WASHINGTON – Jack Salisbury, Parker Stokes, Robert Brandt, and Sami Corman will represent Georgetown University at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships after successfully qualifying via the NCAA East Region Preliminary this week in Jacksonville, Florida.   

DIRECTOR OF TRACK & FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY ALTON MCKENZIE ON THE NCAA EAST REGION PRELIMINARY:
"What an incredible week of competing from our Hoya men and women! We're pleased to have four qualifiers moving on to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, and very proud of the effort from all our student-athletes who competed at the prelims in Jacksonville. Our student-athletes and coaching staff are excited to be back at Hayward Field for another opportunity to compete. We'll look forward to making our presence felt at the NCAA Championships!

Kudos to our exceptional coaching staff; Coach Baker & Coach Bonsey with the women's mid/distance and men's mid/distance, respectively, and Coach Levermore helping across the board. We've put in a lot of work to get to this point of the season and the resilience shown by our student-athletes has been on full display throughout the season and definitely this past week."

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

• First up on the track in the men's 1,500-meter run, junior Jack Salisbury set the tone for an exciting quarterfinal round of competition. 
• Salisbury, who finished second in Heat 1, with a time of 3:37.18, was the first Hoya to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Outdoor Championship. His mark also sees him qualify for the 2021 US Olympic Team Trials and is the second-fastest mark ever run by a Georgetown athlete during the NCAA season behind Ahmed Bile.
• A gritty run from freshman Parker Stokes earned the NCAA No. 16-ranked steeplechaser a time qualifier to Eugene in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase. The New York native has been on a tear during the 2021 outdoor season, turning in a sub-four-minute mile at the Virginia Grand Prix, a No. 4 All-Time 3000m steeplechase time of 8:38.55, and winning his first BIG EAST title two weeks ago in Geneva, Ohio.
• After qualifying in the men's 10,000-meter run on Wednesday evening, Robert Brandt capped off the night earning his second auto-qualifier in the men's 5,000-meter run, tallying a 13:40.66 to finish second overall. Brandt returns to the NCAA finals for the second-consecutive season in both distance events.
• Matthew Payamps and Theo Woods finished 14th and 16th in the men's 800-meter run, respectively, and Jantz Tostenson placed 42nd in the men's 3,000m steeplechase.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Sami Corman, who set a personal best of 4:16.40 in the preliminary round of the women's 1500-meter run on Thursday, was back in action Saturday for the quarterfinal, running the second fastest time of her career (4:17.67) to finish 12th. 
• Consequently, the junior, who was crowned the 2020 BIG EAST Cross Country Champion in February and BIG EAST runner-up in the 800m two weeks ago, will represent the Blue & Gray in Eugene.
• In the women's 5,000m, Maggie Donahue narrowly missed qualifying through to the next round, finishing 16th overall. 
• Cathilyn McIntosh placed sixth in Heat 3 of women's 800m, running 2:05.88 to finish 19th overall. The sophomore set a personal best of 2:05.11 in the preliminary round on Thursday.

TRACK & FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY ASSISTANT COACH MITCHELL BAKER ON THE NCAA EAST REGION PRELIMINARY:
"Sami learned so much from her experience here the last time the East Prelim was held two years ago. She's dedicated herself to being a better racer since then, and that growth was evident in the first round on Thursday. It's difficult to bounce back two days later and reproduce on a similar level, but she dug deep to find a performance Saturday that carried her through to the NCAA Finals.
 
McIntosh and Donahue were bright spots despite falling a few spots short of making the NCAA Finals. Tactically Maggie did so much right in the second half, taking a chance on herself and grinding against an impressively deep field. For Cathi, she also learned so much from this weekend, setting a personal best and competing in both rounds. They are on the doorstep of the next level and know what it will take to be in a better position next year."

UP NEXT:
Georgetown will travel to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon on June 9-12.