JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Davidson's Erin Osment and VCU's Kiara Porter have punched their tickets to the 2015 NCAA Track Championships in Eugene, Ore., each qualifying in their events this weekend at the NCAA Preliminary Championships.
Seeded 28th out of 48 runners, Erin Osment ran a gutsy race to finish 11th. The Atlanta, Ga., native's time of 34:27.86 was not only a career-best, but it also set a new Davidson record. Osment has now set and broke her program record in the 10,000 three times this season.
Osment is the first Wildcat to advance to Euguene, Ore., since high jumper Kristen Meister competed at the 2007 NCAA Track & Field Championships.The 10,000-meter event is set for Thursday, June 11.
Kiara Porter added to her legacy on Friday evening, earning her third straight trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a school record-breaking performance in the 400 meter dash. Porter finished second in her heat with a school-record time of 51.42 to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. Her time was good for fourth overall in the NCAA East Quarterfinals.
This will be her fifth straight trip, two indoor and three outdoor, to the national championship round. The Yorktown, Va. native, will aim for a VCU-record fifth straight All-American honor when she heads out west. Porter enter the blocks in the NCAA Semifinals at 8:30 EST on Thursday, June 11.