AUSTIN -- BYU men’s track and field registered several impressive performances on day two of the NCAA Track and Field West Preliminary as four Cougars punched their ticket to the national championship meet in Eugene, Ore. A total of eight members of the men’s team have qualified for the NCAA Championships to be held June 9-12.

“Everything went really, really well today,” BYU head coach Mark Robison said. “We saw some great efforts from our guys. We had guys turn in some lifetime bests and prove they can compete with the best in the country. I’m very pleased with how we performed today.”

Richard Nelson turned in one of the top performances of the day, winning the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 8:45.76. He outpaced Joonas Harjamaki of Lamar, who came into the weekend with the second fastest time in the nation in the event.

Chris Little kept pace in the pole vault, tying for the best height of the day to advance. Fellow field competitor Oliver Whaley had the meet of his life, breaking his personal best in the hammer throw three times to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships. His top mark of 64.09 meters (210-03) placed him sixth.

Ryan Waite clocked the third-fastest time of the day in the 800 meters at 1:46.83. He fell just short of breaking BYU’s all-time record of 1:46.50, set in 1980 by Agberto Guimaraes.

On Saturday Leif Arrhenius will look to qualify in the discus and Anse Myller DeAraujo and Kyle Mills will compete in the triple jump. Alden Bahr and Brandon Hebbert are slated to run the 5000 meters and the 4x400 meter relay team will also compete.

See the list below for the athlete’s marks from Friday. CLICK HERE for complete results.

CLICK HERE to review Thursday’s action.

Rank  Name                Event           Mark
  7   Chris Little*       Pole Vault      5.30mq     17-04.50
 18   Tanner Emrich       Pole Vault      5.20m      17-00.75
  6   Oliver Whaley*      Hammer Throw    64.09mq    210-03
 34   Trevor Heiner       High Jump       2.01m      6-07.00
  4   Ryan Waite*         800m            1:46.83Q 
  1   Richard Nelson*     Steeplechase    8:45.76Q
 37   Ryan Merriman       Steeplechase    9:11.27 
 40   Josh Adams          Steeplechase    9:14.31 
*Qualified for NCAA National Championships in Eugene, Ore.

PROVO -- BYU will travel to the campus of University of Texas in Austin for the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary that runs Thursday through Saturday. The men enter the preliminary at No. 11 in the nation while the women are No. 16.

The three-day event features the top 48 athletes and 24 relay teams in each event in the west region. The top 12 finishers in each event advance to the final NCAA meet in Eugene, Ore., June 9-12. The East Preliminary is held this weekend in Greensboro, N.C.

BYU is among the top programs in the country in terms of entries in the preliminaries. The men tied for fourth-most in the nation with 27 entries in 26 individual events and one relay. The women are tied for second-most with 28 entries in 27 individual events and one relay.

On the men’s side, nine athletes have 10 top 10 qualifying marks. Ryan Waite has the highest ranking on the team at No. 3 in the West in the 800m. Three other runners are in the top 10 in their respective events, including Brian Weirich (No. 7), Richard Nelson (No. 7) and Jonathan Kotter (No. 9).

Several field athletes have top 10 marks, including thrower Leif Arrhenius at No. 5 in both the shot put and the discus. Chris Reno and Sean Richardson are both top 10 in the javelin with Reno at No. 6 and Richardson at No. 9. Chris Little is No. 5 in the west in pole vault.

Six women are top 10 in the west, including Mindy McClurkin in the 200m (No. 8) and the long jump (No. 2). Lacey Cramer is the top qualifier in the west in the 800m and Angela Wagner is right behind at No. 2. Nachelle Stewart’s No. 5 ranking gives BYU three athletes in the top five in the 800m. Ada Robinson is the Cougars’ sixth top 10 qualifier with a No. 6 ranking in the high jump.

Follow the action online via the following links:

Live results

Watch Thursday’s Action

Watch Friday’s Action

Watch Saturday’s Action

Click on the links below for the complete list of qualifiers for the West Preliminary

Men

Women