryant and Charlton, just as they had done at the SEC Outdoor Championships, finished first and second, respectively.

Bryant tallied a mark of 6.53m/21'5.25" which allowed her to place first at the NCAA East Preliminaries for the third time in her career and qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Long Jump for the fourth time in four years.

Air Claire lands in Oregon 🛬

Claire Bryant qualifies for her 4⃣th consecutive NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Long Jump! 🤷‍♀️

Place: 1⃣st
Mark: 6.53m/21'5.25"#GoGators 🐊 | #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/cIU5fI406J

— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 23, 2024


Charlton jumped a distance of 6.44m/21'1.5", placing her second and securing her spot in the second NCAA Outdoor Championship of her career and the first time competing in the Long Jump at NCAA Outdoors.

Anthaya is IN 😤

Charlton qualifies for her 2⃣nd consecutive NCAA Outdoor Championship but is entered in the Long Jump at the Championships for the 1⃣st time!

Place: 2⃣nd
Mark: 6.44m/21'1.5"#GoGators 🐊 | #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/Bop6lK5RD7

— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 23, 2024
Women's Shot Put

Van Daalen and Leiseth were the second Gator duo to finish back-to-back and lock up spots in Eugene, Oregon during Friday's action. The sophom*ore and the freshman recorded second and third-place finishes in the Shot Put.

In just her second year competing in college, van Daalen is set to make her second trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Shot Put after recording a mark of 18.01m/59'1.25".

Alida is 🔒 in for Oregon

Van Daalen qualifies for the NCAA Championships in the Shot Put for the 2⃣nd year in a row!

Place: 2⃣nd
Mark: 18.01m/59'1.25"#GoGators 🐊 | #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/axABqNtxl0

— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 23, 2024


Leiseth's mark of 17.70m/58'1" stands as her fifth personal record of the outdoor season while competing in Shot Put and is now the No. 5 mark on Florida's All-Time Top 10 List.

Her 5⃣th PR of the year lands her in EUGENE‼️

Gracelyn Leiseth qualifies for the NCAA Outdoor Championship in the Shot Put!

Place: 3⃣rd
Mark: 17.70m/58'1"#GoGators 🐊 | #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/qGSf1aRnWf

— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 23, 2024
Women's 10,000m

Valby will return to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, this time in a new event. After making her 10,000m debut earlier this season at the Bryan Clay Invitational, Valby has now qualified for the National Championship in the event. She did so by recording a NCAA East Preliminaries record time of 32:43.91 and placing first in the semifinal round on Thursday night.

🤜🎟️#GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/97qGyTxK8r

— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 24, 2024

Women's 100m H

Southeastern Conference 100m H Individual Champion Stark advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships quarterfinals after placing first in her heat behind a time of 12.88.

Women's 1500m

Shortly after Stark advanced to quarters, another Southeastern Conference Individual Champion, Asekol, advanced to the quarterfinal round. The Kenya native recorded a time of 4:07.43 which led to an auto-qualifying finish in her first-round action. The time also stands as a personal best for Asekol, the second-best time in program history and the No. 12 time in NCAA history.

NCAA EAST PRELIMINARIES MEET INFORMATION

Location / VenueLexington, Kentucky / University of Kentucky Track
Date/TimesWednesday, May 22: 1:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, May 23: 3:00 p.m. ET
Friday, May 24: 11:00 a.m. ET
Saturday, May 25: 3:00 p.m. ET
Meet Schedule2024 NCAA East Preliminaries Meet Schedule
Live ResultsNCAA East Preliminaries Live Results
Updates & Info@GatorsTF on X


BROADCAST INFORMATION

StreamingESPN+
Streaming LinksWednesday: ESPN+ Stream
Thursday: ESPN+ Stream
Friday: ESPN+ Stream
Saturday: ESPN+ Stream
Broadcast TimesWednesday, May 22: 6:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, May 23: 6:00 p.m. ET
Friday, May 24: 5:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 25: 5:00 p.m. ET


RESULTS

Thursday, May 23 – Track
Events / Time (EST)Athlete Entries
100m H (First Round)3. Grace Stark – 12.88 | Advanced to Quarterfinals (Saturday)
1500m (First Round)2. Flomena Asekol – 4:07.43 | Advanced to Quarterfinals (Saturday)
- No. 2 on UF's All-Time Top 10 List
800m (First Round)41. Jess Edwards – 2:07.46
10,000m (Semifinals)1. Parker Valby – 32:43.91 | Advanced to NCAA Championships
Thursday, May 23 – Field
EventsAthlete Entries
Long Jump First Round1. Claire Bryant – 6.53m/21'5.25" | Advanced to NCAA Championships
2. Anthaya Charlton – 6.44m/21'1.5" | Advanced to NCAA Championships
40. Kendall Brown – 5.72m/18'9.25"
Shot Put First Round2. Alida van Daalen – 18.01m/59'1.25" | Advanced to NCAA Championships
3. Gracelyn Leiseth – 17.70m/58'1" | Advanced to NCAA Championships
- No. 5 on UF's All-Time Top 10 List


ATHLETE ENTRIES

Friday, May 24 – Track
Events / Time (EST)Athlete Entries
4x100m Relay (Quarterfinals) / 5:00 p.m.Florida Relay Team
1500m (Quarterfinals) / 5:15 p.m.Parvej Khan
100m (Quarterfinals) / 6:35 p.m.Wanya McCoy
400m (Quarterfinals) / 6:50 p.m.Reheem Hayles
Jenoah McKiver
Jevaughn Powell
Rios Prude Jr.
Ashton Schwartzman
800m (Quarterfinals) / 7:05 p.m.Ryan Maseman
200m (Quarterfinals) / 7:50 p.m.Robert Gregory
Wanya McCoy
4x400m (Quarterfinals) / 8:45 p.m.Florida Relay Team
Friday, May 24 – Field
Events / Time (EST)Athlete Entries
Discus Throw (First Round) / 1:00 p.m.Calvin Bostic
Kai Chang
Triple Jump (First Round) / 6:00 p.m.Sean Dixon-Bodie
MJ Holloway II
Saturday, May 25 – Track
Events / Time (EST)Athlete Entries
4x100m (Quarterfinals) / 5:00 p.m.Florida Relay Team
1500m (Quarterfinals) / 5:15 p.m.Flomena Asekol
3000m S (Quarterfinals) / 5:40 p.m.Elise Thorner
100m H (Quarterfinals) / 6:15 p.m.Grace Stark
5000m (Semifinals) / 8:10 p.m.Flomena Asekol
Parker Valby
Saturday, May 25 – Field
Events / Time (EST)Athlete Entries
Discus Throw (First Round) / 1:00 p.m.Akari Isaac
Da'Moni Kelly
Gracelyn Leiseth
Alida van Daalen
High Jump (First Round) / 2:00 p.m.Claire Bryant
Triple Jump (First Round) / 6:00 p.m.India Alix
Alissa Braxton


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Five Gators Advance to NCAA Championships; Asekol and Stark Advance to Quarterfinal Action - Florida Gators (2024)
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