Track & Field Headed to NCAA West Regionals
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah track & field team heads to College Station, Texas, this week for the NCAA West Regionals hosted by Texas A&M University at E.B. Cushing Stadium. The women will compete on Thursday, May 27, and Saturday, May 29, as they stagger competition days with the men. All four days of competition will air on SEC Network+ and can also be seen with the ESPN App.
NCAA West Regionals
Dates: Thursday, May 27 & Saturday, May 29
Location: E.B. Cushing Stadium
Host: Texas A&M
Meet Central: https://12thman.com/feature/ncaatrack
Live Results: https://bit.ly/3yFlibV
Live Stream: Thursday - Saturday
POSTSEASON DEBUT
Utah will send 10 student-athletes to the NCAA West Regionals and compete in the 800m, 5000m, 10,000m and 4x400m relays. Of those leaving to compete, seven will be making their first appearance at the NCAA West Regionals while three will make their return to the preliminaries since 2019. This will also be the first time Utah has had a 4x400m relay team qualify for the west regionals since the 2009 outdoor season.
Kelise Davis, Oneillia Fuller, Whitney Hessler, Brooklyn James, Jackie Martin, Lauren O'Banion and Jasie York will be making their debut at the west regionals while Brooke Manson and Poppy Tank will compete in the preliminaries for the second time in their career. Meanwhile, Sarah Newton has now qualified for three-straight NCAA West Regionals with the 2020 season canceled due to COVID-19.
STARTING BLOCKS
Brooke Manson will kick off west regionals for the Women of Utah as she races in the first heat of the 800m on Thursday, May 27, at 6:50 p.m. (MT). Sarah Newton follows in the second heat while Whitney Hessler closes it out for Utah in the fourth heat. Newton and Manson both advanced to the quarters of the 800 back in 2019. The top three finishers in each heat plus the top-six times from Thursday's race will advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Poppy Tank wraps up the night of competition for Utah on Thursday in the 10k where the top-12 finishers advance to the championships at Hayward Field. Tank checks with the sixth-fastest time among the 48 competitors with her PR time of 32:52.65 set at the West Coast Relays on April 30. The last time Tank competed in the 10k at regionals she clocked in at 34:08.80 for 13th-place back in 2019.
For those that advance in the 800m, they will race for a spot at the NCAA Championships on Saturday before Tank takes the track once again – this time for the 5000m race. The top-five runners in the 5k plus the next two top times will advance.
Kelise Davis, Lauren O'Banion, Brooklyn James, Jackie Martin, Oneillia Fuller and Jasie York will all be eligible to race for Utah in the 4x400m relay to close out the weekend on the women's side.
AMONG THE RANKED
Poppy Tank checks in at No. 23 in the latest USTFCCCA TFRI Event Summary rankings with her 5000m time of 15:45.07 set at the Hayward Premiere (April 2) – which was the second-fastest time in school history. Her school record 10,000m time of 32:52.65 also ranks her 12th nationally in that event. Meanwhile, the 4x400m squad of Kelise Davis, Lauren O'Banion, Brooklyn James and Jackie Martin is ranked 46th with their time of 3:40.16 – which was the second-fastest time in program history and was just a month ago at the West Coast Relays.
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