Princeton Sends 16 to NCAA East Regional

Official East Region Web Site
East Regional Declared List

The Princeton men's track & field team will send 16 Tigers to the 2019 NCAA East Regional it was announced this afternoon as the NCAA posted the list of declared athletes. The East Regional will be held in Jacksonville, Fla., on the campus of the University of North Florida on May 23-25. Princeton is not stranger to the facility, having started the outdoor season there in March.

For the first time, Princeton will be represented in every single throwing event.

All eyes will be on senior Adam Kelly as he looks to close out his collegiate career with a bang. The NCAA runner-up in the weight throw, Kelly is making his fourth appearance in the hammer throw at Regionals. Kelly earned Second-Team All-America honors last year in the event placing ninth and was 14th at the finals as a freshman. Kelly has a season-best 71.34 (234-1) and a PR of 71.92 (235-11). Kelly kicks off the Regional in the first event at noon on Thursday. The top 12 advance to the Championship.

Though both sophomore Kelton Chastulik and freshman C.J. Licata qualified with marks this season, Chastulik will the lone representative. The Ivy Heps indoor shot champion Licata threw an 17.58 (57-8.25) at the North Florida meet in March but has been out since due to an injury. Chastulik is coming off of an Ivy League outdoor title in the shot put and has a PR of 17.96 (58-11.25) from the Sam Howell Invite in April and is sixth on Princeton's top-10 list.

For the second straight season, sophomore Robbie Otal will represent in the discus throw. Otal had a personal best of 56.33 (184-10) from the Larry Ellis Invitational in April, to put him fourth on Princeton's top-10 list, just weeks before he placed third at Ivy Heps. The discus is slated for a noon start on Friday. The top 12 will advance to Austin for the Championship.

Freshman Chandler Ault threw a 67.19 (220-5) at the Miami Invitational in April and went on to take third in his first Ivy Heps. The javelin will be held at noon on Friday with the top 12 moving on to the Championship.

The Tigers have two in the high jump with senior captain Andrew Diehl and sophomore Jeffrey Hollis who are both making their NCAA debuts. Hollis qualified with a 2.14 (7-0.25), his winning jump from Ivy Heps and owns a PR of 2.15 (7-0.5) from indoors. His 2.14 ranks him eighth on Princeton's top-10 list. Diehl cleared a personal best 2.11 (6-11) at Ivy Heps to take second place and reach his first Regional. The high jump is set for Saturday at 4 p.m. The top 12 advance to the Championship.

Junior Jesse Thibodeau make his NCAA Regional debut in the long jump. The Ivy Heps champion has a personal best of 7.87 (25-10) from this past April, the third best jump in Princeton history. The long jump will be contested on Thursday at 3:30 p.m., with the top 12 advancing to Austin.

Joining the pit is freshman Dayo Abeeb, who qualifies in the triple jump. Abeeb won the Ivy Heps with a PR of 15.64 (51-3.75) but because the Heps was held indoors due to rain the NCAA did not use that as his qualifying mark. Instead he qualifies with a 15.21 (49-11) from the West Point Twilight Meet. The triple jump will be the final field event of the Regional on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Like the other field events, the top 12 will advance to the finals.

Sophomore Sam Ellis make his NCA Regional debut in the 1500. Ellis qualified with a 3:45.92 from the Larry Ellis Invitational and went on to take third at Ivy Heps in the event. The first round will take place at 6 p.m., on Thursday. The top five from each of four heats plus the next four fastest times will advance to the quarterfinal on Saturday.

The Ivy League steeplechase champion sophomore Ed Trippas makes his return to the Regional. He posted a personal best 8:50.09 at the Larry Ellis Invitational this season. The steeplechase quarterfinal is slated for 9 p.m., on Friday with three heats. The top three from each heat plus the next best three times will advance to the semifinals at the NCAA Championship in Austin, Texas.

Three Tigers will be in the 5k, with junior Conor Lundy, sophomore Matt Grossman and senior Jeremy Spiezio. Lundy reached the national final last year where he finished 15th overall with a 14:04.08. This year Lundy has personal best 13:53.98 from the Stanford Invitational and was the runner-up in the event at Ivy Heps. Grossman is also making a return to the Regional in the 5k. He was fourth in the event at the Ivy Heps and clocked a PR of 14:06.59 at the Stanford Invite in March. Spiezio ran a PR of 14:09.65 at the Stanford Invite to earn his second straight trip to the Regional in the 5k. The quarterfinal of the 5k will be on Saturday at 8:45 p.m., with two heats. The top 24, top five from each heat plus the next two best times, advance to Austin.

Junior Viraj Deokar qualifies for his first Regional in the 10k. He has championship experience, having raced in the last two NCAA Cross Country Championships. Deokar's time of 29:34.18 from the Sam Howell Invitational is a personal best as the junior took fourth in the 10k at Ivy Heps.

Junior Joey Daniels has company this year in the 110-meter hurdles. Qualifying for the third consecutive season, Daniels will be joined by freshman Christian Brown. A defensive back on the undefeated football team, Brown ran his best time at the Ivy Heps with a 13.99. It will be redemption time for Brown who had the second-fastest time in the Ivy Heps prelims before being disqualified in the final due to a false start. A two-time Ivy Heps champion in the 110-meter hurdles, Daniels clocked a 13.80 to win Ivy Heps. He owns a PR of 13.70 from the Canadian Nationals in the summer of 2018. Daniels was 27th at the Regionals in 2017 and 14th in 2018. Daniels and Brown are 1-2 on Princeton's all-time top-10 list. The first round of the 110 hurdles will be the opening event on Friday at 5 p.m., The top three from each of six heats plus the next best six times advance to the quarterfinal on Saturday at 7:20 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Dayo Abeeb

Chandler Ault

Christian Brown

Kelton Chastulik

Joey Daniels

Viraj Deokar

Andrew Diehl

Sam Ellis

Matt Grossman

Jeffrey Hollis

Adam Kelly

C.J. Licata

Conor Lundy

Robbie Otal

Jeremy Spiezio

Jesse Thibodeau

Ed Trippas

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