BYU secures 58 entries to NCAA West Prelims

PROVO, Utah – BYU track and field qualified 58 entries to the 2019 NCAA Division I West Preliminaries.

*UPDATE 5/21/19*
Derek Sorensen qualified for the NCAA West Prelims in the men's 200m after an athlete ahead of him scratched after the initial release. This gives the Cougars 59 entries to the regional meet and the most in program history.

The Cougars also gained their first national qualifier when two late medical scratches moved Brian Matthews into the top 24 in the decathlon. Matthews earned a career-best 7335 points in the last meet of the regular season to improve his position.

For the second year in a row, the Cougars matched their program-high in total entries to the regional meet. BYU and Arkansas both tied for the most combined entries to the NCAA West Prelims. The BYU men tied with UCLA for the most men's entries with 34 while the women have the sixth-most entries with 24.

The No. 4 BYU men’s team enters the postseason boasting the top-ranked 3000m steeplechase and 10,000m squads. The Cougars have a combined 15 regional entries between the two events. The 10,000m has a team-high nine qualifiers along with the top four runners in the NCAA this season.

The No. 11 BYU women's team finished the season with the No. 1 800m, 1500m and 3000m steeplechase squads. Those three events combine for 12 of the women's team's entries with the 1500m receiving a team-high five qualifiers.

For each individual event contested at each of the Preliminary Round sites, the top 48 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition. For each relay event, the top 24 declared relay teams were accepted into the competition. The top 12 performers from each event will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Each athlete is seeded based on his or her qualifying mark. The Cougars had 22 entries seeded in the top 15 of their respective events. 

The men's team is headlined by Connor McMillan (No. 1 10,000m), Rory Linkletter (No. 2 10,000m), Conner Mantz (No. 3 5000m, No. 3 10,000m), Matt Owens (No. 3 Steeplechase), Clayton Young (No. 4 10,000m, No. 5 5000m), Clayson Shumway (No. 5 Steeplechase), Jacob Heslington (No. 8 10,000m) and Danny Carney (No. 9 10,000m).

The top-seeded athletes on the women's team are Andrea Stapleton-Johnson (No. 1 High Jump), Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes (No. 2 800m), Brenna Porter (No. 4 400m hurdles), Erica Birk-Jarvis (No. 5 Steeplechase), Whittni Orton (No. 5 1500m) and Anna Camp-Bennett (No. 6 800m).

Between individual events and relay teams, the BYU track and field team also had 11 athletes qualify for multiple events. The full list of BYU qualifiers can be found in the table below.

The 2019 West Prelims will take place May 23-25 at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. The meet schedule and full list of NCAA qualifiers can be found here. Live stats and streaming options can be found on the BYU track and field schedule page two days prior to the first day of competition.