FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Gonzaga men's track team completed its schedule at the 2022 NCAA West Preliminary Round with a quartet of runners competing Friday.
James Mwaura (13:45.46) and
Evan Bates (14:47.56) finished 22
nd and 43
rd in the 5,000-meter national semifinal. Mwaura was 11
th in the heat, while Bates was 21
st. Both Bates and Mwaura were in the second of two heats. Twelve runners advanced to the national final, with the Top 5 from each heat moving on, plus the next two best times. Washington's Brian Fay placed first at 13:28.41. Vincent Mauri of Arizona State had the final qualifying time of 13:39.13.
Mwaura entered 13th-seeded in the region at 13:30.02, the program record, set at Oregon's Hayward Field. Bates was seeded 40th with a 13:45.04 time from the Oregon Relays that ranks as the second fastest in program history.
"Tough on most who ran the 10K Wednesday to come back and qualify in tonight's 5,000," Director of GU Track and Field
Pat Tyson said. "
James Mwaura gave it a shot. He started in the back of the pack for most of the first 2,000 meters before making a move but could only climb back into 11th place in the 24-man second heat with his 13:45.46 time. Teammate
Evan Bates would make his NCAA debut by positioning well early on before fading to the back finishing in 14:47.56."
Mwaura qualified for the 10,000-meter national finals with a 12
th-place finish in the semifinals Wednesday. The 10,000-meter national final is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. Pacific Time on June 8. He qualified for Nationals in both the 10k and 5k last year, earning All-American Honorable Mention honors in the process.
In the men's steeplechase Friday,
Cullen McEachern and
Cooper Laird placed 20
th and 47
th. McEachern crossed the line at 8:48.94, while Laird's time was 9:18.57. McEachern placed seventh in his heat and Laird was 16
th. McEachern was seeded 23
rd at 8:46.36 time and Laird had the 43rd-ranked time of 8:50.88.
"Both Cullen and Cooper tasted the big time," Tyson said. "Junior redshirt McEachern fought hard and showed a grittiness that brought him within two seconds of his personal best finishing in 8:48.94. He would finish seventh in his heat and 20th out of 48! Laird will have three more years to perfect the art of distance hurdling! He would finish 16th in his heat and 47th overall in 9:18.57. They are hungry! They will both remember this day! You can't read about it. You must experience it! You must be in the arena. They will be back!"
Twelve runners advanced to the national semifinal in Eugene, Ore., with the Top 3 from each heat plus the next three best times moving on from West Prelims. Minnesota's Matthew Wilkinson had the top time Friday at 8:32.61. Adam Bunker of Utah Valley was the final qualifier with a time of 8:40.00.
Gonzaga has a pair of runners competing in the final day of the NCAA West Preliminary Round Saturday.
Alicia Anderson is in the women's 1,500-meter quarterfinals at 3:15 p.m. Pacific Time, and Anderson and
Elisabeth Danis are in the 5,000-meter semifinals at 6:10 p.m. Anderson advanced to the women's 1,500-meter national quarterfinal with a fourth-place finish in the third heat of the first round Thursday.
A live broadcast of the NCAA West Prelims is available on SEC Network Plus, with live results on GoZags.com.
