Pree, Stoudemire, Williams Earn NCAA Men's Track & Field Preliminary Bids

The TSU men's track & field trio of Kenneth Pree, Turey Stoudemire and Chad Williams earned a berth to the 2023 NCAA West preliminary competition in Sacramento, Calif.
 
This marks the third consecutive regional appearance for both Pree and Williams as Pree is looking for a return to the national championship while Williams seeks his first bid. Stoudemire is a true freshman making his NCAA postseason debut.
 
Pree, who participated in the 2021 NCAA Championship, had a personal best jump of 7.83 meters (25-8.25 feet) which moved him up the charts nationally in addition to solidifying his second SWAC long jump title several weeks ago.
 
Williams, the Co-Most Outstanding Field Performer at the SWAC Championship, posted a length of 15.24 meters (50 feet) at the SWAC Championship to qualify in the triple jump. The Kingston, Jamaica native is peaking at the right time as he posted a personal best jump of 15.29 meters (50-2) last week to win the Rice All-Comers Meet.
 
Stoudemire qualified for the regional due to this performance at the SWAC Championship in early May. The freshman from The Woodlands, Texas jumped a personal best 2.14 meters (7-0.25) en route to a second-place finish.
 
TSU men's track & field also is in elite company as less than 10 schools in the country (Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisville, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas Southern) have a 50-foot-plus triple jumper, a 7-foot high jumper and a 25-foot-plus long jumper.
 
Pree jumps next Wednesday (May 24) at 8 p.m. CST while Stoudemire jumps at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 26. Williams is scheduled to jump at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 27.

At stake is a berth to the NCAA National Championships in Austin, Texas which runs June 7-10. To qualify, the athletes will need to finish in the top 12 of their respective events. The 2023 preliminary meet will take place in Sacramento, Calif. on the campus of Sacramento State University and will be streamed live on ESPN+.