Zag Trio Ready for NCAA Regional Round
5/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 25, 2016
GONZAGA BULLDOGS AT THE NCAA WEST PRELIMINARIES
MEET 16 | MAY 26-28 | LAWRENCE, KAN. | ROCK CHALK PARK
FIRST GU RACES: Friday - Women- 10:45 a.m. (Steeplechase) | Men- 11:25 a.m. (Steeplechase)
LIVE VIDEO: Live video on GoZags.com (Terry Bryant and Mike Mahon on the call)
LIVE RESULTS: Live results on GoZags.com
ZAG TRIO READY FOR NCAA REGIONAL ROUND:
- Maggie Jones, Shelby Mills and Kellen Manley will represent Gonzaga Friday and Saturday at the NCAA West Preliminaries hosted by the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan.
- In the program's young existence, Gonzaga has gone from its first qualifier, Emily Thomas, in 2012, to a trio of qualifiers in 2013 (Thomas, Lindsey Drake and Brent Felnagle), to Willie Milam and Nick Roche in 2014, to last year's six qualifiers.
ABOUT THE MEET:
- The NCAA West Preliminary will feature some of the nation's finest student-athletes from over 120 Division I schools located west of the Mississippi River.
- Athletes from those 121 institutions who rank among the top-48 in their respective events earn berths into the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
- The meet will serve as the qualifier for the NCAA Outdoor Championships held in Eugene, Ore., June 8-11.
- The fields of the various events will be whittled down from 48 to 12 by the meet's end, with those 12 athletes or relays teams earning berths to the NCAA Championships.
- Kansas hosts the NCAA Championship West Preliminary for the first time since the current qualifying format began in 2010.
- The other half of the nation will trek to Jacksonville, Florida, for the NCAA East Preliminary being held at Hodges Stadium and hosted by North Florida.
ABOUT THE TRACK:
- The NCAA West Preliminary will be run at the state-of-the-art track facility at Rock Chalk Park.
- The facility has already been touted as one of the nation's top track & field facilities as it has attained the prestigious IAAF Class I status. The track surface may be considered the crown jewel of the entire complex.
- With the IAAF's approval, the track is capable of hosting meets of an international level and is one of only five facilities in the U.S. with Class I status.
- The $39 million facility houses the Kansas track, soccer and softball teams.
- The track portion of the facility has just over 6,100 permanent seats with the ability to bring in an additional 4,000 temporary seats for larger events.
LAST TIME AT THE NCAA WEST PRELMS:
- Last year, the Bulldogs sent three women and three men to the NCAA West Preliminaries in Austin, Texas. It was the largest contingent representing Gonzaga on both sides in program history.
- Shelby Mills became the first Zag to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
- She qualified for the semifinals in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a 10th place finish with a time of 10:11.37. She finished fourth in the second heat, and qualified with one of the top 12 times in the 48-runner field. Mills was not an automatic qualifier from her heat, but she had the third fastest at-large time.
- Willie Milam placed 17th in the men's 5,000 meters at 14:15.05. He was eighth in his heat, and just three seconds shy of advancing to the national championships.
- In the men's 1,500 meters, Andy Phillips crossed the line at 3:50.40, which was 10th in his heat and 25th overall.
- In the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Troy Fraley crossed the line at 9:10.49 and placed 29th.
- Maggie Jones came in 36th in the women's 5,000 meters with a time of 17:07.89.
- Jessica Mildes finished the women's 10,000 meters at 36:54.57 in 39th place.
GONZAGA'S HISTORY AT THE WEST PRELIMINARIES:
* 2012 | May 25 | Austin, Texas
Emily Thomas (JR, Washougal, Wash.)
- Placed 24th in the women's 10,000 meters with a time of 35:55.98. She qualified 36th in the region with a then-school record 35:01.46.
* 2013 | May 24,26 | Austin, Texas
Lindsey Drake (SR, Carlsbad, Calif.)
- Placed 22nd in the women's 5,000 meters at 16:40.19. She was seeded 35th with a then-school record time of 16:22.53
Brent Felnagle (SO, Tacoma, Wash.)
- Placed 42nd in the men's 1,500 meters at 3:58.33. He was seeded 47th with a then-school record 3:46.61.
Emily Thomas (SR, Washougal, Wash.)
- Placed 19th in the women's 10,000 meters at 36:01.23. She was seeded 23rd with a then-school record 34:41.97.
* 2014 | May 31-June 1 | Fayatteville, Ark.
Willie Milam (JR, Portland, Ore.)
- Placed 18th in the men's 5,000 meters at 14:19.40. He was seeded 34th with a then-school record 14:00.19.
Nick Roche (JR, Tigard, Ore.)
- Placed 39th in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at 9:17.31. He was seeded 37th with a then-school record 8:59.29.
* 2015 | May 28-30 | Austin, Texas
Troy Fraley (SO, Kalispell, Mont.)
- Placed 29th in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at 9:10.49. He was seeded 34th with the current school record 8:56.23.
Maggie Jones (JR, Richland, Wash.)
- Placed 36th in the women's 5,000 meters at 17:07.89. She was seeded 39th with a 16:27.86, which is fourth in program history.
Willie Milam (SR, Portland, Ore.)
- Placed 17th in the men's 5,000 meters at 14:15.05. He was seeded 26th with the current school record of 13:53.74.
Jessica Mildes (JR, Chattaroy, Wash.)
- Placed 39th in the women's 10,000 meters at 36:54.57. She was seeded 10th with the current school record of 33:40.82.
Shelby Mills (SO, Snohomish, Wash.)
- Placed 10th in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at 10:11.37. She was seeded 14th with a then-school record 10:18.42.
Andy Phillips (SR, Jackson Hole, Wyo.)
- Placed 25th in the men's 1,500 meters at 3:50.40. He was seeded 26th with the current school record 3:43.90.
Players Mentioned
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
Tuesday, June 30
Monday, June 29
Monday, June 29
Friday, June 26
