UF T&F: Five Gators Advance to NCAA Championships; Asekol and Stark Advance to Quarterfinal Action

Claire Bryant, Anthaya Charlton, Gracelyn Leiseth, Alida van Daalen and Parker Valby will represent the Gators in Eugene, Oregon at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Day two of the NCAA East Preliminaries featured the Gators Track & Field women’s program which had five athletes advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon and two more advance to quarterfinals in their respective events.

Claire Bryant (Long Jump), Anthaya Charlton (Long Jump), Gracelyn Leiseth (Shot Put), Alida van Daalen (Shot Put) and Parker Valby (10,000m) have secured spots in Oregon with place finishes of twelfth or higher in each of their events.

Flomena Asekol (1500m) and Grace Stark (100m H) both claimed auto-qualifying spots in their respective events and will compete in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Outlined below is how the athletes advanced and performed during Friday’s action.

Women’s Long Jump
Just as the men had done yesterday, the Gators had two women punch their ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Long Jump. Bryant and Charlton, just as they had done at SECs, finished first and second, respectively.

Bryant tallied a mark of 6.53m/21’5.25” which allowed her to place first at the NCAA East Preliminaries for the third time in her career and qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Long Jump for the fourth time in four years.

Charlton jumped a distance of 6.44m/21’1.5”, placing her second and securing her spot in the second NCAA Outdoor Championship of her career and the first time competing in the Long Jump at NCAA Outdoors.

Women’s Shot Put
Van Daalen and Leiseth were the second Gator duo to finish back-to-back and lock up spots in Eugene, Oregon during Friday’s action. The sophomore and the freshman recorded second and third-place finishes in the Shot Put.

In just her second year competing in college, van Daalen is set to make her second trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Shot Put after recording a mark of 18.01m/59’1.25”.

Leiseth’s mark of 17.70m/58’1” stands as her fifth personal record of the outdoor season while competing in Shot Put and is now the No. 5 mark on Florida’s All-Time Top 10 List.

Women’s 10,000m
Valby will return to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, this time in a new event. After making her 10,000m debut earlier this season at the Bryan Clay Invitational, Valby has now qualified for the National Championship in the event. She did so by recording a NCAA East Preliminaries record time of 32:43.91 and placing first in the semifinal round on Thursday night.

Women’s 100m H
Southeastern Conference 100m H Individual Champion Stark advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships quarterfinals after placing first in her heat behind a time of 12.88.

Women’s 1500m
Shortly after Stark advanced to quarters, another Southeastern Conference Individual Champion, Asekol, advanced to the quarterfinal round. The Kenya native recorded a time of 4:07.43 which led to an auto-qualifying finish in her first-round action. The time also stands as a personal best for Asekol, the second-best time in program history and the No. 12 time in NCAA history.

NCAA EAST PRELIMINARIES MEET INFORMATION
Location / Venue

Lexington, Kentucky / University of Kentucky Track

Date/Times

Wednesday, May 22: 1:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, May 23: 3:00 p.m. ET
Friday, May 24: 11:00 a.m. ET
Saturday, May 25: 3:00 p.m. ET

Meet Schedule

2024 NCAA East Preliminaries Meet Schedule<https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/sports/crosstrack/d1/outdoortf/2023-24D1XTO_ScheduleofEventsLexington.pdf>

Live Results

NCAA East Preliminaries Live Results<https://flashresults.ncaa.com/Outdoor/2024/FirstRounds/East/index.htm>

Updates & Info

@GatorsTF on X<https://twitter.com/GatorsTF>

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Streaming

ESPN+

Streaming Links

Wednesday: ESPN+ Stream<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/fced0847-afb4-4f0f-b644-c1f604ee4df1>
Thursday: ESPN+ Stream<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/f26573f0-dc78-43c4-831a-19ae0adf36d0>
Friday: ESPN+ Stream<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/aa0b5db3-b057-4155-9948-40bff0adabe3>
Saturday: ESPN+ Stream<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3f78967a-850d-49fd-b19c-2f143c6e3402>

Broadcast Times

Wednesday, May 22: 6:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, May 23: 6:00 p.m. ET
Friday, May 24: 5:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 25: 5:00 p.m. ET

RESULTS
Thursday, May 23 – Track

Events / Time (EST)

Athlete Entries

100m H (First Round)

3. Grace Stark – 12.88 | Advanced to Quarterfinals (Saturday)

1500m (First Round)

2. Flomena Asekol – 4:07.43 | Advanced to Quarterfinals (Saturday)
– No. 2 on UF’s All-Time Top 10 List

800m (First Round)

41. Jess Edwards – 2:07.46

10,000m (Semifinals)

1. Parker Valby – 32:43.91 | Advanced to NCAA Championships

Thursday, May 23 – Field

Events

Athlete Entries

Long Jump First Round

1. Claire Bryant – 6.53m/21’5.25” | Advanced to NCAA Championships
2. Anthaya Charlton – 6.44m/21’1.5” | Advanced to NCAA Championships
40. Kendall Brown – 5.72m/18’9.25”

Shot Put First Round

2. Alida van Daalen – 18.01m/59’1.25” | Advanced to NCAA Championships
3. Gracelyn Leiseth – 17.70m/58’1” | Advanced to NCAA Championships
– No. 5 on UF’s All-Time Top 10 List

ATHLETE ENTRIES
Friday, May 24 – Track

Events / Time (EST)

Athlete Entries

4x100m Relay (Quarterfinals) / 5:00 p.m.

Florida Relay Team

1500m (Quarterfinals) / 5:15 p.m.

Parvej Khan

100m (Quarterfinals) / 6:35 p.m.

Wanya McCoy

400m (Quarterfinals) / 6:50 p.m.

Reheem Hayles
Jenoah McKiver
Jevaughn Powell
Rios Prude Jr.
Ashton Schwartzman

800m (Quarterfinals) / 7:05 p.m.

Ryan Maseman

200m (Quarterfinals) / 7:50 p.m.

Robert Gregory
Wanya McCoy

4x400m (Quarterfinals) / 8:45 p.m.

Florida Relay Team

Friday, May 24 – Field

Events / Time (EST)

Athlete Entries

Discus Throw (First Round) / 1:00 p.m.

Calvin Bostic
Kai Chang

Triple Jump (First Round) / 6:00 p.m.

Sean Dixon-Bodie
MJ Holloway II

Saturday, May 25 – Track

Events / Time (EST)

Athlete Entries

4x100m (Quarterfinals) / 5:00 p.m.

Florida Relay Team

1500m (Quarterfinals) / 5:15 p.m.

Flomena Asekol

3000m S (Quarterfinals) / 5:40 p.m.

Elise Thorner

100m H (Quarterfinals) / 6:15 p.m.

Grace Stark

5000m (Semifinals) / 8:10 p.m.

Flomena Asekol
Parker Valby

Saturday, May 25 – Field

Events / Time (EST)

Athlete Entries

Discus Throw (First Round) / 1:00 p.m.

Akari Isaac
Da’Moni Kelly
Gracelyn Leiseth
Alida van Daalen

High Jump (First Round) / 2:00 p.m.

Claire Bryant

Triple Jump (First Round) / 6:00 p.m.

India Alix
Alissa Braxton