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Washington's track and field program will send 16 athletes in 17 events to the NCAA Outdoor Championships beginning Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon, the second-most qualifiers for the Huskies since 2010.
Andy and Maurica Powell's squad is ranked No. 15 on the women's side and will be looking to better their program-best fourth-place finish from last season. On the men's side, the Huskies are searching for a top-25 finish to restart a streak that was snapped last year after three consecutive seasons.
The men kick things off on Wednesday with Washington's premier event: the 1,500 meters. Sophomore Martin Barco will run in the first heat, while senior Reuben Reina will look to work his way out of the second heat. Barco is seeded third after running 3:37.94, and Reina is seventh at 3:38.14, so both are favored to make it to Friday's final.
Senior James Rhoads will be out for a bit of redemption after barely qualifying in the pole vault at the West Prelims despite entering the competition as the No. 2 seed. Rainy conditions affected that prelim meet in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but Rhoads will nonetheless be battling from the No. 18 seed of the field of 24 in Wednesday's final.
Sophomore Isaac Briggs will be next up in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as the No. 12 seed, which would make him the final time qualifier for Friday's final if both heats finish as they are seeded. That rarely happens, however, so Briggs will have to stay alert throughout his heat to move forward.
In the 400 meters, junior Alex Rhodes is in heat 3 of the semifinals after qualifying in Fayetteville despite dealing with an injury he suffered at the Big Ten Championships. He is seeded No. 22 with a time of 45.43 seconds. Junior Evan Jenkins, a former Big Ten champion in the 10,000 meters, is seeded No. 10 in that event to conclude the individual events on Wednesday night.
Redshirt freshman Teko Cates will participate in the decathlon across Wednesday and Thursday as the No. 22 seed of the 24-man field.
Joining Cates on Thursday will be the women's squad, beginning with senior 1,500-meter runner Chloe Foerster. She is the No. 20 seed with a time of 4:11.68. She'll be in the first heat with former Husky Wilma Nielsen, who is the No. 3 seed for Oregon with a time of 4:07.87.
The women's keystone event will start at 5:35 p.m. on Thursday, with Hana Moll, Amanda Moll, Veronica Vacca, and Sara Borton searching for glory in the pole vault. The Moll twins are responsible for four of the last five national championships, having dropped only the 2024 Outdoor Championship as freshmen, and are both among a group of ten women who qualified with clearances of 4.43m during the Prelims. Vacca is in that group as well, while Borton is the No. 12 seed a tenth of a meter behind.
Breakthrough junior javelin thrower Saydi Orange is the No. 10 seed with a throw of 53.51m and will get to throw late in the second flight, meaning she'll know how all but four other women have thrown before she comes up each time. Senior Chloe Thomas will close out Thursday night with the first half of her two-event meet, running from the No. 12 seed in the 10,000 meters with a time of 32:32.72.
Sophomore Sofia Cosculluela is the top seed in the heptathlon, which begins Friday and runs through the end of the meet on Saturday. Any athletes who qualify for their respective finals will join her on those final two days. Thomas and David-Smith are also guaranteed to see the track on Saturday for the women's 5,000-meter final, where Thomas is seeded No. 11, and David-Smith is No. 20.
All track events will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2 for the duration of the meet. Field events will have separate event-specific streams on ESPN+.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: UW track and field sending 16 athletes to NCAA Outdoor Championships
Continue reading...
Andy and Maurica Powell's squad is ranked No. 15 on the women's side and will be looking to better their program-best fourth-place finish from last season. On the men's side, the Huskies are searching for a top-25 finish to restart a streak that was snapped last year after three consecutive seasons.
The men kick things off on Wednesday with Washington's premier event: the 1,500 meters. Sophomore Martin Barco will run in the first heat, while senior Reuben Reina will look to work his way out of the second heat. Barco is seeded third after running 3:37.94, and Reina is seventh at 3:38.14, so both are favored to make it to Friday's final.
Senior James Rhoads will be out for a bit of redemption after barely qualifying in the pole vault at the West Prelims despite entering the competition as the No. 2 seed. Rainy conditions affected that prelim meet in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but Rhoads will nonetheless be battling from the No. 18 seed of the field of 24 in Wednesday's final.
Sophomore Isaac Briggs will be next up in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as the No. 12 seed, which would make him the final time qualifier for Friday's final if both heats finish as they are seeded. That rarely happens, however, so Briggs will have to stay alert throughout his heat to move forward.
In the 400 meters, junior Alex Rhodes is in heat 3 of the semifinals after qualifying in Fayetteville despite dealing with an injury he suffered at the Big Ten Championships. He is seeded No. 22 with a time of 45.43 seconds. Junior Evan Jenkins, a former Big Ten champion in the 10,000 meters, is seeded No. 10 in that event to conclude the individual events on Wednesday night.
Redshirt freshman Teko Cates will participate in the decathlon across Wednesday and Thursday as the No. 22 seed of the 24-man field.
Joining Cates on Thursday will be the women's squad, beginning with senior 1,500-meter runner Chloe Foerster. She is the No. 20 seed with a time of 4:11.68. She'll be in the first heat with former Husky Wilma Nielsen, who is the No. 3 seed for Oregon with a time of 4:07.87.
The women's keystone event will start at 5:35 p.m. on Thursday, with Hana Moll, Amanda Moll, Veronica Vacca, and Sara Borton searching for glory in the pole vault. The Moll twins are responsible for four of the last five national championships, having dropped only the 2024 Outdoor Championship as freshmen, and are both among a group of ten women who qualified with clearances of 4.43m during the Prelims. Vacca is in that group as well, while Borton is the No. 12 seed a tenth of a meter behind.
Breakthrough junior javelin thrower Saydi Orange is the No. 10 seed with a throw of 53.51m and will get to throw late in the second flight, meaning she'll know how all but four other women have thrown before she comes up each time. Senior Chloe Thomas will close out Thursday night with the first half of her two-event meet, running from the No. 12 seed in the 10,000 meters with a time of 32:32.72.
Sophomore Sofia Cosculluela is the top seed in the heptathlon, which begins Friday and runs through the end of the meet on Saturday. Any athletes who qualify for their respective finals will join her on those final two days. Thomas and David-Smith are also guaranteed to see the track on Saturday for the women's 5,000-meter final, where Thomas is seeded No. 11, and David-Smith is No. 20.
All track events will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2 for the duration of the meet. Field events will have separate event-specific streams on ESPN+.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: UW track and field sending 16 athletes to NCAA Outdoor Championships
Continue reading...
