PUBELO, Colo. – Three Minnesota State University Moorhead track student-athletes took part in day two events at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Colorado State University – Pueblo in Pueblo, Colo., on Friday. Danielle Thompson, Laquone Robinson and the 4x400m relay team continued their attempts to crown themselves All-Americans.
Danielle Thompson ran in the finals of the 3000m steeplechase while Laquone Robinson and the 4x400m relay team were continuing the championship weekend in preliminaries. The outdoor championships will conclude May 26 with Anna VanWechel as the lone Dragon to participate in an event.
Thompson, a senior from Grand Forks, N.D., earned one of the final spots in the 3000m steeplechase finals during preliminary action. She finished 12th in the finals race with a time of 11:28.89. Betsy Graney of Grand Valley State won the event with a time of 10:23.92.
Preceding Thompson's contest was the 110m hurdles featuring the Dragons Robinson. The junior from Minneapolis began his weekend in Pueblo the day before as a part of the 11th place 4x100m relay team. The finish of the relay team mirrored that of Robinson's 110m hurdles. He also finished 11th with a time of 14.24. The top nine times qualified for the finals event, leaving Robinson two spots shy.
Less than two-hundredths of a second separated the men's 4x400m relay team from the finals event when they ran Friday. The team of Ryan Olson, Lincoln Arnold, Clayton Foster and Aaron Lund earned a spot to the outdoor championship preliminaries from a 3:10.94 qualifying time earlier in the season. After running in the first heat, the Dragons finished with a time of 3:12.85. The next heat, in which MSUM was not running in, was the one that kept them out of the finals. Texas A&M University – Kingsville's team finished with a time of 3:12.69, earning the ninth and final spot to move on in the championships.
The 2012 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships conclude Saturday, May 26. VanWechel will be running in the 1500m run finals to attempt a second All-American honor for the Dragons on the weekend. Her race will begin at 6:35 p.m. central time.
A schedule of events, full results, media coverage, tournament information and Dragons results can all be found
here.
Results:
Men /
Women
