Thursday, May 26
Lawrence, KS
All Day
University of San Francisco
vs
NCAA West Preliminaries
Dons Qualify Seven for NCAA Preliminaries
5/19/2016 10:58:00 AM | Track and Field
SAN FRANCISCO – A contingent of seven student-athletes has been selected to represent the San Francisco track and field team at the 2016 NCAA Division I West Preliminary Championships, announced today.
The Dons will send six competitors in their first year racing for the Green and Gold to their first NCAA regional, and all seven student-athletes hail from locales other than the United States. Interestingly, six of the eight qualifying times were earned at Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field in a trio of springtime events.
"We're excited," remarked USF head coach Helen Lehman-Winters. "I think probably the most exciting factor for us as a staff going into the championships is that we feel everyone that's going has a legitimate shot at advancing to the finals and getting to the championships in Eugene. I feel very strongly that these athletes are very well prepared to advance. Everyone is in a great spot, running really strong and training well. Rather than just making the field, they are players."
Headlining the newcomers is junior distance runner Charlotte Taylor. The native of Spalding, England, transferred to the Dons from the University of Warwick and burst onto the scene by earning her NCAA qualifying mark in her first time on the track. Taylor enters the 10,000 meter field with the 11th-best time in the region at 33:25.09, posted at the Stanford Invitational on April 1.
Two men qualified for USF in the 10K, also in their first year of competition for the Dons. Matt Leach, a senior from Winchester, England, who will be graduating from USF with a master's degree this weekend, enters in 22nd on the descending order lists. Like Taylor, he posted his qualifying time of 29:14.36 at the Stanford Invitational. Teammate Alex Short, a junior who hails from Bicknacre, England, will join him in the field of 48 athletes with a mark of 29:19.55, also set at the Stanford Invitational.
Two women earned their place in the field of the 5,000. Weronika Pyzik, a freshman from Bilgoraj, Poland, earns her first trip to the NCAA Preliminary Championships after running a time of 16:18.05 at the Stanford Twilight meet on April 22, where she took sixth in the competitive field. Elena Burkard comes in one spot behind Pyzik on the descending order lists in 29th place with a time of 16:18.58, earned at the Stanford Invitational.
Burkard, a senior from Baiersbronn, Germany, also made the cut in the 48th spot in the 1,500 meters sporting a qualifying mark of 4:24.92 recorded at March's Hornet Open. This marks the third straight season Burkard has been accepted into the field at the NCAA regionals where she has competed at both the 1,500 (2015) and 5,000 (2014) previously.
Also slated to compete in the 1,500 on the men's side is Hugh Nicklason, a freshman from Tasmania, Australia. He stands in 28th on the entry list after running 3:44.12 at the Stanford Twilight, where he finished ninth. Rounding out the USF competitors is steeplechaser Ryan Driscoll. The junior from London smashed the school record when he qualified for the NCAA regional field. His time of 8:56.77 posted at the Mt. SAC Relays stands as the first sub-nine minute mark in USF history and is good for 35th in the West.
"I think a big difference maker for this year is our recruiting efforts," noted Lehman-Winters. "Assistant coach Benji Wetli has done an outstanding job recruiting student-athletes that can be immediately effective at this level, and then develop into potential NCAA finalists."
The NCAA Division I West Region Preliminary Championships will be contested May 26-28 in Lawrence, Kansas, as the Jayhawks host the event at Rock Chalk Park. Qualifying individuals will then advance to the 2016 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 8-11. Final start lists for the preliminary rounds will be posted Monday following any medical scratches.
The Dons will send six competitors in their first year racing for the Green and Gold to their first NCAA regional, and all seven student-athletes hail from locales other than the United States. Interestingly, six of the eight qualifying times were earned at Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field in a trio of springtime events.
"We're excited," remarked USF head coach Helen Lehman-Winters. "I think probably the most exciting factor for us as a staff going into the championships is that we feel everyone that's going has a legitimate shot at advancing to the finals and getting to the championships in Eugene. I feel very strongly that these athletes are very well prepared to advance. Everyone is in a great spot, running really strong and training well. Rather than just making the field, they are players."
Headlining the newcomers is junior distance runner Charlotte Taylor. The native of Spalding, England, transferred to the Dons from the University of Warwick and burst onto the scene by earning her NCAA qualifying mark in her first time on the track. Taylor enters the 10,000 meter field with the 11th-best time in the region at 33:25.09, posted at the Stanford Invitational on April 1.
Two men qualified for USF in the 10K, also in their first year of competition for the Dons. Matt Leach, a senior from Winchester, England, who will be graduating from USF with a master's degree this weekend, enters in 22nd on the descending order lists. Like Taylor, he posted his qualifying time of 29:14.36 at the Stanford Invitational. Teammate Alex Short, a junior who hails from Bicknacre, England, will join him in the field of 48 athletes with a mark of 29:19.55, also set at the Stanford Invitational.
Two women earned their place in the field of the 5,000. Weronika Pyzik, a freshman from Bilgoraj, Poland, earns her first trip to the NCAA Preliminary Championships after running a time of 16:18.05 at the Stanford Twilight meet on April 22, where she took sixth in the competitive field. Elena Burkard comes in one spot behind Pyzik on the descending order lists in 29th place with a time of 16:18.58, earned at the Stanford Invitational.
Burkard, a senior from Baiersbronn, Germany, also made the cut in the 48th spot in the 1,500 meters sporting a qualifying mark of 4:24.92 recorded at March's Hornet Open. This marks the third straight season Burkard has been accepted into the field at the NCAA regionals where she has competed at both the 1,500 (2015) and 5,000 (2014) previously.
Also slated to compete in the 1,500 on the men's side is Hugh Nicklason, a freshman from Tasmania, Australia. He stands in 28th on the entry list after running 3:44.12 at the Stanford Twilight, where he finished ninth. Rounding out the USF competitors is steeplechaser Ryan Driscoll. The junior from London smashed the school record when he qualified for the NCAA regional field. His time of 8:56.77 posted at the Mt. SAC Relays stands as the first sub-nine minute mark in USF history and is good for 35th in the West.
"I think a big difference maker for this year is our recruiting efforts," noted Lehman-Winters. "Assistant coach Benji Wetli has done an outstanding job recruiting student-athletes that can be immediately effective at this level, and then develop into potential NCAA finalists."
The NCAA Division I West Region Preliminary Championships will be contested May 26-28 in Lawrence, Kansas, as the Jayhawks host the event at Rock Chalk Park. Qualifying individuals will then advance to the 2016 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 8-11. Final start lists for the preliminary rounds will be posted Monday following any medical scratches.
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Distance
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Middle Distance
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Distance
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