The NCAA preliminary entries were released yesterday, revealing who will be competing in the NCAA east preliminaries and NCAA west preliminaries to earn spots at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. With 12 qualifying spots available in each event, the competition is stiff all around and reveals some major storylines heading into the post-season.
 

East Prelims

Emily Sisson and Kate Avery Are 5K Only

Both runners blew the lid off the 10K at the Payton Jordan Invitational where Sisson clocked a personal best of 31:38 and Avery followed close behind in 31:41, both crushing the IAAF “A” standard mark of 32:00. But interestingly enough, Sisson and Avery are both opting to focus solely on the 5K at the NCAA East Preliminaries. 

 

Both runners have top marks in the distance, Sisson with a 15:40 from her win at the Big East Conference Championships and Avery with a 15:25 personal best from the Stanford Invitational. And both, especially 2015 NCAA Indoor champ Sisson, will be NCAA title contenders in the 5K distance, but it is interesting that the two runners opted to scratch from the distance where they are currently ranked in the top 11 in the world. With such world class marks, Sisson and Avery are more than likely waiting until the national championships to make world championship squads for their respective countries. 

 

With a chance to compete for Team USA and Great Britain in the 10K, Sisson and Avery will more than likely use this final opportunity to throw down in the 5K wearing an NCAA uniform.
 

West Prelims

The Triple Threat of Jenna Prandini

Jenna Prandini after winning the 100m at the Mt. SAC Relays in April. 

Jenna Prandini is again entered in her three specialties, the 100m, 200m and long jump. After withdrawing from the Pac-12 Outdoor Championships last week, many were worried about the Oregon women’s chances at a team title without the reigning conference champion, but the Ducks prevailed with the conference win over Southern California despite missing their triple threat. It turned out that the NCAA Champion was suffering from an illness and her coaches didn’t want to push her over the edge for fear of making Prandini feel worse later on in the season. 

Prandini will return to competition at west regionals as the top seed in the country in the 100m after a standout performance at Mt. SAC Relays where she took down the competition in a then-world leading time of 10.92. The mark now stands as the No. 2 fastest time in the world. Her 200m performance from the same meet earned her a personal best of 22.42 and the No. 2 college time in the country, and her long jump mark of 6.41m is currently No. 11 on the descending order list. 

 

Prandini is the only athlete entered in all three events at the NCAA preliminaries and if she is healthy, could lead Oregon once again to a podium finish at the NCAA Championships.
 

Don’t Sleep on Natalja Piliusina

Natalja Piliusina on her way to winning the 2013 NCAA Outdoor 1500m final. 

It’s been two years since the Oklahoma State senior won an NCAA 1500m title, but the Lithuanian has finally made her way back to the track after a year of injuries. As many remember, Piliusina pulled away from the field in the 2013 NCAA 1500m final with a finishing time of 4:13 after coming back from eighth-place entering the final turn at Hayward Field. That same season, Piliusina ran the top 1500m time in the NCAA with a 4:09 at Payton Jordan, just 0.06 seconds away from her personal best from 2012. That same season she also broke the OSU school record in the 800m with a time of 2:01.59. 

 

However, 2014 proved to be a struggle for Piliusina who didn’t compete in cross country or track because of injury. After coming back from a tough year, the senior has clocked a season’s best of 2:01.93 in the 800m and 4:19.77 in the 1500m. She is only entered to compete in the 1500m at the NCAA West Preliminaries, but her 4:09 PR and 2:01 800m speed should make competitors aware that the 2013 NCAA Champion is back.
 

10K, 5K Double For Dominique Scott and Emma Bates 

Dominique Scott on her way to an NCAA Indoor 3K title. 

Both Dominique Scott and Emma Bates are scheduled to toe the line in both the 10K and 5K at the NCAA West Preliminaries, which should make for a very interesting NCAA final. In an incredibly difficult double, Scott and Bates will have to find a way to make it successfully through rounds over just two days time. But the two NCAA Champions are more ready than ever after clocking the third (Bates) and fourth (Scott) fastest 5K marks and the third (Scott) and fourth (Bates) fastest 10K marks this season. Scott currently holds the faster 10K mark by just two seconds at 32:11 from the Stanford Invite, and Bates’ 15:32.46 from Stanford is just .09 seconds faster than Scott’s performance from Payton Jordan. 

Congrats to Emma Bates & David Elliott on earning #MWOTF weekly honors: http://t.co/mSSsfBD1Zs pic.twitter.com/E7zf2qMXY5

— Boise State T&F (@BroncoSportsTF) April 7, 2015

With season’s bests so close in contention and final college track seasons on the line, Scott and Bates have nothing to lose and everything to gain heading into the NCAA West preliminaries. 
 

Shelby Houlihan Going For 1500m, 5K Double

For the first time ever, Shelby Houlihan will be competing in both the 1500m and 5K at the NCAA West Preliminaries. The 2014 NCAA 1500m champion is returning from defending both her 1500m and 5K title at the Pac-12 Outdoor Championships. The 1500m was won in dominating style as the Arizona State senior took the pace out from the gun and closed for a finishing time of 4:11, breaking the conference meet record and running just one second off of her personal best in the event. She returned just a couple hours later to take her second conference title in the 5K, running a personal best of 15:58 with ease and sailing into the regional qualifying zone. 

No surprise here, Shelby Houlihan named Pac-12 Track Athlete of the Year. #SunDevilPride pic.twitter.com/qEaDzjuWwL

— Sun Devil Athletics (@TheSunDevils) May 20, 2015

Even though Houlihan’s 5K personal best is nowhere near as fast compared to her 1500m and 800m marks, Houlihan has shown time and time again on the cross country course that she has serious strength in the longer distances. Knowing how dangerous her range can be, all eyes will be on Houlihan to see this double.