By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of Tennessee at Martin standout duo of Ryan Ford and Darius Holland concluded their record-setting seasons on the national stage Wednesday at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary held in Jacksonville, Fla. on the campus of North Florida.
The tandem became the first pair of Skyhawks to compete in the same NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Preliminary in the program’s Division I history. They also joined former stars Ann Asipan and Edwin Kurgat to qualify for the NCAA field since the program was reintroduced prior to the 2017 season.
Holland was the first of the two athletes to compete in the afternoon’s long jump event against the nation’s best. The freshman began his appearance in the prelim with a distance of 6.42m before going for 6.51m in his second attempt. He would wrap up the day with his best mark on his final attempt, leaping 6.79m to finish 44th.
In the night cap, Ford put his school-record qualifying time to the test in a loaded 10k test of endurance. The three-time OVC medalist would ultimately wrap up his Skyhawk career with a time of 30:51.20 to rank as the sixth-fastest 10k time amongst OVC competitors this season and finish 39th in the field.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information