Saturday, May 26
Sacramento, CA
2 PM CT
Wisconsin Badgers
at
NCAA West Preliminary Championships
History at Hornet Stadium: UW’s 4x100, Monson advance to NCAA championships
May 27, 2018 | Women's Track & Field
Two Wisconsin entries qualify for the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships on Saturday
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The final day of the 2018 NCAA West Preliminary Championships was a banner day for the Wisconsin women's track and field team as UW's 4x100 relay squad qualified for the NCAA championships for the first in school history while Alicia Monson earned a spot at the national meet thanks to a UW top-10 showing in the 5000 meters.
"Tonight was one of those special nights when everything clicked," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "The 4x100 relay got things going and what a huge performance by them. They gave us an injection of mojo that helped Alicia Monson to a huge PR to secure a spot in the NCAA final in Eugene."
The Fantastic Four
The quartet of Meagan Blair, Gabby DesRosiers, Brenna Detra and Ebony McClendon have had a knack of making history for the Wisconsin women's track and field team in the 4x100 relay this year.
The group has rewritten the UW record book as the squad broke the school record in the 4x100 at the Big Ten outdoor meet en route to a seventh-place finish.
Blair, DesRosiers, Detra and McClendon broke their school record again in the 4x100 relay on Saturday with a time of 44.66 seconds at the 2018 NCAA West Preliminary Championships. The group also earned a spot at the NCAA outdoor championships, marking the first time in program history that the Badgers will sport a women's 4x100 at the national meet.
"I could not be any more excited because in my four years here, we've been trying to put together a 4x100 and it's been okay," McClendon said. "But this has been the first year that we've had a solid relay, and I could not be happier."
"The last two meets for them were very good, they set a school record and you go into a meet like this, and it's just crazy intense," Byrne said. "All credit goes to Coach (Kareem) Jackson who did a great job getting these women ready for this. You could see during warmups how excited they were about this opportunity. All any coach can ask is to get out there and give it their best, take advantage of the opportunity that's being presented, and that's what our women did. Very exciting for the program, exciting for Coach Jackson's group. All their hard work throughout the year has paid off and they're heading to the national championships."
Wisconsin finished fourth in the opening section of the 4x100, which led for a few nervous minutes for the Badgers as the top-three finishers from each section along with the next three-fastest times advanced to nationals.
But UW's time held up as the fastest time qualifier and now the group will compete at the national championships at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on June 7 at 6:02 p.m. CT.
"Meagan [Blair] and I were over there biting our fingernails just praying that nobody ran faster than us," McClendon said. "At the end of the day we still ran faster and we're happy and it's always great to get in there and actually make it to Eugene."
Wisconsin is the only Big Ten Conference school that will sport a women's 4x100 relay at Hayward Field.
Mighty Monson
Heading into Saturday's 5000 meters at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships, only four Badgers had broken 15:40 in the outdoor 5000 meters – Cathy Branta, Kathy Butler, Stephanie Herbst and Katie Ishmael.
Alicia Monson became the fifth to join the club as the sophomore clocked in at 15:38.32 to finish fourth in her section to qualify for the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
"(Assistant coach) Jill (Miller) knew that it was going to go out fast, so she said to just stick on it, and once I saw the separation of the first three girls go I knew that we wouldn't all go with," Monson said. "I knew that Fiona O'Keeffe [Stanford] is a really smart runner so I decided to stick right on her and take the coaches' advice every lap and once we started building up to the last lap I knew that it would be go-time and I just tried to out-kick everyone else."
"Alicia ran incredibly smart out there," Miller said. "She stayed patient and waited until the perfect moment to make her move to secure advancing to Eugene. It will be exciting to see what she can do in her first outdoor final."
Monson was towards the front of the section of 24 athletes off the start as the Amery, Wisconsin native was in a chase pack of three looking down the top three runners for the majority of the race.
Nestled into the fifth spot, the final place-qualifying spot, with two laps to go, Monson moved up to fourth and used a strong kick to run the No. 5 time on UW's top-10 list.
"We have a super strong history of fast women coming out of Wisconsin," Monson said. "It's really great to be making history with the team and it just feels really nice."
Monson, who competed in the 5K at this year's NCAA indoor meet, will race on Saturday, June 9 at 7:25 p.m. CT in the 5000 meters, the penultimate event of the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Chinne Okoronkwo came close to joining the relay and Monson in Eugene as the sophomore soared a lifetime best of 42 feet, 9 inches (13.03m) in the triple jump, which was the best mark after the first two flights.
But the Lynwood, Washington, native ultimately finished 13th, missing out on a spot to Eugene by two inches as the top-12 finishers moved on.
In the hammer throw, Haley Showalter placed 24th with a mark of 192-0 (58.52m) that came on her first throw of the competition.
Also in the 5000 meters, junior Shaelyn Sorensen placed 35th in 16:31.71.
"Overall, this has been a very successful meet for us, especially on the women's side," Byrne said.
Up Next:
Wisconsin will wrap up its season at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, June 6-9, in Eugene, Oregon.
2018 NCAA West Preliminary Championships
Sacramento, Calif.
May 26, 2018
Women's Results:
5000 Meters
10. Alicia Monson – 15:38.38
35. Shaelyn Sorensen – 16:31.71
4x100 Relay
8. Meagan Blair, Gabby DesRosiers, Brenna Detra and Ebony McClendon – 44.66
Triple Jump:
13. Chinne Okoronkwo – 42-9 (13.03m)
Hammer Throw:
24. Haley Showalter – 192-0 (58.52m)
"Tonight was one of those special nights when everything clicked," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "The 4x100 relay got things going and what a huge performance by them. They gave us an injection of mojo that helped Alicia Monson to a huge PR to secure a spot in the NCAA final in Eugene."
The Fantastic Four
The quartet of Meagan Blair, Gabby DesRosiers, Brenna Detra and Ebony McClendon have had a knack of making history for the Wisconsin women's track and field team in the 4x100 relay this year.
The group has rewritten the UW record book as the squad broke the school record in the 4x100 at the Big Ten outdoor meet en route to a seventh-place finish.
Blair, DesRosiers, Detra and McClendon broke their school record again in the 4x100 relay on Saturday with a time of 44.66 seconds at the 2018 NCAA West Preliminary Championships. The group also earned a spot at the NCAA outdoor championships, marking the first time in program history that the Badgers will sport a women's 4x100 at the national meet.
"I could not be any more excited because in my four years here, we've been trying to put together a 4x100 and it's been okay," McClendon said. "But this has been the first year that we've had a solid relay, and I could not be happier."
"The last two meets for them were very good, they set a school record and you go into a meet like this, and it's just crazy intense," Byrne said. "All credit goes to Coach (Kareem) Jackson who did a great job getting these women ready for this. You could see during warmups how excited they were about this opportunity. All any coach can ask is to get out there and give it their best, take advantage of the opportunity that's being presented, and that's what our women did. Very exciting for the program, exciting for Coach Jackson's group. All their hard work throughout the year has paid off and they're heading to the national championships."
Wisconsin finished fourth in the opening section of the 4x100, which led for a few nervous minutes for the Badgers as the top-three finishers from each section along with the next three-fastest times advanced to nationals.
But UW's time held up as the fastest time qualifier and now the group will compete at the national championships at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on June 7 at 6:02 p.m. CT.
"Meagan [Blair] and I were over there biting our fingernails just praying that nobody ran faster than us," McClendon said. "At the end of the day we still ran faster and we're happy and it's always great to get in there and actually make it to Eugene."
Wisconsin is the only Big Ten Conference school that will sport a women's 4x100 relay at Hayward Field.
Mighty Monson
Heading into Saturday's 5000 meters at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships, only four Badgers had broken 15:40 in the outdoor 5000 meters – Cathy Branta, Kathy Butler, Stephanie Herbst and Katie Ishmael.
Alicia Monson became the fifth to join the club as the sophomore clocked in at 15:38.32 to finish fourth in her section to qualify for the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
"(Assistant coach) Jill (Miller) knew that it was going to go out fast, so she said to just stick on it, and once I saw the separation of the first three girls go I knew that we wouldn't all go with," Monson said. "I knew that Fiona O'Keeffe [Stanford] is a really smart runner so I decided to stick right on her and take the coaches' advice every lap and once we started building up to the last lap I knew that it would be go-time and I just tried to out-kick everyone else."
"Alicia ran incredibly smart out there," Miller said. "She stayed patient and waited until the perfect moment to make her move to secure advancing to Eugene. It will be exciting to see what she can do in her first outdoor final."
Monson was towards the front of the section of 24 athletes off the start as the Amery, Wisconsin native was in a chase pack of three looking down the top three runners for the majority of the race.
Nestled into the fifth spot, the final place-qualifying spot, with two laps to go, Monson moved up to fourth and used a strong kick to run the No. 5 time on UW's top-10 list.
"We have a super strong history of fast women coming out of Wisconsin," Monson said. "It's really great to be making history with the team and it just feels really nice."
Monson, who competed in the 5K at this year's NCAA indoor meet, will race on Saturday, June 9 at 7:25 p.m. CT in the 5000 meters, the penultimate event of the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Chinne Okoronkwo came close to joining the relay and Monson in Eugene as the sophomore soared a lifetime best of 42 feet, 9 inches (13.03m) in the triple jump, which was the best mark after the first two flights.
But the Lynwood, Washington, native ultimately finished 13th, missing out on a spot to Eugene by two inches as the top-12 finishers moved on.
In the hammer throw, Haley Showalter placed 24th with a mark of 192-0 (58.52m) that came on her first throw of the competition.
Also in the 5000 meters, junior Shaelyn Sorensen placed 35th in 16:31.71.
"Overall, this has been a very successful meet for us, especially on the women's side," Byrne said.
Up Next:
Wisconsin will wrap up its season at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, June 6-9, in Eugene, Oregon.
2018 NCAA West Preliminary Championships
Sacramento, Calif.
May 26, 2018
Women's Results:
5000 Meters
10. Alicia Monson – 15:38.38
35. Shaelyn Sorensen – 16:31.71
4x100 Relay
8. Meagan Blair, Gabby DesRosiers, Brenna Detra and Ebony McClendon – 44.66
Triple Jump:
13. Chinne Okoronkwo – 42-9 (13.03m)
Hammer Throw:
24. Haley Showalter – 192-0 (58.52m)
Players Mentioned
Jumps
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Middle Distance/Hurdles
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field Mick Byrne Media Conference || Wisconsin Track & Field || May 8, 2023
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