Iowa State Locks up 34 NCAA Prelims Entries

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State secured 34 entries for NCAA West Prelims, announced by the NCAA Thursday. The number of entries continues to increase season-to-season as ISU had 28 entries in 2023, 23 in 2022 and 21 in 2021.

The men qualified 23 entries in 12 events while the women qualified 11 in eight events. Iowa State has multiple entries in the men's 5,000m (four), men's 1,500m (four), women's 1,500m (three), men's 800m (three), men's shot put, men's 10,000m, men's steeplechase and women's 5,000m.

Four will represent ISU in the men's 5,000m as Said Mechaal, Sanele Masondo, Rodgers Rotich and Silas Winders all hit qualifying times throughout the season. Mechaal clocked 13:34.65, the No. 9 ISU all-time performance, to enter as the No. 8 seed. Masondo is the No. 10 seed (13:36.13), Rotich earned the No. 27 seed (13:46.53) while Winders is the No. 36 seed (13:48.04). All four will make their NCAA regionals debut.

For the women in the 5,000m, Maelle Porcher and Madelynn Hill qualified with their top-10 ranked program performances. First-year Cyclone Porcher is the No. 15 seed with 15:44.25 (No. 4 ISU) and Hill is the No. 40 seed with 16:00.74 (No. 10 ISU).

In the men's 1,500m, the quartet of Ezekiel Rop, Peter Smith, Devan Kipyego and Emanuel Galdino are entered. Rop posted his qualifying time of 3:38.28 (No. 4 seed) to enter NCAA Prelims for the second-straight season after taking home First Team All-America honors in the event in 2023. Smith (3:41.07, No. 10 ISU) and freshman Kipyego (3:41.38) both hit personal bests at Big 12 Championships. The trio swept first through third at conference, a feat accomplished just once before in the event in Big 12 history. Sophomore Galdino earns his second entry in the event, moving on with 3:42.77. Smith will run at West Prelims for the third-straight season, but for the first time in the 1,500m.

Bella Heikes blazed to her first regional-qualifying mark in the 1,500m for the women with 4:17.56, earning the No. 20 seed. Heikes scored at conference with the time as the redshirt sophomore posted the fourth-fastest program performance cutting nearly five seconds off her previous best through the prelim and final. Riley Beach (4:21.07, No. 39 seed) and Ashlyn Keeney (4:21.93, No. 46 seed) also earn their first entry into West Prelims.

The 800m will once again feature many Cyclones, with Darius Kipyego, Finley Mclear and Tyler Carreon all set for regionals. Kipyego opened his season hitting the automatic U.S. Olympic Trials cut with 1:45.76 (No. 4 ISU) to earn the No. 2 seed, also the No. 3 time in the nation. Mclear earned the No. 7 seed (1:46.81, No. 7 ISU) and will make his first appearance in the West region after winning the event at NCAA East Prelims in 2021. Carreon joins the duo as the No. 32 seed after posting an all-time best of 1:48.83.

Sophomore Makayla Clark qualified in the 800m for the second time, hitting her No. 9 seed time of 2:02.48. Clark cut two seconds off her PR set earlier in the season for fourth at Big 12 Championships, while the time ranks second in Iowa State history.

Two shot putters advance to NCAA Prelims, led by three time All-American and Big 12 Champ Cam Jones. Jones broke 20 meters to break the school record with 65-9 1/2 (20.05m) to rank fifth in the nation and ties for the top mark in the region. Blake Veenstra is the No. 47 seed (57-11 3/4, 17.67m).

Sakson is in for the third-straight season in the discus after hitting a PR of 195-8 (59.64m) to move to third in ISU history and compete at regionals as the No. 9 seed. For the women, first-year Cyclone and two-time regional qualifier Betty Rosvold is the No. 27 seed with the No. 2 ISU-ranking mark of 197-11 (54.85m).

In the 10,000m, two men and one woman advance to regionals. Masondo (28:35.16, No. 10 ISU) comes in as the No. 22 seed and Rotich as the No. 28 seed with 28:41.12, while the two are set to double with the 5K. Feyen makes her third trip to regionals in the event as the No. 32 seed (33:51.54).

The steeple will see Gable Sieperda and Quinton Orr race for the men and Janette Schraft for the women. Both Sieperda (8:26.58) and Schraft (9:48.20) hold the school records while Orr ranks at No. 9 (8:44.49). Sieperda is the No. 2 seed, while ranking fourth in the nation with his auto-Olympic Trials qualifying time, while Orr is the No. 18 seed. Schraft ranks sixth in the nation and second in the West region.

Zach Verzani is entered in the hammer, with Verzani taking the No. 33 seed with 211-9 (64.55m), the second-best mark in program history.

Indoor national long jump champ Sydney Willits advances to NCAA Prelims for the second-straight season. Willits moved up to No. 2 in outdoor history at Big 12 Championships, leaping to an outdoor-best 21-3 1/4 (6.48m) to rank 17th in the West region and 25th nationally.

Rachel Joseph improved her 400m regional-qualifying time and her school record with 51.60 at Big 12 Championships for third. Joseph is the No. 10 regional seed and ranks 19th nationally. Fellow sophomore sprinter Mikey McClain will make his first NCAA Prelims appearance, advancing in the 200m with his time of 20.80.

In the hurdles, Sophomores Jack Latham (110m hurdles, 13.85w) and Alec Carr (400m hurdles, 51.56) will continue their seasons. Latham is the No. 39 seed and Carr is the No. 38 seed to make their first-career run at regionals.

Redshirt-freshman Braden Goellner moves on in the high jump as the No. 29 seed after hitting an outdoor-best 6-111/2 (2.12m).

Preliminaries are slated for May 22-25 in Fayetteville, Ark. The top 12 will advance to NCAA Outdoor Championships June 5-8 at Oregon's historic Hayward Field.

Iowa State NCAA West Prelims Qualifiers

High Jump (M): Braden Goellner

Long Jump (W): Sydney Willits

Shot Put (M): Cam Jones, Blake Veenstra

Discus (M): Kevin Sakson

Discus (W): Betty Rosvold

Hammer Throw (M): Zach Verzani

200m (M): Mikey McClain

400m (W): Rachel Joseph

800m (M): Darius Kipyego, Finley Mclear, Tyler Carreon

800m (W): Makayla Clark

1,500m (M): Ezekiel Rop, Peter Smith, Devan Kipyego, Emanuel Galdino