With a Facility Record distance of 74.49 meters (244-4), Tanner won the West Prelim and secured his return to Eugene for the finals of the NCAA hammer throw. Competing in the final flight, Tanner easily recorded a spot in the advancing 12 with an opening mark of 71.40 meters (233’11). He improved that distance to his winning 74.49-metre mark on his next attempt, while becoming the second thrower of the day to break a Facility standard in the hammer that had previously stood for 18 years.
Sophomore Trenton Groff had a strong outing in his first appearance at the NCAA West Prelim, as he closed out the day with a career-best throw of 63.63 meters (208’9) in the javelin. Groff, who recorded that throw – the 14th-best distance in Air Force history – on his first attempt of the competition, was in first after the opening 12-man flight, second after two flights, remained within the top 12 after three and finished 24th overall – 24 spots higher than his seeding.
Senior Jayden Nats also competed in a regional final on Wednesday night, closing out action on the track with a 44th-place time of 30:25.12 in the 10,000-meter run.
Several other members of the men’s squad competed in four opening-round races this afternoon, with sophomore Saketh Rudraraju and senior Jettason Rose tying for the group’s best finish. Rudraraju clocked a time of 3:44.44 to finish 29th in the 1500-meter run, while Rose earned the same placement following a 20.95 finish in the 200-meter dash.
Rose added a 41st-place finish in the 100-meter dash (10.47), while sophomore Asher Jenkins joined him in the 200-meter prelim (44th, 21.62). Junior Dominykas Remeikis (34th, 3:45.42) and senior Ben Scheller (45th, 3:54.57) also competed in the 1500-meter run, while freshman Zachary DeWalt rounded out the Falcons’ prelim lineup with a 48.26 finish (47th) in the 400-meter dash.
Due to a rainstorm that rolled through Fayetteville this evening, the men’s pole vault was delayed until tomorrow (May 28) and is now scheduled to begin at 2:40 pm (CT). The women also open competition on Thursday, competing in three finals (10,000-meter run, pole vault, javelin throw) and two first-round races (800-meter run, 1500-meter).
