Four Auburn Track and Field members got one last attempt to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships last Saturday at the Last Chance Qualifying meets. The field for the championships is determined by an athlete's standing on the national performance list. The Last Chance Qualifier is for athletes to try one more time to move up the list and improve their odds of making the cut.
"We already had a group of people that qualified for the national championships," said head track and field coach Ralph Spry. "We had others that were close so we wanted to give them one more chance before the championships." Redshirt freshman Harry Adams was the only Tiger to improve his season best time at the qualifiers Saturday.
Adams entered the weekend ranked 10th nationally with a time of 6.66 seconds and clocked a 6.65 in the semifinals after running a 6.68 in the first around in the men's 60 meter dash to help improve his qualifying chances. "He's a very confident individual," Spry said. "The thing we had to do with Harry was to not try to do too much too soon. We just had to kind of built off of his natural talent." Also trying to qualify were freshman high jumper Maya Pressley, sophomore distance runner Ben Charuiyot and senior distance runner Felix Kiboiywo. Pressley tied for third in the high jump during qualifications, but her 1.77 meters was not enough to improve on her earlier season-best mark of 1.81 meters.
Cheruiyot finished ninth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:03.72 but fell short of his season best time of 13:54.86. Cheruiyot ranks 19th nationally and will have to wait to find out if his time will qualify. Felix Kiboiyo ran the mile for the first time this year, but his 12th-place finish will not make him eligible for the championships. So far, Auburn will send three men to the championships.
Adams will compete in the 60-meter dash, sophomore Ryan Fleck will compete in the high jump while sophomore Marcus Rowland will run in both the 60-meter and 200 meter dash.
"Marcus is one of a kind," Spry said. "He makes my job very easy. His success is a direct result from his hard work, determination and work ethic. He comes into practice every day, works hard, doesn't make excuses and does what is asked of him."
Rowland won the 60-meter dash two weeks ago at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 6.62 seconds, while finishing second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.81 seconds.
"Marcus' season has been nearly perfect," said sophomore mid-distance runner Spencer Ferguson. "He's a great person and I admire his humbleness. He only congratulates others and strives to better himself by practicing hard everyday. I believe we'll do well at the upcoming NCAA Championships, but I think we'll do even better when the outdoor season rolls around."
The NCAA Indoor Championships will be Friday and Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
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