Eugene, Ore. – The America East has three student-athletes who have qualified to take part in the finals two days of the 2015 NCAA Division Track & Field Championship. Jesse Garn of Binghamton will be racing in the champion 800-meter race on Friday, and New Hampshire’s 3,000-meter steeplechase duo of Elinor Purrier and Laura Rose Donegan will take to the track on Saturday.
Six conference competitors made the trip to the University of Oregon to take part in the NCAA Championship meet. On Thursday, Vincent Rentzsch placed 21st in the javelin toss with a long toss of 64.71 meters, and New Hampshire’s John Prizzi placed 19th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:55.66.
Jesse Garn won the second heat of the 800-meter semifinal with a time of 1:47.68, therefore automatically qualifying for the final race Friday afternoon. The race is scheduled to begin at 5:50 PT, roughly 8:50 ET, and you can watch the race live on ESPN.
This is the second time Garn is competing in the 800m on the national stage; he placed 23rd overall in 2012 at the NCAA Championship.
On the women’s side, the University of New Hampshire will have their two representatives competing on the championship’s final day. Both Elinor Purrier and Laura Rose Donegan will be competing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, looking for a chance to claim the national spotlight.
This is the first time in New Hampshire program history that two competitors in the same event advanced to the finals race, and the Wildcats are one of just two teams to send two runners onto the final stage in either the men’s or women’s race.
Donegan placed third in the first heat with a time of 9:58.97, and Purrier was able to squeak into the final qualifying spot with a pace of 10:10.74. The two will compete in the finals on Saturday at 5:27 P.M., and it will be broadcasted live on ESPN.
Keishorea Armstrong also competed in Eugene, Ore. today in the long jump. The Binghamton Bearcat sophomore placed 24th overall, recording a furthest leap of 5.80 meters.