Track: Bland Qualifies for 1,500m Finals
June 12, 2008 09:16 PM | General
June 12, 2008
 Bland |
 Grandt |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University track & field sophomore Keri Bland has qualified for the 1,500-meter finals at the NCAA Championships by finishing in the top 12 of the preliminaries Thursday night at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Fairview, W.Va., native placed seventh in heat one with a time of 4:17.94, but was able to qualify for the finals as her time was the 11th-best overall in the event. In the 1,500m semifinals, the top four in each heat advance to the finals as well as the next best four times remaining in the pool.
“I went out hoping to run a fast time,” Bland says. “I took the lead right off the bat and led until one lap to go. But at about the 1250m mark, the pack caught me and my body wasn’t quite sure what to do. With about 150m to go, I started making ground back on the group, but I think started my final kick just a little bit to late.”
North Carolina junior Brie Felnagle led that pack and posted the top time in the event at 4:15.56 to enter the finals as the favorite.
Bland, who entered the preliminaries as the No. 12 seed, will now race in Saturday’s finals at 4:12 p.m. CST, where the top eight finishers will earn All-America status. Bland has already earned All-America honors this year during the fall cross country season and the winter indoor track season as apart of the distance medley relay.
CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV) will air live coverage of Saturday’s events.
Sophomore Clara Grandt, WVU’s other competitor at nationals, placed 11th in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 34:41.04. Iowa State’s Lisa Koll won the race in 32:44.95. Grandt, a West Union, W.Va., native showed great improvement as she entered the race ranked 21st in country.
“I’m so happy I made it here,” says Grandt who finished 10 spots higher than her qualifying ranking. “This was a huge goal of mine and I came back strong at the end and ran a good race. I know it wasn’t my personal best, but I think everyone’s times were about 20 or 30 seconds off their best because of the humidity out (in Iowa). So, I’m really very pleased.”
“The NCAAs is about racing the competition that is here,” says Head Coach Sean Cleary. “She came in 21st and leaves ranked 11th, that’s pretty good. And she still has two more years to compete.”
