Senior shot putter
Nate Hunter and junior long jumper
Andrew Staples each qualified for their respective events at the NCAA Championship Preliminary Round in Greensboro, N.C. starting on Thursday, May 27.
The top 96 individuals (in each respective race/event) and top 48 relays across the entire country have been split into an east and west region as part of the NCAA Championship Preliminary Round. The Huskies are part of the East Region, which will take place at North Carolina A&T's Irwin Belk Track.
The other 48 entrants and 24 relay squads will compete in the West Region, hosted by the University of Texas at Mike A. Myers Track And Soccer Stadium.
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| Map of the new breakdown that determines if you compete in the East Region (Greensboro, N.C.) or West Region (Austin, Texas). |
This is the first year the NCAA Track & Field Championship has followed this format. In the past, the NCAA Regionals preceded the NCAA Championship. Participation in the championship weekend was contingent upon the results of the regional event. This season, the Track & Field Results Reporting System (tfrrs.org) revolutionized the landscape of collegiate track & field, tracking each and every time/mark throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons. With this new platform, it has become more feasible to chart the top 96 marks throughout the course of the season.
Both Hunter (shot put) and Staples (long jump) follow the same guidelines regarding advancement to the NCAA Finals (June 9-12) at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
The top 16 marks that emerge from the preliminary trials (three attempts) move on to a three-attempt final showdown. From that point, the 12 best marks out of the final 16 qualify for next weekend's final event in Eugene.
Andrew Staples
The Narragansett, R.I. native has enjoyed a banner season, topping IC4A standards on five occasions along with winning the New England Championship (long jump) and CAA Championship (high jump).
On April 6, Staples was selected the CAA Men's Field Athlete of the Week after winning the Wildcat Invitational.
The Huskies' jumping specialist has not only succeeded in the long jump this year by winning three events, but he has also won a pair of high jump events, including his first individual CAA Championship on May 1.
Staples etched his name into the NU annals on April 30, posting the fifth-best mark in school history in the long jump (7.42m – 24'4).
Staples will make his first-career NCAA Championship appearance, adding another element of excellence to his 2010 campaign. He is slotted as owning the 41st-highest qualifying measurement (7.42m – 24'4) heading into Thursday's trial at 5 p.m. Florida's Christian Taylor touts the best mark at 8.19m.
Nate Hunter
Hunter is no stranger to track & field's grandest stage. Friday marks the Gloucester, Mass. native's fourth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship. In his first two showings at the 2009 Indoor and Outdoor Championships, Hunter came away with All-American honors. The senior placed eighth at the indoor venue and seventh outdoors (top eight finishers deemed All-American). Hunter's last bout at the 2010 Indoor Championship yielded a 14th-place throw of 17.65m (57'11).
Northeastern's top thrower turned in another sterling outdoor season, winning five of the six events he entered. Hunter heads to Greensboro on a hot streak, winning his last three championship events. Over the course of the last month, Hunter captured his fourth CAA shot put title, fifth New England crown and first outdoor IC4A title.
Hunter was tabbed the CAA Most Outstanding Field Performer for the second-consecutive season after claiming the shot put (18.45m – 60'2.5) and seizing second in the discus throw (45.97m) at the conference championship. He has also been billed a CAA Men's Field Athlete of the Week twice this year.
In his most recent outing, Hunter became Northeastern's first IC4A Outdoor champion since Derek Anderson in 2004 by winning the shot put with a heave of 18.15m (59'6.75) at the IC4A Outdoor Championship. His victorious effort at the CAA Championship earned him the distinction of being the first four-time CAA shot put champion since Perry Gaskins (1994-97 – George Mason).
Perhaps his most notable distinction this season came in the form of he Northeast region's Male Field Athlete of the Year as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on March 9. Along with that honor, Hunter was listed to the Colonial Athletic Association's Silver Anniversary team for men's track and field.
The next two weeks will act as the cap to a legendary career for Hunter. Since donning the black and red as a freshman during the 2005-06 season, Hunter has won 37 shot put titles.
If Hunter can emerge from the pool of 48 this weekend, he will travel to Eugene, Ore. in search of Northeastern University's second-ever national championship. Boris Djerrasi won the hammer throw for the Huskies in 1975 with a winning mark of 225'8.
Hunter flaunts the 10th-highest qualifying mark (18.41m) in the field of 48. Kemal Mesic of Florida is in pole position with an entry of 19.38m. Qualifying commences on Friday at 3 p.m.
| Nate Hunter • Shot Put |
Competing on Friday, May 28 at 3 p.m.
|
| Best mark: 18.41m (60'5) • May 9, 2010 |
| All IC4A-qualifying marks: |
| 1. |
18.41m (60'5) |
New England Championship |
| 2. |
18.35m (60'2.5) |
CAA Championship |
| 3. |
18.35m (60'2.5) |
Husky Spring Open |
4.
|
18.15m (59'6.75)
|
Skyhawk Invitational |
| 5. |
18.15m (59'6.75) |
IC4A Championship |
| 6. |
16.55m (54'3.75) |
Raleigh Relays |
| Andrew Staples • Long Jump |
Competing on Thursday, May 27 at 5 p.m.
|
| Best mark: 7.42m (24'4) • May 1, 2010 |
| All IC4A-qualifying marks: |
| 1. |
7.42m (24'4) |
CAA Championship |
| 2. |
7.40m (24'3.5) |
Wildcat Invitational |
| 3. |
7.38m (24'2.5) |
New England Championship |
| 4. |
7.36m (24'1.75) |
IC4A Championship |
| 5. |
7.14m (23'5.25) |
Sea Rays Relays |
