Outdoor Track Sends 11 Athletes To NCAA Regional Meet

May 24, 2004

THIS WEEK:
Those Utes who have set NCAA regional qualifying marks will travel to Northridge, Calif., to kick off the 2004 NCAA Western Regional Meet. Hosted by Cal State Northridge, the meet will be held at Matador Track. Competition will begin on Friday, May 28, and continue through Saturday, May 29. Utah will send a total of eleven athletes to the meet. The top five in each event will automatically advance to the NCAA finals.

Name               Event         West Region Mark/Time RankingKatie Decker     High Jump     10thNatasha Eldridge   Hammer Throw    18thAmanda Feigt     Long Jump     13thJennie Haertel     1,500m        26thTracy Hamblin       Pole Vault    23rdNellie Hammons     800m          13thJen Jackman       400 hurdles   11thVanessa Mortensen  Hammer Throw  7thAubry Startin       High Jump     16thName               Event     West Region Mark/Time RankingDelfino Arevalo *  5,000m   21stNephi Tyler       1,500m    17th

*Arevalo also has a qualifying time in the 10,000 meters, but the event is uncontested at the region level. He will compete in the event at the NCAA finals. He currently has the 16th-fastest time in the nation in the 10,000.

FOLLOW THE MEET:
Complete results for the NCAA Western Regional Championships will be posted at www.ncaa.org.

PREVIEWING THE COMPETITION:
The Utes will have their hands full, competing against several teams ranked in the top 25. On the women's side, UCLA is ranked third, USC is sixth, Stanford is eighth, Brigham Young is ranked 11th, Arizona State is 15th, Arizona is 18th, Rice is 23rd and Nevada is 25th according to Trackshark's Women's Top 50 power rankings. On the men's side UCLA is ranked third, Arizona State is sixth, Oregon is eighth, USC is 14th, Arizona is 15th, Stanford is 17th, Brigham Young is 19th and Rice is 24th.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Lisa Archer:
"We are very excited about taking 11 qualifiers to compete in the regional, and about the possibility of having two-to-four of those qualifiers advance to the NCAA finals.

"Our conference is one of the most competitive in the nation. This is proven by the fact we have 11 athletes qualified for the West regional despite finishing fifth at the league championships.

"Some of our athletes have already competed in a regional or in the NCAA finals. Their experience will not only help them, but will help our first-time competitors.

UTES ON THE RUN:
Junior Jen Jackman was one of Utah's best performers at the MWC Outdoor Championships. Jackman finished second in the 400-meter hurdles (59.92) and sixth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.53). She contributed a total of 11 of Utah's 62 points. She has been Utah's best hurdler all year, and will look for a big week in Northridge, Calif.

Sophomore Vanessa Mortensen was the runner up in the hammer at the MWC Outdoor Championships earlier this month. Mortensen had an impressive meet, setting a new personal record and a school record with 59.59 meters. The mark is also a new Danish National record-Mortensen hails from Fredensborg, Denmark.

MIGHTY FROSH:
After an impressive fourth place finish (4:33.24) in the 1,500 meters at the MWC Outdoor Championships, Jennie Haertel proved that she's for real. Haertel is one of two freshmen that Utah will send to the regional meet. Haertel currently ranks 10th in the nation for juniors (athletes 19 and under) in the 1,500.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Next up for those Utes who qualify, are the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Wednesday, June 9 in Austin, Texas. The four-day meet will continue through Saturday, June 12.

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