Throwers Highlight Day One at West Preliminaries

AUSTIN -- BYU’s throwers took care of business Thursday in the first day of the NCAA Track and Field West Preliminary as four finished in the top 12 of their respective events to qualifying for NCAA Nationals.

“We had some very good performances today,” BYU men’s head coach Mark Robison said. “The heat and humidity have been a challenge but we’re competing well. The javelin went well with all three of our guys qualifying for NCAAs. Ryan Waite ran great and easily qualified for the next round in the 800 meters. We’re in pretty good shape. We have a lot of events tomorrow and we hope everyone will perform well.”

The javelin trio of Sean Richardson, Blaine Baker and Chris Reno finished 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively, to earn spots in the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 9-12. Leif Arrhenius was the fourth thrower to qualify with a sixth-place finish in the shot put.

Ryan Waite had a successful day with a seventh-pace finish in the 800 meters. He is one of 24 runners that advanced to compete on Friday in the quarterfinals. The top 12 in each event advance to the NCAA Championships along with the top 12 in each event in the East Preliminary.

Competition resumes on Friday with Chris Little and Tanner Emrich competing in the pole vault, Oliver Whaley in the hammer throw, Trevor Heiner in the high jump, Waite in the 800m quarterfinals, Bryan Payne and Lance Walker in the 400m hurdles and Richard Nelson, Ryan Merriman and Josh Adams in the 3000m steeplechase.

See the list below for the athlete’s marks from Thursday. CLICK HERE for complete results.

Rank  Name                Event           Mark
 10   Sean Richardson*    Javelin         67.09mq    220-01
 11   Blaine Baker*       Javelin         66.72mq    218-11
 12   Chris Reno*         Javelin         65.51mq    214-11
  6   Leif Arrhenius*     Shot put        18.11mq    59-05.00
 27   Daniel Lawson       Shot put        16.64m     54-07.25
 32   Lance Walker        400m hurdles    52.51
 37   Bryan Payne         400m hurdles    53.35
 38   Brian Weirich       1500m           3:53.13
 38   Rhyan Atrice        400m            47.87
  7   Ryan Waite@         800m            1:47.96Q
 27   Jonathan Kotter     10000m          30:35.93 
 40   Aaron Powell        Long jump       6.78m      22-03.00
*Qualified for NCAA National Championships in Eugene, Ore.
@Advanced to final 24 at West Preliminary