Mixed results for Tulsa athletes at NCAA Prelims

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Day 2 of the NCAA Track & Field Regional Meet brought mixed results for Tulsa area athletes.

Oral Roberts University junior Israel Nelson ran a time of 14.04secs to finish 2nd in his 110-meter Hurdles heat. With a similar performance in tomorrow’s final Nelson could become the second ORU athlete to book passage to next month’s National Finals - sophomore Mercy Abire earning her place late on Thursday night with a leap of 6.21m in the Women’s Long Jump.

A lifetime best effort though was not enough to deliver a Nationals’ invite to University of Tulsa sophomore Ashley Barnes. Despite battling to a personal best time of 10m24s in the 3000m Steeplechase, the very last race of the night, the Bartlesville native fell just seconds short of the qualifying time needed.

The Regional meet is being held at Hornet Stadium, the home of California State University, Sacramento and features more than 1,600 athletes from 120 colleges. The top performers in each discipline progress to the National Finals in Eugene, Oregon beginning June 6th.