NCAA Qualifiers Release (Men | Women)
INDIANAPOLIS – The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) announced the accepted entries into the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships which will be held at St. John Fisher University (SJF) in Rochester, New York this week, Thursday-Saturday, May 25-27. The University of Redlands received entries into eight events with a total of 11 athletes earning qualification thanks to both 4x100 relay teams qualifying.
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On the men's side the Bulldogs have Markelle Raymond (Fresno, CA) as the lone individual qualifier as he made the 100m and the Long Jump fields of 22.
He sits as the No. 9 seed in the 100m after posting a 10.45 at the Redlands Final Qualifier last week. He improves upon his time of 10.46 last season as he sits 0.02 seconds off the second fastest time and 0.08 seconds off the program record time as he ranks third all-time in program history. He ranks No. 2 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and No. 3 in the West Region this season.
Within the field of 22, Raymond is only 0.06 seconds off the third fastest time and sits 0.09 seconds ahead of 22nd, so making the finals will require the athletes to run a time around their seeding times to advance to the finals, which will be the top-eight.
In the Long Jump Raymond qualified as the No. 6 seed thanks to a mark of 7.46m/24' 5.75", which he set at the APU Franson Last Chance meet a week and a half ago. The mark is first in SCIAC and the West Region and moves him into third all-time in program history as he becomes one of three athletes this century to make the Top-10. His mark is 0.07m off the No. 3 seed and 0.02 inside the Top-8, where the All-America athletes are earned.
The third event the Bulldogs have qualified for is the 4x100 relay that earned the No. 14 seed that ran a 40.91 at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in the beginning of April. That time is No. 2 in SCIAC and the West Region, while they slot into fourth all-time in program history. The qualifying team consists of Gabriel Meunier (Winslow, AZ), Cooper Malerstein (Huntington Beach, CA), Cristian Megas (Palmdale, CA), and Raymond. Jacob Huset (Tacoma, WA) will replace Megas in the relay.
The Bulldog women will compete in five events with four individuals in four events with Sydney Harness (Henderson, NV) in the 100m, Elee Faulkner (Blaine, WA) in the 400m Hurdles, Ciara Aw (Shoreline, WA) in the Long Jump, and Ella Bachmeier (Rancho Capistrano, CA) in the Heptathlon.
Harness qualified as the No. 11 seed with an 11.90 time in the 100m, a new program record and No. 2 in SCIAC and the West Region. She ran the time at the Redlands Final Qualifier. Her time is 0.14 seconds out of the Top-8.
Faulkner is the No. 22 seed with a time of 1:02.82, the second fastest time in the SCIAC and the West Region and moves her into third in program history as she made the championships at the Redlands Final Qualifier.
Aw jumped 5.76m/18' 10.75" at the Redlands Final Qualifier. Her mark moved her into third all-time in program history and ranks her first in SCIAC and the West Region. She is within 0.09m of a top-eight spot, which is very realistic considering she was named an All-American when she finished sixth at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships after coming in as the No. 16 seed.
Bachmeier set a new personal best and the fifth best heptathlon total in program history with 4435 points at the Redlands Final Qualifier. She is the No. 22 seed. Her total ranks first in the SCIAC and second in the West Region.
The fifth event the Bulldog women will compete in is the 4x100 relay, which consists of Maigan Adams (Los Angeles, CA), Alexandra Ackerman (Lake Elsinore, CA), Harness, and Sabrina Semmere (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA). Their qualifying time of 47.05 came at SCIAC No. 2 and is the third fastest in SCIAC and the West Region. All 16 teams are within 1.10 seconds of one another, and the Bulldogs are 0.39 seconds away from the eighth and final qualifying spot for the finals.
The Bulldogs' championships will start with Bachmeier in the 100m Hurdles of the Heptathlon at 8:00 a.m. PST on Thursday, May 25. Raymond then competes in the prelims and finals of the Long Jump at 10:15 a.m. Aw will follow Raymond in the Long Jump at approximately 1:15 p.m. PST. The two relay teams run their prelims at 2:00 p.m. PST for the men and 2:15 PST for the women. Faulkner will also run at 3:20 p.m. PST in the 400m Hurdles on Thursday.
On Friday Bachmeier continues the Heptathlon at 8:30 a.m. PST as she starts her final day with the Long Jump. Raymond and Harness run their 100m prelim at 3:00pm PST and 3:15 p.m. PST.
The finals are Saturday with the 4x100 Relay on the men's side at 9:55 a.m. PST and 10:15 a.m. PST for the women. The 100m finals are at 11:30am PST and 11:40 a.m. PST with the 400m Hurdle final at 12:25 p.m. PST.