NCAA announces entries for next weekend's West Preliminary Championships...

The NCAA announced the field for next week’s West Preliminary championships in Austin, Texas May 28-30 at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas.

In Austin, the West Region athletes will go through one or two rounds of qualifying to cut the field of 48 athletes and 24 relay teams down to a final 12 that will advance to Eugene, Oregon June 10-13th. The same process will play out simultaneously in the East Region, which will be hosted by North Florida in Jacksonville, resulting in fields of 24 athletes and relays in each event advancing to Eugene, where some events will have one more semifinal round before the finals.

The University of Washington will send its largest contingent of athletes to Austin, as the Dawgs have a record 20 men and 17 women selected, led by Pac-12 champions Kristina Owsinski in the pole vault, Jax Thoirs (pole vault), and Izaic Yorks (1500m).

Washington State has 11 men and 18 women entered led by Pac-12 champs Jesse Jorgensen (800m) and Alissa Brooks-Johnson (heptathlon), who will compete in the 400 hurdles and javelin, as she’s punched her ticket to the national finals in Eugene in the heptathlon.

Eastern Washington has four men and eight women in the field led by Big Sky champs Jordan Arakawa (hammer), Emma Murillo (javelin), and Morena Mannucci (triple jump).

Gonzaga sends a squad of three men and women, led by Jessica Mildes (10000m) and Willie Milam (5000m), while Seattle University’s lone qualifier is Shaddye Melu in the high jump.

Women seeded 12th or higher entering the West Prelims include: Abby Regan of WSU (1500m), Maddie Meyers of Washington (5000m), Jessica Mildes of Gonzaga (10000m), Liz Harper of WSU and Gianna Woodruff of Washington (400H), Washington’s 4 x 100 relay, Washington State’s 4 x 400 relay, Kristina Owsinski and Diamara Planell Cruz of Washington (pole vault), and Emma Murillo of Eastern Washington (javelin).

On the men’s side, athletes seeded 12th or higher entering the West Prelims include: Tacoma native Marcus Chambers of Oregon (400), Jesse Jorgensen of WSU (800), Izaic Yorks of Washington (1500), Jax Thoirs of Washington (pole vault), Seattle native Darian Brooks of Stanford (triple jump), Jordan Arakawa of Eastern Washington (hammer), and Tahoma HS grad Derek Eager of UCLA & Washington State’s Brad Stevens (javelin).

The home page where all official entries can be found is available here.

NOTE:  The USTFCCCA, and the sports information offices of Washington, Washington State, Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, and Seattle University contributed to this report.