PROVO -- Nineteen BYU athletes will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships beginning June 7 in Sacramento, Calif.
Nine men and two women automatically qualified for nationals at the NCAA West Region Championships. The strong weekend of competition led the men to a second-place finish, their best in region history, and the women to a 10th-place finish. The complete list of national qualifiers was released Tuesday, adding five BYU men and three BYU women to the tally. These additional athletes qualified based on their previous season best marks.
Fourteen men will represent the team at nationals after their Region performances. Robbie Pratt and Josh McAdams came away with titles in the pole vault and 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively, at the Championships. All-American Niklas Arrhenius obtained his automatic qualification in the discus and Dave Pendergrass earned his in the high jump, both finishing second.
Two Freshmen, Chris Carter and Kyle Perry, also came away with second-place finishes in the 400-meter hurdles and 1,500 meters, respectively. Another pair of freshmen had automatic qualifications in Trevor Heiner (high jump) and Chris Reno (javelin). Sophomore Chandler Goodwin will take his first turn around the national's track as well after finishing fifth in the steeplechase to automatically qualify.
The 400-meter relay team of Chris Carter, Ben Gardner, Paul Smith and Nate Rencher qualified based on their season-best time of 40.38. Smith will compete in the 200 meters as well. Sophomore Dustin Bybee and freshman Whitney Neves also received news of qualification Tuesday. Bybee will compete in the 1,500 meters and Neves will join Pratt in pole vault competition.
Five women will also bid for All-American status at nationals. Leading them is Amy Fowler, the top freshman female steeplechaser in the NCAA, who came away with the women's only title at Regionals in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Senior Rena Chesser, who finished third at nationals last year in the event, will join the freshman at nationals.
Chelsea McKell and Michelle Lindsay will also represent the Cougar women's distance squad. McKell will compete in the 10,000 meters and Lindsay will contend for All-American status in the 800 meters. Mandy Lonsway will be the women's lone competitor in the field events after qualifying in the pole vault.
The Cougar men qualifiers are:
Niklas Arrhenius (discus)
Dustin Bybee (1,500 meters)
Chris Carter (400-meter hurdles, 4x400 relay)
Ben Gardner (4x400 relay)
Chandler Goodwin (3,000-meter steeplechase)
Trevor Heiner (high jump)
Josh McAdams (3,000-meter steeplechase)
Whitney Neves (pole vault)
Dave Pendergrass (high jump)
Kyle Perry (1,500 meters)
Robbie Pratt (pole vault)
Chris Reno (javelin)
Paul Smith (200 meters, 4x400 relay)
Nate Rencher (4x400 relay)
The Cougar women qualifiers are:
Rena Chesser (3,000-meter steeplechase)
Amy Fowler (3,000-meter steeplechase)
Michelle Lindsay (800 meters)
Mandy Lonsway (pole vault)
Chelsea McKell (10,000 meters)