By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Declarations, pending medical scratches, were finalized for the 48 athletes in each individual event and 24 schools in both the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays for the May 23-25 regionals at Sacramento State. Here are 10 takeaways from the West entries as a clearer picture has developed for national title contenders for the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships held June 5-8 in Austin, Texas.

WEST ENTRIES

Jones is back, but won’t attempt to track down Hull

Colorado redshirt junior Dani Jones and Oregon senior Jessica Hull both won Pac-12 titles Sunday in Tucson, Ariz., and they will both be competing in Sacramento, just not in the same event.

Jones, the NCAA Division 1 1,500-meter champion in 2017, won’t square off against Hull – last year’s 1,500 winner – instead focusing on the 5,000 after racing only twice this season after returning from injury.

Jones won the NCAA cross country title in November, but has raced the 5,000 only twice in her collegiate career, winning Pac-12 championships in 2017 and again this season. She ran a personal-best 15:54.86 in Tucson, which ranks 16th in the West region.

Jones will need to place among the top 12 in Sacramento to advance to the NCAA Division 1 finals in Austin, Texas.

Hull remains the top seed in the 1,500, not only in the West, but in the country at 4:12.08, nearly a full second ahead of her top challengers. Hull needs to advance among the top 12 in Sacramento to return to nationals, pursuing the first back-to-back titles in the 1,500 since Mississippi State’s Tiffany McWilliams in 2003-04.

No double for McDonald

After winning the NCAA cross country championship in November, along with Division 1 indoor titles in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, Wisconsin senior Morgan McDonald has decided to focus only on the 5,000 outdoors.

Even after winning the 10,000 at the Big Ten Championships in 29:26.06, McDonald would have missed qualifying to compete in Sacramento because he wasn’t among the top 48 athletes following coaching scratches.

McDonald ranks 23rd in the 5,000 at 13:50.92 from the Bryan Clay Invitational in April and will need to qualify among the top 12 athletes in order to advance to the final in Austin.

McDonald is trying to equal the success of former Oregon star Edward Cheserek during the 2015-16 school year by winning the cross country title, the 3,000 and 5,000 indoor championships and 5,000 crown outdoors. Cheserek also added the 10,000 title in the 2016.

Mountain West stars going the distance

Boise State standout Allie Ostrander is no stranger to doubling up in the postseason, but she won’t be the only Mountain West distance standout to do so in Sacramento.

New Mexico, in pursuit of its first podium finish in program history, will have Adva Cohen, Weini Kelati, Ednah Kurgat and Charlotte Prouse all racing in multiple events in Sacramento in an attempt to qualify for nationals.

Despite boasting the fastest 10,000-meter time in the country at 32:06.71 from the Stanford Invitational, Ostrander has decided to focus on defending her title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and pursuing her first championship in the 5,000.

The decision to double has given New Mexico five athletes in the 5,000, with Emily Martin also trying to qualify along with Cohen, Kelati, Kurgat and Prouse. Cohen and Prouse are ranked second and third in the country in the 3,000 steeplechase behind Ostrander.

With Ostrander choosing not to run the 10,000, Kelati and Kurgat are the top two entries in the West, with only Syracuse’s Paige Stoner with a faster time in the East at 32:07.36.

Beamish moves back to 5,000

Northern Arizona redshirt junior Geordie Beamish, the reigning NCAA indoor mile champion, has decided to focus on the 5,000 meters and not compete in the 1,500, despite boasting a season-best 3:39.15.

Beamish ranks fourth among the 5,000 entries in Sacramento with a time of 13:31.58, needing to qualify among the top 12 to advance to Austin.

The last male athlete to win titles in the indoor mile and outdoor 5,000 in the same year was Oregon’s Edward Cheserek in 2015.

Birk has unfinished business in steeplechase

Brigham Young redshirt junior Erica Birk, an All-American in cross country and indoor track, had the potential to be a national championship contender in either the 1,500 or 5,000 meters with personal bests of 4:13.57 and 15:38.12, but the talented mother of 16-month-old son Jack has decided to take on the challenge of trying to qualify in the 3,000 steeplechase, despite racing the event only once during the regular season.

Birk placed 22nd in the 3,000 steeplechase in the 2017 West Regional, clocking 10:42.17. That was her last collegiate race before giving birth to Jack in December 2017.

Birk won the 3,000 steeplechase in April at the Bryan Clay Invitational in a personal-best 9:55.57, which ranks 19th in the world this year, with Boise State’s Allie Ostrander (9:45.66) and New Mexico’s Adva Cohen (9:45.71) and Charlotte Prouse (9:47.73) all ranking in the top eight.

Birk is seeded No. 5 in the region, needing to qualify among the top 12 to advance to the national semifinals in Austin.

Day leads group pursuing daunting pair

Geordie Beamish isn’t the only Northern Arizona athlete entered in the men’s 5,000, as Tyler Day leads four Lumberjacks in the event, along with Luis Grijalva and Brodey Hasty.

Day, the collegiate leader in the 5,000 at 13:25.06, is also among an elite group looking to take on the 5,000 and 10,000 double.

UCLA’s Robert Brandt, Arkansas’ Gilbert Boit, Colorado’s Ryan Forsyth and John Dressel, and Brigham Young’s Conner Mantz and Clayton Young are also attempting to qualify among the top 12 in both events to advance to the national finals in Austin.

Mantz and Young are among nine BYU athletes scheduled to compete in the 10,000, with the Cougars boasting the top four entries all under 28:20, along with Connor McMillan and Rory Linkletter.

Razorbacks demonstrating depth

Arkansas has won three women’s national championships overall, but never swept indoor and outdoor team titles in the same year.

The Razorbacks have entries in every track event besides the 400-meter hurdles and 800 meters, in addition to five athletes in the pole vault, along with potential national qualifier G’Auna Edwards in the long jump.

Arkansas will look to contrast USC’s strength in the sprints, hurdles and relays with Janeek Brown, Payton Chadwick, Kethlin Campbell and Kiara Parker, but boast several other potential contributors in distance events that the Trojans don’t possess.

Carina Viljoen has the opportunity to qualify in the 1,500 and 5,000, Taylor Werner could advance to nationals in the 5,000 and 10,000, with Devin Clark looking to move on in the 3,000 steeplechase, along with Lauren Gregory in the 5,000.

Geist, Otterdahl drop the hammer

North Dakota State senior Payton Otterdahl and Arizona sophomore Jordan Geist will only square off in the discus throw and shot put in Sacramento, both deciding to scratch the hammer throw.

Geist, the collegiate shot put leader at 70-10 (21.59m), will look to build momentum against Otterdahl, the reigning NCAA Division 1 indoor champion.

Otterdahl, who set the collegiate indoor record at 71-6.75 (21.81m), boasts the No. 2 outdoor mark this season at 70-1.50 (21.37m).

Otterdahl is second in the region in the discus throw, with Geist at No. 19. Both athletes need to qualify among the top 12 in order to advance to the national finals in Austin.

Texas Tech senior Eric Kicinski is the top entry in Sacramento in the discus at 208-2 (63.45m).

Kansas junior Gleb Dudarev is the West’s top entry in the hammer throw at 241-1 (74.39m).

Okoronkwo hopes to return to rarefied air

Texas Tech junior Chinne Okoronkwo made history in March at the NCAA Division 1 indoor championships by not only becoming the first female athlete to qualify for the pole vault and triple jump in the same year, but earning All-America honors in both events after a pair of eighth-place finishes.

Okoronkwo is seeded fourth in the triple jump at 44-4.75 (13.53m) and tied for 10th in the pole vault with a 14-2 (4.32m) clearance. She will need to qualify among the top 12 athletes in both events in order to make history again by advancing to Austin to compete in both national finals.

Okoronkwo, who transferred from Wisconsin, missed qualifying in the triple jump by one spot last season in Sacramento. She competed in both events in the 2017 West Regional, but didn’t finish in the top 20 in either competition.

Significant scratches

In addition to athletes dropping one event to focus on another, several elite athletes have been scratched from the regionals all together, resulting in their seasons coming to an early end.

Colorado’s Joe Klecker, who competed twice during April, including a 13:35.95 in the 5,000 at the Bryan Clay Invitational, is not entered in the 5,000 or 10,000.

Iowa senior Reno Tuufuli, who won the discus throw in April at the Drake Relays, didn’t participate at the Big Ten Championships and is not entered in the shot put or discus.

Texas Tech freshman Jequan Hogan, a potential contributor for the Red Raiders in their pursuit of a first national title, was scratched out of the high jump, long jump and triple jump. Hogan placed in the top eight of the high jump and triple jump at the Big 12 Championships.

Abilene Christian senior Kai Schmidt, who captured the Southland Conference title in the shot put, has decided to drop the discus and shot put.