NCAA Regional Fields Announced...

The NCAA announced the names of the athletes and teams that will advance to the West Regional Championships May 27-29 in Austin, Texas.

The old four-section regional championships were scrapped in favor of a two section regional, which makes the meet, in essence, the first and second rounds of the NCAA championships.

In the current format, the top twelve finishers and relay teams from Austin as well as the East Regionals in Greensboro, North Carolina, will advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene June 9-12.

The only event that will not be contested in the NCAA regional meet is the decathlon, in which the top 24 athletes based on their performance during the regular season were advanced.

Washington's Jeremy Taiwo was the only one from the state of Washington who advanced to the NCAA championships.

The 21st-ranked Husky men earned 15 individual qualifiers plus one relay for what will likely be a total of 17 athletes in Austin, while the UW women qualified 12 athletes for the prelims though entries will not be set in stone until the start lists are released next Tuesday.

Seven Huskies are ranked in the top-10 in the West including senior Katie Follett (No. 1, 1,500m), junior Scott Roth (No. 3, pole vault), junior Kyle Nielsen (No. 4, javelin), freshman James Alaka (No. 5, 100m), senior Ryan Vu (No. 8, pole vault), senior Zack Midles (No. 9, hammer), and junior Brooke Pighin (No. 10, javelin).

Washington State University will be represented by 13 men in 12 events and 17 women in 12 events. The Cougars will be led by two-time defending 400 meter hurdles champ Jeshua Anderson, and Pac-10 javelin champion Marissa Tschida.

Eastern Washington will have a handful of athletes making the trip to Austin, led by Big Sky hammer champion Nicole Luckenbach and 400 meter runner Brad Wall.

The complete list of men's accepted entries can be accessed here, while the complete list of women's accepted entries can be accessed here.

The University of Washington's media release announcing their qualifiers can be read here, while you can click here to read Washington State University's press release.

NOTE: The NCAA, University of Washington, Washington State University, and Eastern Washington University all contributed to this report.

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