The weather in Fayetteville affected the start of the NCAA West regionals on Wednesday, but that didn’t stop the Washington Huskies from having a productive day in the field.
Javelin thrower Chandler Ault, long jumper Prestin Artis, and pole vaulter Max Manson all qualified for the NCAA finals in early June on the event’s first day, which centered around the men’s field events and preliminary rounds for track events.
Ault was the standout of the day, throwing 251-6 on his very first throw to virtually assure himself a qualification just minutes after the event began. His worst throw, a 236-7 in the third round, still would have been good enough to qualify. The senior, who also won the Pac-12 title in the javelin two weeks ago, qualified at No. 2 overall.
Sophomore Jack Olsen finished the javelin at No. 31, ending his season.
Artis was seeded No. 20 in the long jump, eight places away from the No. 12 seed he needed to advance to the championship rounds in Eugene. But much as he did when he flew to a Pac-12 title in Boulder, Artis shrugged off seeding and shot all the way up to No. 5 in the event to qualify.
The junior’s jump of 25-8 was his outdoor PR and the second-best mark in Husky history, behind a world record-breaking leap from Phil Shinnick in 1963. He’ll now have a chance to better his No. 5 finish from last year’s NCAA championships.
Manson, the Pac-12 silver medalist in the pole vault, separated from the rest of the field with a first attempt clearance of 17-9 1/4, the highest mark he’s hit all season. That proved to be the qualifying height, as four of the remaining sixteen competitors were eliminated. It was a bit of an upset for Manson, who came into the event seeded No. 17 but cleared four of his five jumps for a breezy qualification.
Simon Park, a junior from Eugene, ended his season tied at No. 33 with a jump of 16-7 1/2.
Jayden White thought he would be the first Husky to compete on Wednesday, but the storms in the area pushed the hammer throw from the early morning to the late night. White did not make his first throw until after 1:00 AM local time, finishing at No. 14, less than three feet behind the final qualifier.
On the track, the Huskies impressed once again in the 1500m. Wednesday was just the heats portion of the event, cutting the field from 48 to 24 before the finals on Friday. Three of Washington’s four qualifiers made the cut, with only Ronan McMahon-Staggs missing the time needed to advance.
Nathan Green and Joe Waskom finished with the two fastest times of the day as they cruised to auto qualifications. Green won his heat with a time of 3:39.97, while Waskom ran a season-best 3:40.32 to qualify at No. 2. Luke Houser, who owns back-to-back NCAA titles in the indoor mile, was second in his heat with a time of 3:42.49 to comfortably auto qualify as well.
After a standout performance at the Pac-12 championships, freshman hurdler Jonathan Frazier couldn’t recapture the magic he found in Boulder, finishing No. 26 in 51.65 in the 400m hurdles. Junior Matthew Wilkinson was right behind him, finishing in a season-best 51.67 for No. 27.
But the Huskies had a third hurdler in the mix. Jonathan Birchman was oh-so-close to a Pac-12 title before clipping a late hurdle in Boulder, but he took a solid step towards redemption on Wednesday with a No. 3 finish in his heat to advance to Friday’s final round.
The NCAA West regionals continue Thursday with the women’s field events and track preliminary rounds, with final rounds for track events happening Friday and Saturday.