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LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV track & field team will have seven of its own participate in eight events at the NCAA West Preliminary Thursday through Saturday in Austin, Texas. The three-day meet will be contested at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas.

The West Preliminary is one of two qualifiers the NCAA is hosting before its Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 10-13. The East Preliminary will run concurrently - with the West - in Jacksonville, Fla., at the University of North Florida.

The Scarlet & Gray will have five of its seven student-athletes in action Thursday in Texas' capital city.

Cortney Miller kicks things off at 2:00 pm CT (12:00 pm PT) in the hammer throw. Miller (Las Vegas/Calvary Chapel Christian HS) enters the meet seeded 32nd behind a season-best throw of 195-6 (59.58m), which was registered at the UNLV Spring Invitational.

Joniece Ervin, who finished fourth in the 400m hurdles at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships (1:00.42: a personal best), will follow at 4:30 pm CT (2:30 pm PT).

Krystal Wharton (Las Vegas/Valley HS) and Drea Austin (Las Vegas/Foothill HS) will compete in the six o'clock hour in the long jump (6:00 pm CT/4:00 pm PT) and 100m (6:30 pm PT/4:30 pm PT), respectively. The former jumped a season-best distance of 19-9.75 (6.04m) at the adidas/Steve Scott Invitational, and is looking to make a second straight appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after she finished 24th at the 2014 national meet. The latter, on the other hand, was fourth at the MW Championships with a personal-best time of 11.63.

Auzsane Crowe-Carter will close out day one in the 800m at 8:10 pm CT (6:10 pm PT). Crowe-Carter, a two-time MW champion in the 800m, is seeded 19th behind a season-best time of 2:07.02 tallied at the Stanford Invitational.

Taylor Pegram will start Friday's slate of events at 5:00 pm CT (3:00 pm PT) in the 100m hurdles. Pegram carries a season-best time of 13.67, which occurred at the adidas/Steve Scott Invitational.

Austin, who was fifth at the Conference meet with a personal-best time of 23.71, will also have a go Friday in the 200m at 8:00 pm CT (6:00 pm PT).

MacKenna Howard will have to wait until Saturday at 6:00 pm CT (4:00 pm PT) for the shot put. Howard ranks 29th in the region in the event with a measurement of 51-6.5 (15.71m) that, coincidentally, was set at Myers Stadium at the Texas Relays in late March.

Miller, Wharton and Howard are entered in a trio of events that will only be contested one day, while the remainder must advance out of their first rounds to the quarterfinals over consecutive days.

The top 12 student-athletes from each event will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships next month.