SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gonzaga's 1,500-meter trio of Scott Kopczynski, Brandon Pollard and Mason Villarma finished their stellar seasons at the NCAA West Preliminary Round Thursday. The regional is being run at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium.

Villarma placed 18th in the first round of the event. His time of 3:49.09 was ninth in the fourth heat, and less than three seconds from qualifying for Saturday's quarterfinal. The fourth heat was the fastest of the day, finishing with the top-five times in the first round and qualifying seven runners to the quarterfinal.

Kopczynski and Pollard placed eighth and 10th in the third heat, which ended up the slowest section of the round. Utah State's Jordan Beutler's winning time in the heat was 4:00.92. The fifth and final qualifier from the heat's time was 4:01.91. Kopczynski crossed the line at 4:04.09, placing 44th overall, while Pollard's time of 4:06.28 in 46th place.

"Mason positioned well and the door was open to qualify, but it tightened up over the last 100 meters," Director of GU Track and Field Pat Tyson said. "It was valuable experience for the sophomore! Likewise, Scott too positioned and stayed out of trouble. He needs more strength and confidence in these slow, tactical and crazy bunched up races. But, you can't buy these experiences, you have to earn them!

"Brandon got tripped up. It was a very questionable call that we protested, but sometimes things just don't turnout right. That is sports! That is life! All three are first timers in the elite of the elite NCAA championship venues. They are all back next year!"

New Mexico's Josh Kerr entered the day with the best collegiate time this season at 3:35.01. He had the top finish in the first round at 3:44.80.

The top five finishers from each heat and the next four fastest times move on to the quarterfinals Saturday.

Pollard was seeded 27th with a time of 3:44.63. The junior qualified with that time at the Portland Twilight on May 12. That time ranks second on the GU all-time list. Villarma ran his qualifying time of 3:45.91, which is fourth in program history, at the Oregon Twilight on May 4. He was seeded 41st in the event. Kopczynski entered 43rd with a seed time of 3:46.01. The sophomore ran the fifth-fastest time in Gonzaga history at the Portland Twilight.

Troy Fraley, Alex Heffelfinger, Kellen Manley and Sammy Truax are in the 3,000-meter steeplechase Friday. 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 national semifinals in Eugene, Ore.

Manley and Truax are entered in the first heat at 8:20 p.m. Fraley follows in the second heat at 8:33 p.m., and Heffelfinger is in Heat 3 at 8:45.

Live video provided by FloTrack, along with live results, from the NCAA West Preliminary Round will be available on GoZags.com.