INDIANAPOLIS – Eight members of the UT Arlington men's and women's track and field teams have qualified for the 2021 NCAA Outdoor West Region Preliminary next week with the opportunity to advance to the national championships.
 
The following Mavericks will be competing in College Station May 26-29:

• Arthur Petersen – Men's Javelin
• Joel Bengtsson – Men's 110m Hurdles
• Medric Roberson – Men's 100m Hurdles
• DaVontay Kennedy – Men's 200m
• Liv Cantby – Women's Javelin
• Shelby West – Women's 400m Hurdles
• Bryson DeBerry – Men's High Jump
• Justin Domangue – Men's 3000m Steeplechase

The top-48 individuals in each event based off season-best times during the outdoor campaign earned a spot in the regional. To advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 9-12, athletes must finish in the top 12. The East Preliminary (which takes place May 26-29 on the campus of North Florida in Jacksonville) will also advance the top-12 finishers to comprise the 24-person field for the national championship events.
 
Petersen – the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Men's Javelin Champion as a freshman – enters the regional with the top throw in the West this year at 77.75m (255-01). That mark is the best in program history, coming at the Texas Relays in March.
 
Bengtsson and Roberson will compete in the 100m hurdles after qualifying with times of 13.87 and 14.10, respectively. Bengtsson's mark came at the Sun Belt Championships when he took bronze. Meanwhile, Roberson was one of the final three participants who got in right on the number thanks to his performance at the Texas Relays.
 
Kennedy was also one of three final qualifiers in the 200m as he advanced into the prelims with a time of 21.08 which came at the UTA Invitational in early April.
 
A bronze medalist in the women's javelin last week at the Sun Belt Championships, freshman Cantby qualified with a throw of 48.64m (159-07) to rank as the 2nd-best in program history.
 
West also used a PR and the 4th-best all-time program mark in the women's 400m hurdles in the Sun Belt Championships to earn a spot in the West Prelims with a time of 59.99. She claimed bronze in the event, with the 3rd-place time moving her into the field; she would not have qualified without that final performance.
 
DeBerry qualified for the men's high jump with a seed mark of 2.14m (7-00 ¼) coming in the outdoor-season-opening event at the TCU Invitational in mid-March. He won silver in the event at the Sun Belt Championships last week with a clearance of 2.13m (6-11 ¾).
 
Domangue secured the program's 2nd-best time in the 3000m steeplechase at 8:52.07 coming as part of the prestigious Drake Relays last month. The senior – who won a team-best three medals at the Sun Belt Championships last week – will be looking to close his decorated career by advancing to nationals.
 
More information about each participant and the finalized schedule and coverage links will be posted on UTAMavs.com early next week.
 
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