BYU Heads to West Regional Prelims

PROVO, Utah -- In search of qualifying for the NCAA Championships, 26 athletes from the No. 17 BYU men’s track team will be heading to Eugene, Oregon for the NCAA West Regional Preliminary meet this weekend.

The regional prelims will feature competition from the best programs in the West. Seven of the top 10 teams from the US Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association poll will be competing in the West Division, including No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 5 Texas Tech and No. 6 USC.

“Every athlete is going to have to do extremely well,” head coach Mark Robison said. “We’ll have a lot of kids trying to make it against some great competition.”

To qualify for the NCAA Championships in June, an athlete must finish in 12th place or better of the 48 athletes competing in each event. Those top 12 will head to Des Moines, Iowa for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 8-11.

The Cougars’ 26 athletes will be competing in 13 different events. BYU will mostly participate in middle distance, longer distance races and field events. One relay squad, the 4x400 meter team will also look to qualify.

“Really, without any team scoring we are simply looking to qualify different athletes,” Robison said. “It is the only thing that matters at this point.”

This year’s team has already experienced tremendous success, winning its final Mountain West Conference Championship just a few weeks ago. BYU’s 12th-consecutive outdoor title gives the Cougars a complete sweep of outdoor competition in conference. The victory comes on the heels of a program-best third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March.

BYU is hopeful to qualify as many individuals for Nationals as possible. Many eyes will be on current 1500-meter school record holder, junior Miles Batty. The Sandy native currently has the fastest time on the nation at 3:36.25.

Senior Leif Arrhenius is another candidate to qualify and do well in both the shot put and discus throw. His discus mark (61.16m, 200-08.00) ranks as second in the NCAA. Also, his best shot put throw (18.96m, 62-02.50) is the eighth-best distance in the country.

Competition begins Thursday at 11 a.m. MT and will continue through Saturday evening at approximately 6 p.m. MT. The University of Oregon will provide a webcast on its website, www.goducks.com and will begin coverage at 4:30 p.m. MT Thursday, 4 p.m. MT Friday and 2 p.m. MT Saturday.

To view live results CLICK HERE.

See a complete list of BYU's athletes competing below.

Justin Hedin (800m)
Miles Batty (1,500m)
Travis Fuller (1,500m)
Jared Rohatinsky (1,500m)
Reagan Frey (3,000m Steeplechase)
Josh Adams (3,000m Steeplechase)
Jacob Cosby (3,000m Steeplechase)
Benjamin Johnston (3,000m Steeplechase)
Alden Bahr (5,000m)
Nathan Ogden (5,000m)
Jared Ward (10,000m)
Brandon Hebbert (10,000m)
Rex Shield (10,000m)
Sean Adams (4x400 relay)
Cade Lindahl (4x400 relay)
James Derek McAllister (4x400 relay)
Chris Carter (4x400 relay)
Trevor Heiner (High jump)
Kyle Mills (Triple jump)
Victor Weirich (Pole vault)
Chris Little (Pole vault)
Tanner Emrich (Pole vault)
Leif Arrhenius (Shot put, discus throw)
Colby Barber (Shot put)
Oliver Whaley (Hammer throw)
Chris Reno (Javelin throw)