Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, March 10
College Station, Texas
Middle Tennessee
at
NCAA Indoor Championships
Blue Raiders set for Indoor Championships
3/9/2017 5:40:00 PM | Track & Field/Cross Country
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Four Blue Raiders finished in the Top-16 nationally in their respective events to secure a spot in the NCAA Indoor Championships and will compete for a national championship Friday and Saturday.
Senior Eliud Rutto, junior Sampson Laari, and sophomores Abike Egbeniyi and Agnes Abu surged up the ranks in the final week of the regular season for a trip to College Station, Texas this weekend.
Associate head coach Keith Vroman, who coaches the Blue Raider distance athletes, said the Raiders are running at top form in the final week of the indoor season.
"Being in the Top-16 in the country is a big accomplishment in itself. All four athletes have the potential to make it to the finals on Saturday," Vroman said. "They have been running faster every weekend this indoor season, and I expect them to do the same tomorrow. Racing smart is the key to the show tomorrow to make the podium on Saturday."
Rutto qualified for the men's 800-meter run with a school-record time of 1:46.70 at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 10. The Kenya native's time stood as the eighth-best time in the country by season's end.
Laari finished the season ranked No. 16 in the nation in the mile run with a time of 3:58.75. His mark set a personal best and is a vast improvement from his season-best time of 4:09.71 in last season's C-USA Championships.
The distance duo of Rutto and Laari also shined the C-USA Championships two weeks ago, combining for 32 individual points, and the team grabbed MT's first C-USA indoor title in program history.
Laari will compete in Friday's mile run preliminaries at 5:45 p.m., while Rutto will run in the 800 meter preliminaries on Friday at 7:20 p.m.
Egbeniyi and Abu both qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 800-meter run following breakout sophomore seasons.
Egbeniyi set a school record, previously held by Abu, with a time of 2:04.45 in last weekend's Boston University Last Chance Meet. Abu qualified with a time of 2:04.63, also set in Boston a week ago. The two have also been named C-USA Female Track Athlete of the Week a combined three times this season.
Egbeniyi and Abu finished the year ranked Nos. 13 and 15, respectively. The duo are set to run in the women's 800 meter preliminaries on Friday at 7:10 p.m.
For a full schedule of events and live results, fans are encouraged to visit the NCAA Indoor Championships page at http://www.ncaa.com/di-mens-and-womens-track-field-championship-results-2017.
Senior Eliud Rutto, junior Sampson Laari, and sophomores Abike Egbeniyi and Agnes Abu surged up the ranks in the final week of the regular season for a trip to College Station, Texas this weekend.
Associate head coach Keith Vroman, who coaches the Blue Raider distance athletes, said the Raiders are running at top form in the final week of the indoor season.
"Being in the Top-16 in the country is a big accomplishment in itself. All four athletes have the potential to make it to the finals on Saturday," Vroman said. "They have been running faster every weekend this indoor season, and I expect them to do the same tomorrow. Racing smart is the key to the show tomorrow to make the podium on Saturday."
Rutto qualified for the men's 800-meter run with a school-record time of 1:46.70 at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 10. The Kenya native's time stood as the eighth-best time in the country by season's end.
Laari finished the season ranked No. 16 in the nation in the mile run with a time of 3:58.75. His mark set a personal best and is a vast improvement from his season-best time of 4:09.71 in last season's C-USA Championships.
The distance duo of Rutto and Laari also shined the C-USA Championships two weeks ago, combining for 32 individual points, and the team grabbed MT's first C-USA indoor title in program history.
Laari will compete in Friday's mile run preliminaries at 5:45 p.m., while Rutto will run in the 800 meter preliminaries on Friday at 7:20 p.m.
Egbeniyi and Abu both qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 800-meter run following breakout sophomore seasons.
Egbeniyi set a school record, previously held by Abu, with a time of 2:04.45 in last weekend's Boston University Last Chance Meet. Abu qualified with a time of 2:04.63, also set in Boston a week ago. The two have also been named C-USA Female Track Athlete of the Week a combined three times this season.
Egbeniyi and Abu finished the year ranked Nos. 13 and 15, respectively. The duo are set to run in the women's 800 meter preliminaries on Friday at 7:10 p.m.
For a full schedule of events and live results, fans are encouraged to visit the NCAA Indoor Championships page at http://www.ncaa.com/di-mens-and-womens-track-field-championship-results-2017.
Players Mentioned
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