Seahawks ready to perform in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The crème de la crème awaits you.


Two weeks after facing the Colonial Athletic Association’s top track and field athletes, six Seahawks — the most in 13 years — begin competing in the NCAA Division I T&F East outdoor preliminary round on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at North Florida. Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.


Nickolis Anderson, Ryan DeBarber, Miles Higgins, donovan lara, Courtney Lines And Josh Parks are seeking to qualify for the National Championships in Austin, Texas, June 7-10, 2023, at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus.


Student-athletes ranked in the top 48 in their respective event earned a berth in the NCAA East Preliminary Round. The top 12 times/scores and top 12 relay teams at the East and West Preliminary Round venues qualify for the NCAA Championships. .


The number of regional meet entries is the highest for the Seahawks since Aerial Chatman, Justin Prevette, David Lindsay, Annie Powell, Bob Vanderham and Wil Zahorodny competed in 2010-11.


The six Seahawks are part of a contingent of 53 individual qualifiers and four CAA relay teams. Megan Albamonti of Delaware is the highest-ranked CAA athlete in all events, placing second in the javelin.


“We are so proud of these people and the year they have had so far,” said Jeff Claves, fourth-year UNCW head coach. “We talked about finding our wins and this is a huge win for both of them.”


Lara, a sophomore high jumper from Seagrove, NC, is making her second appearance in the NCAA event. He qualified with a jump of 2.13m (6-11.75) at the USC Open on April 22 and is ranked 48th in the nation heading into the competition. Lara cleared 2.09m to finish 40^e at last year’s meeting.


Lines, a two-time Colonial Athletic Association long jump champion from Leland, North Carolina, heads to Jacksonville after another great year. The Leland eldest climbed 6.21m (20-4.50) in the Bob Davidson-Bill Webb meet from High Point and is ranked 40th in the East Region heading into the meet. The three-time CAA long jump champion (indoor-2022, indoor-2023, outdoor-2023) finished 30^e in the 2022 encounter with a mark of 5.82m.


Parks, the CAA gold medalist in the 400m hurdles, is also making his second straight NCAA playoff appearance. The hurdler from Kannapolis, North Carolina qualified in the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.75 at the Seahawk Invitational on March 3 and in the 400m hurdles (50.48). His qualifying time of 50.48 in the 400m at the CAA Championships was a school record and places him 16^e in the Eastern Region. He is 48 years old^e national in the 110 m hurdles and 28^e in the 400m hurdles.


Parks completed 33^rd at 110 meters hurdles (2 p.m.) and 39^e in the 400-meter hurdles (53.01) a year ago at the NCAA East meet.


Anderson, meanwhile, is coming off a spectacular sophomore campaign. The sprinter from Hubert, North Carolina won the 400 meters at the Raleigh relays in 46.59 to break a 23-year-old school record, then eclipsed it again at the CAA Championships on May 5 with a time of 46 .27 and ranks 31st in the NCAA East Region. He is also making his NCAA debut.


Two Seahawk student-athletes will make their NCAA debuts in men’s javelin competition, giving the team a pair of top-caliber throwers.


Second year Ryan DeBarberranked 39^e in the region, has thrown the javelin more than 60 yards in seven games this season and qualified with a throw of 66.04 yards (216-8) at the East Carolina Bill Carson Invitational. He has improved by nearly seven meters in just a year after throwing 59.51m in his debut campaign.


First-year student Miles Higgins heads to Jacksonville after throwing the career javelin 65.26m (214-1) in the Bob Davidson-Bill Webb meet at High Point. Higgins, ranked 46^e regionally, finished second overall at New Balance National Outdoors, a national high school meet, a year ago.


The 12,000-seat Hodges Stadium opened in 2004 and features a nine-lane Olympic running track designed by Italian company Mondo. It is one of seven facilities nationally certified to host NCAA and IAAF events.



UNCW Student-Athlete Schedule | NCAA Division I Outdoor East 2023 Preliminary Round

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Josh Parks110m hurdles, 6:00 p.m. (first run)

Josh Parks400m hurdles, 8:20 p.m. (first run)
Nickolis Anderson, 400m Dash, 7:25 p.m. (first run)

Ryan DeBarberJavelin, 1:30 p.m. (First round)

Miles HigginsJavelin, 1:30 p.m. (First round)



Thursday, May 25, 2023

Courtney Lineslong jump, 6:00 p.m. (first round)



Friday, May 26, 2023

Josh Parks110m hurdles, 6:15 p.m. (Quarter-finals)

Josh Parks400m hurdles, 7:25 p.m. (Quarter-finals)
Nickolis Anderson, 400m Dash, 6:50 p.m. (Quarterfinals)

donovan larahigh jump, 2:30 p.m. (first run)