Five more BYU track and field women athletes qualified for nationals Saturday at the NCAA West Preliminary meet Saturday at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Utah, meanwhile, earned a pair of national qualifiers — Cara Woolnaugh in the 5000-meters, clocking a time of 15:50.80; and Josefine Erikson in the 800-meters with a time of 2:02.49. Woolnaugh finished No. 2 and Erikson finished No. 3 in their respective events.
The 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held June 8-11 in Eugene, Oregon.
BYU’s Sable Lohmeier El-Bakri recorded a school-record throw of 56.31m/184-2, good for seventh place in the event and a trip to nationals.
In the high jump, BYU’s Cierra Tidwell-Allphin also qualified, capturing a three-way tie for first place with a leap of 1.81m/5-11.25. This marks her second consecutive qualification for Eugene.
“Going into today, we figured that she would have to clear 1.81-meters to qualify for Nationals,” BYU assistant coach Mark Robison said. “She couldn’t have done any better. This was probably her best outdoor meet of the season. It was good for her to have this performance going into Nationals because now she knows she’s right there in the hunt for a national title.”
BYU’s Courtney Wayment (9:42.32) and Lexy Halladay (10:06.15) earned qualifying marks in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Wayment finished first and Halladay finished 10th.
“Coming to this race, I just wanted to be grateful because this is my last opportunity to compete at a west preliminary,” Wayment said. “The steeplechase is a lot of fun and that was my goal tonight; to have a lot of fun. At the NCAA Championships I just need to put my head down, listen to coach Taylor and know that it’s my last collegiate race so I’m going to make it the best that I can.”
In the 800-meters, BYU’s Claire Seymour secured her spot at Nationals with a time of 2:03.01 and an eighth-place finish. It’s her second straight berth to Eugune.
“I’m super proud of the girls’ effort,” BYU associate director of track and field Diljeet Taylor said. “Obviously at a meet like the west preliminary some things are going to go your way and others aren’t. We had a couple of women who were right outside qualifying and that’s always gut-wrenching. I’m just super proud of the women for showing up, competing and fighting for their spot. I look forward to two weeks from now when we can showcase what’s been a phenomenal year. We’re hoping to end the season in Eugene on a high note.”
The BYU women’s team accumulated nine national qualifiers while the BYU men’s team logged 12 for a total of 21.