The Brigham Young University Cougars are aiming to secure national championship spots at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, taking place at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on May 28 and 30.
The top 12 athletes and relays in each event from both the West and East Preliminary Rounds will advance to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. BYU is sending a contingent of 33 qualifiers to the regional meet, including four athletes each in the 800-meter and 3000m steeplechase events.
Competition begins Thursday with Lia Pili and Lia Katoa competing in the hammer throw. Katoa holds the No. 2 mark in program history after her performance at the Big 12 Championships. The throws group continues with Alysa Keller and Kat Beachler participating in javelin; Keller recorded a top-five program mark at conference championships. Other notable first-day competitors include Zoey Bonds and Kali McEuen in the 100m hurdles, Zariel Macchia, Carmen Alder, and Carlee Hansen-Thompson racing for a spot in Saturday’s 1500m round, as well as Paje Rasmussen—who holds school records for both sprints—lining up for both the 100m and 200m races.
Cailee Faulkner and Abbie Scott will compete in pole vault semifinals; Faulkner set a school record earlier this season. The quartet of Tessa Buswell, Krystie Solomon-Jensen, Kylie Olsen, and Anne Elise Packard represent BYU’s entries for the women’s 800 meters; Buswell finished last year’s nationals as an All-America honorable mention. In hurdles events, McEuen joins Mayci Taylor—who ranks second all-time at BYU—in pursuit of further advancement.
On Saturday’s schedule is Kaiah Fisher opening competition with discus throw; she currently ranks fourth all-time among BYU athletes. The Cougars are also fielding teams for both relay events: the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays. In distance races on day two are Taylor Lovell (the Big 12 champion), Raygan Peterson (fifth-fastest time regionally), Addie Meldrum, and River White (all contesting steeplechase), while Jane Hedengren (NCAA record holder) teams up with Jenna Hutchins (seventh-fastest time nationally) for long-distance track events including both semifinals of the women’s ten thousand meters on Thursday night, followed by participation alongside Taylor Rohatinsky for Saturday’s five thousand meter semifinal.
