Coburn, Kipp Advance to Steeplechase Finals

DES MOINES, Iowa - The University of Colorado advanced a pair of runners, Emma Coburn and Shalaya Kipp, to the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Thursday night at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship.

Coburn won the second section of the race in 10 minutes, 00.43 seconds and Kipp was second to Virgina's Stephanie Garcia in the first heat. Kipp recorded a time of 10:02.09 behind Garcia 10:00.27.

"Shalaya ran seemingly comfortably within a couple of seconds of her PR tonight," coach Mark Wetmore said. "I think she is in good position for Saturday's finals.

"Emma went to the lead at the beginning of the race and stayed clear of traffic for the most part. They both have a little more left in them for Saturday and I know they can do very well."

Kipp ran a strong race in the first heat and had moved to the second position behind Florida's Genevieve LaCaze after the first water jump. She fell back to third when Garcia moved into the lead but as she entered the bell lap she was reeling in LaCaze and passed her on the backstretch. Kipp was able to cruise to the second-place finish in the heat, which would be the third best time of the day after the second heat finished.

Coburn went to the lead from the start of the race, but didn't put much distance between her and the rest of the field. She ran a comfortable race and never seemed to be in trouble. Coburn was leading a pack of four that had separated from the rest of the field a little after the midway point. The three behind Coburn would stay there until she put a little more distance between her and the field heading into the final water jump. Coburn won the heat by 2.51 seconds as Richmond's Nicol Traynor was second in 10:02.94.

"I was just trying to go as comfortable as possible," Coburn said after her race. "Hopefully I can run hard Saturday and give it a really good effort and try and go for the win."

The top six from each heat of the semifinals and the next two fastest times advanced to the finals on Saturday at 11:54 a.m. The finals will be broadcast live on CBS.

The steeplechase finished shortly before a strong group of storms moved into Des Moines, causing several weather delays due to down-pouring rain and lightning strikes in the area. Because of the weather system the NCAA was forced to suspend the last heat of the women's 4x400-meter relay, all three heats of the men's 4x400 and the men's 10k finals, which CU's Joe Bosshard was set to compete in. The NCAA will update the schedule on Friday morning.

NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Des Moines, Iowa (Drake Stadium)

Track Events (CU Athletes Only)

Women's Steeplechase (Semifinals): (1. Stephanie Garcia, Virginia, 10:00.27) 2. Emma Coburn, 10:00.43; 3. Shalaya Kipp, 10:02.09

Men's 10,000-Meters (Finals): Postponed due to weather