FAYETVILLE, Ark. -- Thirty-seven student-athletes from The Big West competed across 12 events on the first day of the 2024 NCAA West Preliminaries, Wednesday at Arkansas’s John McDonnell Field.
 
The first day of the West Preliminaries is treated as the first round of the national meet for men’s events. Women’s events will be run on Thursday with the same format. For the track events, the competition was narrowed down to 24 athletes that qualify for Friday’s regional final (national quarterfinal). For the field events, the top 12 earn trips to the national meet in two weeks in Eugene, Ore.
 
The Big West had 11 athletes advance out of the first round and one qualifier to the NCAA Championships.  
 
CSUN junior Trey Knight earned a trip to the national meet in the hammer throw, coming in third with a toss of 71.02m/233’0”. Cal Poly junior Travis Martin (62.58m/205’4”), Cal State Bakersfield junior Javier Toro (62.55m/205’2”), Cal Poly sophomore Rory Devaney (61.07m/200’4”) and Cal State Bakersfield junior Matthew Garrett (56.43m/185’1”) finished 26th, 27th, 33rd and 40th, respectively.
 
Two Mustangs qualified for Friday’s 1500m quarterfinals as sophomore Carson Smith (3:41.41) was fifth in heat three, 13th overall, and senior Davis Bove (3:41.68) was fourth in heat one, 15th overall. Cal Poly had three other competitors in the event with sophomore Lewis Westwood (3:46.79), freshman Chris Caudillo (3:50.71) and junior Spencer Pickren (3:52.40) placing 39th, 47th and 48th overall, respectively.
 
Two Matadors, sophomore James Crawford and junior Chase Mars, advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals in both the 100m and 200m. Crawford was sixth in heat six, 10th overall, with a personal-best time of 10.27 and junior Mars (10.35) was third in heat five, 23rd overall in the 100m. CSUN senior David Phillips, Jr. (10.37) narrowly missed joining them by two places, finishing 26th overall. The Cal State Fullerton contingent of sophomore Abel Jordan (10.38), junior Alonzo Floriolli (10.41), freshman Ian Dossman (10.44) and sophomore Dominic Gates (10.54) were 27th, 30th, 33rd and 40th overall, respectively.
 
Mars finished third in heat four, 13th overall, with a personal-record of 20.67 and Crawford was third in heat one, 14th overall, with a lifetime-best of 20.68 to advance in the 200m. Dossman (20.85), Cal Poly sophomore MacGregor TeSelle (21.10) and Phillip, Jr. (28.39) were 28th, 41st and 47th overall, respectively, in the half-lap race.
 
While Jordan did not advance out of the 100m, the sophomore did qualify for Friday’s 110m hurdles quarterfinals by a third-place finish in heat three, 16th overall, with a personal-best time of 13.65. Long Beach State junior Justin Watterson (13.78), Cal State Fullerton junior Joshua Hornsby (14.05) and UC Irvine senior Drew Pickett (14.17) placed 26th, 35th and 38th overall, respectively.
 
The Big West had two make it into Friday’s 400m hurdles quarterfinals as Long Beach State junior Omri Shiff (51.16) came in second in heat five, 18th overall, and Cal State Fullerton senior Reyte Rash (51.32) was third in heat one, 20th overall. UC Santa Barbara junior Tyler Holl (53.25) finished 45th overall.
 
CSUN senior Chris Pitts advanced out of the 400m, finishing third in heat five, 24th overall, with a 46.23 performance.
 
Long Beach State junior Kash Powell (1:48.65) placed fourth in heat two, 19th overall, in the 800m to advance to Friday.
 
UC Irvine junior Liam Miksic was two spots from qualifying for the national meet in the men’s javelin with a personal-best mark of 68.34m/224’2” for 14th place, 0.55m/1’10” away from the final ticket (68.89m/226’0”). Long Beach State senior Nikolaj Freschlin (67.34m/220’11”) placed 17th. Long Beach State sophomore Conrad Bernstein (63.07m/206’11”) and UC Irvine junior Logan Peyton (53.97m/177’0”) took 30th and 45th, respectively.
 
UC Irvine senior Justin Willingham (18.21m/59’9”), Cal Poly junior Corban Payne (17.90m/58’8.75”), Long Beach State sophomore Aiden Pastorian (17.57m/57’7.75”) and UC Irvine junior Jacob Hawkins (17.51m/57’5.5”) placed 18th, 22nd, 29th and 31st, respectively, in the shot put.
 
UC Santa Barbara junior Eitan Goore tied for 22nd in the pole vault with a clearance of 5.22m/17’1.5”.
 
Cal State Fullerton junior Camren Willis (7.26m/23’10”) and Cal Poly junior Noah Bustos (6.91m/22’8”) placed 38th and 44th in the long jump, respectively.