2018 NCAA Men's Preliminaries

2018 NCAA Women's Prelminaries

CONWAY - A total of five Chanticleer men's and women's track and field athletes will represent Coastal Carolina University, in three events, at the 2018 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round to held in Tampa, Florida at the University of South Florida's USF Track and Field Stadium from May 24-26.

In 2018, the Chanticleers will be making a return trip to this year's preliminary round with all four that have had prior experience

Senior Kevondre' Hunt and Junior Dee Jennings will make their second consecutive appearances in the in the 110-meter hurdles in which they competed a year ago.

The Chanticleers as a team saved their best performances for last in the 110-meter hurdles. Last weekend in the Sun Belt Championships, Hunt put in the best time of his career when he ran a 13.99 and took home a second-place finish in the finals. Meanwhile Jennings also ran a personal-best of 14.05 and finished two spots his teammate for fourth overall.

Hunt goes into next weekend's event seeded 35th overall and will look to better his 26th place finish and a time of 14.07 while placing fifth in his heat ln last year's preliminaries. In the fifth heat, Jennings finished with a time of 14.33 in 38th overall and goes in 46th.

Jennings will come back for a second round of hurdles action as he follows up with the 400-meters variety. Again, the junior hurdler picked up a personal best at the SBC Championships in San Marcos when he went down the track at a time of 52.03.

Joining him for the 400-meters will be Jerome Coaxum Jr. The Mount Pleasant native will be making his second NCAA prelim appearance for the Chanticleers squad. He goes into the event as the 41st seed. The senior hurdler competed in four events last weekend at Texas State and qualified for the 400-meters when he finished fourth and a time of 52.22. In his career, the senior hurdler has a personal best time in the event of 51.62 set at the Florida Invitational on April 28, 2017.

Last season Coaxum placed 19th overall with his time of 52.41.

Sophomore Erik Eckleben rounds out the men's competitors as he will see action in the men's long jump as the 48th and last seed. Eckleben 's qualifying jump of 7.48 meters is his best personal best and was made back at the Weems Invitational during the third week of the season as he placed fourth. In other long jump events, Eckleben has placed first; Alan Connie Shamrock,University of Florida, and the App State Invitational.

For the women, Aynslee van Graan will make her third consecutive appearance in the 1500 meters and this season she will be the 27th overall seed. The senior took a home a gold medal for the Chanticleer in the same event last weekend as she finished in 4:25.88.

A year ago, the South African native placed 41st with a time of 4:35.17, but two years ago in NCAA Prelims in Jacksonsville, van Graan set her personal-best with a time of 4:19.44.

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