EUGENE -- Senior Richard Nelson advanced in the preliminaries of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for BYU on Wednesday.

Nelson finished 10th with a time of 8:44.39 to advance to the finals on Friday.

"He learned a lot from running last year," said BYU men's track and field coach Mark Robison. "He didn't try to win it but did just enough to qualify for Friday."

Nelson highlighted a down day for the Cougars on both the men's and women's side. Junior Leif Arrhenius participated in the first of two events the thrower will compete in this weekend, beginning with the discus. Arrhenius fouled on his attempts in the final. Also for the men, Ryan Waite finished the 800 meters in 1:51.29, good for 21st in a field where only the top eight advanced to the finals.

"It just wasn't the best," Robison said. "We were just off a bit all day."

In the women's 800-meter race, BYU's trio of Angela Wagner, Nachelle Stewart and Lacey Cramer all came up short in qualifying for the event finals. Wagner placed 10th at 2:06.33, finishing two spots away from an invite to the finals. Stewart finished 18th at 2:09.45 while Cramer ran in a time of 2:15.92 and a 24th finish.

Ada Robinson was the only other Cougar competing on Wednesday; the sophomore failed to reach the opening height of 1.72 meters.

BYU still has athletes left to compete, including tomorrow's competition that will include Mindy McClurkin in the 200-meter preliminary, Chris Little in the pole vault final, and the Cougar trio of Chris Reno, Sean Richardson and Blaine Baker in the javelin finals.

Men's Event Schedule
Name              Event         Place              Mark
Leif Arrhenius    Discus        N/A                N/A
Ryan Waite        800 Meters    21st               1:51.29
*Richard Nelson   Steeplechase  10th               8:44.39
Name              Event         Prelims            Final
Chris Little      Pole Vault    N/A                Thurs., 4 p.m.
Sean Richardson   Javelin       N/A                Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Blaine Baker      Javelin       N/A                Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Chris Reno        Javelin       N/A                Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Oliver Whaley     Hammer        N/A                Fri., 3:30 p.m.
Leif Arrhenius    Shot Put      N/A                Sat., 9:40 a.m.
Women's Event Schedule
Name              Event         Place              Mark
Angela Wagner     800 Meters    10th               2:06.33
Nachelle Stewart  800 Meters    18th               2:09.45
Lacey Cramer      800 Meters    24th               2:15.92
Ada Robinson      High Jump     N/A                NH
Name              Event         Prelims            Final
Mindy McClurkin   200 Meters    Thurs., 4:30 p.m.  Sat., 10:41 a.m.
Kari Clark        Pole Vault    N/A                Fri., 4 p.m.
Mindy McClurkin   Long Jump     N/A                Sat., 9:30 a.m.
*Qualified for event finals

EUGENE -- The BYU men’s and women’s track and field teams open competition at the 2010 NCAA Championships today in Eugene, Ore. Eight men will compete in nine events while six women will compete in seven events with hopes of claiming All-America and National Champion status.

On the men’s side Leif Arrhenius placed sixth in the West Preliminary in both the shot put and discus. He will compete in the discus final on Wednesday at 2 p.m. PT and in the shot put final finals on Saturday at 9:40 a.m. Arrhenius was the Mountain West Conference champion in the discus and took second in the shot put.

BYU qualified a trio of javelin throwers in Sean Richardson, Blaine Baker and Chris Reno. Their final is scheduled for Thursday at 5:15 p.m. Rounding out the throwers is Oliver Whaley, who will compete in the hammer throw on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Richardson, Baker and Reno finished 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively at the West Preliminary. Reno won the javelin at the MWC championships while Richardson took second. Whaley took second in the hammer at the MWC championships.

Chris Little will represent the Cougars in the pole vault final on Thursday at 4 p.m. He was seventh at the West Preliminary. Little was the 2010 MWC champion in the pole vault.

Competing in preliminaries for the men are Ryan Waite in the 800 meters and Richard Nelson in the 3000 meter steeplechase. The 800 meter preliminary will be held Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. with the top 12 advancing to the final on Friday at 5:40 p.m. The steeplechase preliminary will be on Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. with the final on Friday at 6 p.m.

Waite was one of the top runners in the West Preliminary, taking fourth in the 800 meters. Nelson established himself as a potential favorite at nationals, taking first in the steeplechase at the West Preliminary. Both were MWC champions in their respective events.

Mindy McClurkin will compete in two events to lead the women. She opens with the 200 meter preliminary on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Should she qualify for the final, she will compete within an hour after competing in the long jump, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The 200 meter final is schedule for the 10:41 a.m. the same day.

At the West Preliminary McClurkin took second in the long jump and eight in the 200 meters. She was the MWC champion in both the long jump and the 200 meters.

Lacey Cramer, Nachelle Stewart and Angela Wagner compete in the 800 meter preliminary on Wednesday at 4:45 p.m. The final is scheduled for Friday at 5:50 p.m. Stewart was the top qualifier out of the West Preliminary while Cramer was fifth and Wagner 11th. The trio swept the top three spots in the MWC championships with Cramer taking first, Wagner second and Stewart third.

Cramer is a three-time All-American and one-time national champion in the event. In 2009 she was the indoor champion and an outdoor All-American with a fourth-place finish. This season she finished second in the indoor championships to earn All-America honors.

Ada Robinson will be BYU’s first competitor in a 2010 women’s final as she is scheduled to compete in the high jump on Wednesday at 4:45 p.m. She finished 12th in the West Preliminary. Kari Clark will compete in the pole vault final on Friday at 4 p.m. Clark took fourth coming out of the West Preliminary. Robinson and Clark were MWC champs in their respective events.

CLICK HERE for more information at NCAA.com.

Men's Event Schedule
Name              Event         Prelims            Final
Leif Arrhenius    Discus        N/A                Wed., 2 p.m.
Ryan Waite        800 Meters    Wed., 4:30 p.m.    Fri., 5:40 p.m.
Richard Nelson    Steeplechase  Wed., 6:15 p.m.    Fri., 6 p.m.
Chris Little      Pole Vault    N/A                Thurs., 4 p.m.
Sean Richardson   Javelin       N/A                Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Blaine Baker      Javelin       N/A                Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Chris Reno        Javelin       N/A                Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Oliver Whaley     Hammer        N/A                Fri., 3:30 p.m.
Leif Arrhenius    Shot Put      N/A                Sat., 9:40 a.m.
Women's Event Schedule
Name              Event         Prelims            Final
Ada Robinson      High Jump     N/A                Wed., 4:45 p.m.
Lacey Cramer      800 Meters    Wed., 4:45 p.m.    Fri., 5:50 p.m.
Nachelle Stewart  800 Meters    Wed., 4:45 p.m.    Fri., 5:50 p.m.
Angela Wagner     800 Meters    Wed., 4:45 p.m.    Fri., 5:50 p.m.
Mindy McClurkin   200 Meters    Thurs., 4:30 p.m.  Sat., 10:41 a.m.
Kari Clark        Pole Vault    N/A                Fri., 4 p.m.
Mindy McClurkin   Long Jump     N/A                Sat., 9:30 a.m.