Buffs Head To NCAA Preliminaries
BOULDER - The University of Colorado track and field team will have 14 athletes and one relay team compete Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 27-29, at the NCAA West Preliminary Championship in Austin, Texas.
The CU men are sending 10 individuals and its 4x100-meter relay team, while the women are sending four to the meet at the Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas. Live results are available at texassports.com and a live stream of the championship will be available at ncaa.com.
Brianne Beemer will start the action off for Colorado on Thursday in the 400-meter hurdles. The prelims of the first round start at 4 p.m. and the finals are on Friday at 6:15 p.m. Beemer ranks 46th in the region heading into the first round.
Jeremy Dodson is the second Buff to hit the track on Thursday. He is competing in the first round of the 100-meter dash at 5:30 p.m. The quarterfinals for the 100 are Friday at 6 p.m. Dodson will also compete in the 200, with the first round starting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday; quarterfinals are on Saturday at 7:50 p.m. Dodson ranks fifth in the region in the 200 and is 12th in the 100.
Dodson will also be a part of the 4x100-meter relay team which ranks 16th in the west. He will be joined by his two younger brothers, Quinton Dodson and A.J. Whitaker, as well as Kyle MacIntosh. The relay will compete at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday.
Several Buffaloes will compete in the 10,000-meter run on Thursday night. Aldo Vega, Jordan Kyle, Kenyon Neuman, Andy Wacker and Joe Bosshard will run at 8:30 p.m. and Laura Thweatt will run in the women's race at 9:15. Vega leads the Buffs with a 24th place ranking in the region, while Thweatt's time is the 26th best time in the west.
Friday night features the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Christian Thompson, who is 42nd in the region, will race in the men's event. The first heat is set for an 8:30 p.m. start. Emma Coburn, who has the top time in the west and the second-best time in the NCAA, will lead the Buffs on the women's side. Teammate Shalaya Kipp ranks seventh in the region and will join Coburn in the event. The first of three sections of the women's race is at 9:10 p.m.
Saturday's action for Colorado starts at 12 p.m. with the men's discus throw qualifying round. Dane Chobanian recorded the 13th best throw in CU history and is 19th in the region with his mark of 182-03.
Capping off CU's participation in the preliminary round of the championship is the 5,000-meter semifinals on Saturday evening. The men will have six competitors in the race. Richard Medina ranks eighth in the region and will be joined by Vega, Matt Tebo, Kyle, Wacker and Bosshard. The first of two semi-finals is set for an 8:05 p.m. start.
The NCAA Preliminaries are the first step in a new process to quality athletes for the NCAA Championship June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore. There are two championship preliminaries (west and east) this weekend and the top 12 competitors at each site will advance to the national championship.