Open Announce

Cohen, Prouse Qualify for NCAA Championships in Steeplechase

LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM | HEAT SHEETS (PDF) | SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

SACRAMENTO, Calif.— Two more members of The University of New Mexico women’s track team secured their spot in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday evening as Adva Cohen and Charlotte Prouse earned automatic qualifying spots in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

Both Cohen and Prouse had similar approaches to the start of their races, but had drastically different heats as the race unfolded. However, both finished second in their respective heats to claim an automatic qualifier spot in the first and third heat, respectively.

Running in the first heat, Cohen went right out in to the lead and ran side-by-side with Colorado runner Val Constien through the first two laps with the two alternating leads.

The two, as well as BYU runner Erica Birk, separated from the field at about the five-minute mark. With two to go, Cohen held in second but just a step behind Constien but managed to take a slight lead with a lap to go. Down the back stretch, Birk pulled away for the win in the heat with Cohen finishing second to earn an automatic spot to the championship. Her time of 9:44.41 was a season best for the sophomore and the third-fastest time in program history. Her time was the third-fastest among all qualifiers.

Like Cohen, Prouse went right to the front at the start of the race, however, she was able to build separation and led for the majority of the race.

A small pack was able to create separation early with Prouse taking the lead. Prouse started to take control of the race 2:25 in and continued to lead with five to go, before pulling away from the lead pack not long after that. Prouse built a 4.04 second lead with two laps to go, which improved to a 4.36 second lead at the bell lap. However, Prouse got passed by South Dakota State’s Rachel King in the last few hundred meters but was able to finish second in the heat at 9:50.56 to earn an automatic spot. Her time is the ninth-fastest time in UNM history.

With the qualifications, Prouse is making her second-straight appearance at the NCAA championships, while Cohen is making her first trip. Both will also be running the 5,000-meter on Saturday with an opportunity to qualify in multiple events.

Additionally, Prouse and Cohen’s advancement to the championships brings the total UNM qualifiers to four following Weini Kelati and Ednah Kurgat’s 10,000-meter run on Thursday night in which the Lobo duo finished first and second, respectively, to earn automatic spots to the championship.

Alexandra Harris finished ninth in the third heat of the steeplechase at 10:15.07 to finish 24th overall, which was a personal best for the sophomore by 7.51 seconds.

In the men’s steeplechase, Jonny Glen finished his heat in 9:17.10, but was unable to qualify for nationals.

Earlier in the day in the 800-meter quarterfinals, Kristian Hansen went out fast in his heat, sitting in third after the first lap before he fell back and finished in 1:50.38. Max Wharton finished in 1:54.77 in his heat, with both runners missing the qualification time.

Beau Clafton threw 184-2 (56.14m) on his first attempt in the javelin which held as his best mark.

The NCAA West Preliminary concludes on Saturday with the Lobos in four events. Cathilee Mullings will start off the third day in the women’s triple jump at 4 p.m. MT, followed by Aidan Quinn in the men’s triple jump at 7:30 p.m. MT. Occurring shortly after at 7:45 p.m. is the quarterfinals of the 1500-meter with Michael Wilson. The women’s 5000-meter run will finish the weekend for UNM with the Lobos having five entries in Kelati, Kurgat, Prouse, Cohen and Emily Martin. That race is scheduled to start at 9:05 p.m. MT.

FloTrack will stream the preliminary which can be accessed HERE, but will require a subscription. Live stats will also be available HERE.