NCAA Spots Up For Grabs in Sacramento

EUGENE, Ore. – In search of national qualifiers, the University of Oregon track and field team continues its postseason run at the NCAA West Preliminary in Sacramento. The three-day meet begins Thursday at Hornet Stadium. The top 12 in each event advance to the NCAA Championships (June 5-8) in Austin.

"It's a little different dynamic," head coach Robert Johnson said. "Time matters. Of course, you have to be top 12 but you have to advance on time in some of the races. It's about putting our colors in front of the other colors at the Pac-12 meet but here, you have to get into those top heats and advance on time.

"When it's all said and done, you need to be top 12 so one is just as good as 12 to advance so it's a little bit of a different mentality."

The Ducks collected 57 combined entries—27 men, 30 women—for the gateway meet, the third-highest figure in the country. The team's entries are spread among 42 individuals and four relays. The NCAA East Preliminary is also being contested this week in Jacksonville, Fla.

Combined Entries – Top Five
1. Arkansas – 62
2. Texas A&M – 60
3. Oregon – 58
3. BYU – 58
5. Texas Tech – 53

A stream of the NCAA West Preliminary will be available through FloTrack (subscription required). Live results can be found at FlashResults.com. Additional information—meet schedule, start lists, etc.—will be linked to GoDucks.com on the track and field schedule page. Follow @OregonTF for in-meet updates and notes.

Oregon has already secured one national qualifier with freshman and Pac-12 champion Max Vollmer. He owns a best of 7,946 from his Pac-12 victory, a score that ranks third nationally. The national field of 24 was announced at the same time as the West Prelim selections.

Day 1 Finals
10,000 Meters (w): Carmela Cardama Baez, Phily Bowden, Weronika Pyzik
Long Jump (m): Tristan James, Spenser Schmidt, DJ Henderson
Long Jump (w): Rhesa Foster
Hammer (m): Max Lydum
Hammer (w): Maddie Rabing
Javelin (w): Alexis Rigmaiden, Keira McCarrell

On the strength of their NCAA West entries, the Men of Oregon are up to a season-high No. 5 in the May 20 release of the USTFCCCA poll. On the women's side, the Ducks slipped to No. 10 in the team rankings.

For more information about Oregon Track and Field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.