First Day at NCAA West First Rounds Wraps up in Arkansas
5/22/2024 10:42:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Janis Pohl qualifies for Friday’s 400 meter hurdle quarterfinal, Ben Perrin and Matthew Richtman narrowly miss on bids to Eugene in the 10,000 meters
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Montana State opened up their four-day stay at the NCAA West First Rounds in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Wednesday, with 11 Bobcat men competing in postseason competition at John McDonnell Field.
In perhaps the performance of the day, Janis Pohl turned in an eye-popping 50.69 in the men's 400 meter hurdles first round to advance to Friday afternoon's quarterfinals. In the fourth of six heats, the German senior improved on his No. 2 time in school history and recorded the tenth-fastest time in the preliminary heats, snagging a qualifying bid to survive to Friday.
Pohl came to Arkansas seeded 33rd in the 400 meter hurdles, but the Big Sky champion in the event now has a chance to potentially be one of 12 who will qualify on Friday for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
"Janis ran an outstanding 400 meter hurdle race and moved onto the next round on Friday, which was so fun to see," Dale Kennedy Director of Track and Field Lyle Weese said. "Janis is so deserving of this incredible season he has been having."
In the men's 10,000 meters, two of the best distance runners in Bobcat history narrowly missed out on one of 12 bids to the NCAA Championships, with Matthew Richtman placing 14th and Ben Perrin placing 18th.
"Matt was so close to securing a spot to Eugene and ran a spectacular race," Weese said.
Starting the race in dead last through the first mile, Richtman worked his way through the pack in typical Richtman fashion, climbing the ladder and passing runner after runner. However, the veteran simply ran out of laps despite a gutsy close, crossing the line in 29:01.33, three seconds behind the 12th-place finisher.
Both Perrin and Richtman will have another shot to punch a ticket to Eugene on Friday, racing in the 5,000 meters.
A pair of Australian freshmen closed the book on stellar seasons on Wednesday, with Harvey Cramb placing 29th in the men's 1,500 meters and Jett Grundy placing 42nd in the men's 400 meters.
In the first of three flights in the men's javelin, Dillon native Cooper Hoffman concluded his collegiate career with a throw of 196-08, finishing 38th in his second appearance at the regional meet.
Pat Vialva capped a stellar sophomore season with a mark of 218-11 on his first throw, placing 21st. Vialva broke his own school record in the javelin on four occasions this spring, including with a throw of 234-0 at the Big Sky Championships in Bozeman.
In the pole vault, Colby Wilson was unable to clear his first height.
Competing in the first of his three throwing events at the NCAA West First Rounds this week, sophomore Elijah Jackman opened up his meet with a 44th place finish in the shot put.
The men's hammer, originally scheduled for 9 a.m. local time before meet officials moved it to 10:15 p.m. due to severe weather, got underway well after dark.
Jackman was unable to record a mark in the hammer, while Matt Furdyk placed 42nd.
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Thursday will see the Bobcat women get in on the action, with five Cats competing at John McDonnell Field.
Due to the potential of severe weather late in the evening tomorrow, the NCAA has moved each field event up by 90 minutes, and every running event has been moved up three hours in the hopes of concluding competition early tomorrow.
Clara Fox, a freshman from Bozeman, will compete in the women's javelin at 12:30 p.m. CT/11:30 a.m. MT.
Later, Elena Carter will pull off an impressive double when she competes in the women's long jump and the women's 100 meter hurdles. Both events are scheduled for 3 p.m. CT/2 p.m. MT, meaning the Helena native will go directly from the hurdles to long jump pit as she tries to punch a ticket to the NCAA Championships.
Carter enters the meet ranked 31st in the region in the 100 meter hurdles and 39th in the region in the long jump.
At 3:30 p.m. CT/2:30 p.m. MT, Billings native Maisee Brown will compete in the women's pole vault. The senior is ranked 29th in the West region.
Sophomore Caroline Hawkes will race in the women's 400 meters at 4:25 p.m. CT/3:25 p.m. MT., and freshman school-record holder Sydney Brewster will participate in her first NCAA West First Round in the shot put at 5:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. MT.
Both are ranked 37th in their respective events in the West.
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