Early in Thursday’s women’s NCAA Outdoor Championships semifinals, NAU came up big. Later in the evening, its runners struggled.
First, veteran Maggi Congdon positioned herself well early on the rail in a heat that included Harvard’s Maia Ramsden and Providence’s Kimberly May, then moved outside to secure a fourth place finish and automatically qualify for Saturday’s finals in Eugene, Ore., with a time of 4:07.81.
It was an NAU women’s record.
Congdon, who made the finals in both the 800 meters and the 1,500 meters at the Indoor Nationals, did not start her outdoor season until early May after dealing with a minor injury, but she has come on strongly in the Big Sky Conference and West Regionals meet.
Then, in the next event, NAU freshman Karrie Baloga ran the best steeplechase of her young career. Baloga, who transferred to NAU from the University of Colorado over the winter, finished third in her heat (and third overall) with a huge personal best of 9:49.33.
In the night’s only final, the 10,000 meters, NAU’s Ali Upshaw finished 21st in 34:55.74.
Congdon came back later Thursday to compete on NAU’s 4×400 relay team. The Lumberjacks finished fifth in its heat at 3:31.28 and did not advance.
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