2017 DI NCAA West Preliminary Round

NCAA Prelims Day 3 Recap: Coleman Runs 19.85, Oregon Gets DQd!

NCAA Prelims Day 3 Recap: Coleman Runs 19.85, Oregon Gets DQd!

Notes from the final day of competition at the 2017 NCAA DI East Preliminary Round and 2017 NCAA DI West Preliminary Round

May 27, 2017 by Johanna Gretschel
NCAA Prelims Day 3 Recap: Coleman Runs 19.85, Oregon Gets DQd!
Notes from the final day of competition at the NCAA DI East and West Preliminary Rounds...

Christian Coleman of Tennessee clocked 19.85 (-0.5), the second-fastest 200m in collegiate history (AND with a headwind!), to demolish the competition in the East Region. The NCAA record is 19.69, set by Walter Dix of Florida State in 2007. Coleman's mark surges past fellow Vols alum Justin Gatlin, whose 19.86 stood as the NCAA record for five years. Watch the race below:



The Oregon women were disqualified in the 4x100m relay "out of Zone 2" according to the official results bulletin. Word on the ground is that third leg Deajah Stevens, the collegiate leader for 200m, stepped out of her lane during the second exchange. This is bad news for the Ducks, who did not start star sprinter Hannah Cunliffe in the 100m or 200m yesterday. The women's 4x100m relay was to be one of the most highly anticipated events at NCAAs, as both the Ducks and the LSU Tigers have broken the collegiate record this year. Both programs are currently tied on the all-time list at 42.12.

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Elise Cranny of Stanford will not advance to the NCAA Championships. The junior, who was the top returner to the NCAA 1500m field after placing runner-up last year, was just 11th in her quarter final section in 4:33.60. Her Cardinal teammates Christina Aragon and Rebecca Mehra safely advanced.

Justine Kiprotich is headed to NCAAs after all. The Big 10 1500m champion from Michigan State was barred from racing the first round because he arrived at the event without his bib number. However, the officials later advanced him through to the quarter final -- likely after learning of his pedigree -- where he advanced to Eugene today by winning his heat in 3:46.51, the fastest time out of the East Region.


Anna Rohrer of Notre Dame dropped out of the 5K in the East Region. The sophomore already qualified for NCAAs in the 10K, where she owns the NCAA-leading time of 31:58.09 -- a time that makes her the seventh-fastest performer in NCAA history. 

The women's 4x400m relays in the West saw some sizzling times... USC's 3:26.09 was the fastest of the evening in humid conditions in Austin. Heat 2 winner Oregon ran 3:28.28 with the fastest individual split of the evening from 800m collegiate record holder Raevyn Rogers in 50.20. Heat 3 saw two teams under 3:30: Texas Longhorns claimed victory in 3:28.3 over Texas A&M (3:29.17). 

Freshly minted NCAA 400m record holder Fred Kerley showed off his wheels with a sizzling 43.35 split to lead Texas A&M to the fastest 4x400m relay time in the NCAA this year: 3:00.69.

Not to be outdone, Heat 3 saw UTEP's star half-miler Emmanuel Korir split an insane 43.34 anchor to go from sixth to second! It's a shame that we likely will never see a Kerley-Korir match-up as Korir chose to pursue just the 800m at NCAAs and will probably anchor the 4x400m, while the elder Kerley usually runs second leg on the relay.