UK Track & Field’s Daniel Roberts Runs Epic 13.00 for NCAA 110H Silver

Kentucky track and field junior Daniel Roberts equaled the previous 40-year-old collegiate record, 13 seconds flat, en route to an epic NCAA 110-Meter Hurdles Silver Medal in the fastest college hurdles race ever on Friday at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Rival junior Grant Holloway of Florida won in 12.98, which broke the NCAA record Renaldo Nehemiah set in 1979 running for Maryland.

Roberts earned the second NCAA Silver of his career (60H indoors earlier this year). The eight points he scored amounted to all of the Kentucky men’s team’s 2019 haul at outdoor nationals as the Wildcats finished in a two-way tie for 34th.

“Today was nothing short of a tremendous run for Daniel,” UK assistant coach and Roberts’ event trainer Tim Hall said. “He was excellent in the first three hurdles. Got a little loose after No. 3. He started pressing a little, but nonetheless today was a great race for him. It took a collegiate record to beat him — we’re good with that.

“There’s more to come with D-Rob. He’s a special kid, special talent. I just can’t say enough about him. I’m super proud of him. The future is so bright for him. He’s just a humble kid. So proud of all the things he’s accomplished.”

Of course Roberts ran a new personal best as he’s done over and over this season. He ranks second in the world this year to Holloway, who won the NCAA 110H for the third year in a row.

Roberts stands No. 2 all-time on the collegiate performers’ list. He tied two other men for No. 22 on the world all-time list.

“It’s been an awesome rise,” Kentucky head coach Lonnie Greene said. “People might not understand how fast that race was. It took the world lead, right off the world record to beat Daniel. Coach Hall has done a great job with him. He’s an excellent coach, Daniel is an excellent pupil.

“And he’s represented the brand very, very well. That’s what I think future Wildcats out there and Big Blue Nation want. They want us to represent the University well and I think Daniel is the epitome of that.”

Roberts and Holloway will figure among the favorites at the USATF Outdoor Championships July 25-28, which will serve as Team USA’s qualifying meet for the 2019 IAAF World Championships, to be held Sept. 28-Oct. 6 in Doha, Qatar.

Sophomore Rahman Minor cleared 7’1.75”/2.18m in the men’s high jump to place 15th in his NCAA Championships debut.

Junior Charles Lenford Jr. (186’6”/56.86m) and senior Noah Castle (179’2”/54.63m) placed 15th and 19th respectively in the men’s discus.

Saturday outlook
The 2019 NCAA Championships will conclude Saturday with women’s events only.

UK qualified two track entries – Chloe Abbott in the 400 meters and the 4x400m relay of Faith Ross, Abbott, Abby Steiner and Masai Russell – into NCAA Track and Field Finals on Thursday, the second day of the National Championships.

Additionally, UK will have two field event entries competing Saturday. Marie-Josee Ebwea-Bile Excel – silver medalist in 2017 and bronze medalist last year outdoors and this year indoors – will compete in her last collegiate triple jump in the second flight after a 6:40 p.m. ET start.

Reigning SEC Champion Ellen Ekholm will be in the high jump starting at 6 p.m. ET.

Abbott cruised back into the women’s 400m final getting a “big Q” automatic qualification place running 51.59Q, second fastest of the semifinals.

The 400m final will run Saturday at 7:32 p.m. ET. The junior was fifth in the NCAA final last year competing for Purdue.

The women’s 4×4 ran 3:32.20q, seventh fastest of the semifinals. They will conclude the meet at 8:51 p.m. ET on Saturday in a field that is made up of six Southeastern Conference teams plus Southern California and Baylor.

All field events will have online broadcasts via ESPN3.

The format
Points are scored at the NCAA Championships by individuals or relay teams finishing top-eight in respective events. Points are awarded on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis with 10 going to the winner and one going to eight place. The team with the most points at the end of the meet wins the team title.
 
Athletes qualified to the NCAA Championships finals site by finishing top-12 at two regional meets 10 days ago. The East and West Preliminary Championships. Athletes qualified there based on having top-48 marks in respective events recorded during the season.

 
Meet primer

The No. 9-ranked Kentucky women’s team has 11 event entries, tied for fifth most. The No. 18 UK men’s team has 11 event entries, tied for sixth most at the Championships.

The men’s competition will be held Wednesday and Friday with just the men’s decathlon concluding on Thursday.
 
The women’s competition will take place Thursday and Saturday, with the heptathlon starting on Friday.

The multi-events cross over because they have to be held in two consecutive days.

The precedent
The UK women’s team has finished in the top five at NCAA outdoors three of the last four years and was fourth with 46 points last year. UK’s best-ever NCAA Outdoor finish was second on 50 points in 2015.

Senior Marie-Josée Ebwea-Bile Excel medaled at NCAA outdoors in the triple jump the past two years.

The UK men’s team finished tied-16th with 16 points last year at NCAA Outdoors. UK’s best NCAA outdoor finish was ninth in 2008 on 25 points.

Broadcast / Field Event Streaming Information

• Saturday TV – 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
  • Women’s High Jump – 6 p.m. ET
  • Women’s Triple Jump [Flight 1] – 6:40 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
  • Women’s Triple Jump [Flight 2] – 6:40 p.m. ET (ESPN3)

*All times listed are in Central Time.

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