Track in Austin for NCAA West Preliminary Championships
5/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga track landed in Austin, Texas, for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships Tuesday afternoon. The Zags have three women and three men competing at the regional meet, the largest contingent representing GU on both sides in program history.
Troy Fraley, Maggie Jones, Willie Milam, Jessica Mildes, Shelby Mills, and Andy Phillips will all be competing in the meet, hosted by the University of Texas at Mike A. Myers Stadium, Thursday through Saturday.
The top 12 competitors from each individual event at the region meets qualify for the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 10-13, in Eugene, Ore. The East region, which also begins Thursday, will be held at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.
Phillips will be the first Bulldog to compete, running in the first round of the men's 1,500 meters Thursday at 4 p.m. Pacific Time. He will run in the third of four heats in the event. The senior will need to be one the top five in the heat, or have one of the four fastest remaining times of the combined four heats, to advance to Saturday's quarterfinal.
Phillips' seed time of 3:43.90 is seventh in the heat. California's Thomas Joyce has the top time at 3:39.43, while Zach Perrin of Colorado has the fifth-best seed time at 3:43.00.
Phillips punched his ticket to the postseason in dramatic fashion at the Portland Twilight with just hours left in the qualifying window. He broke the Gonzaga 1,500-meter program record. His time of 3:43.90 edged out the previous record, 3:45.73. The Jackson Hole, Wyo. native is seeded 26th in the west prelims.
Mildes runs the women's 10,000 meters Thursday at 7 p.m. Pacific Time. In her first season with the Zags, Mildes enters the NCAA West Preliminaries with Gonzaga's highest seed. The junior transfer from Spokane Falls Community College is seeded 10th in the 10,000-meter women's field. She broke the program record at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 33:40.82, the 20th-fastest time in the nation, on April 3. Two weeks later, the Chattaroy, Wash., native set a new 5,000-meter GU record at 16:16.88.
Mildes will need to finish in the top 12 of Thursday's 10,000-meter 48-runner field to advance to the NCAA National Championships at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene. The top 12 seed times are all under 33:47.00.
On Friday at 6:50 p.m. Pacific Time, Mills runs in the second heat of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. She has the 14th seed time in the event at 10:18.42. Her time is the fourth fastest in the heat. The sophomore will need to finish in the top three in the heat, or have one of next three fastest times to advance to the semifinal in Eugene.
Mills shattered the previous 3,000-meter steeplechase school record by nearly 30 seconds at the Mt. SAC Relays. Her time is currently 49th in the country.
The men's 3,000-meter steeplechase will follow at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Fraley is slated in the second heat as well. He will also need to be in the top three of his heat, or have one of the next three fastest times to advance. The sophomore broke the program record at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival with a time of 8:56.23. Fraley is 34th in the region with that seed time and 12th in his heat.
On Saturday, Jones is in the second of two heats in the women's 5,000 meters at 6:05 p.m. Pacific Time. She has the 39th-fastest time in the region, and is 20th in her heat. The top five finishers from each heat, along with the next two fastest times, advance to the final in Eugene. Jones ran a 16:27.86 at the Oregon Relays on April 17. She sits third on the GU all-time list.
Milam follows in the men's 5,000 meters at 6:45 p.m. Pacific Time. He is in the first of two heats, and also needs to be in the top five of the heat or have one of the top next fastest times to advance. The senior returns to the 5,000-meter field at the NCAA West Preliminaries. Last season, he had the best NCAA all-time finish of any Zag in 18th place in Fayetteville, Ark.
At the Stanford Invitational, Milam broke the program record with a time of 13:53.74, which is seeded 26th in Austin. He has the 13th fastest time in his heat. The Portland, Ore. native also set a new 10,000-meter school record at the Mt. SAC Relays this season.
Live video and results from the NCAA West Preliminaries will be available with links on GoZags.com.
Gonzaga's NCAA West Preliminary ScheduleThursday, May 28
6 p.m. - Men's 1,500 meters first round: Andy Phillips
(Top five plus next four fastest advance to second round)
9 p.m. - Women's 10,000 meters semifinals: Jessica Mildes
(Top 12 advance to final in Eugene)
Friday, May 29
8:50 p.m. - Women's 3,000-meter steeplechase quarterfinals: Shelby Mills
(Top 3 from each heat + next 3 fastest times to semifinal in Eugene)
9:30 p.m. - Men's 3,000-meter steeplechase quarterfinals: Troy Fraley
(Top 3 from each heat + next 3 fastest times to semifinal in Eugene)
Saturday, May 30
6:45 p.m. - Men's 1,500 meters quarterfinals
(Top five from each heat and next two fastest times advance to final in Eugene)
8:05 p.m. - Women's 5,000 meters semifinals: Maggie Jones
(Top five from each heat and next two fastest times advance to final in Eugene)
8:45 p.m. - Men's 5,000 meters semifinals: Willie Milam
(Top five from each heat and next two fastest times advance to final in Eugene)
