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University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Claudia Prieto and Solomon McDonald Selected to Return to NCAA Championships
05.19.2023 | Track and Field
FULL LIST OF NCAA QUALIFIERS
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville track and field student-athletes Claudia Prieto (Long Jump) and Solomon McDonald (Shot Put) have qualified once again to compete in the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championship East prelims. The Championship prelims will take place from May 24-27 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.
"We're really pleased for both Claudia and Solomon as well as their event Coaches JP Kimbrough (Jumps) and Kim Cannon (Throws), and strength and conditioning Coach Brian Robbett," said Head Coach Joel Williams. "Returning to the NCAA East preliminary is a testament not only to their incredible efforts this school year, but really over their entire five years at UNC Asheville. Both student-athletes go into the meet as higher seeds this year with better performances."
Prieto and McDonald will return to the championship prelims after the pair competed for Asheville in 2022, where McDonald placed 33rd in the shot put (17.45 meters) and Prieto placed 23rd in the long jump (5.92 meters). With repeat trips to the NCAA prelims, McDonald and Prieto will join a short list of Bulldogs who have qualified for multiple regional meets with only one other coming before them. McDonald joins former Bulldog Nathan Hedgpeth as the only two male student-athletes to make a pair of NCAA Regional appearances. Milan Ristic and Matthew Harding also qualified for the Regionals once in their respective careers. Prieto will join Bulldog Hall-of-Famer Natalie Pearson as a two-time female NCAA meet participant, with Pearson being the only Asheville student-athlete to go back-to-back after she qualified in 2010 and 2011 in the outdoor 200m dash.
Both student-athletes have had historic fifth-year seasons and have rewritten the Asheville record books multiple times in their final year. McDonald held both indoor and outdoor records for the shot put last season, and improved his throws exponentially in 2023, gaining over a full meter of distance from his throw at the NCAA prelims last year. In the 12 meets he participated in this season, McDonald took first in eight of them, and second place in three and placed out of podium contention in only one competition. McDonald has also garnered multiple Big South Field Athlete of the Week honors during his tenure as a Bulldog.
Prieto has also improved on her already outstanding career as a Bulldog, improving her records in the long jump and triple jump multiple times this season in both indoor and outdoor competition. She also holds a podium steak going back 425 days, placing top-three in all of her meets since March 19, 2022. She ranks second all-time in the 55-meter, 60-meter and 100-meter dashes and is a multiple-time winner of the Big South Field Athlete of the Week award. Furthermore, Prieto is a four-time Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree for her work in the classroom, earning this honor in her last four indoor and outdoor seasons.
McDonald will compete in the first round of the shot put at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, while Prieto will do the same in the long jump at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 25. Live results will be available HERE, and the Championships will be streamed HERE.
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville track and field student-athletes Claudia Prieto (Long Jump) and Solomon McDonald (Shot Put) have qualified once again to compete in the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championship East prelims. The Championship prelims will take place from May 24-27 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.
"We're really pleased for both Claudia and Solomon as well as their event Coaches JP Kimbrough (Jumps) and Kim Cannon (Throws), and strength and conditioning Coach Brian Robbett," said Head Coach Joel Williams. "Returning to the NCAA East preliminary is a testament not only to their incredible efforts this school year, but really over their entire five years at UNC Asheville. Both student-athletes go into the meet as higher seeds this year with better performances."
Prieto and McDonald will return to the championship prelims after the pair competed for Asheville in 2022, where McDonald placed 33rd in the shot put (17.45 meters) and Prieto placed 23rd in the long jump (5.92 meters). With repeat trips to the NCAA prelims, McDonald and Prieto will join a short list of Bulldogs who have qualified for multiple regional meets with only one other coming before them. McDonald joins former Bulldog Nathan Hedgpeth as the only two male student-athletes to make a pair of NCAA Regional appearances. Milan Ristic and Matthew Harding also qualified for the Regionals once in their respective careers. Prieto will join Bulldog Hall-of-Famer Natalie Pearson as a two-time female NCAA meet participant, with Pearson being the only Asheville student-athlete to go back-to-back after she qualified in 2010 and 2011 in the outdoor 200m dash.
Both student-athletes have had historic fifth-year seasons and have rewritten the Asheville record books multiple times in their final year. McDonald held both indoor and outdoor records for the shot put last season, and improved his throws exponentially in 2023, gaining over a full meter of distance from his throw at the NCAA prelims last year. In the 12 meets he participated in this season, McDonald took first in eight of them, and second place in three and placed out of podium contention in only one competition. McDonald has also garnered multiple Big South Field Athlete of the Week honors during his tenure as a Bulldog.
Prieto has also improved on her already outstanding career as a Bulldog, improving her records in the long jump and triple jump multiple times this season in both indoor and outdoor competition. She also holds a podium steak going back 425 days, placing top-three in all of her meets since March 19, 2022. She ranks second all-time in the 55-meter, 60-meter and 100-meter dashes and is a multiple-time winner of the Big South Field Athlete of the Week award. Furthermore, Prieto is a four-time Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree for her work in the classroom, earning this honor in her last four indoor and outdoor seasons.
McDonald will compete in the first round of the shot put at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, while Prieto will do the same in the long jump at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 25. Live results will be available HERE, and the Championships will be streamed HERE.
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Players Mentioned
Throws
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Jumps
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