JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (May 25) — Robert Gregory, Matthew Boling, Tarsis Orogot, and Jacory Patterson have all advanced to the quarterfinals of the men’s 200-meter event at the 2023 NCAA East First Round, held at the Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The qualifying races took place on Wednesday (24).
Florida’s Robert Gregory, who is the reigning 2023 SEC champion, led the qualifiers with an impressive personal best time of 20.09 seconds (+1.1 m/s) in heat six. He finished ahead of Evan Miller of South Carolina, who secured second place in the race and 14th overall with a time of 20.49 seconds. – Read more: How to watch the 2023 NCAA East Region First Round meet?
Tarsis Orogot from Alabama, who previously recorded a wind-aided time of 19.60 seconds this season, achieved a personal best of 20.12 seconds in heat four. This placed him with the second-fastest time of the night. Jacory Patterson, also representing Florida, set a new personal best of 20.14 seconds, winning the third heat.
Matthew Boling from Georgia clocked a season best of 20.17 seconds to win the first heat. Javonte Harding, a standout athlete from Tennessee, secured the fifth-fastest time overall with 20.18 seconds in heat five.
Ismael Kone of Florida State, who false-started in the 100m event, recovered well to advance in the 200m with a time of 20.30 seconds. Kennedy Lightner from Kentucky (20.23 seconds) and Wanya McCoy from Clemson (20.27 seconds) also progressed to the quarterfinals.
Moving on to the men’s 400m event, Khaleb McRae of Alabama recorded the fastest time of 45.50 seconds, qualifying him for the next round. Ryan Willie (45.84 seconds) from Florida, Emmanuel Bynum (45.88 seconds) of Tennessee, and Elija Godwin (45.90 seconds) from Georgia also secured their spots in the quarterfinals.
In the only semi-final race on day one at the 2023 NCAA East First Round on Day 1, Victor Kiprop of Alabama emerged as the top finisher in the 10,000m event. Kiprop, with a time of 28:54.97, will advance to the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, next month. Barry Keane of Butler also achieved an impressive time of 28:57.59, breaking the 29-minute mark.
Other notable performances include Chris Robinson (49.47 seconds) and Corde Long (49.48 seconds) of Alabama, who topped the field in the 400m hurdles. Tarees Rhoden from Clemson posted a leading time of 1:48.00 in the 800m, while Navasky Anderson (1:49.34) of Mississippi State and Will Sumner (1:49.35) of Georgia also advanced.
Dalton Hengst from Ole Miss (3:44.59) and Jesse Hunt from North Carolina (3:44.61) took the lead in the 1500m event.
The 2023 NCAA East First Round continues on Thursday with the women’s schedule and live streaming on ESPN+.
