MADISON, Wis. – NCAA championship season begins for the Wisconsin women's track and field team this weekend as the Badgers will head to Sacramento, California, for the 2019 NCAA West Preliminary Championships. Action begins on Thursday at 2 p.m. CT at Hornet Stadium and the meet concludes on Saturday night.
The top-12 individual finishers from the regional competition in each event will advance to the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, June 5-8, at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Live results will be available
here while fans can also watch all track events on
FloTrack ($). Fans can also follow the action on Twitter (
@BadgerTrackXC).
1. LAST TIME OUT: Sophomore
Alissa Niggemann made UW history at the 2019 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships as she became the first Badger to win a conference title in the steeplechase.
Amy Davis scored 13 points for the Badgers as the runner-up in the 5000 meters and the fourth-place finisher in the 10,000 meters. UW also earned a runner-up finish in the 4x400 relay. Seniors
Ebony McClendon and
Hanna Barton each earned third-place finishes in the 100 meters and discus, respectively.
2. RELAY READY: For the first time since the current regional qualifying system was implemented, the Badgers will have a 4x400 relay squad at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships. The quartet of
Haley Lubow,
Gabby DesRosiers,
Ebony McClendon and
Bianca Stubler enter this weekend ranked No. 16 in the West region with a school-record time of 3:37.41 set en route to a runner-up finish at the Big Ten meet. The group features a pair of runners who made history last year as the Badgers finished 10th in the 4x100 relay at the 2018 NCAA West Preliminary Championships to advance to the NCAA outdoor meet, where the group earned second-team All-America honors with a 16th-place finish.
3. RETURNING TO REGIONALS: The Badgers return several veterans from past NCAA regional meets as a pair of Badgers will make their fourth-straight appearance at the meet in seniors
Banke Oginni and
Shaelyn Sorensen.
Rayce Albino,
Amy Davis and
Ebony McClendon will make their third appearances at the national qualifying meet while
Hanna Barton,
Gabby DesRosiers,
Emma Fitzgerald and
Alissa Niggemann will make their second career appearance at the NCAA West Prelims.
4. SHE'S GOT A GREAT SHOT: Senior
Banke Oginni enters this weekend as the No. 7 ranked shot putter in the West Region after recording a season-best mark of 55 feet, 5 3/4 inches at the Wisconsin Alumni Classic. A five-time second-team All-American, Oginni threw her personal best in the shot put of 56-1 3/4 at last year's NCAA West Preliminary Championships
5. ABOUT THE MEET: This weekend's meet in Sacramento features the top-48 student-athletes from the West Region in each individual event and the top 24 relay teams. The NCAA West Preliminary Championships is held at the same time as the NCAA East Preliminary Championships, which will take place in Jacksonville, Florida. The top-12 finishers from each site will advance to the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas.
