University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field First Round
Three Gophers Punch Tickets to NCAA Championships
5/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Results
AUSTIN, Texas (GopherSports.com) - A trio of Gophers punched their tickets to the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday as the University of Minnesota continued competition at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field First Round, held at Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Mitch Hechsel and Nate Roese both clocked personal records in the 800 meters and Obsa Ali added a sixth-place finish in the 3,000 meter steeplechase to qualify for the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships next month in Eugene, Ore.
The Gophers now have four competitors qualified for the NCAA championships with the trio joining Luca Wieland, who automatically qualified in the decathlon.
A Second Team All-American last year in the 800 meters, Hechsel ran the fourth fastest time in the quarterfinals at 1:47.26 - a time that ranks fourth all-time at Minnesota behind All-Americans Harun Abda, Goaner Deng and David Pachuta. Meanwhile, Roese will make his first individual appearance at the NCAA championships after earning Second Team All-America accolades last year as part of Minnesota's 4x400 meter relay squad. Roese ranked ninth among qualifiers in the quarterfinal with a time of 1:48.39.
Ali will make his first career appearance at the national championships after running an 8:51.20 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase quarterfinals on Friday night. Ali's mark ranked sixth overall in the race.
Additionally, Jon Tollefson advanced to Saturday's quarterfinal 110-meter hurdle competition. Making his NCAA debut for the Gophers, Tollefson clocked a 14.09 to finish third in his heat - earning an automatic bid for Saturday's race.
Glen Harold also made his NCAA debut for the Gophers in the pole vault. Harold tied for 13th with an outdoor personal record of 5.25 meters (17-02.75 ft.) - just missing a bid for the national championships.
Minnesota closes out 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field First Round on Saturday with multiple student-athletes in competition. Jordan Charles kicks things off in the triple jump at 3 p.m. CT followed by Wieland and Ryan Lockard in the high jump at 6 p.m. CT. On the track, the 4x100 meter relay runs at 6:15 p.m. CT followed by Derek Wiebke in the 1,500 meter quarterfinals at 6:45 p.m. CT and Tollefson in the 110-meter hurdle quarterfinals at 7:20 p.m. CT. The 4x400 meter relay team closes out the meet at 9:45 p.m. CT.
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Players Mentioned
