LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV track & field team returns to action in the Lone Star State this week for the NCAA West Preliminary at Texas A&M's E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas.
The four-day postseason meet, May 26-29, began Wednesday and runs through Saturday. Men's events are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday, while the women's are slated for Thursday and Saturday.
Additionally, the NCAA East Preliminary is taking place in Jacksonville, Florida, this weekend. Both regional meets serve as the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships, which will be contested in Eugene, Oregon, in two weeks (June 9-12).
Each individual event will consist of 48 competitors, with the top 12 advancing to the NCAA Championships.
The Scarlet & Gray will be represented in a total of nine events by seven individuals and both of its relay teams. The Rebels will compete Thursday in two field events – long jump and pole vault – and the first round of four track events. Saturday will consist of the triple jump and the quarterfinals of five track events, including both relays.
UNLV will have a pair of Mountain West champions competing in three field events, with
Gaby Palmer in the pole vault and
Jonon Young in both the long jump and triple jump. Palmer claimed the MW title with a UNLV-record mark of 13-7.75 (4.16m). Young, on the other hand, won the long jump in a wind-legal personal-best 20-4.25 (6.20m) and the triple jump in 42-10.75 (13.07m).
Cassondra Hall will lead the track squad into the heart of Texas, running in the 100m and 200m as well as the 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay.
Kaysha Love and
Tianna Randle are also entered in the 100m, and both are also members of the 4x100m relay. Teammate
DeAndra Greer rounds out the 4x100m relay quartet.
Avi'Tal Wilson-Perteete will also pull double duty, as she's running in the 800m and the 4x400m relay, alongside Hall, Amari Prude and
Taylor Shorter.
Rounding out the track entrants will be
Jazlynn Shearer in the 100m hurdles.
WEST PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE
-Thursday, May 27: First Round Long Jump & Pole Vault (3:00 pm CT), 100m Hurdles (6:00 pm CT), 100m (7:00 pm CT), 800m (7:50 pm) and 200m (8:45 pm)
-Saturday, May 29: First Round Triple Jump (3:15 pm CT); Quarterfinals 4x100m Relay (5:30 pm CT), 100m Hurdles (6:45 pm), 100m (7:05 pm CT), 800m (7:35 pm CT), 200m (8:10 pm CT) and 4x400m Relay (9:15 pm CT)
IN THE WEST REGION RANKINGS
-Hall sits 11th in the 100m (11.27) and 13th in the 200m (23.03)
-Love sits 22nd in the triple jump (43-3.25/13.19m) and 25th in the long jump (20-8/6.30m)
-Randle and Love sit 23rd (11.38) and 52nd (11.59) in the 100m, respectively
-Wilson-Perteete sits 12th in the 800m (2:04.44)
-Shearer sits 37th in the 100m hurdles (13.42)
-The 4x100m Relay sits 10th (43.91), while the 4x400m relay is 23rd (3:36.25)
-Palmer sits 23rd in the pole vault (13-7.75/4.16m)
