BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The North Carolina A&T outdoor men's track and field team did what it needed to do Wednesday evening during the first round of the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round at Indiana University's Robert C. Haugh Complex.
Out of the 14 qualifying opportunities, the Aggies recorded 11 qualifying times or marks to advance to Friday's quarterfinal events. One Aggie already knows he is headed to the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, June 8-11.
Senior Brandon Hicklin, who came into the postseason as the nation's top-ranked long jumper, advanced to Eugene by jumping 25-feet, 7 1/4-inches. Hicklin had the fourth-best jump of the day. Hicklin returns to the NCAA outdoor championships for the second straight season in the long jump. A year ago, he finished fourth nationally.
Event-wise, the Aggies saw the most success in the 400 meters and the 400-meter hurdles.
They qualified three men in each event for the quarterfinals. Senior Cory Poole and sophomore Javonte' Harding led the way as individuals by qualifying for two events.
Harding was the only Aggie to have the fastest-qualifying time in his event, as he crossed the finish line in the 200m in 20.21.
"It was a nice easy run for Javonte'," said North Carolina A&T's director of track and field programs, Duane Ross. "He did exactly what he needed to do to get to the next round."
Harding, who won the 200m indoor NCAA national title in March, is looking to pull off the double in outdoor. He came into the east preliminaries ranked sixth in the East region at 20.16.
But he eased to a third-heat, finishing ahead of Kentucky's Lance Lang, who crossed in 20.39. The 200m quarterfinal is scheduled for 7:50 p.m., Friday.
Harding will also be in the 100m final on Friday, scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Harding finished the 100 in 10.17 to secure the 12th-fastest qualifying time.
Junior Randolph Ross Jr. came into the regional competition as the reigning 400m indoor national champion and the defending 400m outdoor champion.
Unsurprisingly, he led the Aggies on Wednesday by finishing his heat in 45.86. It took a personal-best 45.45 from Alabama's Khaleb McRae to beat Ross Jr. in the heat. Meanwhile, freshman Reheem Hayles ran in the same heat and finished third in 46.02.
Ross Jr. and Hayles had the fifth and sixth-fastest qualifying times, respectively. Sophomore Shemar Chambers joined the party by advancing to the quarters 46.16. He posted the 10th-fastest time on Wednesday. The trio of Ross Jr., Hayles and Chambers will make another appearance on Friday at 6:50 p.m.
Speaking of trios, Poole, senior Akeem Lindo and junior Aveon Reid will head to the 400H quarterfinal as an Aggie threesome. The 400H event begins at 7:25 p.m., on Friday.
Lindo led the way, finishing second in his heat with a time of 50.54. Overall, it was the seventh-fastest qualifying time. Poole won his heat in 50.76, earning the 12th-fastest time from the event on Wednesday, and Reid was an automatic qualifier with a third-place finish in his heat, which resulted in him posting a 51.32.
Poole, who won the 110H, 400H and 4x400-meter relay at the Big South Conference outdoor championship meet two weeks ago, qualified for the 110H on Wednesday in 13.73.
Senior Rasheem Brown had the fastest time for the Aggies, as he finished fractions of a second behind Davidson's Jayden Smith (13.577) to place third in his heat at 13.62. Brown recorded the 10th-fastest time.
"Absolutely! It was great to see our 400 hurdlers and 400-meter guys make it through," said Ross. "We've really been working those guys this year. We knew that if we were going to have a chance at winning the title, they would be a crucial part of it."
The ladies will compete on Thursday starting with the 100H at 2 p.m.
On Friday, the top-12 qualifiers in each men's track event will advance to Eugene for a chance at winning an event national title. The Aggies hope that results in an overall national title as a team. The Aggies will also try to qualify their 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams on Friday.
