EUGENE, Ore. - Five of the six Hawai'i women's track and field athletes were in action on Day 1 of the NCAA West Regional Championships, Friday, at legendary Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. Sophomore Dana Buchanan, senior Tasha Monroe, and sophomore Kelly Young were the only Rainbow Wahine to advance to Saturday's finals.

Buchanan, a native of Beachburg, Ontario, placed fifth in her 1500m heat and earned the last spot into the finals by finishing in 4:29.53. The top four finishers in the two heats automatically advanced to the finals along with the next four best times. USC's Iryna Vashchuck had the day's best time of 4:25.34.

Monroe also earned the last spot into the finals with a time of 56.25 seconds in the 400m dash. The Markham, Ontario native placed fourth in her heat which featured Olympic gold medalist Monique Henderson of UCLA. Henderson had the day's top time of 52.92.

Young claimed a berth into the 800m finals after finishing the race in 2:06.90, her second fastest time of the season. Her heat featured the three fastest times of the three flights, including Brigham Young's Aneta Lemiesz who took home top honors at 2:05.66. The Lisarow, Ontario native, placed sixth in the same event at last year's West Regionals.

"This is the first time ever that we've had this many advance to the finals," UH head coach Carmyn James said. "Kelly and Tasha have great chances of finishing in the top five of their finals but more importantly they're now in the selection pool for an at-large selection into the national championships. The advantage for Kelly and Tasha is that they'll be well rested while some of their competitors will also be participating on their relays teams."

In other action, sophomore Patricia Gauthier successfully cleared her first two heights in the pole vault. She cleared 3.66m (12-0) in her second attempt and tied her own school-record with a leap of 3.81m (12-6). However she failed to clear 3.96m (12-11.75) and finished in a tie for 11th. Washington's Kate Soma won the event by clearing 4.16m (13-7.75)

In the hammer throw, junior Novelle Murray tossed 54.68m (179-5) on her first attempt but fouled on her final two throws. The Surrey, British Columbia native placed 13th. She will be competing in the discus event on Saturday.

Freshman Meghan Weaver was the lone UH athlete who did not participate on Friday. The three finalists along with Murray (discus) and Weaver (shot put) will compete on Saturday, the final day of competition.

"Novelle has a great chance of being selected to the national championships (in the discus) even though she doesn't place in the top five," James said. "As long as she finishes in the top eight on Saturday she'll be going to NC's based on the fact that she has a high seasonal ranking."

The Rainbow Wahine sent its largest contingent to the NCAA West Regionals with six athletes vying to advance to the NCAA Championships, June 8-11, in Sacramento, Calif.

The competition is one of four held simultaneously around the country. The West Regionals features athletes from schools representing the western states of Arizona, California, Hawai'i, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Utah.

NCAA West Regional Results

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