BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Eastern Kentucky University's Laura Taborda punched her ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday.
 
Taborda came into the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds ranked No. 22 in the steeplechase; however, she finished eighth overall (and fourth in her heat) on Friday with a time of 9:58.50, qualifying for the NCAA Championships by time.
 
The top three finishers from all three heats, plus the next three best times, advance to the national championship meet in Eugene, Oregon.
 
Taborda's time of 9:58.50 is a nine-second personal-best and shatters her own school record of 10:07.54.
 
She is the first EKU woman ever to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the steeplechase.
 
She will race for a national title June 8-11 at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
 
Jone Zabaleta Larranaga also competed in the 5,000 meters on Saturday night at Indiana's Robert C. Haugh Complex. She finished 37^th in a time of 16:36.84.