May 30, 2014
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - UT Arlington juniors Clayton Vaughn and Emil Blomberg each qualified for the NCAA Championships on Friday during action at the NCAA West Preliminary Round. Vaughn advanced in the 100 meters, while Blomberg qualified in the steeplechase.
Vaughn posted a 100m time of 10.14, the fourth-fastest time among the three heats, to reach the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time since 2011. Blomberg had a clocking of 8:44.78 to finish fourth overall and earn his first career NCAA finals appearance. The mark broke his own school record by seven seconds.
"We are very excited about Clayton and Emil," UTA coach John Sauerhage said. "They both looked very strong and we are eager to see what they can do in Eugene, Ore."
Quentin Butler narrowly missed out on a spot in the 100m field, as he finished 13th with a time of 10.32. His finish was just .03 out of the 12th and final spot. Ashly Wright also suffered heartbreak with a 13th-place showing in the women's 800 meters. An NCAA qualifier a year ago, she ran a 2:07.20 in Friday's quarterfinals.
Butler and Vaughn will have another chance to advance in the 200 meters. Vaughn recorded the eighth-best time (20.80) in the preliminaries, while Butler qualified for Saturday's quarterfinals in the 23rd position (21.17). In addition, the duo will team with Cameron Newson and Christian Clark in the 4x100 relay.
Newson competed in the 200 meters on Friday, finishing 36th in 21.62. On the women's side, DeAndrea Smith came in 31st (24.33) to close out her collegiate career.
UTA also had a pair of sprint hurdlers in action. For the men, Renan Palma finished 30th in the 110m hurdles (14.31) and was just .09 out of advancing to quarterfinals. DeOna Stafford ran a 14.15 in the women's 100m hurdles to place 42nd.
In the field, Roland Sales shared 31st place in the men's high jump after clearing 2.02 meters (6-07.50). Meanwhile, Shae Johnson placed 34th in the women's triple jump with a mark of 11.89m (39-00.25).
The final day of the NCAA West Preliminary Round will start at 6 p.m. (CT) with the men's 4x100 relay. Brandon Waller will compete in the triple jump at the same time, while Butler and Vaughn will close out UTA's stay at the event by running the 200m quarterfinals at 7:35 p.m.
For live scoring and live video, visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
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