Locals get chance to reach NCAAs

Utah's finest track and field athletes are in Eugene, Ore., this weekend for the NCAA West Regional, the final chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships in two weeks.

The two-day competition begins today and includes schools from the Mountain West Conference, Pac-10, WAC and all other conferences west of Colorado.

Athletes from all five of Utah's Division I schools are in "Track City, U.S.A," hoping to nab a top-five finish in their event and the accompanying automatic bid to the national championships to be held in Sacramento, Calif., June 6-9.

BYU leads the way with 53 qualifiers for the regional meet. Discus thrower Niklas Arrhenius is the No. 3 seed in his event, having already tallied a throw that would rank him first in the NCAA had it not been after the qualifying deadline. High jumper David Pendergrass and distance ace Josh Rohatinsky also look to perform well for the Cougar men.

The Cougar women are led by long jumper Mindy Neeley, who has the region's second-best mark, and BYU 5,000-meter run record holder Whitney McDonald, the top seed in her event.

Weber State has a pair of stars in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, with senior Lindsey Anderson as the top seed, having broken the NCAA record in the event earlier this year. Wildcat David Olson is ranked fourth for the men in the steeplechase.

Utah State's best hopes reside in the same household, with Vance Twitchell (steeplechase) and wife Jennifer Twitchell (1,500-meter run) favored to do well. The Aggies' Amber Peterson (hurdles) and Dasheek Akwenye (400-meter dash) should place highly.

The University of Utah's Amanda Feigt (hurdles) is a top overall athlete, with teammate Chelsea Shapard (400-meter hurdles) seeded sixth in her event.

Southern Utah's David Sheeran (800-meter run) and Jesson Baumgartner (5,000) will each challenge for a qualifying spot.

Preliminary events start today at 2 p.m. MDT, with Saturday's finals beginning at noon at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.

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E-mail: davidr@desnews.com