Sports
Track Gears up for NCAA West Prelims in College Station
Story Links Gonzaga Entries Meet Central 2025 NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY ROUNDS WEDNESDAY, MAY 28 | E.B. CUSHING STADIUM | COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS ESPN+ LIVE STREAM | LIVE RESULTS 7:10 p.m. PST | Men’s 10,000m Semifinal | Wil Smith THURSDAY, […]
2025 NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY ROUNDS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28 | E.B. CUSHING STADIUM | COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
ESPN+
LIVE STREAM | LIVE RESULTS
7:10 p.m. PST | Men’s 10,000m Semifinal | Wil Smith
THURSDAY, MAY 29 | E.B. CUSHING STADIUM | COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
ESPN+
LIVE STREAM | LIVE RESULTS
4:30 p.m. PST | Women’s 1500m First Round | Willow Collins
5:50 p.m. PST | Women’s 800m First Round | Ellie Armbruster
7:10 p.m. PST | Women’s 10,000m Semifinal | Rosina Machu, Logan Hofstee, Jessica Frydenlund, Alexi Fogo
FRIDAY, MAY 30 | E.B. CUSHING STADIUM | COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
ESPN+
LIVE STREAM | LIVE RESULTS
3:40 p.m. PST | Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Quarterfinal | Cooper Laird, Sean Janecko, Paul Talens
6:10 p.m. PST | Men’s 5000m Semifinal | Wil Smith
SATURDAY, MAY 31 | E.B. CUSHING STADIUM | COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
ESPN+
LIVE STREAM | LIVE RESULTS
3:15 p.m. PST | Women’s 1500m Quarterfinal* | Willow Collins
3:40 p.m. PST | Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Quarterfinal | Jessica Frydenlund
5:05 p.m. PST | Women’s 800m Quarterfinal* | Ellie Armbruster
6:10 p.m. PST | Women’s 5000m Semifinal | Willow Collins
*If athlete advances to the Quarterfinal round
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Gonzaga men’s and women’s track will send a combined ten student-athletes, six women and four men, to race at the 2025 NCAA West Preliminary Round in College Station, Texas, May 28-31. The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Committee announced the West Region and East Region Preliminary Round participants Thursday morning.
This season, five Bulldogs secured repeat qualifying marks to the NCAA West Prelims, led by Cooper Laird’s (Steeplechase) fourth straight preliminary. Rosina Machu (10,000m) and Wil Smith (5000m/10,000m) will each make their third consecutive prelims appearance, and both Willow Collins (1500m/5000m) and Jessica Frydenlund (10,000m/Steeplechase) will race for the second straight season. New to the NCAA postseason this year are Sean Janecko (Steeplechase), Paul Talens (Steeplechase), Ellie Armbruster (800m), Logan Hofstee (10,000m), and Alexi Fogo (10,000m).
Three athletes (Smith, Frydenlund, Collins) will compete in multiple events for the second straight season, matching another combined program best. Armbruster will be the first 800-meter qualifier in GU history.
For each individual event contested at each of the Preliminary Round sites, the top 48 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition, with the top 12 in each advancing to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 11-14. The University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., will host the East Preliminary and Texas A&M, in College Station, Texas, will host the West Preliminary.
As a program, Gonzaga’s ten qualified athletes and 12 events are each program records. For the Bulldog women, six qualifiers in eight events marks the fourth consecutive season with program highs. Head coach Jake Stewart‘s team qualified three athletes in 2022, four in 2023, and five in 2024 before this year’s six.
The Zag men will send four athletes to College Station, continuing their streak of at least three qualifiers that dates back to 2018. Three steeplechasers earned a spot in the First Rounds, matching a program high that was also set in 2018. Head coach Pat Tyson‘s team will send at least one athlete to the NCAA postseason for the 12th straight year.
THE ROAD TO NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Student-athletes with the top 12 times or marks and the best 12 relay teams at both the East and West Preliminary Rounds sites will qualify for the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 11-14 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. It will be the 19th time the outdoor championships have been held in Eugene and the tenth time in the last 14 years.
In the 5,000m race, the field of 48 is split into two heats of 24 runners each. The top five from each will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, as well as the top two times from those not within a top five within a heat. In the 10,000m, all runners compete at once with the top 12 finishers moving on. In the 3,000m Steeplechase, the competition is split into three heats of 16 runners, with the top three from each heat and the top three times from those not within a top three within a heat advancing to the NCAA Championships.
The first round of the 1500m at the NCAA West Prelims is broken into four heats, each with 12 runners. The top five from each heat will advance to the quarterfinals, as well as the top four times from those who are not inside a top five within a heat. From there, the top five from each Quarterfinal will advance to the NCAA Championships, as well as the top two times from those not within a top five within a heat.
The first round of the 800m is broken into six heats, each with eight runners. The top three from each heat will advance to the quarterfinals, as well as the next top six times. From there, three heats of eight competitors will race in the quarterfinal round, with the top three from each heat and the next best three times moving onto the semifinal round at the NCAA Championships.
-GoZags.com-