Thursday, May 25
Austin, Texas
All Day
UCLA
at
NCAA Regionals
The NCAA postseason begins this week in Texas.
NCAA Postseason Begins with Regional Championships
May 24, 2017 | Track & Field
LOS ANGELES โ After a solid showing at the PAC-12 Championships, the UCLA track and field team will shift its focus to NCAA postseason competition with the NCAA West Regional Championships at the University of Texas. The meet will kick off Thursday, May 25 and continue through Saturday, May 27.
The top 48 individuals in each event and 24 relays qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds with the top 12 finishers at this week's meet advancing to the NCAA Championship.
This week's meet will feature some of the top teams in the nation with six women's teams ranked in the Top 10 in the latest USTFCCCA Rankings. The men's side of the competition also is full of national favorites with five Top 10 teams. The UCLA men check in at No. 20 in the poll.
The meet starts at 11 a.m. Thursday with a series of field events. Running events are slated to start at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Day 2 of action begins at noon with running events again to fire at 4:30 p.m. Saturday's slate begins at 1 p.m. with field events and 6 p.m. on the track. All times Central.
Arguably the most exciting aspects of the conference meet were the two individual titles won by sophomore Rai Benjamin and freshman Isaiah Holmes.ย
Benjamin continued his stellar year on the track with a last-second surge to the line to take the victory in the 400-meter hurdles. He crushed his lifetime best with a time of 49.52 and sits comfortably fifth in UCLA history in the event. Expect more excitement from Benjamin this weekend.
Not to be outdone by his teammate on the track, Holmes looked to continue his fantastic freshman campaign in the high jump competition. He battled the elements and cleared 6-11.50 to secure an impressive victory for the Bruins. For his efforts, including his collegiate best in the long jump, Holmes was named the Pac-12 Field Athlete of the Year and the Freshman of the Year.
There were several other Bruins who put on impressive performances in Eugene and will be moving on to Austin.
Sophomore Julia Rizk continued her impressive middle distance season with a third place finish in the 800-meters and a time of 2:05.71.
Sophomore Ashlie Blake took second place in the shot put competition with her 54-8.75 launch. The freshman duo of Marian Spannowsky (215-4) and Simon Litzell (214-5) combined to go 4-5 in the men's javelin.
There will certainly be other Bruins with top marks in the west to watch out for this weekend.
Senior Austin O'Neil comes into Regionals third in the West in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with his impressive longstanding time of 8:44.86 that he set at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival.
Junior Elleyse Garrett enters the weekend 13th in the region in the pole vault with her clearance of 13-8.25 while sophomore thrower Dotun Ogundeji's 66-3 heave places him second in the West in the shot put.
The Bruins who qualify to move on from Regionals will head back to Eugene, Ore. for the NCAA Championships that will begin Wednesday, June 7. This will mark the end of the outdoor season for the UCLA track and field team.ย
Players Mentioned
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & FieldUCLA New Director of Track & Field: Joanna Hayes
Friday, June 21
UCLA New Director of Track & Field: Joanna Hayes
Friday, June 21
UCLA Track & Field Jim Bush Legends Invite (April 13, 2024)
Wednesday, April 17
powHER of the Pac: UCLA's Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Monday, June 27