Cougars Head to Texas for West Preliminary

PROVO -- BYU will travel to the campus of University of Texas in Austin for the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary that runs Thursday through Saturday. The men enter the preliminary at No. 11 in the nation while the women are No. 16.

The three-day event features the top 48 athletes and 24 relay teams in each event in the west region. The top 12 finishers in each event advance to the final NCAA meet in Eugene, Ore., June 9-12. The East Preliminary is held this weekend in Greensboro, N.C.

BYU is among the top programs in the country in terms of entries in the preliminaries. The men tied for fourth-most in the nation with 27 entries in 26 individual events and one relay. The women are tied for second-most with 28 entries in 27 individual events and one relay.

On the men’s side, nine athletes have 10 top 10 qualifying marks. Ryan Waite has the highest ranking on the team at No. 3 in the West in the 800m. Three other runners are in the top 10 in their respective events, including Brian Weirich (No. 7), Richard Nelson (No. 7) and Jonathan Kotter (No. 9).

Several field athletes have top 10 marks, including thrower Leif Arrhenius at No. 5 in both the shot put and the discus. Chris Reno and Sean Richardson are both top 10 in the javelin with Reno at No. 6 and Richardson at No. 9. Chris Little is No. 5 in the west in pole vault.

Six women are top 10 in the west, including Mindy McClurkin in the 200m (No. 8) and the long jump (No. 2). Lacey Cramer is the top qualifier in the west in the 800m and Angela Wagner is right behind at No. 2. Nachelle Stewart’s No. 5 ranking gives BYU three athletes in the top five in the 800m. Ada Robinson is the Cougars’ sixth top 10 qualifier with a No. 6 ranking in the high jump.

Follow the action online via the following links:

Live results

Watch Thursday’s Action

Watch Friday’s Action

Watch Saturday’s Action

Click on the links below for the complete list of qualifiers for the West Preliminary

Men

Women