EUGENE -- Senior Richard Nelson advanced in the preliminaries of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for BYU on Wednesday.
Nelson finished 10th with a time of 8:44.39 to advance to the finals on Friday.
"He learned a lot from running last year," said BYU men's track and field coach Mark Robison. "He didn't try to win it but did just enough to qualify for Friday."
Nelson highlighted a down day for the Cougars on both the men's and women's side. Junior Leif Arrhenius participated in the first of two events the thrower will compete in this weekend, beginning with the discus. Arrhenius fouled on his attempts in the final. Also for the men, Ryan Waite finished the 800 meters in 1:51.29, good for 21st in a field where only the top eight advanced to the finals.
"It just wasn't the best," Robison said. "We were just off a bit all day."
In the women's 800-meter race, BYU's trio of Angela Wagner, Nachelle Stewart and Lacey Cramer all came up short in qualifying for the event finals. Wagner placed 10th at 2:06.33, finishing two spots away from an invite to the finals. Stewart finished 18th at 2:09.45 while Cramer ran in a time of 2:15.92 and a 24th finish.
Ada Robinson was the only other Cougar competing on Wednesday; the sophomore failed to reach the opening height of 1.72 meters.
BYU still has athletes left to compete, including tomorrow's competition that will include Mindy McClurkin in the 200-meter preliminary, Chris Little in the pole vault final, and the Cougar trio of Chris Reno, Sean Richardson and Blaine Baker in the javelin finals.
Men's Event Schedule
Name Event Place Mark
Leif Arrhenius Discus N/A N/A
Ryan Waite 800 Meters 21st 1:51.29
*Richard Nelson Steeplechase 10th 8:44.39
Name Event Prelims Final
Chris Little Pole Vault N/A Thurs., 4 p.m.
Sean Richardson Javelin N/A Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Blaine Baker Javelin N/A Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Chris Reno Javelin N/A Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Oliver Whaley Hammer N/A Fri., 3:30 p.m.
Leif Arrhenius Shot Put N/A Sat., 9:40 a.m.
Women's Event Schedule
Name Event Place Mark
Angela Wagner 800 Meters 10th 2:06.33
Nachelle Stewart 800 Meters 18th 2:09.45
Lacey Cramer 800 Meters 24th 2:15.92
Ada Robinson High Jump N/A NH
Name Event Prelims Final
Mindy McClurkin 200 Meters Thurs., 4:30 p.m. Sat., 10:41 a.m.
Kari Clark Pole Vault N/A Fri., 4 p.m.
Mindy McClurkin Long Jump N/A Sat., 9:30 a.m.
*Qualified for event finals