SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Bashiru Abdullahi stayed alive in the 110-meter hurdles and Brice Chabot and Dennis Phillips both advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 200m to highlight action for the UTSA men's track & field team at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, which got underway Wednesday at Hornet Stadium.
Abdullahi was third in his heat and ninth overall in the field of 48 hurdlers after posting a time of 13.73 seconds, securing his spot in Friday's quarterfinals. Racing in lane seven, the school record holder got off to a strong start and held on for the third and final automatic qualifying spot in his heat by the slimmest of margins. He finished slightly ahead of Texas A&M's Connor Schulman, as the Roadrunner clocked a 13.726 compared to the Aggie's 13.729.
Daniel Harrold of Texas State (13.64) won the heat in 13.64 and USC's Johnny Brackins was second in 13.69, while Schulman also advanced by time.
Abdullahi will return to the straightaway at 8:15 p.m. CT Friday seeking a second straight berth in the national meet. He earned second-team All-America accolades last year after finishing 15th with a 13.69 clocking.
Like his teammate, Chabot got off to a good start and held on to third place in his heat to grab a spot in the 200m quarterfinals on Friday night. The sophomore from Smithville, Texas, clocked a time of 20.88 out of lane three to cross behind only Houston's Shaun Maswanganyi (20.47) and Northern Iowa's Isaiah Trousil (20.59) and ahead of Abilene Christian's Jack Marshall (20.94) and North Texas' Karlington Anunagba (21.04) in the eight-man heat.
Chabot, who also posted a 10.49 for 33rd in the 100m, set the UTSA standard in the 200m with a blistering 20.44 clocking in the prelims of the Conference USA Outdoor Championships on May 13 in Denton, Texas.
Meanwhile, Phillips advanced to the finals in the 200m by time after clocking a 20.91 in the prelims. Racing in the first of six heats, the junior from Little Elm, Texas, placed fifth and had to wait for five more races to finish before learning he had moved on to the quarterfinals. Phillips, who also clocked a 10.54 for 41st in the 100m, crossed ahead of three sprinters, including sixth-place Cameron Tarver of San Jose State (21.04).
Chabot and Phillips, who turned in the 20th- and 21st-fastest times on Wednesday, will race for national semifinal berths at 9:50 p.m. CT Friday.
The top 12 finishers in each of the quarterfinal races will move on to the national meet on June 7-10 in Austin, Texas.
Christiaan Le Roux just missed out on a second consecutive trip to nationals in the long jump. An honorable mention All-American in 2022, he finished 16th this year with a mark of 7.55 meters (24-9.25), which was only eight centimeters shy of the top 12 automatic qualifying spots. After opening with his top leap of the day, the South African measured 7.34m (24-1) on his second attempt and then closed with a 7.47m (24-6.25) effort.
In other action, Trevion McCalla placed 36th in the 100m (10.52), Mike Roth clocked a 46.70 to finish 35th in the 400m and Michael Campbell was 46th in the shot put with a mark of 16.74m (54-11.25).
The women will start competition on Thursday with seven Roadrunners in action. Acacia Astwood will kick things off at noon CT in the hammer throw and Marilis Remmel is set for the javelin throw at 3:30 p.m. All-Americans Oreoluwa Adamson and Ingeborg Gruenwald will take to the stage in the long jump at 8 p.m. On the track, Alanah Yukich will race in the 400m hurdles at 10:20 p.m., while Lauren Roy and Thennelle Williams are set for the first round of the 200m at 10:45 p.m.
2023 NCAA West Preliminary Round
Thursday, May 24
Hornet Stadium • Sacramento, Calif.
UTSA Results
Men
100 Meters (first round)
33. Brice Chabot 10.49
36. Trevion McCalla 10.52
41. Dennis Phillips 10.54
200 Meters (first round)
20. Brice Chabot 20.88Q
21. Dennis Phillips 20.91q
400 Meters (first round)
35. Mike Roth 46.70
110-Meter Hurdles (first round)
9. Bashiru Abdullahi 13.73Q
Long Jump
16. Christiaan Le Roux 7.55m (24-9.25)
Shot Put
46. Michael Campbell 16.74m (54-11.25)
-UTSA-
