After combing for 10 medals at the Big Sky Championships, Montana State Track and Field is sending nine of their elite to the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds meet in Eugene, Ore. The three-day meet will run from Thursday, May 26 through Saturday, May 28 at Hayward Field, hosted by the University of Oregon.
MSU has four men and four women qualified for the meet, which features the top 48 athletes in the west region in each event.
Patrick Casey enters the meet as the highest seeded Bobcat, with a fifth seed (3:41.34) in the 1,500. This is Casey's first NCAA regional appearance. Most recently, the Laurel, Mont. native took the championship title in both the 800 and the 1,500 at the Big Sky Championships.
After winning the shot put at his final Big Sky Championships, Morgan Norgaard will look to extend his season at his first regional meet, as well. He enters the meet seeded 40th with a distance of 17.07m. Norgaard closed out his collegiate Big Sky career with a personal best and a conference title in the shot put.
Also, in the throws, David Phillips, the Big Sky Champion in the hammer throw, makes his career debut at the meet. Phillips will try to best his 18th seed distance of 62.51m. The Deer Lodge native was the Big Sky outdoor champion in the hammer throw.
After finishing second at the Big Sky meet. Senior Bobby Biskupiak will compete in the pole vault, tied for 17th with a career best 5.25m. This is also his first regional meet.
Freshman Trevor Gilreath was a late addition to the meet and will compete in the shot put.
The Bobcat women have two regional meet veterans slated for the trip to Eugene. Heather Haug will compete in the 1,500 with a time of 4:23.50 and a 24th place seed. This is Haug's third trip to the meet. Haug took bronze at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in both the 1,500 and the 3,000 steeplechase. Last year, Haug finished 33rd in the 1,500.
Also tuned for her second regional meet is Stacey Irvine. The Telkwa, B.C. native comes into her third region ranked 40th with a height of 3.97m. Irvine was the Big Sky runner-up in the pole vault this spring. She finished 19th in 2010.
Amanda Murphy will compete at her first NCAA regionals after winning the conference title in the hammer throw. She is seeded 15th with a distance of 59.47m. She also earned a bronze in the shot put at the Big Sky meet.
Sophomore Hannah Counter will make her regional debut in Oregon when she competes in the Javelin. Counter finished fourth at Big Sky and enters the meet in 37th with a hurl of 43.94m.
“We are excited to have nine athletes at the regional meet,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “Meet standards are getting higher and higher each year and the fact that these kids made the cut is truly impressive.”
A majority of the Bobcats will compete on Wednesday, May 26, with the javelin, men's pole vault, men's shot put, men's 1,500 and women's 1,500 taking place. Men's and women's hammer throw and pole vault will take place on Thursday, May 27. The finals of the 1,500 are slated for Saturday, May 28.
Overall, the Big Sky Conference is sending 82 student-athletes to the meet. Sacramento State leads the women with 14 qualified athletes while Northern Arizona men are sending 10 to Eugene.
Live results will be available through Flash Results. Oregon will provide a free webcast of the meet on its website, www.goducks.com. The webcast will commence at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, 3:00 p.m. Friday and 1:00 p.m. Saturday.
