UNCW track and field sends first sprinter in school history to NCAA National
For the first time in 17 years, UNCW will be represented in the NCAA Division I National track and field meet as hurdler Josh Parks qualified in last weekend's NCAA East Preliminary Round.
Parks recorded countless school records at A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis, N.C., and is the first track and field athlete in UNCW school history to qualify in the 110-meter hurdles.
"I always felt like I could (qualify for nationals), but as soon as I saw my name up there, there was just a bunch of excitement hit my body," Parks said of his 13.83 second time at Regionals.
UNCW BASEBALL WINS CAA UNCW baseball captures CAA Championship, earns automatic spot in NCAA Tournament
OUR PREDICTIONS Why UNCW baseball will – and won’t – win Conway NCAA Regional
UNCW NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE UNCW baseball a No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament, will play in Conway
UNCW track and field coach Jeff Klaves says Parks has always been a special athlete.
"If I talk about his first experience at this NCAA level last year, what Josh did almost felt like a kid in a candy store," Klaves, who also coaches cross country at the school, said. "He was buzzing, he was energetic, and you feel that passion from him every single day he's at the track."
Despite being one of UNCW's best track and field athletes from the start, Parks dealt with setbacks that kept him from reaching his goals.
"Freshman year, we had COVID, so that kind of messed everything up," Parks said. "Then I ended up getting injured, which put a halt on my progression."
Parks made it to the NCAA East Preliminary Round last season as a junior, finishing 33rd in the 100-meter hurdles.
The last time UNCW sent a track and field athlete to Nationals was in 2006 when school Hall of Famer Anna Raynor competed in the Javelin. Parks is also the first male athlete to compete in the competition for UNCW since 1997.
The 2023 NCAA Division I National track and field meet will take place on June 9 at Mike A. Meyers Stadium at the University of Texas. Parks will go up against a field of 23 other athletes from across the country.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: UNCW's Josh Parks heading to NCAA track and field National meet
