Mills' time of 10:09.76 was eighth overall in the three heats of the 48-runner field. The top three times from each heat, along with the next three best overall times, moved on to the national semifinals in Eugene, Ore., on June 9.

Kellen Manley placed 12^th in his heat, and 31^st overall, in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:13.70. He finished a stellar sophomore season at the prelims. He entered the event seeded 13^th in his heat with a of 8:57.75. The Seattle native ran the second-fastest time in program history at the West Coast Invitational in Salem, Ore., on May 12.

"I told Kellen to beat the odds," Director of Gonzaga Track Pat Tyson said. "I told him to stay focused, use his kick and shock people. He came in seeded 39^th the field, so the end result was okay. He wasn't perfect. He went to sleep after a 1,000 meters and woke up with 350 to go. Once he stays totally in the zone, he will be scary! He needs to feed off of this and go to next season's prelims and qualify for Eugene. He gets it and this was a valuable opportunity!"

Mills will make her second straight appearance at the NCAA Championships, after placing 21^st in Eugene last year in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Last year at the NCAA West Preliminaries in Austin, Texas, Mills qualified for the national semifinals with a 10th place finish. She finished fourth in her heat with a time of 10:11.37 and qualified with one of the top 12 times in the 48-runner field. The Snohomish, Wash. native was not an automatic qualifier from her heat, but she had the third fastest at-large time. Mills became the first Gonzaga student-athlete to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

"So much better this year not having to watch other times," GU women's Head Coach Patty Ley said. "It was not easy conditions with the humidity. She looked strong, but was a little wonky on her hurdling, which can be fixed. She just managed it all really well with a lot of composure and poise. I'm excited for her and really proud of all she continues to do!"

Mills entered Friday's first heat with the sixth-best seed-time (9:56.17) in the region and the second-fastest in her heat. The redshirt junior broke her own school record at the West Coast Invitational.

The women's 3,000-meter steeplechase national semifinals are on June 9, beginning with the first heat at 5:02 p.m. Live coverage will be available on GoZags.com.

Maggie Jones races in the women's 5,000 meters Saturday at 11:20 a.m. Pacific Time. Jones ran a 16:28.29 at the Oregon Relays on April 15. The senior has the fourth-best time on the program's all-time list, 16:27.88, which was at the 2015 Oregon Relays. She is seeded 16^th in the second heat of Saturday's 5,000. The top five times from each heat, plus the next best two times, move to the semifinals in Eugene. Live video and results will also be available on GoZags.com.