Camacho-Quinn wins 100m Hurdles, Leads UK to 11th at NCAAs

EUGENE, Ore. – Kentucky track and field’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn became the first freshman in history to win the NCAA 100-meter hurdles Championship leading the Wildcats to an 11th place finish with 25 points, on Saturday at Oregon’s Hayward Field.

Arkansas won the NCAA Championship with 72 points.

Five of Kentucky’s six scoring opportunities on Saturday earned points, but the 18 of the Wildcats’ 25 points came from two medal finishes in the two hurdles races. Additionally, UK scored four with a fifth-place finish in the 4x100m relay. 

Kentucky advanced five to Saturday finals from a possible 13 entries in Thursday preliminary races.

“I think we had some people step up and perform well, we’ve just got to get better overall,” Floréal said. “Nationals is really tough – the level of competition. We’ve got to find a way to perform better and keep ourselves calmer.

“As the head coach I’ve got to take it on the chin. I’ve got to find a way to get my team better and make some adjustments so that we can perform up to the level expected of us.”

Camacho-Quinn totaled a team-high 12 points for the meet as she scored 10 points in the hurdles, one with an eighth-place finish in the 200m in addition to earning a one-point share of the four points Kentucky’s fifth-place 4x100m relay scored by running the second leg.

Camacho-Quinn won the short hurdles in a wind-aided 12.54 (+3.6), which equaled the fifth-best time in NCAA-Championships history in all-conditions. The freshman seemed to get off to a slow start, but made up ground as the race progressed surging into the lead over the last few hurdles and holding on to win across the finish line.

“I honestly didn’t know I was the first freshman to win the 100m hurdles,” Camacho-Quinn said. “It’s a great feeling, I’m very excited. It’s a hurdle race so you never know what can happen, but I just tried to stay confident throughout the race.”

A Kentucky hurdler won the NCAA 100m hurdles title for the second year in a row as Kendra Harrison won last season in 12.55. UK became the first school have back-to-back 100m hurdles titles since Michigan (2008, 2009).

“Jasmine is a first team All-American in three events at her first NCAA Championships ever,” Floréal said. “That goes a long way, and people are going to hate me for saying this but she’s nowhere near scratching the surface. She’s much more gifted than that.  She can be a megastar in track and field.

“There aren’t many freshman out there in the NCAA 4x100m relay and 100m hurdles final and coming back in the 200m. I’m just proud of her. I’m just proud of the effort she put out. Some of the credit goes to Keni Harrison. She trains with these women, and flew back from Europe to be with the team and spend some time to help them deal with the nerves, etc. She probably spent more time with the girls than me in counseling to make sure they were fired up. I appreciate her connection with the girls and commitment for the team.”

Junior Kiah Seymour claimed silver in the 400m hurdles final running a lifetime best 54.67, out of lane eight no less, to score eight points. 

“You look at Kiah Seymour,” Floréal said. “It hadn’t been the year I expected, but then she came out with a huge PR and taking second from lane eight. Lane eight is a difficult one to run out of, especially in that event.”

Kentucky had the NCAA Silver Medalist in the 400m hurdles for the third year in a row as Harrison claimed that place in 2014 and 2015. Texas A&M’s Shamier Little won the 400m hurdles for the third year in a row.

UK’s 4x100m relay of Javianne Oliver, Camacho-Quinn, Destiny Carter and Kianna Gray began the day by placing fifth in a season-best 43.02 to score four points. UK made the NCAA 4x100m final for the first time since 1996.

Freshman Kianna Gray placed seventh in her first NCAA 100m final, running 11.24w (+2.6) to score two points.

Camacho-Quinn ran 23.07 (+1.9) to place eighth and earn a point in the 200m.

Sha’Keela Saunders placed just outside the scoring in the triple jump reaching a ninth-place mark of 43’4.25”/13.21m.

Kentucky placed in the top 15 of the women’s team race for the third year in a row. The Kentucky women’s team’s NCAA record finish came a year ago when the Wildcats finished as national runner-up with 50 points. UK placed seventh with 26 points in 2014 after not scoring at NCAA Outdoors in 2012 and 2013.

The UK men’s team finished 22nd with 11 points in the men’s team race, which concluded on Friday. 

“On the guys’ side we made some huge improvements,” Floréal said. “Twenty-second is not what our goal is, but Jacob Thomson coming out there as a first-year transfer and scoring and also Nick Anderson getting second in the 110m hurdles was huge.

“Eight points in this competition goes a long way. I couldn’t be prouder of Nick and Jacob for putting some points on the board.”

Points are scored at the NCAA Championships by finishing in the top eight of each event. The points are awarded on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis with 10 going to the winner and one point to eighth place.