Friday Results

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Eastern Kentucky University sophomore Ole Hesselbjerg place seventh in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday night at the NCAA East Region Preliminary Rounds, becoming the second Colonel in as many days to qualify for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The top-12 finishers from each event at the East and West regionals advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held June 5-8 in Eugene, Ore.

Hesselbjerg was second in his heat and seventh out of 48 overall competitors on Friday at Irwin Belk Track, clocking a personal-best time of 8:45.37. That time is the third-fastest in EKU history.

Louisville’s Mattias Wolter won the regional with a time of 8:41.29.

Hesselbjerg, a native of Charlottenlund, Denmark, entered the meet ranked No. 6 in the East Region with a time of 8:47.52, which he recorded when he won the Penn Relays on April 26. The two-time Ohio Valley Conference steeplechase champion will join fellow Colonel (and Dane) Thijs Nijhuis in Eugene. Nijhuis placed 11th in the men’s 10,000 meters on Thursday with a time of 30:01.70.

Two more Colonels will have a shot at qualifying for the NCAA Finals on Saturday, as junior Wade Meddles and sophomore Ann Eason compete in the men’s and women’s 5,000 meters around 8:00 p.m.

EKU qualified three runners for the NCAAs last outdoor season.