By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            For collegiate track, few meets are more nerve-wracking than the NCAA preliminary rounds that will be held this weekend in Sacramento, Calif., and Jacksonville, Fla.
            "You can run good all year," Baylor coach Michael Ford said, "and then something happens, and you don't get to (the NCAA Championships)."
            At the NCAA West Prelims that begin Wednesday at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif., Baylor's contingent will try to get through two rounds and finish in the top 12 in their respective events to qualify for the NCAA Track and Field Championships next month in Austin.
            "We never talk about what we're going to do in Austin. We're always talking about what we're going to do in Sacramento," Ford said, "because there's no Austin without Sacramento. For myself, it's making sure that I'm telling them the right things to do and just encouraging them, 'You don't have to do anything different . . . if you do what you did to get here, you'll be fine."
            Led by sophomore Chinecherem "ZaZa" Prosper Nnamdi, who's first in the region and fourth nationally in the javelin throw with a season-best toss of 262-5, the Baylor men have nine top-20 marks.
            "I think if you're in the top 20 coming into the meet, to me, those are the ones that usually have the better opportunities to make it," Ford said. "You've just got to execute. We talk about executing and being a big Q (automatic qualifier)."
            In the running events, the top three in each heat and next six fastest times in the first round will advance to the quarterfinals. And then, the top three and next three fastest times in the quarters make it to the semifinals at the NCAA Championships.
            "I don't think there's any pressure," said Demar Francis, whose 20.43-second PR in the 200 meters ranks eighth in the region, "because we've been working. It's kind of the same thing for indoors. You just keep pressing on the gas, keep working toward our goals and stuff. I don't think there's any pressure going into this meet, we should be fine."
            Other than ZaZa and Francis, the Baylor men also have Nathaniel Ezekiel at No. 3 in the 400-meter hurdles (48.52), the 4x400 relay at No. 2 (3:00.61) and 4x100 relay at eighth (39.12). The relay pools for the men include Kamden Jackson, De'montray Callis, Dillon Bedell, Matthew Moorer and Ricquan Graham in the 4x100, with Ezekiel, Hasani Barr and Francis joining Jackson, Bedell and Moorer in the 4x400.
            Ford said he's confident that the men's and women's 4x100 and 4x400 relays can all advance to the semifinals.
            "I'll probably have more gray hairs on Friday and Saturday just on the 4x100s," he said, "just because you could drop the stick. I don't really worry about the 4x400s too much. I think we're better, depth-wise, on the 4x400s. And I think we can run probably 3:03 and still make it on the men's side. And on the ladies' side, we could probably run 3:33, 3:32 and make it. So, I don't really get too worried about that. I just think the 4x1 is probably the event that stresses me more at this track meet."
            Francis said the relay group is pushing each other every day "so that it just comes together when we come to the meet."
            Ford said a potential surprise on the men's side is Jackson, who is ranked 16^th in the 200 meters at 20.53.
            "He's been running really well the last few meets," Ford said. "I think he might be the outlier in the individuals that I didn't expect to go too far. But he's been at nationals, too, his freshman year."
            The best chance on the women's side, other than the relays, is New Mexico transfer Annamaria Kostarellis. She ranks fourth in the region and seventh nationally in the 10,000 meters with a time of 32:13.77.
            Junior Koi Johnson is a threat in the long jump (20-5 ¼) and triple jump (43-0 ½), while Mariah Ayers in the 200 (22.78), Imaobong Uko in the 400 (51.66) and Gontse Morake in the 400 hurdles (57.02) are all ranked 13^th in the region.
            "This one is about beating people and not about you running a good time or winning the race," Uko said. "It's just about you kicking people out, just to be there. Nationals, you wouldn't feel this much pressure because 'Oh, I'm already here.' This one is you trying to get there, beating people to get to that spot. That's why it's different."
            With the two sides alternating days, the men will be spotlighted Wednesday with ZaZa getting it started in the javelin at 3:30 p.m. CT, followed by Cole Hardan and Gary Moore Jr. in the shot put at 8 p.m. and Ben Conacher in the pole vault at 8:30.
            On the track, Elijah Morris will be the first one in action with the 110-meter hurdles at 8 p.m., followed by Kam Jackson in the 100 meters (9 p.m.), Bedell, Barr and Moorer in the 400 (9:25), Ezekiel in the 400 hurdles (10:20) and Francis, Jackson and Callis in the 200 (10:45).
            The meet continues through Saturday with the women's quarterfinals.
            Because the field events only get three attempts (rather than six), it's even more nerve-wracking than the running events, Ford said.
            "That's the part where if you have two fouls going into that last one, you're like, 'Hey, do I go all out? Or, do I just get a mark in?' And maybe that mark's not far enough. So, there is some pressure. You don't want them to be cautious, you want them to go out there and perform well. But I do think they put a little bit more pressure on themselves if they have a couple of fouls."


SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Baylor track and field is set to compete at the west preliminary rounds of the NCAA Championships, beginning Wednesday, May 24, at Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State campus.
  
BU holds five top-12 spots on the men's west regional list, with Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi at No. 1 in the javelin throw, the men's 4x400 mark at No. 2, Nathaniel Ezekiel in the 400-meter hurdles at No. 3, Demar Francis eighth in the 200 meters and the men's 4x100-meter relay at eight.
 
In the women's region list, Annamaria Kostarellis leads at No. 4 in the 10,000 meters, followed by the 4x400 at five and the 4x100 at seven. Mariah Ayers (200m), Imaobong Uko (400m) and Gontse Morake each land in the 13^th spot on the entry list.

The first round will advance the top three runners from each heat and next six best times to the national quarterfinals, where the top three from each heat and next best three punch their ticket to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in Austin, Texas, June 7-10. In the field events, each athlete only gets three attempts before the top 12 finishers advance to Austin.
 
The entire meet, with the exception of the throws events held outside of the stadium, will be streamed on ESPN+. DeltaTiming will be carrying live results online. All links are available here.
 
For the latest news on the Baylor track and field team all year long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorTrack.
 
Baylor NCAA West Schedule (times listed in CT):
Wednesday-
3:30- Javelin (Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi)
8:00- Shot Put (Cole Hardan, Gary Moore Jr.)
8:00- 110m Hurdles (Elijah Morris)
8:30- Pole Vault (Ben Conacher)
9:00- 100m (Kamden Jackson)
9:25- 400m (Dillon Bedell, Hasani Barr, Matthew Moorer)
10:20- 400m Hurdles (Nathaniel Ezekiel)
10:45- 200m (Demar Francis, Kamden Jackson, De'montray Callis)
 
Thursday-
8:00- Shot Put (Makayla Long)
8:00- Long Jump (Koi Johnson)
9:00- 100m (Bria Bullard, Michaela Francois)
9:25- 400m (Imaobong Uko)
10:20- 400m Hurdles (Gontse Morake, Jasmine Gryne)
10:45- 200m (Mariah Ayers, Bria Bullard)
11:10- 10,000m (Annamaria Kostarellis)
 
Friday-
7:00- 4x100m Relay
8:15- 110m Hurdles FINAL
8:35- 100m FINAL
8:50- 400m FINAL
9:25- 400m Hurdles FINAL
9:50- 200m FINAL
10:10- 5,000m (Ryan Day)
10:45- 4x400m Relay
 
Saturday-
3:00- Discus (Makayla Long)
5:30- High Jump (Aïcha Moumin)
7:00- 4x100m Relay
8:00- Triple Jump (Koi Johnson)
8:35- 100m FINAL
8:50- 400m FINAL
9:25- 400m Hurdles FINAL
9:50- 200m FINAL
10:45- 4x400m Relay