Photo by: Harry Pollard
Track Receives Six Selections to Regionals
5/16/2019 11:41:00 AM | Track and Field
Zags compete at NCAA West Preliminary Round May 23-25
SPOKANE, Wash. – Andrew Gardner, Yacine Guermali, Scott Kopczynski, Kellen Manley, James Mwaura, and Brandon Pollard will represent Gonzaga at the 2019 NCAA Track and Field West Preliminary Round on May 23-25. The complete list of declared athletes for the meet in Sacramento, Calif., were announced Thursday.
Athletes who rank among the Top-48 in their respective event earn berths into the NCAA West Preliminary Round. The best 24 relay times also advance to NCAA prelims. Athletes with the top 12 times or marks and the best 12 relay teams at both the East and West Preliminary Rounds sites will qualify for the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, June 5-8.
On May 23, Kopczynski and Pollard run in the men's 1,500 meters at 6 p.m. There will be four heats of 12 runners in the first round in Sacramento. The top five finishers from each heat and the next four fastest times move on to the second round on May 25. The second round is two heats of 12 runners, the top five finishers from each heat, along with the next two fastest times advance to the national semifinals in Eugene.
Pollard is seeded 19th with a time of 3:44.32. He qualified with that time last weekend at the West Coast Invitational. That time ranks second on the GU all-time list. Last year at the West Preliminary Round in Sacramento, Pollard placed 10th in his heat in the first round of the 1,500 meters. His time was 4:06.28 and he finished in 46th place. He entered last year's regional seeded 27th.
Kopczynski makes his second straight appearance at the NCAA West Preliminaries. Last season, he placed eighth in his heat, crossing the line at 4:04.09, placing 44th overall. Kopczynski qualified for this year's prelims with the fifth-fastest time in program history, 3:46.22, at the West Coast Invitational. He is seeded 42nd at this year's Preliminary Round.
Mwaura runs in the 10,000-meter semifinal at 9:40 p.m. on May 23. The freshman broke the school record at the Cardinal Classic on April 20. He is seeded 35th at 29:15.75.
Gardner and Manley are in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on May 24 at 9 p.m. The quarterfinals feature three heats of 16 runners. The top-three finishers from each heat, plus the next three fastest times to qualify for the semifinals in Austin.
Gardner enters the quarterfinals seeded 12th. He ran the second-fastest time on the GU all-time list, 8:46.16, at the Cardinal Classic on April 20. Manley returns to the NCAA West Preliminary Round for the third time, this time seeded 38th. The senior ran a personal record of 8:57.03 also at the Cardinal Classic. That time ranks third in Gonzaga history.
In 2016 as a sophomore, Manley placed 12th in his heat, and 31st overall, with a time of 9:13.70 at the West Preliminaries in Lawrence, Kan. Last season in Sacramento, Manley ran the then-second-fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase time all-time at GU. He crossed the line at 8:49.35. Manley placed 20th overall and eighth in his heat.
Guermali completes the Prelims for the Bulldogs on May 25 at 8:45 p.m. He is seeded 43rd in the 5,000 meters. The sophomore qualified at the Cardinal Classic on April 19, with a time of 14:02.64, which ranks fourth all-time at GU.
Live video provided by FloTrack, along with live results, from the NCAA West Preliminary Round will be available on GoZags.com.
Athletes who rank among the Top-48 in their respective event earn berths into the NCAA West Preliminary Round. The best 24 relay times also advance to NCAA prelims. Athletes with the top 12 times or marks and the best 12 relay teams at both the East and West Preliminary Rounds sites will qualify for the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, June 5-8.
On May 23, Kopczynski and Pollard run in the men's 1,500 meters at 6 p.m. There will be four heats of 12 runners in the first round in Sacramento. The top five finishers from each heat and the next four fastest times move on to the second round on May 25. The second round is two heats of 12 runners, the top five finishers from each heat, along with the next two fastest times advance to the national semifinals in Eugene.
Pollard is seeded 19th with a time of 3:44.32. He qualified with that time last weekend at the West Coast Invitational. That time ranks second on the GU all-time list. Last year at the West Preliminary Round in Sacramento, Pollard placed 10th in his heat in the first round of the 1,500 meters. His time was 4:06.28 and he finished in 46th place. He entered last year's regional seeded 27th.
Kopczynski makes his second straight appearance at the NCAA West Preliminaries. Last season, he placed eighth in his heat, crossing the line at 4:04.09, placing 44th overall. Kopczynski qualified for this year's prelims with the fifth-fastest time in program history, 3:46.22, at the West Coast Invitational. He is seeded 42nd at this year's Preliminary Round.
Mwaura runs in the 10,000-meter semifinal at 9:40 p.m. on May 23. The freshman broke the school record at the Cardinal Classic on April 20. He is seeded 35th at 29:15.75.
Gardner and Manley are in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on May 24 at 9 p.m. The quarterfinals feature three heats of 16 runners. The top-three finishers from each heat, plus the next three fastest times to qualify for the semifinals in Austin.
Gardner enters the quarterfinals seeded 12th. He ran the second-fastest time on the GU all-time list, 8:46.16, at the Cardinal Classic on April 20. Manley returns to the NCAA West Preliminary Round for the third time, this time seeded 38th. The senior ran a personal record of 8:57.03 also at the Cardinal Classic. That time ranks third in Gonzaga history.
In 2016 as a sophomore, Manley placed 12th in his heat, and 31st overall, with a time of 9:13.70 at the West Preliminaries in Lawrence, Kan. Last season in Sacramento, Manley ran the then-second-fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase time all-time at GU. He crossed the line at 8:49.35. Manley placed 20th overall and eighth in his heat.
Guermali completes the Prelims for the Bulldogs on May 25 at 8:45 p.m. He is seeded 43rd in the 5,000 meters. The sophomore qualified at the Cardinal Classic on April 19, with a time of 14:02.64, which ranks fourth all-time at GU.
Live video provided by FloTrack, along with live results, from the NCAA West Preliminary Round will be available on GoZags.com.
| Gonzaga's Schedule | ||
| Thursday | ||
| 6 p.m. | Men's 1500m (First Round) | Scott Kopczynski, Brandon Pollard |
| 9:40 p.m. | Men's 10000m (Semifinal) | James Mwaura |
| Friday | ||
| 9 p.m. | Men's 3000m Steeplechase (Quarterfinal) | Andrew Gardner, Kellen Manley |
| Saturday | ||
| 6:45 p.m. | Men's 1500m (Quarterfinal) | Brandon Pollard |
| 8:45 p.m. | Men's 5000m (Quarterfinal) | Yacine Guermali |
Players Mentioned
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Tuesday, June 30
Monday, June 29
Monday, June 29
Friday, June 26
