Six Huskies and two Cougs advance to NCAAs in Eugene...

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas--Washington added six athletes to its NCAA championship roster, while Washington State added a pair as the men's competition at the NCAA West Preliminary Round concluded Friday night at John McDonnell Field on the campus of the University of Arkansas.

Discus thrower Elijah Mason (Paul Merca photo) got things rolling with his fourth place finish with a mark of 189-11 (57.89m) on his first throw.

The 1500 meters saw three Huskies qualify for the national meet in Eugene, as Luke Houser had the fastest time of the two heats, winning heat 1 in 3:38.06.

In the second heat, Joe Waskom finished second in 3:42.75, while Nathan Green got the final automatic spot to Eugene, placing fifth in 3:43.00, as all the time qualifiers came out of Houser's heat.

Cass Elliott had to sweat out the results of the final two heats of the 400 hurdles, as he only finished fourth in heat 1 in 50.53. After having to watch the other two heats, his time stood up as the final time qualifier, as each of the three heats had one time qualifier (top 3 plus 3 fastest times).

Brian Fay of the Dawgs left no doubt as he ran the fastest time of the evening in the 5000 meters, winning heat 2 in 13:28.41.

Washington State's Mitch Jacobson tied his personal best in the high jump with a clearance of 7-1.75 (2.18m) to advance to Eugene.

Jacobson was clean through the first three heights, then needed a second attempt clearance at 7-0.25 (2.15m) to advance. He then cleared 7-1.75 (2.18m) on his first attempt, as all seven competitors who cleared the height advanced to Eugene.

The Cougars' Colton Johnsen won the second heat of the 3000m steeplechase, finishing ninth overall in the event to earn his trip to TrackTown USA.

Johnsen moved into first position in heat two of the steeplechase (top-three advance) as he and Arkansas State's Bennett Pascoe began the final lap. Johnsen went on to increase his cushion over the final 200m stretch, stopping the timer at 8:38.24.

The meet concludes Saturday with the women's competition.

Day 3 results are available here.

MAGGARD FINISHES FOURTH IN USATF 10000m AT NIKE PRE CLASSIC...

In Eugene, Lake Washington HS alum Dillon Maggard finished fourth at the USATF 10000m championship race at Hayward Field as part of the Nike Prefontaine Classic.

Maggard ran 28:30.75, as Joe Klecker won in 28:28.71, with Grant Fisher second in 28:28.81 and Sean McGorty third in 28:29.57 to clinch their spots on the USA world championship team that will compete at Hayward Field in July.

Maggard needed a fast race in order to make the world championship team, as he did not have the world championship standard of 27:28.00. Klecker, Fisher, and McGorty all came into the national championship race with the standard in hand.

Washington alum Eleanor Fulton finished eighth in the two mile at the Pre Classic, running 9:20.17

The Nike Prefontaine Classic resumes Saturday on CNBC beginning at 1:00 pm, before it goes over to NBC (KING 5 in Seattle) at 1:30 pm.

The start list and results of the Nike Prefontaine Classic is available here.

WEBER FINISHES 16TH IN 800 AT NCAA D2 CHAMPS...

In Allendale, Michigan at the Grand Valley State Lacrosse/Track & Field Stadium, Western Washington's Drew Weber was the only Washington athlete competing on day 2 of the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships hosted by Grand Valley State.

Weber clocked his third-fastest 800m of the season in 1:50.76, but did not advance to Saturday's nine-runner final. Weber finished 7th in the third (and fastest) heat, with five advancing to the final.

The NCAA Division II championships wrap up Saturday with Western's Amanda Short (javelin) and Calahan Warren (1500m), along with Seattle Pacific's Vanessa Aniteye (400m), David Njeri (triple jump), and Annika Esvelt (5000m). Esvelt finished fourth in the 10000 Thursday night, and looks to add to her hardware.

The link to live results and the time schedule is available here.

NOTE: The University of Arkansas sports information office, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Nike Prefontaine Classic, and the NCAA contributed to this report.

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