TicketsJACKSONVILLE, Fla.— Six University of Cincinnati track and field athletes punched their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships as the Bearcats close out the NCAA East First Round at Hodges Stadium on Saturday.
Out of the 19 student-athletes competing at the NCAA East First Round, six (five women, one man) qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 7-10 in Austin, Texas.
"The meet went really well," head coach Susan Seaton said. "The six individual qualifiers is one of the largest groups we have advanced to nationals and having five on the women's side is a big deal. They all are positioned really well to make finals and hopefully, we can focus on putting up a good team score."
On the final day of the East First Round, three UC women punched their tickets to Austin.
Redshirt senior Rylee Penn punched her ticket to Austin in the women's 1500-meter. She ran the third fastest time in the quarterfinal with a time of 4:12.17 to advance to her first NCAA Outdoor Championship.
The dynamic duo of Taylor Beard and Annika Kinley are heading to Austin after qualifying in the women's high jump. The pair cleared a bar height of 1.82 (5'11.5") as Beard finished in third and Kinley in sixth.
For Kinley, the mark is a new personal best and moves her to sixth in the UC outdoor record book. She will be making her first appearance at nationals after not making it out of the first round last year.
The Winchester, Va., native, Beard will be making her second career appearance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Her last appearance was during the 2021 season, where she finished 16th overall.
Senior Fred Moudani-Likibi was the only member of the UC men's team to qualify for the outdoor national championships. He finished inside the Top 12 (sixth) with a throw of 19.56m (64'2.25") and punched his ticket out of the first round and onto his first-ever outdoor national championship after just missing the cut last season.
The Savigny-Le-Temple, France native, will look for similar results as he had during the NCAA Indoor Championships, where he earned First Team All-America honors.
Junior Leonie Troeger, a Berlin, Germany, native, finished second in the region with a throw of 54.89m (180'1") and advanced out of the first round and onto her second outdoor national championship for the second straight season. Her second-place finish is also her best finish at the East First Round.
The top 12 javelin throwers from both the East and West Regionals will go to Austin, Texas, to compete for the national title. Troeger will look to improve on last year's performance, where she finished 21st overall.
In her second appearance at East Regional, sophomore Abby Knouff placed inside the top 12 in the women's pole vault (10th) to advance to her first outdoor national championships. She cleared a bar height of 4.12m (13'6.25") to achieve the feat.
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Out of the 19 student-athletes competing at the NCAA East First Round, six (five women, one man) qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 7-10 in Austin, Texas.
"The meet went really well," head coach Susan Seaton said. "The six individual qualifiers is one of the largest groups we have advanced to nationals and having five on the women's side is a big deal. They all are positioned really well to make finals and hopefully, we can focus on putting up a good team score."
On the final day of the East First Round, three UC women punched their tickets to Austin.
Redshirt senior Rylee Penn punched her ticket to Austin in the women's 1500-meter. She ran the third fastest time in the quarterfinal with a time of 4:12.17 to advance to her first NCAA Outdoor Championship.
The dynamic duo of Taylor Beard and Annika Kinley are heading to Austin after qualifying in the women's high jump. The pair cleared a bar height of 1.82 (5'11.5") as Beard finished in third and Kinley in sixth.
For Kinley, the mark is a new personal best and moves her to sixth in the UC outdoor record book. She will be making her first appearance at nationals after not making it out of the first round last year.
The Winchester, Va., native, Beard will be making her second career appearance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Her last appearance was during the 2021 season, where she finished 16th overall.
Senior Fred Moudani-Likibi was the only member of the UC men's team to qualify for the outdoor national championships. He finished inside the Top 12 (sixth) with a throw of 19.56m (64'2.25") and punched his ticket out of the first round and onto his first-ever outdoor national championship after just missing the cut last season.
The Savigny-Le-Temple, France native, will look for similar results as he had during the NCAA Indoor Championships, where he earned First Team All-America honors.
Junior Leonie Troeger, a Berlin, Germany, native, finished second in the region with a throw of 54.89m (180'1") and advanced out of the first round and onto her second outdoor national championship for the second straight season. Her second-place finish is also her best finish at the East First Round.
The top 12 javelin throwers from both the East and West Regionals will go to Austin, Texas, to compete for the national title. Troeger will look to improve on last year's performance, where she finished 21st overall.
In her second appearance at East Regional, sophomore Abby Knouff placed inside the top 12 in the women's pole vault (10th) to advance to her first outdoor national championships. She cleared a bar height of 4.12m (13'6.25") to achieve the feat.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati Track and Field/Cross Country, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. and follow @GoBearcatsTFXC on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.