7/31/2019 TF Meet Preview - NCAA Regions 2012

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NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

East Preliminary Rounds

Meet Preview:

After a long season that began back in August for some, three UMBC

track and field athletes have made it to the final portion of the season,

participating in the Preliminary Rounds of the NCAA Outdoor Track and

Field Championships at the University of North Florida.

To advance to the preliminary rounds, athletes needed to have had a

Top 48 mark or time in their respective event within the entire Eastern

United States from Michigan to Maine to Florida to Indiana. This year,

UMBC will send three athletes to Jacksonville, all who will be making

their first appearance in the Preliminary Rounds: Junior Amanda Deller,

Sophomore Brandan McGee, and freshman Mercedes Jackson.

Amanda Deller:

Amanda Deller came into the season having won

the America East Conference Championship in the

shot put four times in four occasions (two indoor,

two outdoor). She built upon that streak this year

by winning both the shot put title and weight

throw title at the Indoor Championships, and the

shot put title at the Outdoor Championships. Her

performance during Indoor nabbed her the

America East Indoor Field Performer of the Year.

During the year she bettered her performances from years prior moving

up to 49-1.75 during the indoor campaign and 48-7.25 during an

outdoor season abbreviated by injury. She currently ranks as the second

best female shot put athlete in UMBC history, trailing only former

National Champion and multi-time All American Cleopatra Borel.

We missed out on a lot of training following the indoor season due to

an injury that kept her out of competition to just before the Conference

meet, said throw coach, Pete Koumelis, but these extra weeks since

then we have been able to make up for lost time. We are hoping to get

over that fifty foot barrier as a spring board into next season. Deller

competes at 1:00 PM on Thursday.

Brandan McGee:

Brandan McGee has had the longest year of the

three athletes competing, having opened up on

the first week of September during cross country,

having led the Retrievers through the cross

country season, and recording the fastest 5,000m

time during indoor. Once he reached outdoor

things began to pick up with an IC4A qualifying

9:12 in the steeple at the Princeton Invite.

McGee followed up that performance two weeks later with an upset

performance in the steeple, winning his first Conference championship

by beating last years champion. In the process, he broke the school

record with a 9:01.73 clocking in the event. He followed that

performance up the next day with a fifth place finish in the 5,000 meter

run.

Were not settling with being happy to be here, revealed distance

coach Matt Gittermann, our goal is to put ourselves in a position so

that we can make a run at the Final Rounds and Championship heats

over the next two years.

McGee competes at 9:00 PM on Friday.

Mercedes Jackson:

It did not take long for freshmen Mercedes Jackson to make an impact

on the UMBC Track and Field team. In her first heat of her first race, she

smashed the school record in the 60 meter dash. She continued the

indoor campaign lowering her 60 meter time down to 7.49 and also

took down the 200 meter dash record with a time of 24.00. In the

process she took first in the 60 meter dash and second in the 200 meter

dash en route to being named America East Rookie of the Year.

She continued the streak bettering school records in the 100 meter

dash and 200 meter dashes with times of 11.66 and 23.80 respectively.

At the Outdoor Conference Meet she reprised her role as America East

Rookie of the Year after finishing second in the 100 meter dash and first

in the 200 meter dash.

The expectation is that Mercedes

will be a perennial qualifier, so we

will be looking for quality efforts

that put us in range of the Semis

and Finals for the next three years,

said Head Coach David Bobb. Jacksoncompetes first in the 100m at 6:55 PM

on Thursday and at 8:25 PM in the 200m.

NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

East Preliminary Rounds