Bobcats look to make it to National meet

With 22 events featuring Bobcats, the Texas State track and field team is set to compete and aiming to qualify for the NCAA Championships with the 2023 NCAA West Prelims in Sacramento this Wednesday through Saturday at Hornet Stadium.

Texas State is sending 17 individuals and three relay teams to compete in the 22 events.

The men’s qualifiers compete on Wednesday and Friday while the women are on Thursday and Saturday.

What’s At Stake?

To qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin in two weeks (June 7-10), competitors have to finish in the top 12 of their events at the two prelims (east and west).

For the Texas State men, it is looking to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the third year in a row and 11th time in the last 12 editions (there were no championships in 2020). The last time they qualified in more than one event in year was 2018 (men’s 4x100, shot put).

For the women, they are aiming to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row. Last year, Alyssa Wilson qualified in the discus, shot put and hammer throw.

Where do the Bobcats stand going into Prelims?

On the women’s side, two Bobcats enter with top-10 marks in their events: Anayah Washington and Elisabet Runarsdottir.

Washington registered a long jump of 6.38 meters/ 20-11.25 at the Charles Austin Classic in late March, which is good for 10th-best in the West region going into this weekend.

Runarsdottir is 9th-best in the West region with a personal-best hammer throw of 65.53 meters/ 215-0 – a mark she achieved last weekend at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships. In seven meets this season, she has cleared 60 meters each time and thrown 64+ meters three times.

For the men, Chris Preddie in the long jump and the two relay teams (4x100 and 4x400) are knocking on the door of the top qualifiers. Preddie is 12th in the nation with a season-best mark of 7.87 meters/25-10, which he registered at the Charles Austin Classic in late March. The men’s 4x4 is 16th (3:03.93) while the 4x1 is 20th (39.46). Last year, the 4x1 relay team of Bervensky Pierre, Ashton Callahan, Daniel Harrold and Yancy – the same group competing this year – qualified for the outdoor championships during the Prelims.

The four-day meet will be streamed on ESPN+ and have live results throughout the weekend.