INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Committee has announced the participants for the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships preliminary competitions. And the list includes four Bulldogs.
 
On the men's side, Erik Peterson and Euan Makepeace made the field in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters, respectively. Peterson also had a qualifying time in the 5,000 meters, but he and the Butler coaching staff will focus his attention on the 10,000 meters at the outdoor championships after Peterson placed sixth at the NCAA Indoors. He won the 5,000 meters at both the BIG EAST Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
 
Peterson's time of 28:11.02 is the second best mark in the region, trailing only Alabama's Alfred Chelanga (28:04.95).
 
Makepeace brings a time of 14:03.88 into the East Regional. That is the 27^th fastest time in the 48-man field.
 
On the women's side, Olivia Pratt and Maddie Westerhoff both qualified in the 10,000 meters.
 
Pratt, the BIG EAST champion, brings a qualifying mark of 33:46.03 into the regional. That is the 10^th-best mark in the field. Westerhoff claimed one of the last spots in the 48-runner field thanks to her 34:52.91 time from the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, where she placed fourth.
 
At the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Peterson and Pratt placed eighth and 12^th, respectively, in the 10,000 meters.
 
Allie Vogeler (400-meter hurdles) and Josephine Thestrup (1,500 meters) were near-misses to the regional field.
 
The preliminary competitions are scheduled for May 25 - 27. The University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky will host the east preliminary and the University of Texas in Austin, Texas will host the west preliminary. The qualifiers out of these two regions will compete in the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 7-10 in Eugene, Oregon.
 
The complete list of participants is available on the following website.
 
For more information regarding the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, log on to NCAA.com.