Championship bound: BYU track sees 10 athletes qualify for nationals on Saturday
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- BYU track athletes celebrate their qualifying times at the NCAA West Preliminaries on Saturday.
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- Cougar track athletes celebrated their respective qualifications to the NCAA track championships on Saturday.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Cougars posted 10 NCAA Championships qualifying performances Saturday at John McDonnell Field on the final day of the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
Sophomore Tessa Buswell and senior Krystie Solomon-Jensen each punched their ticket in the 800-meter. Buswell will return to Eugene for the second straight year with a 2:02.02, and Solomon-Jensen will make her first trip after running a personal-best 2:02.21. Solomon-Jensen’s performance earned her a spot on the program’s top-10 list with the No. 9 mark.
Kaiah Fisher earned BYU a third-straight trip to the NCAA Championships in the discus after Gretchen Hoekstre qualified in the event the previous two years. The Stanford transfer launched a 54.67m/179-4 to finish fourth in her heat and 11th overall.
Senior duo Carlee Hansen-Thompson and Carmen Alder are set for the 1500m at the NCAA Championships after qualifying eighth and ninth with times of 4:09.46 and 4:09.77, respectively. It will be Hansen-Thompson’s second trip to Eugene in the event and Alder’s first.
Taylor Lovell and Raygan Peterson both qualified for Eugene in the 3000m steeplechase, finishing first and fourth in their respective heats. Lovell clocked a 9:38.36 to earn her third-straight trip to the NCAA Championships in the event. Peterson’s 10:03.02 won her heat and secured her first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Paje Rasmussen qualified for two national events, placing 12th in both the 100m and 200m with times of 11.13 and 22.86. It will be Rasmussen’s first trip to Eugene and BYU’s first appearance in the 200m at the NCAA Championships in 16 years.
After qualifying for the 10,000m final Thursday, Jane Hedengren posted a 15:17.93 in the 5000m Saturday to earn a berth in that event as well.
Kali McEuen recorded a personal best in the 100m hurdles with a 13.07, nearly one-tenth of a second faster than her previous best, and remained No. 3 on the program’s all-time list.
This marks the second-straight season BYU has qualified 10 entries for the NCAA Championships.
