NCAA West Preliminary Starts Wednesday

EUGENE, Ore. – In search of qualifiers for the national meet, the Oregon track and field team competes in the NCAA West Preliminary beginning Wednesday at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas. The Ducks' 61 entries—34 men and 27 women—are an increase from 57 in 2019 and match the team's prelim total in 2018.
 
The top 48 declared student-athletes in each individual event—24 for relays—are competing for a top-12 finish to secure a trip to the NCAA Championships (June 9-12) at Hayward Field in Eugene. The NCAA East Preliminary will be held concurrently in Jacksonville, Fla.
 
To mirror the national meet, the NCAA Preliminary is held over four days with alternating men's and women's programs. The men will compete Wednesday and Friday with the women in action Thursday and Saturday.
 
How to Watch – Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
 
The meet will be streamed live on SEC Network+ beginning with the start of running events each day.
 
Click HERE for the full meet schedule.
 
The Men of Oregon have five opportunities for a national qualifier on day one with two in the javelin—Dalton Rasmussen and Jett Kinder—and three in the long jump—Isaiah Griffith, Pierce LaCoste and DJ Henderson. Only Griffith and Henderson have previous experience at the NCAA West Preliminary; Griffith with Nebraska in 2017 and Henderson with the Ducks in 2019.
 
In the horizontal jumps, the field of 48 is split in four flights of 12 based on event ranking. In throws, the field is split in three groups of 16. The later flights have the student-athletes with the best marks entering the meet.
 
Running events with two rounds at the NCAA Preliminary: 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, 100/110-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles. The remaining running events—5000 meters, 10,000 meters, steeplechase and both relays—will have one round.
 
For the Women of Oregon, Rhesa Foster and Kiana Phelps will be making their fourth appearances at the NCAA West Preliminary. The long jump (Foster) will be contested Thursday with the discus (Phelps) part of Saturday's schedule.
 
Overall, a total of 13 UO qualifiers will be making at least a third appearance at the NCAA Preliminary meet.
 
Reed Brown – 3 (2018-19, '21)
Carmela Cardama Baez – 3 (2018-19, '21)
Rieker Daniel – 3 (2018-19, '21)
Rhesa Foster – 4 (2017-19, '21)
Jonathan Harvey – 3 (2018-19, '21)
Jackson Mestler – 3 (2018-19, '21)
Ben Milligan – 3 (2016, '18, '21)
Lauri Paredes – 3 (2018-19, '21)
Kiana Phelps – 4 (2017-19, '21)
Hannah Reinhardt – 3 (2018-19, '21); 2018-19 at Albany
Cooper Teare – 3 (2018-19, '21)
James West – 3 (2018-19, '21)
Matt Wisner – 3 (2018-19, '21); 2018-19 at Duke
 
The UO men have already secured one national qualifier with Pac-12 champion Max Vollmer in the decathlon. With no multi-events competition during the Preliminary rounds, the top-24 scores in the country earn spots at the NCAA Championships. Vollmer posted a season-best 7,695 points at the Jim Click Shootout in early April. It marks his second NCAA appearance after a fifth-place showing at the 2019 national meet in Austin, Texas.
 
Based on NCAA Preliminary entries, the Men of Oregon hold steady at No. 2 in this week's USTFCCCA rankings while the Women of Oregon check in at No. 10 nationally.
 
Postseason Schedule
May 14-16 – Pac-12 Championships (Los Angeles, Calif.)
May 26-29 – NCAA West Preliminary (College Station, Texas)
June 9-12 – NCAA Championships (Eugene, Ore.)
 
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