Rogers produces top throw in West Regional history to set facility record, Forbes follows appearances at Division 1 Indoor Nationals and cross country finals in March by leading all qualifiers in 10,000 meters; Moton advances in both shot put and javelin, collegiate leader Campbell doesn’t qualify in pole vault

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Grace Forbes and Camryn Rogers provide a contrast in championship activity this year, but both continued their dominance Thursday at the NCAA Division 1 West Regional at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas.

Forbes, competing in her first outdoor season for Rice, qualified for her third national championship meet in less than three months – following All-America performances in March at the Division 1 Indoor Championships and cross country final – by winning the 10,000 meters at the regional in 33 minutes, 28.47 seconds.

Rogers, the defending NCAA champion in the women’s hammer throw representing Cal, has seen her reign surpass 700 days, and now the Canadian standout will finally have an opportunity to capture another championship after producing the best throw in West Regional history with a facility-record performance of 236 feet, 9 inches (72.16m) to lead five Pac-12 competitors into the national final.

Rogers eclipsed the facility mark of 220-4 (67.17m) achieved May 14 by LSU freshman Emma Robbins at the SEC Outdoor Championships.

She’ll be joined by UCLA’s Alyssa Wilson, USC’s Joy McArthur and Arizona State teammates Beatrice Llano and Shelby Moran on June 10 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., where she produced a personal-best 239-9 (73.09m) on April 17 at the West Coast Classic.

Kansas State’s Shaelyn Ward secured the final qualifying spot in the hammer by throwing 201-10 (61.52m).

All 12 qualifiers in the 10,000 were separated by less than 30 seconds, with Northern Arizona’s Jessa Hanson clocking 33:56.97 to earn the final berth to Oregon. Carmela Cardama Baez, the 2019 runner-up,  will return to compete in the final for the host Ducks after clocking 33:30.36.

Air Force’s Maria Mettler, who ran 32:09.37 in December at the Sound Running Track Meet, qualified for nationals in only her second race since then after recovering from injury, running 33:43.43 to finish seventh.

North Dakota State’s Akealy Moton qualified for nationals in both the javelin and shot put.

Moton led all qualifiers in the javelin with a personal-best 179-1 (54.58m) on her second throw.

Oregon’s Lauri Paredes and Arizona State’s Alizee Minard also surpassed the 54-meter mark. Paredes produced a throw of 177-8 (54.17m) and Minard achieved a 177-5 (54.09m) performance.

The final qualifying spot was secured by Loyola (Illinois) junior Ilhame Tamrouti with a throw of 166-6 (50.74m).

Iowa bookended the athletes advancing to nationals in the women’s shot put, with Laulauga Tausaga taking the top spot at 58-11.50 (17.97m) and freshman Kat Moody earning the last spot at 54-7.50 (16.65m).

Arizona’s Samantha Noennig, the reigning Division 1 outdoor champion, and Moton both qualified at 58-8.75 (17.90m), with Arizona State’s Jorinde van Klinken – who achieved a 230-4 (70.22m) performance Saturday in the discus for the best throw ever by a collegiate athlete – advancing with a mark of 57-11.75 (17.67m).

Several of the country’s top long jumpers provided a preview of an exciting national championship with wind-aided performances throughout the event.

Texas A&M’s Tyra Gittens was the top qualifier with a wind-aided 22-9.75 (6.95m), with collegiate record holder Tara Davis of Texas producing a wind-aided 22-6.25 (6.86m) performance and Oregon freshman Alysah Hickey jumping an all-conditions best 22-4.25 (6.81m).

Baylor’s Alex Madlock was the 12th qualifier with a wind-aided 20-11.75 (6.39m) effort.

The women’s pole vault had eight athletes clear 14 feet (4.27m), with another four qualifiers making 13-8.25 (4.17m) on the first or second attempt.

Nastassja Campbell of Arkansas, the collegiate leader at 14-10.75 (4.54m), did not advance after only achieving a 13-4.25 (4.07m) clearance.

Oregon’s Kemba Nelson ran a wind-aided 10.91 in the 100, with USC’s Twanisha “Tee Tee” Terry clocking a wind-legal 10.99.

Brigham Young’s Anna Camp-Bennett set a facility record by running 2:02.83 in the 800, eclipsing the May 15 mark of 2:02.94 achieved by Georgia’s Amber Tanner at the SEC Championships.