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Udodi Onwuzurike, Favour Ashe, Godson Brume, Alaba Akintola, and Karlington Anunagba booked their spots in the men's 100m at the NCAA Championships in Austin.
These are exciting times for Nigeria Athletics as no fewer than five Nigerian male sprinters booked their spots in the men's 100m at the NCAA Championships, which will take place in two weeks at the University of Texas, Austin.
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At the NCAA West and East Preliminaries, Udodi Onwuzurike, Favour Ashe, Godson Brume, Alaba Akintola, and Karlington Anunagba punched their tickets to the most prestigious college track and field championships in the world.
1 - Onwuzurike (Stanford University)
Onwuzurike topped the list of performances after clocking a blazing Personal Best (PB) of 9.92s to win his qualifying heat at the West Preliminaries, edging out Texas Tech's Terrence Jones (9.93s) and Oregon's PAC-12 rival Micah Williams (10.04s).
The 20-year-old smashed several records in this process, rising to the third joint fastest in Nigeria Athletics history, eleventh-fastest 100m in collegiate history, ties Ato Boldon at No.9 on the all-time collegiate performer's list, obliterated his Stanford University record of 10.03s, and qualified him for the World Championships in Budapest.
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Onwuzurike also qualified in the 200m, storming to a fast 20.07s to lead qualifiers and helped his school's 4x100m relay squad break a 58-year old School Record (SR), running 39.56s to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
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13:34 - 27.05.2023
NCAA Udodi Onwuzurike storms to 9.92s to punch World and NCAA Championships tickets
Udodi Onwuzurike has put himself in the conversation of gunning for NCAA sprint titles after sub-10s clocking at NCAA West Preliminaries.
By so doing, it makes it two individual events he has qualified for the World Championships after doing the same in the 200m, making him the first Nigerian male sprinter to achieve the feat. And for the NCAA Championships, he will be competing in three events.
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23:53 - 14.05.2023
NCAA Udodi Onwuzurike becomes the third-fastest Nigerian in history at PAC-12 Championships
Udodi Onwuzurike has become the third-fastest Nigerian 200m runner in history, after breaking the sub-20s mark for the first time in his career to win the PAC 12 Championships.
2 - Ashe (Auburn University)
Ashe clocked a sub-10s windy time of 9.92s (4.4) to win his qualifying heat at the NCAA East Preliminaries. His time isn't an official PB because of the excessive wind reading, but it puts him in the conversation of title challengers ahead of the NCAA Championships.
The Auburn University sophomore has bounced back in time after losing his South Eastern Conference (SEC) 100m title to fellow Nigerian Brume and will be gunning to upgrade his silver medal from last year to gold in Austin.
3 - Brume (Louisiana State University)
The SEC 100m champion also blazed to a sub-10s time, running a windy 9.94s (2.7) to outsprint the rest of the field and secure his spot at the NCAA Championships.
It is Brume's fastest all-conditions time, which extended his unbeaten streak in major races this year, making him one of the best sprinters in the NCAA this season.
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Brume then anchored his school's 4x100m relay team to a qualifying win, making it two events he will be competing in when the NCAA Championships begins.
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14:53 - 27.05.2023
NCAA Onwuzurike, Ashe, and Brume blaze to sub-10s to qualify for NCAA Championships
The trio of Udodi Onwuzurike, Favour Ashe, and Godson Brume clocked sub-10s times to punch their tickets to the NCAA Championships in Austin.
4 - Akintola (Middle Tennessee State University)
There was no stopping Akintola from getting his automatic qualifying spot after finishing third Godson Brume in 10.08s.
The MTSU and C-USA best sprinter also qualified in the 200m with a windy 20.03s (4.8m/s) - his fastest in all conditions 200m time.
It is now back-to-back sprints qualifications for the speedster, strengthening his hold as one of the best sprinters in the NCAA.
5 - Anunagba (University of Nothern Texas)
A surprise entrant in the 100m list is Anungagba, who clocked an impressive PB of 10.17s to finish fifth in his race behind Onwuzurike.
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He's another improved athlete this season after a second-place finish behind Akintola at the C-USA Championships, he has now added another feat to his growing career.
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01:47 - 28.02.2023
ATHLETICS Nigeria may be losing its position as 'African giant' in the men's 100m
With the recent success of Ferdinand Omanyala and Akani Simbine through the years, this question surfaces - is Nigeria losing its claim to the title of being called 'African giant' in the men's 100m?
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