COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Gonzaga's James Mwaura placed 10^th in the national semifinals of the 10,000 meters at the 2021 NCAA West Preliminary Round in College Station, Texas. His finish at E.B. Cushing Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M qualifies him for the event's national finals in Eugene, Ore., on June 9.
 
Mwaura crossed the line at 29:13.93. He entered the race seeded ninth with the program's record time of 28:27.49. The Zags' Peter Hogan came into the race seeded 32^nd, but finished 29^th at 30:18.57. His seed time of 28:53.70 ranks second all-time at GU.
 
"This feels great, it's a relief honestly," Mwaura said. "I wasn't nervous going in, but that first mile with the humidity and some pushing during the race, I actually almost fell, this is a relief. I think I got out pretty good. I was in a perfect position from mile one to about two miles in, and then people starting going around me. But, it worked out well for me honestly. I fought hard from 5K out to six miles."
 
Mwaura is just the second-ever men's qualifier for the national championships in program history. Troy Fraley placed seventh in the 3,000-meter steeplechase national final at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His finish made him the first track All-American in Gonzaga history.
 
"It was a war out there with 48 bodies," Director of Gonzaga Track and Field Pat Tyson said. "A lot of great runners struggled. James ran a near brilliant race and got in. Peter was in the game, and riding with the tide, but felt the effects over the last couple of laps. But, we're real proud of him too."
 
It was sweet redemption for Mwaura, who just missed out on qualifying for the 10,000-meter national finals in his last appearance at regionals in 2019. During his freshman season he placed 13^th with a then-school record time of 29:10.39, just out of that Top-12 that qualified.
 
"There was definitely a lot of jostling going on during the race," Hogan said. "There was some elbowing going on when I was up there with James. For him to make it through that and assert himself in the race is definitely really impressive. For me I'm not super happy, but for James I'm stoked as a teammate and roommate of his. Anytime you go to a regional you get a nice assessment of what you did right in the last year, and what you did wrong. You can take a lot of lessons on how you can come back better prepared. I'm really proud of James."
 
Five Zags run next at the NCAA West Preliminaries Friday. Ben Hogan and Alex Walde run in the men's 3,000 steeplechase at 4:10 p.m. Pacific Time. Ben Hogan enters with a seed time of 8:55.84, which ranks 37^th in the field, while Walde is 48^th at 8:58.17.
 
Mwaura, Yacine Guermali and Jake Perrin run in the men's 5,000 meters at 6:30 p.m. PT. Mwaura's seed time of 13:36.18, a school record, ranks 13^th in the region. Guermali ran the second-fastest time in program history on April 30, 13:50.74, and he is seeded 38^th in the race. Perrin's seed time of 13:53.65 ranks fourth all-time at GU, and seeds him 48^th.
 
The University of North Florida is hosting the East Preliminary as the West Prelims are happening.  The qualifiers out of these two regions will compete in the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore. The top 12 finishers of each event during the preliminary rounds qualify for nationals.
 
The NCAA West Preliminaries are being broadcast live on the SEC Network Plus, with a live stream on Watch ESPN.  Live results will be available through GoZags.com.