Nine Ducks earned at-large bids to the NCAA Track and Field Championships, increasing the squad for next weekend’s meet to 23, plus the men’s 4×400 meter relay team. Last year the team sent 16 individuals and two relays to the championships.
Six men and three women found out Tuesday that their seasons would continue. Daniel and Diego Mercado each earned bids in the 10,000m, while Chris Winter in the 3,000m steeplechase, Jordan Stray in the hammer, and Mike Simmons and Alex Wolff in the javelin all picked up at-large bids as well.
Also earning bids on the women’s side were Alex Kosinski (1,500m), Melissa Gergel (pole vault) and Kalindra McFadden (heptathlon).
The Ducks earned 13 automatic bids at the West Region Championships in Northridge, Calif., last weekend. Decathlete Ashton Eaton and heptathlete Brianne Theisen already had bids sewn up on the basis of their automatic qualifying marks earlier in the season.
The rest of the Duck men entered in the NCAA Championships are Phil Alexander (200m), Andrew Wheating (800m), A.J. Acosta (1,500m), Carlos Trujillo (5,000m), Colin Witter-Tilton (pole vault) and Colin Veldman (hammer). The women’s team will include Keshia Baker (400m), Zoe Buckman (800m), Nicole Blood (5,000m), Sarah Pearson (5,000m), Kasey Harwood (400m hurdles) and Rachel Yurkovich (javelin).
The NCAA Championships run June 11-14 in Des Moines, Iowa.
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