Nine centimeters kept Charlinda Ioane out of the NCAA postseason last year.

Ioane made up those 9 centimeters in the shot put this season and the Kapolei alumna looks to put herself in NCAA consideration when the Hawaii track and field team heads to this weekend’s Big West Championship. Competition will be held today and Saturday at Long Beach State.

“I just wanted to make sure I passed the 9-centimeter mark,” said Ioane, one of 22 Rainbow Wahine competing at the meet. “That was the cutoff to get into NCAA last year. The fact I cleared 15 meters this year was a big check mark for my senior to-do list. With everything coming up, like our team banquet, senior salute, all the senior things the seniors do, it was a little check mark through everything.”

The top 48 competitors in each event from the West region make the NCAA West Preliminary Championship, which serves as the qualifier for the national championship. Ioane missed that group last year. She is currently 46th on the regional list with a throw of 15.18 meters (49 feet, 93⁄4 inches) and a bigger throw would likely extend her senior season beyond this weekend.

“I feel there’s another big throw in me,” said Ioane, who is 52nd in the region in the discus.

The Rainbow Wahine have two of the meet’s top qualifiers in Felicianna Vasquez and Tiziana Ruiz Dominguez. Vasquez, a Radford graduate, leads the Big West with a throw of 163 feet, 2 inches in the javelin. Ruiz Dominguez, a Mt. San Antonio College transfer who has 2020 Olympic aspirations competing for Mexico, leads the league with a mark of 13-61⁄4 in the pole vault.

“I had pretty good attempts at 13-6ish, 13-7,” said Ruiz Dominguez, a senior who is 21st in the region. “I know I have that. I just haven’t made it official. I’m just happy this season I’ve been 13 or higher, which is what I’ve been trying to work on, at being consistent. I know I can go higher.”

Vasquez, a former heptathlete, finished third in the javelin at last year’s Big West meet with a throw of 138-1. Her 163-2 has her ranked 17th in the region and in the top 30 nationally. She’s so focused on the javelin, she opted to take her final exams early rather than in California.

“I would’ve never thought I’d be a javelin thrower,” Vasquez said. “I couldn’t have done anything without the support of the coaches and the team. The coaches always say you can get so much farther than 50 meters (164 feet).”

Redshirt freshman Karen Bulger is 53rd in the region in the javelin. Defending Big West shot put champion Alex Porlier-Langlois is ranked 33rd in the region in the shot put and discus. Porlier-Langlois advanced to the NCAA Championship last year in the shot put.

“It’s really amazing to see how much people are progressing from the beginning of the year to now,” Vasquez said. “Everybody is peaking now and everybody is getting their PR. It’s really nice to have the support every day and to see each other every day.”