Thursday, May 23
Sacramento, CA
1 p.m.
Montana State University
at
NCAA West Preliminaries - Day One
Photo by: Todd Goodrich
Montana State Heads to Familiar Territory to Compete in NCAA West Regional
5/21/2019 11:22:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
The Montana State track and field program will be represented by five athletes when the NCAA Division I West Preliminary Round begins in Sacramento, California, on Thursday
The Montana State track and field program will be represented by five athletes when the NCAA Division I West Preliminary Round begins in Sacramento, California, on Thursday. The stop before the NCAA Championships features some of the best in the nation in each event in track and field.
The Bobcats have had recent success at the West Preliminary. Last year, Kyle Douglass and Amanda Jaynes each advanced to the NCAA Championships with their performances in the West Region meet. Alyssa Snyder moved on to the NCAA Championships following her top 12 finish in the women's 10,000 at the regional meet in 2017 and went on to finish fourth and earn All-America accolades at the NCAA Championships in Eugene.
"Whenever you go up against competition like at the preliminary, it's a great experience not even at the meet, but in the preparation for the next time you're in a championship environment," said Lyle Weese, Montana State's director of track and field. "It will help them realize what it takes to compete at a high level."
Duncan Hamilton, Kelsi Lasota, Alex Lewis, Drake Schneider and Carley VonHeeder are set to participate at the regional. Lewis and VonHeeder will be making their third trips to the preliminary round, while Lasota makes her second appearance at the regional meet. Hamilton and Schneider are making their debuts at the regional.
Montana State as a team has spent time competing on the West Coast this outdoor season and several Bobcats have previously competed at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium. Lasota, Lewis and VonHeeder each competed at the West Preliminary held at Hornet Stadium a season ago, while Lewis and VonHeeder participated in the 2017 Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Sacramento.
Qualifying to the NCAA Championships is accomplished through the Preliminary Championships. Twelve competitors from each individual event advance from each preliminary to the NCAA Championships which are held this season at Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Competitors like Lewis and VonHeeder will have three total attempts to earn a top-12 mark among the 48 participants in their respective field event. Lasota will run in a field of 48 entrants in the women's 10,000 with the top 12 advancing to the NCAA Championships. Hamilton will run in one of three heats in the men's 3,000 steeplechase, needing to finish in the top three of 16 runners in his flight or claim a top three time beyond the flight's top three to move on. Schneider will compete in the first round of the 400 hurdles Thursday and try to achieve a top 24 mark to continue his appearance in Sacramento in the quarterfinals of the event Friday. He'd then need to be among the top 12 of that group to advance to the NCAA Championships.
"They need to keep doing what they've been doing," Weese said. "If you go into a meet like this trying to do something you haven't done before, often times that can lead to a disappointing experience. If you go through the same pattern that you've used the entire year, that will give you a good chance no matter your rank.
"Not everybody has their best day at a regional meet. A lot of it is doing the best you can do and trying to have your best performance."
VonHeeder will be the first Bobcat to compete on Thursday, May 23, when the women's javelin competition opens at 1 p.m. MST. The men's long jump starts at 4:30 p.m. and Lewis is ranked 18th among the declared athletes in the event. Schneider competes in the first men's track event on Thursday when the 400 hurdles first round starts at approximately 6 p.m. Lasota appears in the final event of the day as the 10,000 is slated to begin at 10 p.m.
The 3,000 steeplechase quarterfinals are set to take place on Friday. The men's flights of the 3,000 steeplechase, which Hamilton is scheduled to appear in, starts at 10 p.m.
NCAA track and field fans can watch live an on-demand coverage of the NCAA Division I West Preliminary Championships on FloTrack with a Pro subscription. Coverage of the preliminary competitions will be available May 23-25. For more information like event schedules and meet results, links are available on the Montana track and field schedule pages on msubobcats.com.
Regional Rankings Breakdown (Declared event/rank/mark - event date/time in Mountain)
Kelsi Lasota (10,000/28th/33:55.88 – Thursday, May 23/10 p.m. MST)
Drake Schneider (400 Hurdles/28th/51.38 – Thursday, May 23/6 p.m. MST)
Duncan Hamilton (3,000 Steeplechase/48th/9:01.36 – Friday, May 24/10 p.m. MST)
Alex Lewis (Long Jump/18th/25-02 – Thursday, May 23/4:30 pm MST)
Carley VonHeeder (Javelin/45th/151-07 – Thursday, May 23/1 p.m. MST)
The Bobcats have had recent success at the West Preliminary. Last year, Kyle Douglass and Amanda Jaynes each advanced to the NCAA Championships with their performances in the West Region meet. Alyssa Snyder moved on to the NCAA Championships following her top 12 finish in the women's 10,000 at the regional meet in 2017 and went on to finish fourth and earn All-America accolades at the NCAA Championships in Eugene.
"Whenever you go up against competition like at the preliminary, it's a great experience not even at the meet, but in the preparation for the next time you're in a championship environment," said Lyle Weese, Montana State's director of track and field. "It will help them realize what it takes to compete at a high level."
Duncan Hamilton, Kelsi Lasota, Alex Lewis, Drake Schneider and Carley VonHeeder are set to participate at the regional. Lewis and VonHeeder will be making their third trips to the preliminary round, while Lasota makes her second appearance at the regional meet. Hamilton and Schneider are making their debuts at the regional.
Montana State as a team has spent time competing on the West Coast this outdoor season and several Bobcats have previously competed at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium. Lasota, Lewis and VonHeeder each competed at the West Preliminary held at Hornet Stadium a season ago, while Lewis and VonHeeder participated in the 2017 Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Sacramento.
Qualifying to the NCAA Championships is accomplished through the Preliminary Championships. Twelve competitors from each individual event advance from each preliminary to the NCAA Championships which are held this season at Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Competitors like Lewis and VonHeeder will have three total attempts to earn a top-12 mark among the 48 participants in their respective field event. Lasota will run in a field of 48 entrants in the women's 10,000 with the top 12 advancing to the NCAA Championships. Hamilton will run in one of three heats in the men's 3,000 steeplechase, needing to finish in the top three of 16 runners in his flight or claim a top three time beyond the flight's top three to move on. Schneider will compete in the first round of the 400 hurdles Thursday and try to achieve a top 24 mark to continue his appearance in Sacramento in the quarterfinals of the event Friday. He'd then need to be among the top 12 of that group to advance to the NCAA Championships.
"They need to keep doing what they've been doing," Weese said. "If you go into a meet like this trying to do something you haven't done before, often times that can lead to a disappointing experience. If you go through the same pattern that you've used the entire year, that will give you a good chance no matter your rank.
"Not everybody has their best day at a regional meet. A lot of it is doing the best you can do and trying to have your best performance."
VonHeeder will be the first Bobcat to compete on Thursday, May 23, when the women's javelin competition opens at 1 p.m. MST. The men's long jump starts at 4:30 p.m. and Lewis is ranked 18th among the declared athletes in the event. Schneider competes in the first men's track event on Thursday when the 400 hurdles first round starts at approximately 6 p.m. Lasota appears in the final event of the day as the 10,000 is slated to begin at 10 p.m.
The 3,000 steeplechase quarterfinals are set to take place on Friday. The men's flights of the 3,000 steeplechase, which Hamilton is scheduled to appear in, starts at 10 p.m.
NCAA track and field fans can watch live an on-demand coverage of the NCAA Division I West Preliminary Championships on FloTrack with a Pro subscription. Coverage of the preliminary competitions will be available May 23-25. For more information like event schedules and meet results, links are available on the Montana track and field schedule pages on msubobcats.com.
Regional Rankings Breakdown (Declared event/rank/mark - event date/time in Mountain)
Kelsi Lasota (10,000/28th/33:55.88 – Thursday, May 23/10 p.m. MST)
Drake Schneider (400 Hurdles/28th/51.38 – Thursday, May 23/6 p.m. MST)
Duncan Hamilton (3,000 Steeplechase/48th/9:01.36 – Friday, May 24/10 p.m. MST)
Alex Lewis (Long Jump/18th/25-02 – Thursday, May 23/4:30 pm MST)
Carley VonHeeder (Javelin/45th/151-07 – Thursday, May 23/1 p.m. MST)
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Men's Track and Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Throws
/ Women's Track and Field2022 Big Sky Outdoor Championships
Monday, May 16
Track and Field Big Sky Championships
Monday, February 18
Coach Kennedy - Feb. 11, 2013
Tuesday, February 12
Coach Kennedy - Feb. 4, 2013
Tuesday, February 05
