AUSTIN, Texas – The Oral Roberts University track and field team had four more individuals qualify for the NCAA\'s National Championship meet based on their performances at the Midwest Regional meet at the University of Texas on Saturday night. The championships will take place June 7-10 at the A.G. Spanos Sports Complex on the campus of Sacramento State University.
The men\'s side had a trio of athletes automatically qualify for nationals, as Shaun Smith and Prince Mumba both qualified in the 800-meter run and Andretti Bain followed suit in the 400-meter dash.
Smith and Mumba both won their preliminary heats on Friday, and they followed up with another pair of great runs in the finals, finishing second and fourth, respectively. Smith crossed the finish line in 1:47.78 seconds, only 0.15 seconds behind winner Dominic Tanui of UTEP. Mumba wasn\'t far behind, finishing the race in 1:47.98 and missing out on the third spot by a mere 0.04 seconds.
Bain finished fourth during the finals of the 400-meter dash, turning in a time of 46.11. He crossed the finish line just one-one hundredth of a second behind the third place finisher. Minnesota\'s Aaron Buzard won the event with a time of 45.87.
The men\'s 4x400-meter relay team just missed on an automatic bid to nationals, finishing fourth in the finals of the event with a time of 3:08.26. Each regional\'s top three relay finishers gain an automatic entry into the national championship race, while the Golden Eagles will now have to wait for an at-large invitation.
The ORU squad missed out on an auto bid by just 0.30 seconds as Minnesota took third with their time of 3:07.96. Baylor won the event after crossing the finish line in 3:05.73.
Diana Chelimo was the lone ORU woman to advance through regional action on Saturday, as she will represent the Golden Eagles in the 1,500-meter run. ORU\'s Faithy Kamangila qualified for nationals after taking 4th in the 5,000-meter run on Friday night.
Chelimo\'s time of 4:24.71 in the 1,500-meter race earned her a fourth place finish in the event and an automatic spot at the national meet. Desiraye Osburn of Wichita State took the top spot in the event, turning in a time of 4:20.85.
Overall, the ORU men\'s squad finished the regional meet in 11th place with 23 total points, just three points out of the region\'s Top 10. The women, meanwhile, totaled 11 points which was good enough for 18th place.
Full Midwest Regional results can be found at www.texassports.com.
--ORU--
ORU\'s Complete Saturday Results:
Women\'s Triple Jump
13. English Clark 12.69m
Women\'s Discus
15. Rachel Talbert 48.62m
Women\'s 400-meter hurdles
8. Tanisha Guthrie 1:02.04
Women\'s 1,500-meter run
4. Diana Chelimo 4:24.71
Men\'s High Jump
13. Demarcus Bass 2.06m
Men\'s 400-meter dash
4. Andretti Bain 46.11
Men\'s 800-meter run
2. Shaun Smith 1:47.78
4. Prince Mumba 1:47.98
Men\'s 1,500-meter run
12. James Wanjiku 3:59.09
Men\'s 4x400-meter relay
4. Oral Roberts University 3:08.26
1) Andretti Bain 2) Jonathan Rivers 3) Richard Petzold 4) Prince Mumba