OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University will send a program-record 14 student-athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds next week in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The NCAA released the participant lists on Thursday for the meet that runs Wednesday, May 22 through Saturday, May 25 at the University of Arkansas.
Competing on the opening day of the preliminary rounds will be
Nick Forsyth (javelin), who is making his second straight appearance at the regional along with
Noah Peterson (pole vault) and
Cameron Franklin (400m), who will also compete on Friday in the 4x100 relay. Peterson is also competing for the second straight year at the regional in the pole vault while Franklin is looking to advance to Friday's quarterfinal.
The women will compete on Thursday and Saturday with
Kelsi Oldroyd (javelin),
Quincy Bonds (100mH) and
Morgan Nokes (10,000) in action on Thursday. Oldroyd is making her second straight regional appearance and enters with the 10th-best mark in the West and the 12th-best in the country in the javelin.
On Friday, the men's 4x100 and steeplechase will debut while the 400-meter will hold the national quarterfinal after Wednesday's first round. Franklin will race alongside
Caleb Furnell,
Kade Thompson, and
Gabriel Remy in the relay that starts off the day of track and 5 p.m. CT. The quartet won the WAC Championship and set a school record last week at the conference championships in Orem.
Also competing and making returns to the national quarterfinals of the steeplechase are WAC Champion
Adam Bunker and
Joel Mendez. Bunker advanced to nationals and was an honorable mention All-American in the event in 2022 before redshirting the outdoor season in 2023. Mendez is back for the second year in a row.
On Saturday,
Oakley Olson will compete in the steeplechase, WAC champion
Paige Young will race in the 400-meter hurdles, and Nokes and
Caila Odekirk will run the 5k in the penultimate event of the preliminary rounds. Odekirk, who won the WAC title in the 5k and 10k last week, qualified in both events for the regional in 2022 but did not compete.
Scheduled Competition Times (Times listed in MT)
Weds, May 22
1pm - Javelin (Forsyth)
5:30pm - Pole Vault (Peterson)
6:25pm - 400m First Round (Franklin)
Thurs, May 23
1pm - Javelin (Oldroyd)
5pm – 100mH (Bonds)
8:10pm - 10k (Nokes)
Fri, May 24
4pm CT - 4x100 Relay (Furnell, Franklin, Thompson, Remy)
4:40pm CT - Steeplechase (Bunker, Mendez)
5:50pm - 400m QF (Franklin)
Sat, May 25
4:40pm - Steeplechase (Olson)
6:15pm - 400mH (Young)
7:10pm - 5,000 (Odekirk, Nokes)
