Marshall, Lambdin and others perform well
UC Davis track and field sent 15 athletes to Austin, Texas for several grueling days of competition in the NCAA Preliminary Championships. This included 10 athletes from the women’s team and five more from the men’s side.
Three of the seven Aggies competing on the first day successfully advanced in their respective races. Seniors Ashley Marshall, Cekkari Nixon and Racquel Lambdin each finished within the top 15, with Lambdin earning the highest place at No. 7 in the 1500. The senior set the UC Davis record for the 1500 at the Big West Championships with a time that would have been first in the first round of the Preliminary Championships.
While Marshall did not progress in the 100-meter, she advanced to the quarterfinals in the 200-meter with a time of 23.55 seconds. Nixon fell just short in both the first round of the 200-meter and the quarterfinals of the 400-meter, missing out on the finals by four spots. Senior Brandon Greenberg finished the shot put in 34th place, while senior Ben Parodi fouled during the hammer throw preliminaries.
The women competed in four different events on the final day of the NCAA Preliminary Championships. Marshall saw her run to the finals end prematurely after failing to make it past the quarterfinals in the 200-meter race and the 4×100-meter relay. Senior Veronica Smart fell in the preliminaries of the shot put after coming in 43rd place. For the men’s team, junior Trevor Halstead earned a No. 40 spot in the 5000-meter quarterfinal.
The only Aggie to advance past the NCAA Preliminaries was Lambdin, who finished in 12th overall in the 1500 with a time of 4:18.62. The senior will race on June 11, hoping to make the final two days later. A year ago, Lambdin advanced to the semifinal at the University of Oregon and finished in 12th place.
