PROVO — With 20 athletes representing a broad range of events already qualified for NCAA Regional competition, the BYU men's track team is putting together a strong, well-balanced team as it heads into the back half of the season.
With five meets in the books and five to go before NCAA competition, athletes who are still seeking qualifying performances have plenty of time and the benefit of friendly confines to do so, as three of those final five meets will be hosted at BYU, including the Mountain West Conference Championships.
"Our big focus is getting as many kids qualified for the regional meet as possible and keeping everyone healthy," said men's track head coach Mark Robison, noting injuries have already taken a toll on the team.
"To this point, I'm very optimistic," he added. "We've got some kids that will do very well."
BYU also has the fortune of hosting the NCAA West Region, giving Cougar athletes a further advantage once postseason competition begins.
As in years past, one of the team's strongest areas in the early going has been the distance events. Steeplechase All-American Josh McAdams is off to a strong start, ranked first in the nation in the event and holding the second-fastest time in BYU history at 8:34.84.
McAdams, a senior, has qualified for NCAA Regional competition, as have fellow steeplechase athletes Chandler Goodwin and Kyle Perry.
Junior Josh Rohatinsky, fresh off an All-American cross country campaign last fall after redshirting the indoor season, has been strong already for the Cougars in the 1,500 meter event.
Perry, a freshman, has shown great promise in the 1,500 meter, winning the event at the Arizona State Invitational and already qualifying for the NCAA Regionals.
The sprinters have been bolstered by the additional of two speedsters from the football team, Todd Watkins and Nate Soelberg, who have helped spark the 4x100 relay team to a pair of wins already, while Paul Smith (200 meters), Jason Howard (400 meters) and Chris Carter (800 meters) have each already claimed victories in their respective events.
The jumpers, meanwhile, are led by junior David Pendergrass, the reigning Mountain West Conference high jump champion.
The throwing team is anchored by junior Niklas Arrhenius, who has shown no signs of rust after coming off a redshirt year. Arrhenius has already qualified for NCAA regional competition in the discus with a throw of 203 feet 4 inches and in the shotput with a throw of 58 feet 4 inches.
Two freshman javelin athletes have made an early mark on their event, setting high personal bests and wasting no time in qualifying for Regionals.
At last week's Cougar Invitational, Chris Reno recorded a throw of 221 feet 9 inches, while Blaine Baker threw 220 feet 10 inches.
The jumpers are again led by Robbie Pratt, fresh off a national title in the pole vault during the indoor track season. Pratt sat out the first few meets of the outdoor season but returned in style last weekend in Texas, recording a vault of 18 feet 4.5 inches to win the event.
Robison said there are a number of other athletes in intermediate phases of their development this season.
"We just haven't had enough time," he said. "It's been a weird year for practice. We've done well at competitions, but with as crazy as the weather has been, we can't get into a practice routine."
The Cougars have already hosted one meet this season, the Cougar Invite, and have four more home meets left on the docket, beginning with the Y Invitational on Saturday, followed by the Robison Invitational on April 26-29.
Robison said hosting so many events, particularly the conference and regional meets, is a huge advantage.
"That's very exciting, because family and friends will get to see them and they're very confident in our facility, and we have one of the best facilities in the nation," Robison said of the home advantage. "We run a better chance to get some of our athletes qualified for the NCAAs hosting regionals there. You get to sleep in your own bed, you don't have to travel, and you don't have to worry about the elements."
And although a repeat performance of last year's fourth-place finish at the NCAA National Meet is tall order this year, Robison said, "Hope to be where we were last year, but that will be tough to do again this year," he said. "But we have some very good kids who can possibly score in the top three and score a lot of points."
Utah County connections
The following BYU male track and field athletes prepped at Utah Valley high schools:
BYU men
Name, year, high school, discipline — notable
Brett Andrus, jr., Mountain View, distance — won the 1,500 meters (3:55.79) at the 2005 Cougar Invitational
Nik Arrhenius, jr., Mountain View, throws — 2005 MWC discus and shot champion and NCAA discus All-American
Alden Bahr, fr., Mountain View, distance — ran a 8:24.96 in the 3,000 at the 2006 Husky Classic indoor meet
Dustin Bybee, soph., Mountain View, distance — fifth in 1,500 (3:55.15) at 2005 MWC Outdoor Championships
Brad Ellertson, soph., Timpview, pole vault — placed fourth at the 2006 Cougar Invitational with a height of 16-1
Noah Garfield, soph., Springville, decathlon — two-time team MVP at Springville High
Chandler Goodwin, soph., Mtn. View, distance — seventh in steeplechase (8:52.38) at the 2006 Stanford Invite
Robert Low, fr., Timpview, pole vault — won at the 2006 Cougar Invitational with a height of 17-0.75
Aaron Robinson, fr., Provo, distance — placed 11th in mile (4:42.59) at the 2006 BYU Indoor Invitational
Josh Rohatinsky, jr., Provo, distance — placed seventh in 10,000 (28:54.70) at 2005 NCAA Championships
Jeremiah West, soph., Timpview, distance — placed 11th in the 3,000 at the 2006 Mountain States indoor meet
E-mail: jtwitchell@desnews.com