Baylor T&F’s Prosper Nnamdi Shatters West Prelim Javelin Record to Advance to NCAA Championship

[Pirtle, Colin]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 22, 2024

Baylor T&F’s Prosper Nnamdi Shatters West Prelim Javelin Record to Advance to NCAA Championship
Every BU entry found qualifying marks on first day of regional competition
For more information contact: Colin Pirtle; 940-564-0351, colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu<mailto:colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu>


FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Baylor track and field completed a perfect Day One of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds on Wednesday at the University of Arkansas’ John McDonnell Field.



Every Bear that hit the track for competition on Wednesday advanced through to the next round of the NCAA DI Outdoor Track and Field Championship, with Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi breaking the meet record for a ticket to the national championship meet in Eugene, Oregon. The junior will make his third appearance in three tries on June 5.



Seven other entries moved through the first round of the regional meet to compete for a spot at Hayward Field in the national quarterfinals on Friday afternoon.



Throughout the meet, live results are provided through Flash Results<https://flashresults.ncaa.com/Outdoor/2024/FirstRounds/West/index.htm> and fans can watch the action on SEC Network+<https://www.espn.com/watch/catalog/edb3a386-604c-341a-ba4a-b7b7e44d41a7/track-field#bucketId=29774&sourceCollection=Browse_By_Sport_New>.



THE RUNDOWN

Prosper Nnamdi officially put a throw at the No. 1 spot in the 2024 NCAA DI list on Wednesday afternoon, blasting a 270-9 throw, just shy of his 271-8 PB from the African Games in March. The junior, who also chunked a 270-6 throw on his second attempt, broke the meet record set back in 2013 by Texas A&M’s Sam Humphreys at 268-9.



With that No. 2 entry to the Baylor all-time performance list, Prosper Nnamdi now holds every top 10 mark in program history.



Nathaniel Ezekiel led the men’s 400-meter hurdles with the overall position on Wednesday evening, easily clocking a 49.20-second race. Chasing the 47-second mark, Ezekiel will compete for a spot in Eugene on Friday night at 7:25.



There were three Bears that entered Wednesday’s first round and three Bears that advanced through to the national quarterfinals in the men’s 100 meters. De’montray Callis led the BU pack with a PB of 10.21 seconds in fifth overall, Laurenz Colbert also took a timed-qualifying spot in eighth at 10.25 and Ricquan Graham finished third in the fourth heat to automatically qualify to Friday’s quarterfinal race.



Returning in the 200, Callis and Colbert found two more automatic qualifying marks by taking top three spots in their respective heats. Callis was sixth overall at a PB of 20.49, while Colbert took 11th after 20.46.



Demar Francis ran the quarter mile for the first time since his Big 12 title-winning performance at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium and secured an automatic bid to the national semifinals in 45.75 seconds. His time ranked 13th across the field and second in his heat.



QUOTABLE

Junior Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi

On his competition today…

“I still want to see what I am capable of. I feel like today was cut short because I only have three tries. I feel like I could do more, but it is what it is and I am still grateful.”



On health since the conference meet…

“[My health] has been great. Baylor has done a good job of taking care of me. I had a lot of ups and downs this season. I had a few injuries, but they kept me going and healthy, and it has been really promising. To be honest, if you had asked me if I would do good at regionals I wouldn’t have known because I was really hurting. It’s been good to come here and do something that I really didn’t expect.”

UP NEXT

The women’s squad opens its portion of the NCAA West Preliminary meet on Thursday afternoon with an adjusted schedule to beat forecasted severe weather in the area. Alexis Brown begins competition for the Bears with the long jump at 3 p.m.



To stay up to date throughout the year on all things Baylor track and field, follow the team on Facebook, X and Instagram: @BaylorTrack.



- BaylorBears.com –



Tomorrow’s updated schedule:

[cid:image002.png at 01DAAC98.5614A150]

_________________________________________
Colin Pirtle | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (WBB, T&F/XC, MTEN)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 940-564-0351

[signature_2230589939]<http://baylorbears.com/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20240523/23d5c0cb/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 11741 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20240523/23d5c0cb/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 69210 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20240523/23d5c0cb/attachment-0003.png>