Mills and Manley Qualify for NCAA West Preliminaries
5/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 19, 2016
Women's Declared Athletes | Men's Declared Athletes | NCAA West Preliminaries Site
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Shelby Mills and Kellen Manley will represent Gonzaga track at the NCAA West Preliminaries in Lawrence, Kan.
The Zag duo was selected to their respective 3,000-meter steeplechase fields Wednesday. The regionals will be run at Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas from May 26-28.
Mills makes her second straight appearance at the West Prelims, after advancing through to the National Championships last year in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The redshirt junior will look for similar success in the same event this season.
"It's exciting to get to keep the season going for a little while longer," Mills said. "I'm just bummed that we had several people right on the bubble of qualifying that aren't traveling with us."
Last year in Austin, Texas, Mills qualified for the national semifinals in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a 10th place finish at the NCAA West Preliminaries. She finished fourth in her heat with a time of 10:11.37 and qualified with one of the top 12 times in the 48-runner field. The Snohomish, Wash. native was not an automatic qualifier from her heat, but she had the third fastest at-large time. Mills became the first Gonzaga student-athlete to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. She placed 21st at the national championships in Eugene, Ore.
This season, Mills broke her own school record in the event multiple times, before running a 9:56.17 at the West Coast Invitational. That time sits sixth in the region and 12th in the country.
Kellen Manley will run in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. He finished with an 8:57.75 at the West Coast Invitational on May 12. His time sits second on the program's all-time list and 41st in the region. He is seeded 39th in the regional field. The Seattle, Wash. native will look to build on what has already been a breakout sophomore season.
"I am lucky to have this opportunity to represent Gonzaga at the West Prelims in Kansas," Manley said. "I have to thank my teammates and coaches that have been pushing me this whole year to get me to this point. I'm going to run for my teammates that were so close to making it. I feel honored to be able to put that jersey on and race at a level like this!"
"Kellen Manley qualifying is so great for Gonzaga University," Director of Gonzaga Track Pat Tyson said. "The pure sophomore is an example of what we are trying to do at Gonzaga, which is to develop kids to believe they can be giant killers, and know they deserve to chase the best in the NCAA's! I told Kellen don't be satisfied to just get to Lawrence, but to move up the list, and don't think you don't have the stuff to move on to Eugene.
"Our sport is so weird. You are excited for Kellen, but disappointed for others who sniffed making it. In particular, Matthew Crichlow, Mason Villarma, Casey Adams, and Kyle Branch. All four were knocking at the door. After scratches, Crichlow would be ranked 54th, 3.66 seconds from punching the ticket. Adams (2.17 seconds) and Kyle Branch (2.30 seconds) were 55th and 56th. Villarma would be 52nd after scratches, a mere 0.18 seconds from making the show. So, now off to Kansas this coming Tuesday and a date Friday night in one of three heats for both Shelby Mills and Kellen Manley!"
"Excited to be entering the championship phase of the year," GU women's Head Coach Patty Ley said. "The experience Shelby garnered last year will serve her well this year. The marks in all events this year are much improved over last year, and each event will be very competitive. There are no givens, but we're prepping to bring a big race into Lawrence."
Mills' quarterfinal race is at 6:50 p.m. Pacific Time on May 27, followed by Manley's quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Live video and results will be available on GoZags.com. The 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships returns to Eugene, Ore., June 8-11.
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