Montana State University
NCAA DIVISION I WEST REGIONAL MEET
Nine Bobcats Head to Lone Star State
5/22/2012 3:13:00 PM | Track & Field
Track and Field to compete at NCAA West Regional Preliminary
While the Big Sky Conference Championships may mark the close of the season for many, there are some Bobcats whose season has been extended a few more weeks at the NCAA West Region Preliminary Meet hosted by Texas in Austin and will serve as the final stop before the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. (NCAA West Regional Preliminary Schedule)
Nine Bobcats are slated to compete at the NCAA West Regional, including some ranked among the top ten, not only in the region, but in the nation.
The three day meet, running May 24-26, showcases the top 48 competitors in each event and each will look to advance as one of the top 24 in the nation and compete at the NCAA Championships.
On the opening day of the meet, five of the Blue and Gold contingent will contend for another few weeks of competition. Emily Tyrrell, who won the javelin at the 2010 NCAA Regional, will look to capitalize on the momentum of her Big Sky Championship title from two weeks ago. She is currently ranked eighth in the West and ninth in the nation.
For Thursday's men's field events, Trevor Gilreath will look to best his 2011 40th place finish in the shot put and enters the event seeded 37th.
Madeline Fuchs is rostered in the 42nd spot of the 400 hurdles, following a second place finish at the Big Sky Championships.
Also running on Thursday will be Chris Wilson in the first of two events he's qualified for, beginning with the 100 dash. On Friday, he'll look to advance to the finals of the 200 and potentially compete in the finals of the 100. He's seeded 29th in the 100 and 42nd in the 200. Wilson won the 100 at the Big Sky meet and came in second in the 200.
Rounding out Thursday's runners is Grant Grosvenor, who also comes in as a reigning Big Sky Champion in the 800.
On Friday, Heather Haug will race in the 3,000 steeplechase and will look to bounce back from a tough outing at the Big Sky Championships. She's seeded 30th in the event and most recently set a new MSU program record in the event earlier in the spring with a time of 10:26.36.
David Phillips returns for a second appearance at regionals. He'll compete in the hammer throw with an 11th place seeding. He came in 24th in 2011.
The final day of competition will feature Amanda Murphy in the hammer throw. Last year she placed 22nd and is currently seeded 11th.
In the men's 5,000, Dan Jackson, is prepped for his first regional meet. He holds a 41st place seed after a 10th place finish at the Big Sky Championships.
“We're really excited for the kids that made the cut for this meet,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “If any of our competitors can repeat the marks they initially got to qualify, they will really have a great chance of advancing on to NCAA's.”
While he won't be competing at the regional meet, Jeff Mohl has punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships in the decathlon. He won the Big Sky title with a lifetime best score of 7,630 and automatically qualified for the meet. He'll begin competition on June 6 at Drake in Des Moines.
Complete meet information can be found here. Live Results will also be available.
