Wake Forest Athletics
Six Deacons Qualify for NCAA Track & Field Regionals
5/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
May 24, 2011
NCAA Regional Site | NCAA Regional Declarations
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Six Wake Forest athletes were selected to compete in the NCAA Track and Field Opening Round at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. The meet begins Thursday morning and runs through Saturday afternoon.
This is the second year that the NCAA will use a preliminary round format similar to the format used in the Olympic Games. Two sites - Bloomington, Ind., and Eugene, Ore. - are hosting NCAA first rounds.
The top 48 declared athletes per event in each region are vying for one of 12 spots in the NCAA Championships, which will take place June 8-11 on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Sophomore Ben Lincoln qualified in the javelin for the second consecutive year after turning in a school record-setting mark of 230-11 at the Tiger Track Classic in April. He is seeded 14th among 48 athletes.
Lincoln also earned All-ACC honors for the second time of his career after finishing third at the ACC Outdoor Championships with a throw of 226-04. Lincoln finished 14th in the event at last year's NCAA First Round with a throw of 215-07.
Lincoln will be the first Deacon to compete in the Opening Rounds, as the men's javelin action begins Thursday at noon.
Fellow sophomore Sean Lunkenheimer will compete in the 400-meter hurdles after a very impressive season. The Keyport, N.J., native turned in a personal-best time of 52.20 at the Tar Heel Relays in early May to move into third place all-time on the Wake Forest charts.
Lunkenheimer finished sixth overall in the event at the ACC Championships with a time of 53.16. Thursday will mark Lunkenheimer's first competition in the NCAA Regionals, although he was an alternate for the 4x400-meter relay team that qualified for last year's NCAA Championships. He will hold the 34th seed overall.
Freshman Alexander Rose will represent the Deacs in the mid-distance events, competing in the first round of the 1500-meter run. The Brisbane, Australia, native's top time of the season, 3:49.01, came at the Duke Invitational in April, where he finished fifth in the event.
Rose also finished sixth in the prelims of the ACC Championships in the 1500, and he would go on to finish eighth in the finals in a time of 3:50.35. Rose holds the 40th seed overall among the field of 48 runners.
Lunkenheimer will compete in the 400-meter hurdles at 4 p.m. on Thursday, followed by Rose in the 1500-meters at 5 p.m.
The Deacs will have two representatives in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as senior Marcus Dillon and junior Paul Loeser each make their NCAA Regional debut. Dillon owns the top mark on the team, 8:58.02, which he recorded at the ACC Championships en route to a fourth-place finish.
Loeser was close behind Dillon at the ACC Championships, finishing sixth overall in a personal-best time of 8:58.53. It marked the first time of his career that Loeser broke the nine-minute mark, and he shattered his previous personal best by more than 15 seconds.
Dillon is currently ranked fifth all-time on the Wake Forest charts, while Loeser is sixth.
Dillon and Loeser are seeded 29th and 33rd, respectively, in the First Rounds. The duo will compete in the event Friday evening at 9:10 p.m., with the top 12 times advancing to the National Semifinal.
The lone representative for the Deacs on the women' side is junior Erin Brooks, the current school record-holder in the triple jump. Brooks' record-setting mark of 41-2 (12.56 meters) came at the Duke Twilight meet in early May.
Brooks also jumped for a distance of 40-7 at the Duke Invitational in April to set what was then a school record, as well. The Woodstock, Md. native surpassed Molly Kennedy's mark of 40-0.5 set in 2005.
Women's triple jump competition is set to begin Friday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Live results and video feed will be available throughout the meet on NCAASports.com. In addition, check back to WakeForestSports.com for a complete recap at the end of each day.
Players Mentioned
