CEDAR CITY, Utah - Nine Southern Utah University Track and Field athletes are heading to Arkansas University to compete in the NCAA West Preliminaries, with their eyes set on an appearance in the 2022 NCAA Track and Field Championships.

Meet Info

Dates: May 25-28

Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas

Venue: John McDonnell Field

Event Schedule

Live Stats | Live Stream

Preview

48 athletes will be competing in each event, with the top twelve finishers from each individual event and the top twelve relay teams from each relay event qualifying to advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, which is set to take place June 8-11.

Bronis MacDougall will be the first Thunderbird in action, as the freshman will be competing in the Men's Javelin Throw, scheduled to begin tomorrow at 1 PM MT. MacDougall's strongest performance this season came at the Big Sky Championships, where he launched a throw of 64.10 meters and took fourth place. MacDougall's season-best throw ranks as the 35th best out of the 48 athletes competing in the preliminaries. 

Nelson Douglas will also be in action tomorrow, competing in the Men's 200 Meter Dash at 7:45 PM MT. Douglas set a personal best of 20.90 at the Big Sky Championships, taking second place for the event. Douglas will be running in the first heat, and the top three individuals from each heat, as well as the following six best overall times, will advance to the next round of preliminaries on Friday.

Emma Nwachukwu will be the first SUU athlete to compete on Thursday. She is set to participate in the Women's Hammer Throw, which begins at 9 AM MT. Nwachukwu is making her second career appearance in the NCAA Regional Round, following a phenomenal outdoor season. Nwachukwu had a season-best throw of 60.42 meters at the BYU Robison Invitational, where she took home first place for her performance. She is set to compete in Flight 1, where she ranks second-best out of the 16 athletes competing. 

Elizabeth White will also be competing on the second day of competition this week. She is set to take part in the Women's Long Jump, beginning at 5 PM MT on Thursday. Following a disappointing performance at the Big Sky Championships, White has her eyes set on redemption in the form of an NCAA Championship appearance. She accomplished a personal best of 6.34 meters at the Weber State Spring Classic, where she secured a first-place finish earlier this season. White will be competing in the third flight of the event. She is ranked as the 16th best performer out of the 48 athletes in the event. 

Three T-Birds will be in action on day three of competition, beginning with Joren McKeever in the Men's High Jump. The event is scheduled to begin at 1:30 PM MT, and McKeever will be competing in the second flight. He enters the contest with an NCAA ranking of 41st in the country, having set a personal best this season at the Weber State Spring Classic, where he cleared a height of 2.14 meters and took first place. McKeever secured another first-place finish a few weeks later at the ISU Bengal Invite, clearing a height of 2.11 meters. McKeever did not have his best showing at the Big Sky Championships and will be looking to bounce back and potentially advance to the NCAA Championships. 

Jacob Francis will be the second SUU athlete to compete on Friday, taking part in the Men's 3k Steeplechase at 4:40 PM MT. Francis set a personal best and SUU program record earlier this season, recording a time of 8:49.49 at the Payton Jordan Invitational. Francis will be competing in the first heat of the event, entering the contest as its 36th ranked individual. 

Nate Osterstock will close out the day for Southern Utah, competing in the Men's 5000 Meter Run at the NCAA Regionals for the second time in his storied career. The event is set to begin at 7:10 PM MT, and Osterstock will be running in the second group. He enters the contest ranked 28th in the country for the 5000-meter run, setting a personal best with a blistering time of 13:33.01 at the Payton Jordan Invitational earlier this season. The top five individuals from each heat, as well as the next two best overall times, will advance to the NCAA Championships.

On the final day of action, Ajia Hughes and Haley Tanne will close out the competition for the Thunderbirds. 

Coming off of a record-setting performance at the Big Sky Championships in the Women's High Jump, Hughes will be competing in the same event in Fayetteville. The event is scheduled to begin at 1:30 PM MT, and Hughes will be taking part in the first flight. Hughes set a new personal best and Southern Utah school record at the Big Sky Championships, clearing a mark of 1.76 meters to take second place.

Tanne will be competing in the Women's 3k Steeplechase, where she previously set the Southern Utah Track and Field program record for the event, recording an outstanding time of 10:17.29 at the Mount Sac Relays this season. She enters the contest ranked 26th out of the 48 competitors, and will be running in the third and final heat. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday at 4:40 PM MT. 

All four days of the event will be available for streaming, and a recap of each day's results will be posted to SUUTBirds.com.

Follow Us

Stay current on the Thunderbird Track and Field programs by following @SUUTFXC on Twitter and Instagram and like the Southern Utah Track and XC page on Facebook.