Michigan
NCAA East Preliminary Round
Seven Wolverines Qualify for NCAA East Preliminaries Quarterfinals
5/25/2023 10:30:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
Site: Jacksonville, Fla. (Hodges Stadium)
Event: NCAA East Preliminaries (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Result: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 27 -- at NCAA East Preliminaries - Day Two (Jacksonville, Fla.), 1 p.m.
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The University of Michigan women's track and field team began action at the NCAA East Preliminaries on Thursday (May 25) at North Florida's Hodges Stadium with seven Wolverines advancing to quarterfinals in their respective events.
Aasia Laurencin kept her momentum going, winning the fifth heat of the 100 meters in 12.67 seconds and finishing third overall heading into Saturday's (May 27) quarterfinals. While her time was not wind legal (+2.6m/s wind speed), it is an all-conditions best for Laurencin.
In the 1,500 meters, Anna Juul and Sam Tran moved on to quarterfinals after finishing 11th and 27th, respectively. Juul finished fourth in the first heat in a time of 4:20.48, earning an automatic qualifying spot. Tran hung back for the majority of her race, making a push in the final lap and a half to get around the pack. She was able to move from the second-to-last spot to finishing fifth in the third heat with a time of 4:24.12.
Winning her heat, Ziyah Holman took 11th overall in the 400 meters. She comfortably won the second heat in a time of 52.82. In Saturday's quarterfinal, the top 14 sprinters are all separated by one second or less following Thursday's first round.
In the 800 meters, Aurora Rynda finished 11th overall after a second-place showing in her heat. She ran a smart race, staying at the front of the group for the first lap. As the pack sped up in the final stretch, Rynda worked to run down Clemson's Brynne Sumner and Kennesaw State's Sarah Hendrick and completed the race in 2:05.91. Juul also ran the 800, and hour after her 1,500 performance, taking 48th overall with a time of 2:16.60.
Emma Yungeberg had a strong performance in the javelin in her first NCAA East Preliminaries. She finished 13th, missing the final qualifying spot by just six inches. The freshman put out a strong series of throws, all of which went farther than 44 meters -- with her best a 47.80-meter (156 feet, 10 inches) heave. The throw matched a career best and tied the second-best distance in program history.
In the shot put, Corinne Jemison took 36th overall. Her best throw of the event was 15.18 meters (49 feet, 9.75 inches).
The final event of the day for the Wolverines was the 400-meter hurdles, where Savannah Sutherland and Nikki Stephens both qualified for the event quarterfinals. Stephens ran in the first heat, finishing with time of 58.24 to take third in the heat and 19th overall. Sutherland ran in the sixth and final heat, winning her group in a time of 56.77, nearly a second ahead of her closest competitor.
The Michigan women will participate in day two of the NCAA East Preliminaries on Saturday (May 27) at 1 p.m. at Hodges Stadium, with Jemison kicking things off for U-M in the discus.
Players Mentioned
