Four More Punch Ticket to NCAA Nationals

AUSTIN -- BYU men’s track and field registered several impressive performances on day two of the NCAA Track and Field West Preliminary as four Cougars punched their ticket to the national championship meet in Eugene, Ore. A total of eight members of the men’s team have qualified for the NCAA Championships to be held June 9-12.

“Everything went really, really well today,” BYU head coach Mark Robison said. “We saw some great efforts from our guys. We had guys turn in some lifetime bests and prove they can compete with the best in the country. I’m very pleased with how we performed today.”

Richard Nelson turned in one of the top performances of the day, winning the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 8:45.76. He outpaced Joonas Harjamaki of Lamar, who came into the weekend with the second fastest time in the nation in the event.

Chris Little kept pace in the pole vault, tying for the best height of the day to advance. Fellow field competitor Oliver Whaley had the meet of his life, breaking his personal best in the hammer throw three times to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships. His top mark of 64.09 meters (210-03) placed him sixth.

Ryan Waite clocked the third-fastest time of the day in the 800 meters at 1:46.83. He fell just short of breaking BYU’s all-time record of 1:46.50, set in 1980 by Agberto Guimaraes.

On Saturday Leif Arrhenius will look to qualify in the discus and Anse Myller DeAraujo and Kyle Mills will compete in the triple jump. Alden Bahr and Brandon Hebbert are slated to run the 5000 meters and the 4x400 meter relay team will also compete.

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

CLICK HERE to review Thursday’s action.

Rank  Name                Event           Mark
  7   Chris Little*       Pole Vault      5.30mq     17-04.50
 18   Tanner Emrich       Pole Vault      5.20m      17-00.75
  6   Oliver Whaley*      Hammer Throw    64.09mq    210-03
 34   Trevor Heiner       High Jump       2.01m      6-07.00
  4   Ryan Waite*         800m            1:46.83Q 
  1   Richard Nelson*     Steeplechase    8:45.76Q
 37   Ryan Merriman       Steeplechase    9:11.27 
 40   Josh Adams          Steeplechase    9:14.31 
*Qualified for NCAA National Championships in Eugene, Ore.