The NCAA West Regional, which begins at 2:35 p.m. today at Hayward Field, will crown men’s and women’s team champions this weekend, using a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring format. For the athletes competing, that won’t matter in the least.
The top five finishers in every event are automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 10-13, with the top 12 in the region pooled with other regional qualifiers nationally for at-large spots. Here are some athletes, events and storylines to watch for as the NCAA Championships near.
Oregon leaders in regional marks (Event, mark)
Men
Andrew Wheating (800m, 1:47.66)
Matthew Centrowitz (1,500m, 3:36.92)
Cyrus Hostetler (javelin, 272-5)
Women
Keshia Baker (400m, 51.74)
Nicole Blood (5,000m, 15:42.13)
Melissa Gergel (pole vault, 14-2)
Rachel Yurkovich (javelin, 191-2)
Ducks flying under the radar
Men
Alex Wolff, javelin: With most of the attention in the men’s javelin turned (understandably) toward Cyrus Hostetler, his teammate from their Newberg High School days has been steadily improving with each event. At the Pac-10s, Wolff uncorked an early throw of 235 feet, 5 inches, a personal best and enough for third place. If history is any indication, this weekend could be even better for Wolff: He set a personal best at last year’s West Regional, en route to the NCAAs.
Chad Barlow, 400m: Barlow, who finished sixth at the Pac-10 Championships in 46.69, told reporters Tuesday that the regionals 400m would be won in the “low 46s.” Fifth regionally and 59th nationally in the event, Barlow has the potential to jump up 20 spots nationally with an excellent day. Having the meet at Hayward Field may only help his case.
Women
Lucy Cridland, discus: Oregon throwers outside of the javelin go relatively unnoticed, but the senior from Portland’s runner-up finish to Arizona State’s Sarah Stevens in the women’s discus with a personal-best throw of 170 feet, 4 inches, the eighth-best mark in school history, turned some heads. Cridland, ranked second in the regional behind Stevens, is likely to punch her ticket to nationals for the first time as she competes at Hayward Field for the last.
Jamesha Youngblood, long jump/triple jump: Hard to fathom that the woman who won two individual Pac-10 titles with two school records could fly under the radar, but Youngblood does not hold the number-one seed in either event. She must show the field and the Oregon coaches consistency – especially in the long jump, where she fouled five times at Pac-10s.
Two events to watch
Men’s 5,000m (final at 7:30 p.m. today): Arizona State’s Brandon Bethke pulled off an upset when he outlasted Oregon’s Shadrack Biwott at Pac-10s. He faces yet another loaded field, featuring Biwott and Galen Rupp of Oregon, Chris Derrick and Garrett Heath of Stanford, and Alfred Kipchumba of Portland. Automatic qualifiers will be difficult to come by.
Women’s 800m (final at 2:55 p.m. Saturday): Oregon’s Zoe Buckman and UCLA’s Krishna Curry will continue their duel from Pac-10s, but whether anyone catches Lacey Cramer, a BYU freshman whose season best of 2:03.01 ranks seventh in the nation, may not be determined in the race for a top-five place.
Three names to know outside the Pac-10
Amber Kaufman, Hawaii, high jump: The San Jose, Calif. native placed fifth at NCAAs last year and enters the regional as the event’s top seed, after jumping a school-record 6-4 at the Western Athletic Conference championships. Kaufman’s leap puts her second nationally, behind Destinee Hooker of Texas.
Kyle Perry, BYU, 3,000m steeplechase: The senior from Sandy, Utah, an indoor All-American at 3,000m last season, is the regional’s number-one seed, ahead of Pac-10 champion and Oregon Duck Chris Winter. Boasting the third-best steeplechase mark nationally (8:40.20), Perry figures to contend for a national title.
Karoline Koehler, San Diego State, long jump/triple jump: Koehler, a native of Germany, is the Mountain West Conference titleist and regional number-one seed in both the long and triple jump events. Her conference title-winning triple jump of 43 feet, 4.25 inches is the second-longest in conference history.
Pac-10 Competitors to watch
Men
Jeshua Anderson, 400m hurdles, Washington State: The reigning NCAA champion in the event has the third-best mark nationally, but, as a football player in the fall, is still working his way into “track shape.” Anderson has his work cut out for him to repeat, however: South Carolina’s Johnny Dutch ran a 48.58-second 400m hurdles this year, ahead of Anderson’s personal best of 48.68.
Luis Rivera-Morales, long jump/triple jump, Arizona: The native of Mexico bested Oregon’s Ashton Eaton in the long jump and came back for a second individual title in the triple jump at Pac-10s. Rivera-Morales has the fourth-best long jump nationally but only the 17th-best triple jump.
Women
Sarah Stevens, shot put/discus/hammer throw, Arizona State: The reigning NCAA discus champion had a sensational Pac-10 meet. Winning conference titles in the shot put and discus, with a runner-up finish in the hammer throw, the Fort Collins, Colo., native was the women’s high-point scorer with 28. She ranks in the top five nationally in all three events.
Mel Lawrence, 3,000m steeplechase, Washington: Lawrence blew away the field at the Pac-10 Championships, winning the women’s steeplechase in 9:54.13, just 15 seconds off the best collegiate time in this outdoor season. Lawrence is a mortal lock to qualify for nationals this weekend; should she post a time around 9:50 – and make it look easy – she stands as a legitimate threat to win an individual national title.
[email protected]