3 UH athletes earn berths in the NCAA Track and Field Championships

Reach one goal. Set another.

The progression of University of Hawaii sophomore Karen Bulger and freshmen Alexis Brenzil and Lily Lowe this season sent them to the preliminary round of the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships.

The regional berth was gratifying for each, but another destination beckoned as they departed for Austin, Texas, this week.

“Getting to (the Big West championship) was a big goal in itself, and then getting to Texas is even bigger. So hopefully we can get to Oregon next,” Brenzil said.

Brenzil and Bulger open competition in the javelin at the NCAA West Preliminary Round on Thursday at the University of Texas’ Mike A. Meyers Stadium. Lowe takes her turn in the high jump on Friday.

The top 48 competitors west of the Mississippi qualified for the Austin preliminary. The top 12 in each event advance to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships set for June 7-10 in Eugene, Ore.

“I think for all three of them it’s definitely doable,” UH coach Carmyn James said. “What they’re ranked going in really doesn’t matter. It all boils down to how they compose themselves and stay focused on the day.”

A year after placing 33rd in the javelin as a freshman, Bulger is the senior member among UH’s qualifiers. But James is confident the newcomers will adapt to the magnitude of the meet.

“I refer to them as the fearless freshmen. Nothing seems to overwhelm them or intimidate them,” said James, in her 16th year leading the Rainbow Wahine.

Even so, James said Brenzil’s berth in the javelin was a bit of a surprise considering she had spread her focus among seven events in the heptathlon and is two years removed from Tommy John surgery.

Brenzil said she tore a ligament in her elbow during a throw in her junior year at Welland Centennial Secondary School in Ontario, Canada.

“I was at an invitational and I heard this gunshot noise as soon as I released it. I was, ‘Oh, no, that’s not good,’” Brenzil said. “I saw a surgeon and they said we have to repair it. It’s completely gone.”

With her senior season devoted to healing, Brenzil relied on her junior year marks to try to convince college coaches to take a chance on her. She sent an email to James, a fellow Canadian, and their conversations led to an opportunity to join the UH program.

Brenzil placed fifth in the heptathlon at the Big West championships and led the event in the javelin with a throw of 156 feet, 3 inches, more than 23 feet farther than the runner-up.

“It came as a big surprise to everybody, including the officials,” James said. “The officials wanted to do a re-measure. … They thought they measured it wrong because it was such a big throw.”

Brenzil also competed in the stand-alone javelin event and finished third with a throw of 143-11. Bulger placed fifth in the Big West meet at 140-10 and her season-best throw of 149-05 kept her in the top 48 in the region to secure a return to the NCAA preliminaries despite back, knee and shoulder ailments that hampered her sophomore season.

“My body’s been kind of giving up on me a little bit throughout the season, but I think just the hardest thing is when you throw and you give it your all and it doesn’t go as far as you expect it to go, that’s always a heart breaker … especially because you know you can do better than that,” Bulger said.

“It’s a great opportunity to be able to go to Texas. But especially with the condition I’m in, I’m appreciating it a lot more.”

Lowe set a lofty goal of qualifying for eight NCAA championships coming out of Calloway County High School in Kentucky. She claimed the silver at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championship by clearing 5 feet, 10.75 inches but fell just short of a spot among the 24 national qualifiers in the NCAA indoor meet.

She posted her best outdoor mark of 5-9.25 at the Steve Scott Invitational on April 29 and came in sixth at the Big West championship at 5-5.75 entering the NCAA preliminaries.

“This was a huge goal and dream for me,” Lowe said.

“The progression has been up and down. You’re good one week, some weeks you’re down, especially with minor injuries. But I’ve grown a lot as an athlete and as a high jumper I feel I became consistent and just smarter and more knowledgeable in the event.”