Baton Rouge, La. – For the first time in almost a decade, the Southern University Track and Field team will send two athletes to compete in the East Regional in Bloomington, IN from May 25-28. The Top-48 times or distances in each regional qualified for the meet.
In 2013, the Jaguars sent two athletes in three events to the East Regional in Jacksonville, FL. Devin Jenkins ran in the 100m and 200m and D'Wayne Houston participated in the shot-put. This year's duo had
DeAnthony Nervis qualify in the 200m and
Jordan Thompson in the 400m hurdles.
"DeAnthony and Jordan have been working all year in their events to be in the conversation of being one of the best in the nation," Head Coach
Teremine White said. "It has been a while since we had athletes competing in postseason NCAA events, but they both will be first class representatives of Southern."
Nervis is a sophomore from Houston, Texas who has been a staple in four events for the Jaguars. Competing in the 100m, 200m, 4x100 and 4x400, Nervis has been known as a sprinter all season long. His fastest time of the season was set at the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship when he broke the 21 second mark for the first time of his career. In the prelims, a time of 20.71 would give him the top spot in qualifying and set a new personal record. He would finish the meet earning bronze with another sub-21 time at 20.78.
Just like Nervis, Thompson would become a fixture for the Jaguars in four events. His focus would be in the hurdles where he would compete in the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles. He would also team up with Nervis for both relays. The junior from Plaquemine, La. prepped at local Broadmoor High School. Thompson's top time of the season came just over a month ago at the Strawberry Relays. Breaking the 53 second mark for the first time in his career, he would set a time of 52.1. This time would be good enough to give him the final qualifying spot.
The preliminary competitions are scheduled for May 25-28. Indiana University will host the East Preliminary and the University of Arkansas will host the West Preliminary. The qualifiers out of these two regions will compete in the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which are held from June 8-11 in Eugene, Ore.
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