Delaware’s Albamonti Advances to Outdoor National Championships on Day Two of NCAA East Prelims

Delaware’s Albamonti Advances to Outdoor National Championships on Day Two of NCAA East Prelims

Bookmark and Share

Hunter Peters

RESULTS

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (May 25, 2023) – Delaware junior Megan Albamonti highlighted day two of the NCAA East Regional Preliminaries, qualifying for the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship in Austin next month. Additionally, three runners advanced to the quarterfinals and will be back in action on Saturday, May 27.
 
Albamonti, the three-time defending CAA Javelin Champion, recorded a mark of 53.04m (174-00.00) to finish third overall and punch her ticket to the National Championships for the first time. They say the third time is the charm, and Albamonti has improved each of the previous three seasons at the NCAA East Prelims, finishing 26th in 2021, 19th last year before breaking through in 2023. 
 
North Carolina A&T teammates Paula Salmon and Jada Griffin passed through to the quarterfinals of the 110m hurdles and 400m dash, respectively. Hampton junior Dejah Grant also advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinal round in the 400m hurdles. 
 
Salmon cruised into the quarterfinals with a blazing time of 12.75 (w). The All-American finished second in her heat but ran the fourth-fastest time overall. The wind-aided mark was her fastest since competing at the Outdoor National Championships last year. Salmon is back in action at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, looking to advance to Nationals for the third consecutive season.
 
Griffin finished third in her heat for the automatic qualification, posting a time of 53.13, which ranked 16th overall. The graduate student just missed qualification for the National Championships last year with a 15th-place finish, competing for NC State. Griffin is back in action at 6:50 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Grant qualified on time by running 57.87, just seventh one-hundredths off the PR she set en route to the CAA title. Grant was fourth place in her heat and was 16th overall in the first round. She will be back in action at 7:25 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
The CAA had four competitors in the hammer throw, including Towson’s Georgia Coleman, who finished 13th, missing qualification for the National Championship by one place. Coleman recorded a huge PR and the top mark in the conference this season with her throw of 61.82m (202-10.00). Northeastern’s Gianna Rao was the next-highest finisher, placing 24th (58.30m), followed by Delaware’s Chioma Njoku in 34th (57.14m) and Elon’s Kaitlin McGoogan in 37th (56.12m).  
 
Liv Cantby of William & Mary also had a strong showing for the conference in the javelin, earning a top-20 finish. The junior transfer from UT-Arlington, posted a mark of 46.47m (152-05.50) to place 18th overall. It marks her highest finish at the NCAA Regionals after qualifying for the West Prelims the past two seasons. 
 
UNCW senior Courtney Lines, Hampton senior Maya Hanks and Northeastern senior Dominique Biron finished their seasons in the long jump. Lines placed 21st with a mark of 6.03m (19-09.25) as the two-time CAA Champion improved on a 30th-place finish last year. Hanks finished 31st (5.92m), and Biron was 37th (5.84m). 
 
Two student-athletes – Julieth Nwosu of North Carolina A&T and Nya Harmon of Hampton – concluded their seasons in the shot put. Nwosu, the CAA Champion, finished 24th with a mark of 15.72m (51-07.00), and Harmon, the conference runner-up, was 41st (14.25m).  
 
Three additional athletes competed in the 400m hurdles as Delaware’s Marie-Frederique Poulin, Northeastern’s Biron and Hampton’s Kayla Spencer made their NCAA East Regional debuts. Poulin finished 30th (59.15), followed by Biron in 33rd (59.62) and Spencer in 40th (1:00.65).  
 
Delaware’s Halima Scott, the CAA runner-up in the 400m, was also in the event. Scott ran 53.84 to finish 30th overall in her first NCAA Regional appearance. 
 
Elon’s Leandra Lorenz concluded the season at the NCAA East Prelims for the second straight season, finishing 33rd in the 1500m with a time of 4:25.33. The back-to-back CAA Champion improved on a 46th-place finish in last season’s regionals. 
 
In the 200m, Griffin doubled back for a 31st-place finish in the event, while Towson sophomore Cristal Cuervo placed 41st. Griffin nearly replicated her season-best time from the CAA Championships, running 23.38 (w), and Cuervo crossed the finish in 23.64 (w) during her East Prelims debut. 
 
Monmouth’s Ashley Navarro and Hampton’s Jordan Mozie competed in the 800m to close the season. Navarro finished 37th (2:08.67) after claiming the CAA title earlier this spring, while Mozie placed 41st (2:09.33). It was the second straight NCAA Regional appearance for Mozie, while it was the NCAA postseason debut for Navarro.
 
Follow the CAA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get up-to-date information and learn more about all  CAA member institutions and their teams.