Ready To Run

Keri Bland and Clara Grandt will race at the NCAA Championships for the first time in their careers Thursday, June 12, at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

Bland will compete in the 1,500m semifinals on Thursday at 6:55 p.m. and is seeded 12th in the country with a top time of 4:17.02. Grandt will race in the 10,000-meter finals at 8:10 p.m. Thursday and is ranked 21st after posting a time of 34:15.07 this season.

“I think the first time competing at the NCAA Championships is a special experience,” Head Coach Sean Cleary says. “Typically, athletes come in here after a very long year and they are somewhat fatigued. I think Keri and Clara will be in the best shape they have been in all season.”

At the NCAA regionals in Tallahassee, Fla., Bland placed third in the 1,500m run (4:24.81), while Grandt took eighth in the 5,000m (16:35.83). While Grandt did qualify in the 5,000m, she opted to run the 10,000m to which she had qualified earlier in the season. The pair was recently named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s all-EAST region team.

Last season two Mountaineer seniors, Jessica Czaikowski (100m hurdles) and Abbie Stechschulte (heptathlon), competed at outdoor nationals in Sacramento, Calif. CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV) will be airing live coverage of the NCAA Track and Field Championships on Friday, June 13, from 7-10 p.m. CST. CBS will also broadcast live coverage of the final day of competition from 3-5 p.m. CST.

Live scoring results will be posted at http://www.flashresults.com/2008_Meets/outdoor/DivisionI/