(Photo Courtesy of D3photography.com)
GENEVA, Oh. – Calvin sophomore Delaney Sall used a school-record performance to propel herself into the championship finals of the 800 meters Friday afternoon at the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Competing in the first of three heats, Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) took second in her heat with a school-record time of 2:09.17, lowering her own school record by a tenth of a second.
Sall's time was the fourth-fastest out of the three preliminary heats with her second place finish in her round giving her an automatic qualifying spot to Saturday's finals with the top two in each heat plus the next three fastest times qualifying.
Sall opened her prelim race by moving into the lead pack and maintained a clean running lane by moving to the outside of the pack. Heading into the final 100 meters, she calmly moved into second and powered her way down the final straightaway to punch her ticket to Saturday's final with a new school record to go with it.
"Delaney moved on to the final on Saturday with a very strong race today," said Calvin head track and field coach Bret Otte. "She looked strong and under control. She made some very savvy moves throughout the race that resulted in a personal-best time without any visible straining. Well done today by our position coaches who have worked with her and also for Delaney in executing an outstanding race."
Sall will compete in the Saturday final at 1:50 p.m. and will be one of three Calvin athletes set to compete on Saturday. Senior Sadie Heeringa (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) will compete in the 1500 meters (12:25 p.m.) and 5,000 meters (3 p.m.) with sophomore Jenna Allman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline HS) set to compete in the 3,000 meter steeplechase finals at 11:30 a.m. with all action taking place at the Spire Institute.
Live video of Saturday's competition will be available at: https://www.ncaa.com/event/4215
Live results of Saturday's competition will be available at: https://live.deltatiming.com/meets/15661
