The Basics
            The regional round of the NCAA Track and Field Championships is here, and the Shockers are well-represented with 17 athletes slated to compete.
            Action in College Station takes place Wednesday through Saturday. The top 12 from each event will move on to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in June.
            Running events will go through two rounds to decide the top 12 while the field-event athletes will have three attempts to put up a top-12 mark. The high jump will run as it would at any other meet.
 
FOLLOW THE MEET
            Fans can follow along with updates on Twitter @GoShockersTFXC. A full recap of each day will be posted on Twitter, Facebook and GoShockers.com.
            The NCAA West Regional will be streamed on SEC Network+ for all track action.
            Streams start at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. Streaming on Friday and Saturday begins at 5:30 p.m.
            Live results are available through Flash Results.
            Fans can find links to every day of live streaming and live results on the Track and Field Schedule page on GoShockers.com.

Meet Schedule
            The Shockers' schedule is spread out through the four-day event.
            Men's competition days are Wednesday and Friday.
            The men's hammer throw and javelin kick off simultaneously at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Friday's action begins at 1 p.m. with the high jump.
            Women's competition days are Thursday and Saturday.
            The women's javelin starts the day on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Saturday's action begins at 1 p.m. with the women's high jump.
            A full schedule of the meet can be found on GoShockers.com.
 
Last Time Out
            The Shockers last competed at the AAC Outdoor Championships in Tampa and saw success.
            The men's team finished as the meet's runner-up to Houston and the women's team took fourth in the team race.
            Davis Dubbert and Rebekah Topham won the AAC Most Valuable Performer awards, which are given to the male and female who score the most team points.
            Topham used a win in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, a podium finish in the 5,000 meters and an appearance in the 1,500-meter final to win her fourth AAC MVP award.
            Dubbert earned his MVP award with scoring performances in the high jump, javelin and decathlon.
 
Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Steve Rainbolt on the Meet
On the goals and expectations for the West Regional
"The American Athletic Conference Championships in Tampa represents the beginning of the championship season from my perspective. The first round of the NCAA's could be likened to the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament. It's the qualifying rounds of the NCAA Championships, a very significant stage. It's a huge honor to get to compete against the other top athletes in Division I. It's not a team event, so because we care about team track and field, we create a team concept and literally create a form chart based on where the athletes come in the meet. We challenge the team and we combine the men and women. It's a fun challenge. We will literally stop and get milkshakes on the way back if we outperform the form chart. It truly goes through the meet up and down and we try to beat our form chart."
 
On how competing in this meet will help athletes later in their careers
"It's immensely helpful. It helps them moving forward when they get back to this level of competition. It's also good because now when some of these athletes go to the conference meet, they feel like they are among the best in the conference and the country. Its a reinforcing experience to establish that type of mindset."
 
On which athletes might advance to Eugene
"Ethan Kossover is running really well. It wouldn't be a surprise for Rebekah Topham, Michael Bryan, Taran Taylor and Zack Penrod. Everybody else would be outperforming the form chart. Destiny Masters jumped so well in Tampa. It's easy to go to this meet and have such mental focus and belief and it can be intimidating."
 
The First Step to Eugene 
            Only 48 individuals enter the field in each event and an even slimmer number of 12 move onto the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
            Based on how they qualified for the meet, only Michael Bryan and Taran Taylor rank in the top 12 of the West Region, but expect more than just that pair to move on to Oregon.
            Rebekah Topham is an All-American in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and has run under the 10-minute mark already this season.
            Antonio Norman showed at the conference meet he can hang with the nation's best, earning all-conference honors and finishing third in the 110-meter hurdles' final.
            Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Steve Rainbolt said he does not count Zack Penrod out, noting that it is often good racers that can advance, not necessarily the best times.
            Davis Dubbert and Destiny Masters are ranked in the top half of the field in their respective high jump competitions.
            Don't be shocked to see more than a pair of Shockers punch their tickets to the new Hayward Field.
 
A Treat in Tampa
            The Shockers saw tons of success in Tampa at the AAC Championships two weeks ago.
            Wichita State combined for two MVP awards, five conference champions and 19 all-conference performances.
            Rebekah Topham (3,000-meter steeplechase), Ethan Kossover (3,000-meter steeplechase), Taran Taylor (javelin), Davis Dubbert (high jump) and Zack Penrod (800 meters) all took home individual titles.
            Kourtni Hubert impressed in the women's javelin. On her final throw of the competition, she earned all-conference honors with a toss of 47.64m/156-3.
            Michael Bryan was the runner-up in the men's hammer throw. Eventual champion Ryan Davis of ECU broke the meet record in the event.
            Dowdy Elazarig earned all-conference honors with a runner-up finish in the long jump and scored team points in the triple jump.
            The Shockers had five different men score team points in the 1,500 and 800 at the conference meet.
            The Shockers' momentum is heading in the right direction going into the NCAA meets.
 
How the Shockers Stack Up
            Here's a breakdown of where the Shockers are ranked heading into the meet.
            Michael Bryan - Hammer Throw, 7th
            Taran Taylor - Javelin, 10th
            Rebekah Topham - 3,000-Meter Steeplechase, 17th
            Antonio Norman - 110-Meter Hurdles, 21st
            Destiny Masters - High Jump, 23rd
            Davis Dubbert - Javelin, 24th; High Jump 25th
            Brady Palen - High Jump, 36th
            Kourtni Hubert - Javelin, 37th
            Zack Penrod - 1,500 Meters, 37th
            Cory Martens - Hammer Throw, 38th
            Nicole McMillen - 3,000-Meter Steeplechase, 39th
            Dowdy Elazarig - Triple Jump, 40th
            Yazmine Wright - 1,500 Meters, 42nd
            Ethan Kossover - 3,000-Meter Steeplechase, 44th
            Jed Helker - 1,500 Meters, 45th
            Cauy Lindsay - Javelin, 46th
            Jacque Darby - Long Jump, 48th
 
WEATHER REPORT
College Station, Texas
E.B. Cushing Stadium
- Wednesday: PM Thunderstorms; High of 85°; 51% chance of rain; SSE winds at 11 mph
- Thursday: Partly Cloudy; High of 88°; 22% chance of rain; S winds at 11 mph
- Friday: Partly Cloudy; High of 87°; 24% chance of rain; S winds at 8 mph
- Saturday: Isolated Thunderstorms; High of 85°; 31% chance of rain; SSE winds at 8 mph