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TWO MEN QUALIFY TO FINAL ROUND OF NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Missouri-Kansas City's Bryce Miller and Utah Valley's Nick Taylor qualified to the Final Round of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships held in Eugene, Ore. from June 8-10.
The 2016 Western Athletic Conference champion in the steeple, Miller bided his time in the middle of the pack the majority of the race, before breaking into the top-four athletes for the final few laps.
Miller came out of the second-to-last pit in first, but eventually finished second in his heat with a time of 8:45.43 to punch his ticket to the big stage for the second year in a row. This time around, he looks to improve on the 14th place and second-team All-American finish he posted last year.
Taylor made UVU history for the second time this week, as he double-punched his ticket to Eugene, Oregon for the NCAA Final Rounds when he qualified for the semifinals in the 200m dash.
Taylor is not only Utah Valley's first ever sprinter to qualify for the Championships, he is UVU's first ever athlete to qualify in multiple events, and the third UVU athlete to qualify for the final rounds. Taylor ran a 20.66-second time in the 200m dash, running in the fastest heat of the day. After the heat was called back three times for potential false start calls and blocks slipping, all athletes raced and the gun blew for the fourth time. Taylor finished in fourth place in the speedy heat, a non-guarantee finish. His time of 20.66 seconds is just .01 off of his 20.65-second school record time.
10 QUALIFY TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP - WEST PRELIMINARY
The Western Athletic Conference will be represented by 10 student-athletes at the NCAA 2016 Outdoor Track and Field Championships West Preliminary being held May 26-28 at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas.
Men
Bryce Miller, Missouri-Kansas City - 3,000 Steeplechase
Alex Yoxall, Missouri-Kansas City - Javelin Throw
Shaddye Melu, Seattle U - High Jump
Trac Norris, Utah Valley - 3,000 Steeplechase
Cole Eisenhour, Utah Valley - 110m Hurdles
Nicholas Taylor, Utah Valley - 100m Dash and 200m Dash
Women
Kimberly Salinas, NM State - Javelin Throw
Geneva Anderson, UT Rio Grande Valley - 400m Hurdles
Cristina Santiago, UT Rio Grande Valley - Hammer Throw
Savannah Berry, Utah Valley - 10,000m Run
The top 12 in each event at the regional will advance to finals at the NCAA Championships from June 8-11 in Eugene, Ore.
GRAND CANYON SWEEPS WAC OTF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Grand Canyon swept the 2016 WAC Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Chanpionships on Saturday at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kan. It is the second championship for both the men's and women's teams this year, as the Antelopes also took home the WAC Indoor titles in February.
Entering the final day of competition in the top spot, Grand Canyon's women maintained the lead with the help of four first-place finishes, including eventual Outstanding Field Performer Tarasue Barnett's win in the shot put.
Utah Valley's women solidified their hold on second place overall with their own four gold medals, including Savannah Berry's second win of the meet (5,000m, 10,000m) on her way to being voted Outstanding Track Performer by the coaches.
NM State also turned in four first-place performances, while Kimberly Salinas was named Freshman of the Year and teammate Katara Nelson earned the High Point Award, tallying 21.50 points this week.
UT Rio Grande Valley's Geneva Anderson added a 400-meter hurdles gold medal to the Vaqueros' tally, and Missouri-Kansas City's Mallory Short finished first in the 100-meter hurdles, making it the third straight WAC outdoor championship that UMKC was represented atop the podium in the event.
For the men, Grand Canyon earned three first-place finishes, including a career-best time in the 800 meters by Brandon Gonzalez. Teammate Marcus Flannigan anchored the Antelopes' first-place 4x400m relay race and earned the High Point award, amassing 28.50 points on the week.
UMKC also took home three gold medals, including Bryce Miller's third consecutive WAC Outdoor title in the 5000 meters.
Seattle U tallied three first-place finishes as well, two of which captured by Shaddye Melu as he finished first in the 400 meters and defended his conference title in the high jump.
UT Rio Grande Valley's Paul May nabbed the top spot in the men's discus on his way to taking home the Freshman of the Year award.
Utah Valley went home with two of the men's individual awards and five first-place finishes. Nicholas Taylor repeated as the 100-meter champion and added the 200-meter title on his way to earning the Outstanding Track Performer award, and teammate Daven Russell garnered Outstanding Field Performer honors.
Grand Canyon head coach Tom Flood received Men's Coach of the Year and Women's Coach of the Year honors.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED
Men's Individual Awards (voted upon by the coaches)
Outstanding Track Performer: Nick Taylor, Utah Valley
Outstanding Field Performer: Daven Russell, Utah Valley
Freshman of the Year: Paul May, UT Rio Grande Valley
High Point Award Winner: Marcus Flannigan, Grand Canyon, 28.50 points
Coach of the Year: Tom Flood, Grand Canyon
Women's Individual Awards (voted upon by the coaches)
Outstanding Track Performer: Savannah Berry, Utah Valley
Outstanding Field Performer: Tarasue Barnett, Grand Canyon
Freshman of the Year: Kimberly Salinas, NM State
High Point Award Winner: Katara Nelson, NM State, 21.50 points
Coach of the Year: Tom Flood, Grand Canyon
STEEPLECHASE IN THE WAC
Two athletes from the WAC are ranked in the top 15 in the NCAA. UMKC's Bryce Miller one-upped himself on Sunday, May 1, to set a new personal record in the event at one of the most prestigious track meets in the country, the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, California. Miller's new personal record of 8:38.59 is now the fifth-fastest time in NCAA Division I this season. Joining Miller in the top 15 is Utah Valley's Trac Norris. Norris rankes 14th in the NCAA with a time of 8:40.88.
GRAND CANYON'S TARASUE BARNETT
Tarasue Barnett won the women's discus with a throw of 61.28m (201-00), breaking her own school record of 58.99m earlier this season at the Aztec Invitational. Barnett's record throw came on her fourth attempt of the competition to take the lead and hit the Olympic A standard for the event. The junior from Kingston, Jamaica is currently owns the No. 3 mark in the NCAA.
UVU'S NICK TAYLOR SHINING
Utah Valley's Nicholas Taylor has moved up into 11th place in the NCAA in the 100m dash after a strong performance at the WAC Championships. Taylor ran the 100m in a time of 10.18.
UTAH VALLEY REGIONAL POLL
The Wolverine Men are currently 9th in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division 1 Regional Index.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2016 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships were hosted by Missouri-Kansas City and held in Kansas City, Mo. from May 11-14. Grand Canyon swept this year's title.
NCAA REGIONALS - The 2016 Outdoor Track and Field Regional Championships took take place in Lawrence, Kan. from May 26-28. Missour-Kansas City's Bryce Miller and Utah Valley's Nick Taylor are both advancing to the NCAA Championships-Final Round.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS - The 2016 Outdoor Track and Field National Championships will take place in Eugene, Ore. from June 8-11.
June 8-11, 2016
Location: Eugene, Ore.
Facility: Hayward Field