JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Coppin State's
Jarrett Gentles is heading to the NCAA Track & Field National Championships as he clocked a school-record 49.78 in the 400m hurdles on Friday night at the NCAA Quarterfinals, hosted by University of North Florida at Hodges Stadium. Gentles finished second in his heat, and third overall among the East Region competitors.
A senior from Newark, N.J., Gentles will be making his first-ever appearance at the National Championships with his record-breaking time. Gentles is the first Eagle to break the 50-second barrier in the event, and his time shattered the marks held by a pair of All-Americans in the event in
Jibri Victorian (50.10) and
Steve Delice (50.25).
Gentles is the first CSU track & field athlete to advance to the National Championships since 2022 when Olympian
Joseph Manu qualified in both the 100m and 200m dash.
The NCAA National Championships will be held on June 11-14 at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. Gentles' National Semifinal of the 400m hurdles is set for 9:14 pm ET on Wednesday with the final contested at 9:27 pm ET on Friday. Wednesday's events will air on ESPN with Friday's events on ESPN2.
