FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas — The women took center stage on Thursday with four Utah Valley University student-athletes in action at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds at the University of Arkansas.
Kelsi Oldroyd,
Quincy Bonds,
Paige Young, and
Morgan Nokes all competed, with Oldroyd returning for the second season in a row in the javelin.
Oldroyd's best throw came in her third and final attempt of the day, landing at 45.42 meters to finish 32nd overall. The top 12 marks advanced to the finals and those individuals will compete in Eugene, Oregon in two weeks. Although Oldroyd didn't qualify for the NCAA finals, she'll still be on her way to Eugene for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the javelin and competes on June 28 in the qualifier.
Bonds ran in the fifth heat of the 100-meter hurdles first round and finished in 13.52 seconds, just shy of her PR — and school record — of 13.48 seconds. She finished 32nd overall out of the 48 qualifiers with the top 24 moving on to Saturday's quarterfinals.
Young ran in the second heat of the 400-meter hurdles and finished in 1:00.60 to take 42nd overall. In addition to her NCAA appearance, her season was highlighted by the school record and WAC title in the 400-meter hurdles in Orem on May 11.
Nokes started quickly in the 10,000 but ran out of steam, finishing in 35:48.23 for 36th place out of 48 qualifiers. Nokes will also compete in the 5,000 on Saturday night, alongside WAC Champion
Caila Odekirk. Nokes was the indoor conference champion in both the 3k and 5k this past season.
The men will wrap up their competition on Friday with six Wolverines competing in two events. The 4x100 WAC Championship squad of
Caleb Furnell,
Cameron Franklin,
Kade Thompson, and
Gabriel Remy will compete in the first heat of the day on the track at 2 p.m. CT. The top three finishes from each heat plus the next three fastest times advance to Eugene. The times for Friday's running events were moved up three hours to plan for severe weather in the area.
Adam Bunker, the WAC Champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, will be joined by school record holder
Joel Mendez in their race, which is slated for a 2:40 p.m. CT start. Bunker is in the second of three heats and Mendez is in the final heat. The top three from each heat plus the next three fastest times advance to Eugene. Bunker competed there in 2022 and was an honorable mention All-American.
