SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara track & field begins postseason competition on Wednesday at the NCAA Championship West Region Preliminary Meet. Alex Scales gets the Broncos started in the men's 800-meter first round at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas. The event begins at 5:50 p.m. PT.

Scales, who will make his postseason debut, is slated to race in the fourth of six heats. The top three runners from each eight-man heat and the next six best times advance to the quarterfinals on Friday.

The San José native Scales qualified with a 1:49.54 at the West Coast Conference Distance Carnival.

The Broncos will have a program record five men's student-athletes race at the meet overall. The other four qualifiers are scheduled to compete on Friday: Jack Davidson at 5,000 meters (6:30 p.m. PT) as well as Zach Litoff, Harvey Chilcott and Christian Raslowsky in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (4:10 p.m. PT).

"I am extremely proud of the team this year," head coach Felipe Montoro said. "To qualify five student-athletes for round one is a big step in the right direction for our program. The guys that qualified are fit, healthy and ready to go. I'm really looking forward to watching them compete against the best."

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP WEST PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

Scales 800m: First Round Wednesday, May 26 5:50 p.m. PT (six heats, eight runners per heat, top three runners from each heat plus next six best times advance to quarterfinals in College Station) | Quarterfinals Friday, May 28 5:35 p.m. PT (three heats, eight runners per heat, top three times per heat plus next three best times advance to finals in Eugene)

Litoff/Chilcott/Raslowsky 3,000m Steeplechase: Quarterfinals Friday, May 28 4:10 p.m. PT (three heats, 16 runners per heat, top three times per heat plus next three best times advance to semifinals in Eugene)

Davidson 5,000m: Semifinals Friday, May 28 6:30 p.m. PT (two heats, 24 runners per heat, top five times per heat plus next two best times advance to finals in Eugene)

BRONCOS IN THE POSTSEASON

Davidson and Litoff return to the second season for the second time while Scales, Chilcott and Raslowsky are set to make their postseason debuts. Scales is the first Bronco to qualify at 800m.

Scales, Davidson and Litoff qualified with program record times in their respective events, while Raslowsky is the third-fastest steepler and Chilcott is the fourth-fastest steepler all-time for the Broncos.

Santa Clara sends multiple runners to the postseason for the third time in program history. Davidson ran at 1,500m amd 5,000m while Litoff ran in the steeple in the last NCAA preliminary meet in 2019; the 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Joey Berriatua competed in the steeple at the 2018 regional meet. Mary Kriege (5,000m, 10,000m) and Grayson Murphy (3,000m steeple, 5,000m) each qualified for a pair of events in 2016. Kevin Oliver (10,000m – 2013) and Michael Delaurenti (3,000m steeple – 2008) also reached the second season for SCU. 

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