Call it whatever you want--the road to Des Moines, Iowa starts Thursday...
Hey, I just met you,
and this is crazy,
but here's my number,
so call me, maybe?
With apologies to Carly Rae Jepsen, whatever you want to call it--the first round of the NCAA championships, or the West Regionals--the road to the NCAA track & field championships begin Thursday for the athletes from Washington, Washington State, Eastern Washington, and Gonzaga, along with several athletes with Washington ties competing for other schools.
The NCAA West Preliminaries begin Thursday at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, where the 48 qualifiers in each individual event are whittled down to the final 12, who move on to Des Moines, Iowa in two weeks.
A similar preliminary meet is being held for the eastern half of the country in Jacksonville, Florida, where the top 48 get pared down to 12.
Naturally, the large fields in the events will make for long days, which some critics contend make this three day meet unwatchable for all but the hardiest of hard core fans.
The field events will all have just one round, with the 48 athletes in each event split into flights based on their entry marks. The top 16 after three rounds in the jumps/throws will get three more attempts. Track events from 100-meters up to 1,500-meters will have two rounds apiece in Austin, plus two more rounds in Des Moines, so the eventual champions in those events will have run four races to win.
The Huskies are sending 31 men and women to Texas, while the Cougars will have a squad totaling 26 men and women. Eastern Washington sends six athletes to Austin, while Gonzaga sends its first runner in school history to the meet in the form of 10000 meter runner Emily Thomas.
The releases for the four schools are available here:
--Washington
--Washington State
--Eastern Washington
--Gonzaga
Those with Washington ties in the top eight in the field of 48 (24 relays) include on the women's side: Washington State's Shawna Fermin (400); Washington's Katie Flood (1500); Colorado's Jessica Tebo from Sammamish (5000); Washington's Logan Miller (pole vault); and, University Place native Andrea Geubelle of Kansas (long/triple jumps).
Men with Washington connections ranked in the top eight include: Washington's James Alaka (200); Rainier Beach HS grad Michael Berry (above/photo by Paul Merca) of Oregon (400); Gig Harbor's Miles Unterreiner of Stanford (10000); Washington's JJ Juilfs (pole vault); Washington State's Stephan Scott-Ellis (long/triple jumps); and, Tahoma HS grad Derek Eager of UCLA (javelin).
You can watch streaming video of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds here each day beginning at 9 am pacific.
The start lists for the men's West Preliminary rounds are available here, while the women's West Preliminary round start lists are available here.
Courtesy of the USTFCCCA, here's the brackets for the national championships, which will help fans understand the concept of advancement from Austin or Jacksonville to Des Moines.
Texassports.com will have live results posted here once the meet gets underway.
and this is crazy,
but here's my number,
so call me, maybe?
 |
| Rainier Beach HS grad Michael Berry |
The NCAA West Preliminaries begin Thursday at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, where the 48 qualifiers in each individual event are whittled down to the final 12, who move on to Des Moines, Iowa in two weeks.
A similar preliminary meet is being held for the eastern half of the country in Jacksonville, Florida, where the top 48 get pared down to 12.
Naturally, the large fields in the events will make for long days, which some critics contend make this three day meet unwatchable for all but the hardiest of hard core fans.
The field events will all have just one round, with the 48 athletes in each event split into flights based on their entry marks. The top 16 after three rounds in the jumps/throws will get three more attempts. Track events from 100-meters up to 1,500-meters will have two rounds apiece in Austin, plus two more rounds in Des Moines, so the eventual champions in those events will have run four races to win.
The Huskies are sending 31 men and women to Texas, while the Cougars will have a squad totaling 26 men and women. Eastern Washington sends six athletes to Austin, while Gonzaga sends its first runner in school history to the meet in the form of 10000 meter runner Emily Thomas.
The releases for the four schools are available here:
--Washington
--Washington State
--Eastern Washington
--Gonzaga
Those with Washington ties in the top eight in the field of 48 (24 relays) include on the women's side: Washington State's Shawna Fermin (400); Washington's Katie Flood (1500); Colorado's Jessica Tebo from Sammamish (5000); Washington's Logan Miller (pole vault); and, University Place native Andrea Geubelle of Kansas (long/triple jumps).
Men with Washington connections ranked in the top eight include: Washington's James Alaka (200); Rainier Beach HS grad Michael Berry (above/photo by Paul Merca) of Oregon (400); Gig Harbor's Miles Unterreiner of Stanford (10000); Washington's JJ Juilfs (pole vault); Washington State's Stephan Scott-Ellis (long/triple jumps); and, Tahoma HS grad Derek Eager of UCLA (javelin).
You can watch streaming video of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds here each day beginning at 9 am pacific.
The start lists for the men's West Preliminary rounds are available here, while the women's West Preliminary round start lists are available here.
Courtesy of the USTFCCCA, here's the brackets for the national championships, which will help fans understand the concept of advancement from Austin or Jacksonville to Des Moines.
Texassports.com will have live results posted here once the meet gets underway.
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