NCAA West Preliminary Round Awaits 13 Lumberjacks
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – With the regular season firmly in the rear view mirror, 13 members of the Northern Arizona track and field team are set to compete at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Austin, Texas this Thursday through Saturday. Out of the 13 making the trip to Texas, five members will be making their first appearance at an NCAA regional meet.
Interim Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins knows that his athletes all have different goals in mind for the weekend, but most importantly they are there to give it their all.
"On the men's side, we do have some opportunities to send a good amount of athletes to Eugene to compete at the national championships," Heins said. "It is nice to have someone competing in three of the four throwing events, and if they all three throw their best marks of the year this weekend, then they should be able to qualify through."
Having a national champion heading into the weekend is a nice luxury Heins has again this outdoor season with senior David McNeill set to compete in the men's 5,000-meter run.
"David is again trying to make in back to nationals and has a great chance at solidifying himself in the top-12 finishers in the event," Heins said. "We also have three runners in the 10,000-meter run who will need to improve their times to advance."
This will be the first year that the NCAA has only two regional meets as most teams east of the Mississippi River will be competing in Greensboro, N.C., simultaneously. To reach the meet this weekend, all of the athletes had to record a top-48 mark in the west region, and will need to finish in the top 12 of their respective events to solidify their spot for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., in June.
Making their final appearance on the regional level will be seniors Curtis Durocher, Arshiya Hoseyni, Nell Rojas, Javier Villarreal and McNeill.
McNeill heads into the 5K with the nation's top time (13:25.63) for the second time this year as he accomplished the same feat during the indoor season. The 2010 indoor national champion in the event recorded his time in record-breaking fashion at the Stanford Invitational in March when he shattered his own school and conference record by five seconds.
For Rojas, this will be her fourth-straight regional appearance as she looks to make it back to the outdoor championships for the second year in a row in the steeplechase. She ranks 29th heading into the weekend.
It has been a big year for the throws squad of NAU as Villarreal has already represented the group at the indoor national championships. He ranks eighth in the shot put with a mark of 60 feet, three inches, and looks to cap off his career with a trip to Eugene.
Durocher (hammer throw) and junior Andres Rossini (discus) have both recorded new career bests this season and rank in the top 10 of their events. They, along with Villarreal, became the first NAU trio to win three throwing events in the same weekend at the conference outdoor championships since 2000.
This will be the second-straight year Hoseyni has made an appearance as she looks to improve upon her No. 44 shot put ranking in the region. She too has collected new personal bests in both the shot put and discus.
The men's 10K features three Lumberjacks who are familiar with the regional meet. Junior Ben Ashkettle (12th) and sophomores Diego Estrada (6th) and Ahmed Osman (11th) all head to Austin in prime position to advance to the national championships. Ashkettle is looking for his first national appearance as both Estrada and Osman hope to make it back to the championship meet.
Making their first appearance at the regional championships in an NAU uniform will be junior Amber Anderson (long jump), sophomore Kortnee Burton (10K) and freshmen Lauren Stuart (hammer throw) and Charles White (triple jump). All four finished in the top four of their respective events at the Big Sky Championships recently, including White who won the triple jump title with a leap of 49 feet, 5.75 inches.
To follow the events as they happen, tune into live streaming coverage from CBS Sports All-Access on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Live results will also be posted here as well.
