Saturday, May 27
Sacramento, CA
All Day
University of Washington
vs
NCAA West Preliminaries
Four More Tickets Brings NCAA Total To Twenty
May 27, 2023 | Track & Field
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Husky track and field squad will have its largest group ever traveling to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, within the current qualifying format. Twenty total Huskies are bound for Austin, Texas to try and rustle up as many team points as possible in the final meet of the season from June 7-10.
On the final day at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium, the women's team added four more qualifiers to bring their total advancing athletes to seven, while the men finished on Friday with 13 qualifiers. Washington's previous best in the current format, which dates back to 2010, was 16 qualifiers both last season and in 2016.
The women went four-for-four in punching tickets today on the track, as Anna Gibson and Sophie O'Sullivan both made it in the 1,500-meters, Kayley DeLay qualified in the steeplechase, and Carley Thomas rounded out the squad by advancing through in the 800-meters.
O'Sullivan's run was a stunner, as she shattered the Washington School Record, winning her quarterfinal heat in 4:08.06. That was a NCAA Prelims record for either region, and also ranks O'Sullivan as the 11th-fastest runner in collegiate history.
Just a few weeks ago O'Sullivan's 1,500-meters PR was 4:17.46, which she ran at the Payton Jordan Invite on Apr. 22. She then went to the Pac-12 Championships and ran 4:16.29 in the prelims, then cut four seconds off that PR in the Pac-12 finals, going 4:12.19 for fourth. She had another 4:17 time two days ago to win the first round before amazingly cutting another four seconds off her career-best in today's quarterfinal.
No Husky had ever broken the 4:10 mark before. Katie Follett had held the School Record for 13 years, since she ran 4:10.66 during the 2010 season. O'Sullivan broke that by more than two-and-a-half seconds.
It will be O'Sullivan's first individual NCAA Championship appearance. She ran on the DMR indoors.
Joining her will be Gibson, who made it back to the final site in the 1,500-meters for the second year in a row with a stellar effort in an extremely strong first quarterfinal heat. Gibson stayed in the middle of the pack and never lost touch with the leaders, picking off runners on the last lap as she surged into the required top-five. She crossed in 4:12.71 for fourth and will be back in the semis in two weeks.
In the steeplechase quarters, DeLay was seeking a top-three finish to auto-advance. She went straight to the lead to set a quick pace. One runner took over the lead with about a mile left, but DeLay kept managing the barriers and maintained a gap over the rest of the field. She finished second in her heat in a season-best 9:45.72.
The 800-meters quarterfinal saw Thomas earn a second-straight trip to NCAAs. The first lap of her race went out slow, putting a premium on getting a top-three finish and keeping all the runners in the mix. But Thomas handled the pressure and asserted herself over the final 250-meters to lock up a second-place finish in 2:05.09.
The first event of the day was the women's discus, where three Dawgs were all in the first of three flights. MaKayla Kelby had a mark of 173-11 which was second overall in flight one, and it wound up being 16th overall, when Kelby was only ranked 34th coming in. Beatrice Asomaning finished 26th with a throw of 167-10, and Kaia Tupu-South, who set the School Record two days prior in the shot put, was 29th with a throw of 166-5.
Washington Results – NCAA West Preliminaries
Sacramento, Calif. | Hornet Stadium
Day 4 of 4 (Women's Events)
Women's 800m, Quarterfinals
Heat 3 of 3: 2. Carley Thomas, 2:05.09Q (ADVANCES TO NCAAS)
Women's 1,500m, Quarterfinals
Heat 1 of 2: 4. Anna Gibson, 4:12.71Q (ADVANCES TO NCAAS)
Heat 2 of 2: 1. Sophie O'Sullivan, 4:08.06Q (ADVANCES TO NCAAS)
Women's 3,000m Steeplechase, Quarterfinals
Heat 2 of 3: 2. Kayley DeLay, 9:45.72Q (ADVANCES TO NCAAS)
Women's Discus (top-12 to NCAAs): 16. MaKayla Kelby, 173-11; 26. Beatrice Asomaning, 167-10; 29. Kaia Tupu-South, 166-5
Huskies Advancing to NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas
Men (13)
Chandler Ault, Men's Javelin
Jonathan Birchman, Men's 400m Hurdles
Cass Elliott, Men's 400m Hurdles
Sam Ellis, Men's 800-meters
Jacob Englar, Men's Pole Vault
Brian Fay, Men's 5,000-meters
Nathan Green, Men's 1,500-meters
Luke Houser, Men's 1,500-meters
Elijah Mason, Men's Discus
Ed Trippas, Men's Steeplechase
Joe Waskom, Men's 1,500-meters
Jayden White, Men's Hammer
Ollie Thorner, Men's Decathlon (advances without Prelim competition)
Women (7)
Sara Borton, Women's Pole Vault
Nastassja Campbell, Women's Pole Vault
Kayley DeLay, Women's Steeplechase
Anna Gibson, Women's 1,500-meters
Sophie O'Sullivan, Women's 1,500-meters
Carley Thomas, Women's 800-meters
Ida Eikeng, Women's Heptathlon (advances without Prelim competition)
On the final day at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium, the women's team added four more qualifiers to bring their total advancing athletes to seven, while the men finished on Friday with 13 qualifiers. Washington's previous best in the current format, which dates back to 2010, was 16 qualifiers both last season and in 2016.
The women went four-for-four in punching tickets today on the track, as Anna Gibson and Sophie O'Sullivan both made it in the 1,500-meters, Kayley DeLay qualified in the steeplechase, and Carley Thomas rounded out the squad by advancing through in the 800-meters.
O'Sullivan's run was a stunner, as she shattered the Washington School Record, winning her quarterfinal heat in 4:08.06. That was a NCAA Prelims record for either region, and also ranks O'Sullivan as the 11th-fastest runner in collegiate history.
Just a few weeks ago O'Sullivan's 1,500-meters PR was 4:17.46, which she ran at the Payton Jordan Invite on Apr. 22. She then went to the Pac-12 Championships and ran 4:16.29 in the prelims, then cut four seconds off that PR in the Pac-12 finals, going 4:12.19 for fourth. She had another 4:17 time two days ago to win the first round before amazingly cutting another four seconds off her career-best in today's quarterfinal.
4?:0?8?.0?6? ??????
— Washington Track & Field (@UWTrack) May 28, 2023
SOPHIE, WHAT??!?!
Sophie O'Sullivan just destroyed the ???????????? ???????????? with an NCAA-leading time that puts her #?1?1? in »NCAA HISTORY«
Oh and she's headed to Austin! ??#GoHuskies x #NCAATF | ?? ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/iDg0k4tbm5
No Husky had ever broken the 4:10 mark before. Katie Follett had held the School Record for 13 years, since she ran 4:10.66 during the 2010 season. O'Sullivan broke that by more than two-and-a-half seconds.
It will be O'Sullivan's first individual NCAA Championship appearance. She ran on the DMR indoors.
Joining her will be Gibson, who made it back to the final site in the 1,500-meters for the second year in a row with a stellar effort in an extremely strong first quarterfinal heat. Gibson stayed in the middle of the pack and never lost touch with the leaders, picking off runners on the last lap as she surged into the required top-five. She crossed in 4:12.71 for fourth and will be back in the semis in two weeks.
In the steeplechase quarters, DeLay was seeking a top-three finish to auto-advance. She went straight to the lead to set a quick pace. One runner took over the lead with about a mile left, but DeLay kept managing the barriers and maintained a gap over the rest of the field. She finished second in her heat in a season-best 9:45.72.
The 800-meters quarterfinal saw Thomas earn a second-straight trip to NCAAs. The first lap of her race went out slow, putting a premium on getting a top-three finish and keeping all the runners in the mix. But Thomas handled the pressure and asserted herself over the final 250-meters to lock up a second-place finish in 2:05.09.
The first event of the day was the women's discus, where three Dawgs were all in the first of three flights. MaKayla Kelby had a mark of 173-11 which was second overall in flight one, and it wound up being 16th overall, when Kelby was only ranked 34th coming in. Beatrice Asomaning finished 26th with a throw of 167-10, and Kaia Tupu-South, who set the School Record two days prior in the shot put, was 29th with a throw of 166-5.
Washington Results – NCAA West Preliminaries
Sacramento, Calif. | Hornet Stadium
Day 4 of 4 (Women's Events)
Women's 800m, Quarterfinals
Heat 3 of 3: 2. Carley Thomas, 2:05.09Q (ADVANCES TO NCAAS)
Women's 1,500m, Quarterfinals
Heat 1 of 2: 4. Anna Gibson, 4:12.71Q (ADVANCES TO NCAAS)
Heat 2 of 2: 1. Sophie O'Sullivan, 4:08.06Q (ADVANCES TO NCAAS)
Women's 3,000m Steeplechase, Quarterfinals
Heat 2 of 3: 2. Kayley DeLay, 9:45.72Q (ADVANCES TO NCAAS)
Women's Discus (top-12 to NCAAs): 16. MaKayla Kelby, 173-11; 26. Beatrice Asomaning, 167-10; 29. Kaia Tupu-South, 166-5
Huskies Advancing to NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas
Men (13)
Chandler Ault, Men's Javelin
Jonathan Birchman, Men's 400m Hurdles
Cass Elliott, Men's 400m Hurdles
Sam Ellis, Men's 800-meters
Jacob Englar, Men's Pole Vault
Brian Fay, Men's 5,000-meters
Nathan Green, Men's 1,500-meters
Luke Houser, Men's 1,500-meters
Elijah Mason, Men's Discus
Ed Trippas, Men's Steeplechase
Joe Waskom, Men's 1,500-meters
Jayden White, Men's Hammer
Ollie Thorner, Men's Decathlon (advances without Prelim competition)
Women (7)
Sara Borton, Women's Pole Vault
Nastassja Campbell, Women's Pole Vault
Kayley DeLay, Women's Steeplechase
Anna Gibson, Women's 1,500-meters
Sophie O'Sullivan, Women's 1,500-meters
Carley Thomas, Women's 800-meters
Ida Eikeng, Women's Heptathlon (advances without Prelim competition)
Players Mentioned
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Mid-Dist
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Dist
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Thr
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Thr
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Mid-Dist
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Mid-Dist
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Multis
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