Oklahoma State University Athletics
Five Advance on Day One of NCAA Prelims
May 27, 2011 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
May 27, 2011
EUGENE, Ore. – The Oklahoma State track and field program had an impressive opening day at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, as one athlete advanced to the next round in all five events OSU competed in Thursday.
On the men's side, Johnathan Stublaski advanced to the quarterfinal of the 1,500 meters with his time of 3:47.11 and Colby Lowe advanced to the final of the 10,000 meters with his time of 29.11.83.
Stublaski finished ninth in his heat of the event, but was fourth-best among those who finished outside of the top five in their respective heats, which qualifies him for the next round. Lowe's time was enough for second place in the event and was less than half a second behind the winner of the semifinal.
The Cowgirls competed in three events Thursday, as Natalja Piliusina advanced through the first round of the 800 meters with a time of 2:07.73, Mihaela Susa advanced in the 1,500 meters with her time of 4:24.51 and Tone Hjalmarsen advanced to the final round in the 10,000 meters at 33:49.32.
Piliusina finished second in her heat to automatically advance to the quarterfinal, while Susa finished with the second-fastest time outside of the automatic qualifiers to advance to the quarterfinal. Hjalmarsen's time was a personal-best by more than 40 seconds and enabled her to grab the 12th and final qualifying spot for the final round.
Other OSU athletes who competed Thursday included Raul Botezan and Shane Moskowitz, who finished 37th and 47th in the men's 1,500 meters, respectively, as well as Felicity Milton, who competed in the women's 10,000 meters but was unable to finish.
Oklahoma State resumes competition Friday for the second round of the NCAA West Preliminary Championships. Its schedule includes the women's triple jump first round at 3:15 p.m., men's high jump first round at 3:45 p.m., women's 800 meters quarterfinal at 4:50 p.m. and men's 3,000-meter steeplechase quarterfinal at 7:20 p.m. All times listed are for the Pacific Time Zone.
Stublaski and Susa will compete in the 1,500 meters quarterfinals Sunday afternoon. Lowe and Hjalmarsen will compete in the 10,000 meters final rounds at the NCAA Championships, held June 8-11 in Des Moines, Iowa.
NCAA West Preliminary Rounds (Day 1)
May 26, 2011 | Hayward Field | Eugene, Ore.
Men's 1,500m First Round
13 Johnathan Stublaski - 3:47.11 q
37 Raul Botezan - 3:50.53
47 Shane Moskowitz - 3:55.49
Men's 10,000m Semifinal
2 Colby Lowe - 29:11.83 Q
Women's 800m First Round
16 Natalja Piliusina - 2:07.73 Q
Women's 1,500m First Round
21 Mihaela Susa - 4:24.51 q
Women's 10,000m Semifinal
12 Tone Hjalmarsen - 33:49.32 Q
-- Felicity Milton - DNF
