Results
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Minnesota State University Moorhead junior Molly Montonye ran a personal-best time and advanced to the finals in the mile at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday in Birmingham, Ala.

The Graceville, Minn., native had a strong showing in the preliminaries on Friday, placing fifth with a personal-best time of 4:52.86, which beat her previous personal-best by four seconds. Her time was just .69 seconds away from being the fastest on Friday.

"It was an impressive run," MSUM associate head coach/cross country coach Ryan Milner said. "She positioned herself right where she was supposed to and ended up with a personal-best time. She was here a year ago and you could see that experience pay off. It was a well-run race."

Montonye will run in the finals of the mile at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday in Birmingham. If she finishes in the top eight she will earn All-American honors.

Three other Dragon athletes competed in the preliminaries on Friday but did not qualify for the finals.

Senior Tia Knight narrowly missed on qualifying for the finals in the women's 60-meter hurdles, placing ninth. She ran a time of 8.59, just .02 seconds away from the final qualifying spot. Sophomore Alissa Mears finished 18th in the women's 800-meter run at 2:21.16.

Senior Ryan Olson finished 16th in the men's 400-meter run with a time of 48.70.

In addition to Montonye, senior Chelsea Klemetson and the men's 4x400 relay will compete on Saturday in finals-only events. Klemetson will compete in the women's high jump at 5:15 p.m. while the 4x400 will compete at 6:35 p.m.