The NCAA West Preliminary runs Thursday through Saturday at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence. The event will include track and field athletes from the 121 Division I schools west of the Mississippi River who rank top 48 in their respective events. The top 12 athletes and relays advance to the NCAA Championships on June 8-11 in Eugene, Oregon.
Here are five things to watch for:
A pair of local steeplechase runners should be a main attraction starting at 8:50 p.m. Friday. New Mexico’s Courtney Frerichs — a Nixa, Mo., native and former UMKC runner — has the top time in the region by more than 18 seconds and also is a 2016 Olympics hopeful.