Track's Fortenberry, Nicholls Earn Spots In NCAA East Regional

NEW ORLEANS – A pair of the University of New Orleans track and field team's standouts saw their seasons extended by at least one meet as junior Alexia Fortenberry and freshman Michael Nicholls were selected to participate in the NCAA East Regional from May 26-28 at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Privateer duo will hit the track starting on Friday, May 27, as Fortenberry will participate in the women's 100-meter hurdles at 5 p.m. while Nicholls will take part in the men's 110-meter hurdles half an hour later. Based on the results of those first-round runs, Fortenberry and Nicholls can advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday with the women's run set for 7:05 p.m. and the men's event slated for 7:20 p.m. The Top 12 individuals in each event will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will take place from June 6-8 in Eugene, Oregon.

"This is exactly where we planned to be with Alexia and Michael, so there's no real surprise with the invitation," UNO head coach Benjamin Dalton said. "We've been working hard all year long and this is a chance for both of them to show the nation that the University of New Orleans has some of the best track and field athletes in all of the NCAA."

Fortenberry heads into the NCAA East Regional with the 12th-fastest time among the 100 hurdles participants and the No. 33 overall time in the nation this season after clocking 13.22 efforts at the prestigious LSU Alumni Gold on April 23 and at the Southland Conference Championship on May 8.

A native of nearby Harvey, Louisiana, and a 2013 graduate of West Jefferson High School, she finished second in the event at this year's SLC meet and was just four one-hundredths of a second from advancing to last year's national championship. At the 2015 NCAA East Regional, Fortenberry posted a 13.27 in the preliminaries and finished 16th in the second round with a time of 13.34.

Nicholls, meanwhile, heads to Jacksonville with the No. 21 time among 110-meter hurdles participants at the Regional with a school-record mark of 13.91. The time came at the Southland Conference Championship when he won the event by a margin of 11 one-hundredths of a second over Stephen F. Austin's Kerry Gleason, and ranks tops in the league and 43rd nationally. For his efforts during the 2016 regular season, Nicholls was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year.

A native of Bridgetown, Barbados, Nicholls set or tied the school record in the 110 hurdles on six occasions and become the first UNO student-athlete to break the 14-second barrier in the event. He first tied the school 110 hurdles record with a 14.17 at the John Mitchell Alabama Relays on March 19 and then relegated former record-holder Jesse White to second fiddle with a 14.16 two weeks later at the Louisiana Classics. Nicholls became the first Privateer to break the 14-second barrier in the event with a 13.97 at the McNeese State Springtime Classic on April 9 and added did it again with a 13.95 at the LSU Alumni Gold on April 23.

"Alexia has been here before and has had success," Dalton added. "She narrowly missed advancing to nationals, so I know she will be hungry to take the next step. This will be Michael's first trip, but he's been in international competition so this is nothing really new for him. They have both run very well all year long and I don't expect anything different this time around.

"It's an honor to qualify for the Regionals, but this isn't a victory-lap situation for them. We're going there to have more good races and advance to the national championship."

Fortenberry and Nicholls are two of 31 student-athletes from Southland Conference schools to earn a berth in the NCAA East Regional. Joining Fortenberry in the women's competition are Nicole Casper (pole vault) and Morgan Woods (javelin) of McNeese State, Kryshell Rolle (400 hurdles) and Kierranika Duncan (triple jump) of Nicholls, Jermeka McBride (100 and 200 meters), De'Shalyn Jones (200 meters), Braneshia Payton (100 hurdles), Porsha Thomas (triple jump), Breann Denson (triple jump), Rechelle Bessard (discus), Ashley Aldredge (javelin) and Kelsey Frank (javelin) of Northwestern State, and Sharrona Williams (100 meters), Jermisha Frazier (shot put, hammer throw) and Nicole Delesdernier (javelin) of Southeastern Louisiana.

On the men's side, Nicholls will be joined by Tyler Smith (100 meters), Kartavius Hamilton (long jump), John Lemke (triple jump), Donavon Banks (javelin) and Kyle Zenon (javelin) of McNeese State, Micah Larkins (100 meters), Amir James (100 and 200 meters), George Flaviano (400 hurdles), Emmanuel Williams (long jump, triple jump), Aaron Williams (long jump, triple jump), Zhaquan Porter (triple jump) and  Cedric Paul (shot put) of Northwestern State, and the duo of Clarence Robinson (high jump) and Devin King (pole vault) of Southeastern Louisiana. In addition, Northwestern State will compete in the men's 4x100 relay.

Tickets for the NCAA East Preliminary can be purchased by clicking HERE or at the Hodges Stadium Ticket Window.Fans unable to make the trip can follow all the action live HERE.