Pack of Huskies vies for NCAA bids at first-ever west regional
May 30, 2003
This weekend's first-ever NCAA west regional meet at Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field will determine who goes where for the June 11-14 national championships in Sacramento, Calif.
Thirty Washington athletes qualified for regional competition, though injury has shortened the list of those who will actually participate.
The 26th-ranked men's team will be vying for success without its top competitor, due to top-ranked pole-vaulter Brad Walker's hand injury earlier this week. Javelin throwers Seth Jens and Juan Romero will also not compete due to injuries.
UW track-and-field coach Greg Metcalf noted that the Husky favorites to earn automatic NCAA berths include the throwers and distance runners.
"Courtney (Inman) is rolling right now; she is going to qualify for the NCAA championships; she is going to run 1,500-meter and not eight," he said. "Throwers Mat Schwinn and Kameko Gay can also do some big things."
The regional format will allow the top five individuals in each event and the top three teams in relays to advance automatically to nationals. The region in which the Huskies are included also incorporates several teams from West Coast conferences, spanning from Hawaii to New Mexico. About six athletes and five relay teams per event will also be selected from the national-qualifying lists to round out the field of NCAA championship participants.
The regional meet begins today at noon with the finals in the men's hammer throw and the women's javelin. Distance and sprinting preliminaries for Saturday's showdowns make up 16 of today's 26 scheduled events.
"Right now, with Brad's hand in a cast, we'll move on and take our guys down the road," said Metcalf. "Our goal there is to do what we can to get to the NCAA's."
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