Piliusina, Camacho Reach National Finals

EUGENE, Ore. -- Two Cowgirls advanced to finals Thursday at the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. Savannah
Camacho advanced in the 800-meter run and Natalja Piliusina advanced in the 1,500-meter run to reach the championship races.

Piliusina finished fifth in heat two, running a 4:19.05 to claim the final automatic qualifying spot.

"It was a tough day for her," coach Dave Smith said. "I think there was a lot of emotion and pressure on her to return to the final. She got in and
had to fight for everything to get that last qualifying spot. I think now that she's in the final, the pressure will be off and she can run a little more free
and light."

After the race started slow, Piliusina and Mississippi State's Rhianwedd Price set the pace for the final three laps.

"Right before the race Dave [Smith] told me to stay out of trouble and he said I could either go up front with the leader or stay in the back,"
Piliusina said. "I didn't have my mind made up before the race, so I stayed in the back for a bit then made my move to the front. Everything felt fine
until about 600 meters to go and something just wasn't clicking today, but I advanced to the final and hopefully I'll feel a little better on Saturday."

Piliusina was the national champion in the women's 1,500-meter run in 2013 before suffering an injury that would keep her out of competition until
February of 2015.

"I'm just happy to be back here competing," Piliusina said. "It feels good to be healthy and running again."

The Cowgirls sent two national runner-ups into the 800-meter semifinals. 2015 Indoor runner-up Kaela Edwards and 2014 Indoor runner-up
Savannah Camacho were both competing in their first outdoor semifinal. Camacho earned a spot in Saturday's 800-meter final after she put up a
2:04.43 and got through based on time.

"It's honestly a dream come true," Camacho said. "I've been dreaming about this day since before I got to OSU. I was definitely freaking out before
the race. I knew I had to be at least top-four to have a shot and it gave me a little practice for the next race."

Cowgirl teammate Edwards also ran in heat three of the 800-meter semifinal and was one of the leaders until she was tripped and stumbled just
before the bell, causing the All-American to fall out of contention.

"Kaela has been dealing with a little injury and hasn't been able to train for the last four weeks," Smith said. "We're kind of keeping her together
with smoke and mirrors and duct tape, but she put on a brave face and still went out there and competed well."

Despite being passed with 100 meters to go, Camacho kicked into the third spot and managed to get into the final with the sixth fastest time of the
day.

"Being the last one in is better than being the first one out," Smith said. "She nearly gave me a heart attack toward the end. She told me after the
race that she got distracted by the big crowd and how cool it was but she fought like crazy to get that last spot."

Ingeborg Loevnes was scheduled to run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinal, but the OSU record-holder suffered a season ending injury
before she could take to the track Thursday. In the newcomer's first season with OSU, Loevnes ran the only three sub-10 minute 3,000-meter
steeplechase times in Cowgirl history, and set the school record with a 9:48.89 at the Payton Jordan Invitational.

The Cowgirl finalists will run Saturday at Historic Hayward Field, while Chad Noelle and Kirubel Erassa will run Friday in the 1,500-and
5,000-meter finals, respectively. All of the finals will be aired live on ESPN.

NCAA Outdoor Championships :: June 11, 2015 :: Eugene, Ore.

Women's
1,500 Meter Semifinal
13. Natalja Piliusina -- 4:19.05Q

800 Meter Semifinal
6. Savannah Camacho 2:04.43q
22. Kaela Edwards -- 2:09.72

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Savannah Camacho

Kaela Edwards

Ingeborg Loevnes

Natalja Piliusina

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