Wake Forest Athletics
Eight Demon Deacons to Compete at NCAA East Regional
5/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
May 28, 2014
By Currie McFayden, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeTrack)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest will send a contingent of eight athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Regional at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., beginning on Thursday afternoon.
On the men's side, Thomas Bojanowski will compete in the 800m run, Simon Holden and Kyle Graves will race in the 1,500m run, Alexander Rose earned a spot in the 5,000m run and Charlie Ionata hurled his way into the hammer throw competition.
For the women, Nyki Caldwell will represent the Demon Deacons in the high jump, Sydney White will compete in the pole vault and two-time defending ACC champion Jessie Merckle will throw in the javelin competition.
Following is an event-by-event preview of Wake Forest's slate at the NCAA East Regional this weekend.
Men's 800m Run (Preliminary Heats: Thursday, 8:10 p.m.)
Qualifier: Thomas Bojanowski
Qualifying Time: 1:49.13
Seeding: 24th
Bojanowski has been a very strong mid-distance runner for the Deacs this season, earning seven individual top-10 finishes across three different events. The senior's qualifying time of 1:49.13 came at the Virginia Challenge, where he blazed to a second-place finish. That time was the fourth-fastest of any ACC competitor in the 800m run this season and was good for the 24th-best time in the East Region.
Men's 1,500m Run (Preliminary Heats: Thursday, 5:30 p.m.)
Qualifier: Kyle Graves
Qualifying Time: 3:43.92
Seeding: 19th
Qualifier: Simon Holden
Qualifying Time: 3:44.45
Seeding: 26th
Like Bojanowski, Graves and Holden have excelled in the mid-distance events this season. Graves earned All-ACC honors in the 800m run with a third-place finish at the ACC Outdoor Championships, and both earned top-10 finishes in the 1,500m run at the conference championships as well.
Graves posted his qualifying time in a fifth-place effort at the Virginia Challenge, while Holden took second at the Wolfpack Last Chance Meet to earn his way into the East Regional.
Men's 5,000m Run (Preliminary Heats: Saturday, 8:05 p.m.)
Qualifier: Alexander Rose
Qualifying Time: 13:59.07
Seeding: 17th
Rose competed in the 5,000m run just twice this season, but his stellar sixth-place performance with a personal-best time of 13:59.07 at the Stanford Invitational was more than enough to qualify for the East Regional. In addition to his distance running, Rose has also posted three top-10 finishes in the 1,500m run during the outdoor season.
Men's Hammer Throw (Preliminary Flights: Friday, 10:00 a.m.)
Qualifier: Charlie Ionata
Qualifying Mark: 201-1 (61.30m)
Seeding: 32nd
Only a freshman, Ionata burst onto the scene in his first outdoor collegiate meet, shattering the school record in the hammer throw at the Coastal Carolina Invitational with a heave of 201-1 (61.30m) to place second overall. He has placed in the top 10 in all eight of his hammer throw competitions this season, including a victory at the Joe Hilton Outdoor Invitational and a sixth-place showing at the ACC Outdoor Championships.
Women's High Jump (Preliminary Flights: Friday, 5:00 p.m.)
Qualifier: Nyki Caldwell
Qualifying Mark: 5-10 (1.78m)
Seeding: T-20th
Competing in her signature event this season, Caldwell has been the picture of consistency, earning top-10 finishes in each of her eight competitions. The junior picked up a victory as well as her qualifying mark at the Wake Forest Open and placed second on three other occasions. Caldwell put together a strong showing at the ACC Outdoor Championships en route to an eighth-place finish.
Women's Pole Vault (Preliminary Flights: Friday, 12:00 p.m.)
Qualifier: Sydney White
Qualifying Mark: 13-4.5 (4.08m)
Seeding: T-23rd
Like Ionata and Caldwell, White has recorded eight top-10 finishes in the pole vault this season with a pair of victories at the Coastal Carolina Invitational and the Virginia Challenge. The sophomore accomplished a rare feat when she set a new school record at the latter meet, only to break her own record just one week later with a vault of 13-4.5 (4.08m) at the Georgia Tech Invitational. White's mark was the fifth-best in the ACC during the outdoor season.
Women's Javelin Throw (Preliminary Flights: Thursday, 5:30 p.m.)
Qualifier: Jessie Merckle
Qualifying Mark: 177-0 (53.94m)
Seeding: 6th
One of the top javelin throwers in the nation, Merckle captured her second consecutive ACC championship with a school- and meet-record throw of 177-0 (53.94m) in April. After battling back from injuries, the sophomore has won three of her five competitions this season, throwing more than 170 feet in each of those victories. Merckle had the second-best throw in the ACC this season behind Virginia Tech's Eva Vivod.
Players Mentioned
