LARAMIE, Wyo. – For 11 Wyoming athletes, the 2017 outdoor track & field season continues on Thursday as the NCAA West Preliminary Round will begin on the campus of the University of Texas at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Any athletes who finish in the top 12 of their respective events at the three-day regional meet will qualify for the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., which will be held June 7-10.
Scott Carter headlines Wyoming’s contingent in Austin, as he is the eighth-ranked men’s triple jumper in the West Region heading into competition. Carter’s massive leap of 53 feet, 4.25 inches at a dual meet against Colorado State on May 5 is the top mark in the region for athletes outside Power Five conferences. Carter will look to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the first time in his career when he suits up for the Brown and Gold in Austin on Saturday.
Jerayah Davis will be the first Wyoming athlete on the track when the meet begins, as the first round of the women’s 100 meters is set for 5:30 p.m. MT Thursday. She will return to the track on Friday to compete in the first round of the women’s 200 meters while also suiting up in the quarterfinal round of the 100 meters if she advances on Thursday.
UW’s highest-ranked athlete on the women’s side, Audra DeStefano, will compete at 7:20 p.m. MT Friday in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. DeStefano is the No. 21 athlete in the West Region for the event with her time of 10:18.38. With four straight qualifications to the NCAA West Preliminary Round, DeStefano will attempt to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the event for the first time.
Men’s 110-meter hurdler Jordan Charles is in a similar spot to DeStefano, having qualified for the preliminary round four times without a trip to the NCAA Championships. Entering as the No. 19 athlete in the field for the event, Charles is looking for a top-12 finish in Austin.
On the other hand, senior Megan Brunette will compete at the regional meet for the first time in her career on Thursday. The semifinal round of the women’s 10,000 meters is set for 8 p.m. MT, with the top 12 finishers advancing directly to the NCAA Championships.
Wyoming will field two pairs of athletes in the 800 meters, with one men’s duo and one women’s duo set to compete in Austin. Ricky Faure and Bryce Ailshie will suit up for the Cowboys, while Cassidy Meade and Kerry White will represent the Cowgirls. Each pair will compete in a first round of the event on Thursday evening, attempting to qualify for Friday’s quarterfinal round.
Emelda Malm-Annan and Damon Unland will each represent Wyoming in the hammer throw event, with Malm-Annan starting things off for the Cowgirls at 10 a.m. Thursday while Unland will get going at 2:30 p.m. Thursday for the Cowboys.
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