PROVO -- The BYU men's and women's track and field teams are sending 53 athletes to Eugene, Oregon for the West Regional Track meet. In all, the men had 32 qualifying citations with 26 athletes, and the women had 36 citations with 27 athletes.
"This is the most we have ever had," BYU women's track head coach Craig Poole said. "Before this season, the most we have had is about 16. This is a good team. We have quality athletes and they have bought into the program and the vision we have established here."
The women's team has 11 athletes ranked in the top 10 in their events. Jennifer Grossarth is fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with teammate Sandra Mazan in ninth. Michelle Turner is fourth in the 800 meters and Heidi Magill is ninth in the 1500 meters. Amy Fowler is second in the west region and is poised to make another trip to Sacramento, California. Whitney McDonald, who owns the fastest 5,000 meter time in BYU women's history, is ranked second in the west in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. McDonald has automatically qualified for nationals in the 10,000 meters and is second all-time at BYU. Mindy Neeley, who received an All-America citation earlier this year at the Indoor National Championships in the long jump, is ranked second in the event in the west region. Kamila Rywelska is currently ranked fifth in the west in the triple jump, and holds the longest mark on the BYU all-time list. Ashley McAllister and Kelly Furr both hit career best marks at the MWC Outdoor Championships this year.
The men's team has a large team competing in Oregon with many athletes that could advance to the NCAA Championships.
"At regionals we have one main objective, to get as many athletes as possible to advance to nationals," BYU men's track head coach Mark Robison said. "We just look at the rank orders and enter the athletes into the events they will do the best in and have the best chance of advancing. We may not score a lot of points, but we really just want our athletes to advance."
The men's team has nine athletes in the top-10 in the region. Only Nate Rencher will compete in two events, the 110-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles. Chris Carter is ranked fifth in the 400-meter hurdles. Chandler Goodwin is ranked fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the West Region. Josh Rohatinsky will compete in the 1500 meters at region, but will run in the 10,000 meters at Nationals, which he has already qualified for. Rohatinsky is ranked in the top five in the region in three events (the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters). David Pendergrass is ranked fourth in the high jump, while Bryce Bergen is ranked ninth, in the region. Bob Low and Victor Weirich are ranked sixth and eighth, respectively, in the pole vault. Niklas Arrhenius is ranked third in the region in the discus. Arrhenius threw a career best 215 feet 9 inches last week. Although, his throw came after the deadline and doesn't count toward NCAA national seeding, it is an A standard for the Olympics and the best throw among NCAA competitors this season.
BYU women's team
NameEvent (west region rank)
Jennifer Grossarth200m (13), 400H (4), Heptathlon (10)
Michelle Turner 800m (4), 1500 (13)
Heidi Magill800m (17), 1500 (9)
Angela Wagner800m (18)
Stacy Slight 800m (19)
Heidi Houle800m (26)
Kassi Andersen 1500m (17), 3,000 steeple (12)
Amy Fowler1500m (20), 3,000 steeple (2)
Julie Meads1500m (25)
Carlee Clark1500m (26)
Katie Bowen3,000 steeple (15)
Tawny Bybee3,000 steeple (21)
Angela Petersen3,000 steeple (27)
Whitney McDonald5,000m (2), 10,000m (2)
Amber Duffin5,000m (24)
Sandra Mazan400H (9)
Nicole Nevitt400H (14)
1600 relay (20)
Mindy NeeleyHigh Jump (13), Long Jump (2)
Ashley McAllisterPole Vault (6)
Kelly FurrPole Vault (7)
Makenzie IorgPole Vault (18)
Julene KaufusiPole Vault (19)
Kamila RywelskaTriple Jump (5)
Tipaleli FotuHammer (23)
Tiffany ArrheniusJavelin (10)
Sarah Butler LancasterJavelin (13)
Piret KuressonJavelin (18)
BYU Men's Team
NameEvent (west region rank)
Chris Carter400m (9), 400H (5)
Jason Dorais800m (12)
Dustin Bybee1500m (15)
Chandler Goodwin1500m (24), 3000 steeple (5)
Josh Rohatinsky1500m (4), 5000m (1), 10,000m (2)
Tyrel Jensen1500m (33)
Kyle Perry1500m (22)
Derek Taylor3,000 steeple (18)
Jacob Cosby3,000 steeple (26)
Ryan Merriman3,000 steeple (27)
Nate Rencher110H (14), 400H (13)
Lance Walker400H (15)
Jacob Garlick400H (16)
Stig Robertson400H (18)
David PendergrassHigh Jump (4)
Bryce BergenHigh Jump (9)
Ammon DahlHigh Jump (18)
Robert Low Pole Vault (6)
Victor WeirichPole Vault (8)
Whitney NevesPole Vault (16)
Matt WeirichPole Vault (17)
Brad EllertsonPole Vault (21)
Niklas ArrheniusDiscus (3)
Dustin LawrensonDiscus (16)
Daniel LawsonDiscus (29)
Skyler McDonaldJavelin (22)
*Justin PalmerDecathlon (2)
*Decathlon isn't contested at region.