Wilson, White Punch NCAA Tickets
2021 NCAA West Preliminary Championships
May 26-29 | College Station, Texas (Texas A&M)
Men's Start Lists | Women's Start Lists
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Day one is in the books at the four day NCAA West Preliminary Championships, and two Huskies already booked their trips to Hayward Field in two weeks. Jayden White and Jonah Wilson, the throwers of matching initials, got matching NCAA Outdoor qualifiers today in the hammer and shot put at E.B. Cushing Stadium.
White and Wilson both placed in the top-12 today to advance to Eugene, Ore. from June 9-12, becoming the third and fourth Huskies to earn themselves a spot at the NCAA Outdoor meet, joining heptathletes Lyndsey Lopes and Ida Eikeng.
Five more Husky men advanced from round one into the quarterfinal rounds on the track, which will take place on Friday. The women's competition will get underway tomorrow.
The West Prelims assembles the top-48 athletes from the western half of the country, in every individual event, and top-24 relays, for four days of competition at Texas A&M. Those that make the top-12 continue on to the NCAA Outdoor final site in Eugene.
White was the first Husky to get through, with a big clutch improvement on his last attempt. The freshman came in with just a best of 200-9 after two attempts, well outside the top-12, but he connected on one for 213-6 on his third and final throw to move up into that coveted No. 12 spot, where he would finish. White will be the first Husky men's hammer thrower to make NCAAs since Zack Midles in 2010.
Senior Connor Jost placed 26th at his first NCAA West Prelims today, with a best toss of 199-0, but his major senior year improvements included a seventh-place Pac-12 finish and the No. 7 mark in school history.
Jonah Wilson came in seeded 13th in the shot put as he looked to make his second straight NCAA Outdoor meet. Wilson took care of business with one throw, going 63-0 ¼ on his opener to move up into qualifying position. He fouled his second and did not improve on his third but that opening mark was good for 10th overall to advance. Wilson will try to add another qualifier in the discus on Friday.
Redshirt freshman Sam Van Peursem ended his first collegiate outdoor season on a major positive in the shot. He was ranked just 28th coming in but finished 16th today with a season-best of 61-2 ¾. Van Peursem had not gone 60-feet yet this outdoor season, but went over 61-feet twice today. He broke into the UW outdoor top-10 list at No. 10 with the mark.
All three Husky entries in the men's 1,500-meters moved on to Friday's quarterfinal rounds. In the first heat of the day, Mick Stanovsek got the final auto-qualifying spot with a time of 3:44.18. Dustin Nading was in the same heat, and took sixth in 3:46.01. He had to wait out the next three heats to see if that time would hold up for a time qualifier, and it did get the final one.
Sam Tanner was in the second heat, and he also moved on with a fifth-place time in his heat of 3:45.52.
Cass Elliott and Julian Body both moved into the next round in the 400-meter hurdles today. Running in the same heat, Elliott came through in third in 50.45 seconds to auto advance. Body made a late push to run a big personal-best time of 51.18 seconds, and that got him one of the time qualifiers. Body came in seeded just 35th but is in the top-24 now. That time also moved him to No. 7 on the Husky top-10 list.
Earlier in the day, Body also raced the 110m hurdles, where he placed 27th overall in a time of 13.98 to fall just shy of reaching that quarterfinal round.
Whereas Jayden White grabbed the final qualifying spot, 12th in the hammer, the cut line dinged the Huskies in the men's 10,000-meters, where Tibebu Proctor battled the elite field and the humidity to a 13th-place finish to just miss his first NCAA Outdoor meet by one spot. Proctor made the 25 laps in 29:22.11. Andrew Jordan finished 27th today in 30:17.04 and Talon Hull was 42nd overall in 31:01.35.
The stellar Husky career of Chase Smith came to a conclusion today in the pole vault. The Pac-12 Champion cleared his first height at 16-10 ¾ on one attempt but was unable to make the next bar and the four-time All-American finished tied for 30th.
In the men's javelin, Dalton Sugg came within just three feet and three places of advancing to Eugene. In his first West Prelims meet, Sugg threw a best of 210-11 which would wind up in 15th-place overall. It wraps a remarkable comeback season for Sugg, who was the Pac-12 runner-up after not having thrown since the 2018 season.
Washington Track & Field
NCAA West Preliminary Championships
College Station, Texas | E.B. Cushing Stadium
Day 1 of 4
Men's 200m First Round
44. Evan Mafilas, 23.75
Men's 1,500m First Round
Heat 1 of 4
5. Mick Stanovsek, 3:44.18 (Advances to Quarterfinal)
6. Dustin Nading, 3:46.01 (Advances to Quarterfinal)
Heat 2 of 4
5. Sam Tanner, 3:45.52 (Advances to Quarterfinal)
Men's 10,000m Semifinal
13. Tibebu Proctor, 29:22.11
27. Andrew Jordan, 30:17.04
42. Talon Hull, 31:01.35
Men's 110m Hurdles First Round
27. Julian Body, 13.98
Men's 400m Hurdles First Round
Heat 2 of 6
3. Cass Elliott, 50.45 (Advances to Quarterfinal)
5. Julian Body, 51.18 (Advances to Quarterfinal)
Men's Pole Vault
30 (tie). Chase Smith, 16-10 ¾
Men's Shot Put
10. Jonah Wilson, 63-0 ¼ (Advances to Eugene)
16. Sam Van Peursem, 61-2 ¾.
Men's Hammer Throw
12. Jayden White, 213-6 (Advances to Eugene)
26. Connor Jost, 199-0.
Men's Javelin
15. Dalton Sugg, 210-11.