Kenneth Medwood capped off his NCAA West Regional meet by taking 5th place in the 400-meter hurdle final Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
The Los Angeles native crossed the line in 50.99 seconds, just .05 seconds short of his lifetime best. Medwood clipped the eighth hurdle that could have knocked him out of contention, but regrouped to finish in the final qualifying position.
“He had four mistakes and the one coming off the eighth hurdle almost cost him the race,” Sythe said. “He showed tremendous heart and a lot of talent.”
Senior Rodney Hawkins narrowly missed an NCAA at-large bid, finishing 12th in the men’s triple jump with a distance of 47-02.50.
“His first jump at regionals would have qualified him [for the NCAA Championship] but he fouled,” Sythe said.
Colin Dunbar placed 18th in the men’s hammer throw with a toss of 190-02, while senior Dylan Jaedtke placed 24th in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:23.83.
In women’s action, junior Tayler O’Connor cleared 5 feet, 7 inches in the high jump, good enough for 10th place overall. Senior Carly Harris grabbed 15th in the women’s steeplechase after clocking in at 10:46.76.
Medwood’s 5th place finish secured four points for the 49er men and allowed them to finish 22nd overall in the final team rankings.
The University of Southern California bagged the men’s team title with a total of 97 points. Arizona State grabbed the women’s crown after racking up 95 points.
Senior Jennifer Onyeagbako, who qualified for the hammer and discus, did not compete at the regionals because of injuries sustained from a hammer-related accident.
“Being a school record-holder, she could have scored at nationals,” Sythe said. “There will be more years for the track and field program. [The absence] impacted us, but not as much as it impacted her.”
The NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships are scheduled for June 10-13 at the University of Arkansas.
NCAA West Regionals Day 1
Medwood advanced to the men’s 400-meter hurdle final after clocking in at 51.29 seconds to place second in his heat and sixth overall. The junior recorded a 12th place finish in the long jump earlier in the day (23-06.25).
Sophomore Nimrod Piggee finished 13th overall in the men’s 110-meter hurdle prelims with a time of 14.73 seconds, while senior Patrick Smith grabbed 19th in the javelin (196-09).
In the distance events, junior Alex Freitas crossed finished 18th in the men’s 800 meters with a time of 1:51.08. Freshman Matt Maldonado finished his 1500-meter prelims with a time of 3 minutes, 56.41 seconds, which was good enough for 26th overall.
For the women, junior Missy Barclay took 21st in the women’s 1500 prelims with a time of 4:44.24.