Coburn Advances to Indoor Mile Finals

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -University of Colorado junior Emma Coburn advanced to the finals of the women's mile run at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on Friday afternoon. Coburn ran a personal record time of 4 minutes, 36.99 seconds, placing fifth in the second heat.

The top four finishers in each of the two sections advanced to the finals automatically, so Coburn had to qualify on time. The second heat was much faster than the first as Oregon's Zoe Buckman won it in 4:35.47. Duke's Kate Van Buskirk gave Buckman some serious competition, but ended up second (4:35.52). Anne Kesselring (Oregon) and Ashley Verplank (North Carolina) finished third and fourth, respectively, in the heat. Kesselring clocked a time of 4:36.41 and Verplack finished just ahead of Coburn at 4:36.87. OU's Jordan Hasay ran the fastest time in the first heat (4:39.41), which was seventh overall.

The Crested Butte, Colo. native was third at the beginning of the race and moved up to second after the first 600 meters. Coburn ran with Buckman for the next 800 meters before slipping to third with 150 meters left in the race. Despite finishing with her fastest 200 meter split of the day (33.53 seconds), Coburn dropped back to fifth where she finished the race. Her time ranks second all-time at CU behind Jenny Barringer's mark of 4:25.91, which is the NCAA record. Coburn also has the third best time in school history at 4:37.44.

"We are pretty happy with how today went," head coach Mark Wetmore said. "Emma started out the day with a careful and well executed advancement to the finals tomorrow. We are very happy with how she executed her race plan to move on to the finals."

Joe Morris placed ninth in the 60-meter dash, just missing the eighth and final qualifying spot for the finals. Morris clocked a time of 6.66 to finish fourth in the first heat. Horatio Williams (LSU) took third in the heat and just beat out Morris at the line for the final spot in the finals. Both recorded a time of 6.66, but after the photo finish, it was determined that Williams was .003 seconds faster than Morris.

Mississippi's Michael Granger won the first heat with a time of 6.59. Oklahoma's Rakieem Salaam won the second heat and had the best time of the day (6.55).

"I'm very proud of Joe's performance this season," assistant coach Drew Morano said. "He is a true competitor and came to race today. He just missed the finals, which we are disappointed about, but he came out to a big meet and ran a great time which is hard to do. He showed today that he belongs up with the best sprinters in the country. Now it's time to shift gears and look forward to the outdoor season. I am confident that he will make it back to nationals this June and will be able to show the country what he is capable of doing on the track."

The finals for the women's mile are on Saturday at 4 p.m. ESPN3 is streaming the championship live and live stats can be accessed at flashresults.com.

2011 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship

Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium, McFerrin Athletic Center

Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Women's Mile run prelims: (1. Zoe Buckman, Oregon, 4:35.47) 5. Emma Coburn, 4:36.99

Men's 60-meter dash prelims : (1. Rakieem Salaam, Oklahoma, 6.55) 9. Joe Morris, 6.66