Bland Advances In Olympic Trials

West Virginia University distance runner Keri Bland qualified for Friday’s 1,500 meter semifinals Thursday night at the USA Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Bland, a native of Fairview, W.Va., ran a time of 4:19.30 to finish ninth in heat two, but her time did rank 22nd overall out of 30 competitors. Twenty-four runners advanced on to Friday’s 1,500m semifinal with Nike’s Christin Wurth showing the top time at 4:13.40.

The 1,500m semifinal starts at 11:25 p.m. ET with coverage on USA Network starting at 11 p.m.

For complete coverage, visit www.USAtf.org.

Bland just recently completed her sophomore season at West Virginia and became the first female to earn All-America honors in three sports in the same school year.