Nelson Qualifies for Steeple Finals at Nationals

EUGENE -- Senior Richard Nelson advanced in the preliminaries of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for BYU on Wednesday.

Nelson finished 10th with a time of 8:44.39 to advance to the finals on Friday.

"He learned a lot from running last year," said BYU men's track and field coach Mark Robison. "He didn't try to win it but did just enough to qualify for Friday."

Nelson highlighted a down day for the Cougars on both the men's and women's side. Junior Leif Arrhenius participated in the first of two events the thrower will compete in this weekend, beginning with the discus. Arrhenius fouled on his attempts in the final. Also for the men, Ryan Waite finished the 800 meters in 1:51.29, good for 21st in a field where only the top eight advanced to the finals.

"It just wasn't the best," Robison said. "We were just off a bit all day."

In the women's 800-meter race, BYU's trio of Angela Wagner, Nachelle Stewart and Lacey Cramer all came up short in qualifying for the event finals. Wagner placed 10th at 2:06.33, finishing two spots away from an invite to the finals. Stewart finished 18th at 2:09.45 while Cramer ran in a time of 2:15.92 and a 24th finish.

Ada Robinson was the only other Cougar competing on Wednesday; the sophomore failed to reach the opening height of 1.72 meters.

BYU still has athletes left to compete, including tomorrow's competition that will include Mindy McClurkin in the 200-meter preliminary, Chris Little in the pole vault final, and the Cougar trio of Chris Reno, Sean Richardson and Blaine Baker in the javelin finals.

Men's Event Schedule
Name              Event         Place              Mark
Leif Arrhenius    Discus        N/A                N/A
Ryan Waite        800 Meters    21st               1:51.29
*Richard Nelson   Steeplechase  10th               8:44.39
Name              Event         Prelims            Final
Chris Little      Pole Vault    N/A                Thurs., 4 p.m.
Sean Richardson   Javelin       N/A                Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Blaine Baker      Javelin       N/A                Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Chris Reno        Javelin       N/A                Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Oliver Whaley     Hammer        N/A                Fri., 3:30 p.m.
Leif Arrhenius    Shot Put      N/A                Sat., 9:40 a.m.
Women's Event Schedule
Name              Event         Place              Mark
Angela Wagner     800 Meters    10th               2:06.33
Nachelle Stewart  800 Meters    18th               2:09.45
Lacey Cramer      800 Meters    24th               2:15.92
Ada Robinson      High Jump     N/A                NH
Name              Event         Prelims            Final
Mindy McClurkin   200 Meters    Thurs., 4:30 p.m.  Sat., 10:41 a.m.
Kari Clark        Pole Vault    N/A                Fri., 4 p.m.
Mindy McClurkin   Long Jump     N/A                Sat., 9:30 a.m.
*Qualified for event finals