FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Following an impressive spring season for the program, the USF Dons outdoor track and field team will be sending four athletes to this week's 2022 Outdoor Track and Field Championships West Preliminary at John McDonell Field hosted by the University of Arkansas.
Action in Fayetteville will begin on Wednesday May 26 and will conclude Saturday May 29 with coinciding competition taking place at the University of Indiana for the east region. Top 12 finishers in each event from both the east and west regions will then advance to the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Oregon in June.
Ruby Smee following her recording breaking fall and spring will be competing in the 5,000 meter run, while
Abby Pradere will be racing in the 1,500 meter run. The remaining two Dons competing includes
Gabriella Mace in the 400 meter hurdles and rounded out by
Baneet Bains in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
Bains competed last year in the West Prelims racing in the 3,000 meter steeplechase where she finished with a time of 10:38.49 good for a 37th overall which was a nine-spot improvement from where she was ranked heading into the competition. The remaining three Dons student-athletes will each be experiencing their first postseason meets in outdoor track and field.
USF will be competing against the best of the best in the Western United States with athletes from Texas Tech, Oregon, Arkansas, Baylor, Arizona, Cal, Iowa and others all seeking a berth to Eugene to compete at the 2022 National Championships.
Competition for the women's team will begin on Thursday and continue on Saturday, while the men will start on Wednesday and finish off Friday in Arkansas.
Pradere and Mace will be competing first for the Dons on Thursday afternoon with Abby's race scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. PT, while Gabby's 400 meter hurdles are set to start at 6:20 p.m. PT the same day.
Looking ahead to Saturday, Bains will begin her quest for Eugene in the semifinals of the steeplechase at approximately 3:40 p.m. PT, while Smee will be competing in the 5,000 meter that's scheduled to begin at 6:10 p.m. PT. Should Pradere and Mace each advance from Thursday's first round they will be competing on Saturday afternoon as well.
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