Saturday, May 25
Fayetteville, AR
Gonzaga University
at
NCAA West Preliminary Round - Day Four
Machu Places 14th in 5000-meter National Semifinal
5/25/2024 7:13:00 PM | Track and Field
Nearly qualified for national final after advancing to 10K final Thursday
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Gonzaga's Rosina Machu nearly qualified for the women's 5,000-meter national final just two days after advancing to the 10,000-meter national final at the NCAA West Preliminary Round at John McDonnell Field at the University of Arkansas.
Machu placed 14th overall in the 5K semifinal Saturday with a time of 16:08.93. She was eighth in the second heat. The top five finishers, along with the next two best times, advanced to the national final. The last qualifying time was Oregon's Silan Ayyildiz at 16:05.82 in 12th place.
Machu entered the race seeded 10th in the second heat with a program record time of 15:41.46. The Boise, Idaho, native ran that record time at the prestigious Drake Relays on April 24.
Willow Collins placed 16th in the first heat with a time of 17:01.33. In her first appearance at the prelims, the junior came in seeded 14th with the second-fastest time program history, 15:53.41, ran at the Stanford Invitational on March 29.
Jessica Frydenlund became the first Zag freshman to qualify for the NCAA Preliminary Round in program history. She placed 11th in the second heat, and 39th overall, with a time of 10:53.69. The Anacortes, Wash., native, entered the race seeded 16th in her heat following a 10:22.64 qualifying time at the Portland Distance Carnival on May 11. That time ranks second all-time at GU.
Machu and Wil Smith will represent Gonzaga at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Eugene, Ore. This will be the first time ever that Gonzaga will have multiple participants at the national championships.
Machu runs in the women's 10,000-meter national final on June 6 at 8:08 p.m. Smith is in the men's 5,000-meter national final June 7 at 7:55 p.m. Both days will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Machu placed 14th overall in the 5K semifinal Saturday with a time of 16:08.93. She was eighth in the second heat. The top five finishers, along with the next two best times, advanced to the national final. The last qualifying time was Oregon's Silan Ayyildiz at 16:05.82 in 12th place.
Machu entered the race seeded 10th in the second heat with a program record time of 15:41.46. The Boise, Idaho, native ran that record time at the prestigious Drake Relays on April 24.
Willow Collins placed 16th in the first heat with a time of 17:01.33. In her first appearance at the prelims, the junior came in seeded 14th with the second-fastest time program history, 15:53.41, ran at the Stanford Invitational on March 29.
Jessica Frydenlund became the first Zag freshman to qualify for the NCAA Preliminary Round in program history. She placed 11th in the second heat, and 39th overall, with a time of 10:53.69. The Anacortes, Wash., native, entered the race seeded 16th in her heat following a 10:22.64 qualifying time at the Portland Distance Carnival on May 11. That time ranks second all-time at GU.
Machu and Wil Smith will represent Gonzaga at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Eugene, Ore. This will be the first time ever that Gonzaga will have multiple participants at the national championships.
Machu runs in the women's 10,000-meter national final on June 6 at 8:08 p.m. Smith is in the men's 5,000-meter national final June 7 at 7:55 p.m. Both days will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Players Mentioned
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Tuesday, June 30
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Monday, June 29
Friday, June 26
