Thirty-two Gophers have earned 35 berths into the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary Championships, the NCAA announced Thursday.

Jonathan Tharaldsen (shot put and discus), Kiley Sabin (shot put and discus), and Amira Young (100 meters and 200 meters) lead the way as qualifiers in two events for the Maroon & Gold. Sabin is making her fourth appearance of her career at the NCAA West Prelim while nine Gopher women are making their NCAA West Prelim debuts. Defending NCAA steeplechase champion and two-time defending Big Ten champion Obsa Ali leads the Minnesota men in his third trip to the NCAA regionals while 10 Gopher men will make their NCAA West Prelim debuts.

Seventeen Gopher women earned 19 berths to the NCAA West Prelim, led by Sabin and Young in two events each. The Minnesota women will compete in 14 different events with two athletes in the 10,000-meter run, 3,000-meter steeplechase, 400-meter hurdles, pole vault, and shot put. Fifteen Gopher men earned 16 berths to the NCAA West Prelim with Tharaldsen representing the Gophers in both the shot put and the discus. The men will compete in nine different events at the NCAA West Preliminary including four runners in the steeplechase and three competitors in the hammer throw.

The East and West preliminary competitions are scheduled for Thursday, May 23 through Saturday, May 25. California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, California, will host the West Preliminary. The top 12 individual competitors and top 12 relay teams from each preliminary round site advance to the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 5-8 in Austin, Texas.