EUGENE, Oregon — Nicolas Quijera put forth the best performance of his career in front of a national television audience Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Oregon’s Historic Hayward Field.
Quijera’s throw of 251 feet, 10 inches (76.77 meters) is the second-best mark in school history, which was good enough to finish second and earn first-team All-America honors.
“I am so happy,” Quijera said. “To come here, get second and be the NCAA runner-up in my first year in the United States is awesome. … This was the best day I have had as a Bulldog, and the best day I have had of my whole life. Throwing 76m was a great moment, but I had to stay focused because I still had three throws left. I was trying to throw the (Spanish) national record, which is 78m. It is right there, and I know I can throw it. I have to continue to keep throwing, and enjoy this moment.”
Curtis Thompson, the 2016 national champion, earned first-team All-America honors for the third-consecutive season, picking up two team points in a seventh-place finish. Thompson finished with a best mark of 72.47m.
In the long jump, Willie Reed secured a 19th-place finish after leaping 7.28m.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of Rasheed Tatham, Juston Waters, Charles Taylor, and Stephan James earned second-team All-America honors with a 15th-place finish and a time of 3 minutes, 6.82 seconds.
MSU is tied for seventh with 10 team points after one day of competition in Eugene.
“We have known all year that our javelin team can be really special,” MSU coach Steve Dudley said. “That group has consistently performed at an elite level all season long. Nico picked the absolute perfect day to have a career performance, and the 10 points he and Curtis earned us today are going to go a really long way before this week is over. We are really pleased with our performances today, and cannot wait to get back out tomorrow and continue where we left off.”
Ole Miss’ Engels, Erb advance: Seniors Craig Engels and MJ Erb advanced through their semifinals to lead the way for No. 17 Ole Miss on Wednesday.
With Engels advancing in the 1,500 and Erb in the steeplechase, Friday’s final day of the men’s championship will feature three Rebels with big scoring chances. Junior Brian Williams will compete in the discus.
Engels sat in second place for nearly the entire heat one of the 1,500 before breaking it open over the final 200 meters to take the win in 3:40.07. He will be the top seed in Friday’s 12-man final, which is scheduled for 7:42 p.m. (ESPN).
This is the second-straight year for Engels, the two-time defending SEC champion in the 1500, to make the final in Eugene. He was a semifinalist in the 800 in 2015.
It also is the second-straight year for Erb to make the 3,000 steeplechase final, which is set for 7:54 p.m. Friday (ESPN). The SEC champion ran second or third for most of his heat. With the top five automatically advancing to the final, the homestretch featured seven men racing for those five spots, and Erb sprinted up to ensure his spot in a blanket finish by the top five men.
Senior Dempsey McGuigan finished in 10th in the hammer throw with a best throw of 69.14m/226-10. He earned second-team All-America honors.
n Alabama advances to finals in four events: the Crimson Tide qualified three men and its 4×400 relay for the championship finals.
Ruebin Walters (110 hurdles), Jereem Richards (200), and Steven Gayle (400) advanced to the finals, while the 4×400 relay also moved on to the finals on the opening night of the men’s competition. In addition to advancing in four events, the Crimson Tide men also recorded eight performances that rank in the top-10 in school history.
Richards advanced to Friday’s final in the 200 by winning the opening heat of the semifinals in a time of 20.04, the fourth-fastest time in school history.
Walters moved on to the championship final of the 110 hurdles, winning his heat in a time of 13.43, the third-fastest in the semifinals.
The 4×400-meter relay team of freshman Will Allen, Richards, sophomore Skyler Bowden, and Gayle rolled to a time of 3:03.26 to advance to Friday’s final. The time is the fourth-fastest in school history and the quartet has now run four of the seven fastest time ever at Alabama in their last four outings this season.
Gayle also advanced to the final in the 400 with a semifinal time of 45.45, the seventh-fastest in school history.
In the only final on the track Wednesday, junior Alfred Chelanga finished 11th in the 10,000 in 29:12.34, the 10th-fastest time in Alabama history. Senior Antibahs Kosgei finished 16th in 29:34.13 in his final race for the Crimson Tide.
In the field event finals, senior McLean Lipschutz finished 10th in the javelin (227-8). Lipschutz had an earlier throw of 226-5, which ranks as the 10th-best all-time at Alabama.
Sophomore Will Herrscher tied for 12th in the pole vault (17-4 ½).
In other action, Tony Brown ran a personal-best 10.12 in the semifinals of the 100. Brown didn’t advance to the final. The semifinal was one of the fastest 100 races in NCAA history. The top-eight times came in at 10.03 or faster.
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