SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A trio of repeat NCAA Preliminary Qualifiers –
Alicia Anderson in the 1500m and
Kristen Garcia and
Caramia Mestler in the 10,000m – all wrapped up competition for Gonzaga Women's Track on Day Two at NCAA West Prelims Thursday night.
Back in the 1500m First Round for the second straight year, Anderson opened up the day with a ninth-place finish in Heat 2 (4:22.46), good for 34th overall. After a blazing-fast first heat saw the top seven finishers all put down sub-4:13 times, Anderson – seeded fifth in her heat – kept pace with the front pack over the final four laps but came up less than two seconds short of the next-fastest Quarterfinals qualifier. Her 4:18.53 PR from last spring's West Prelims in Fayetteville, Ark. Ranks No. 2 All-Time in GU history, and would've been the 20th-fastest tonight.
Nearly three hours later,
Kristen Garcia and
Caramia Mestler -- both at NCAA Prelims in the 10,000M for the second season in a row after Garcia broke the program record (33:01.77) and Mestler put down the third-fastest time in program history (33:49.63) this spring – wrapped up their decorated collegiate careers with 32nd- and 38th-place finishes, respectively. Garcia crossed the finish line in 33:50.71, with Mestler just behind in 34:17.80.
The duo hold a combined seven indoor and five outdoor times that rank in their respective events' All-Time Top 10's. Garcia's program record is more than 39 seconds faster than the next best finish in program history, with her 5,000m best (16:04.49) ranking No. 2 and her 1500m (4:23.65) sitting at No. 5. Mestler, despite only competing one year in a Zag uniform, holds the No. 3 10K time (33:49.63) and eighth-fastest 5,000m (16:26.52).
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
Cullen McEachern (Heat No. 3) and
Cooper Laird (Heat No. 2) kick off Day Three in Sacramento in the Men's 3,000m Steeplechase at 5:40 p.m., with
James Mwaura and
Wil Smith returning for the second heat of the Men's 5,000m at 8:10 p.m. -- after both competing in the 10,000m Wednesday night -- to close things out.
All four days of the NCAA West Preliminaries will be broadcast live via ESPN+ on WatchESPN. Live results will be available through GoZags.com -- follow @ZagRunning on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
