Spriggs, Beebe qualify for finals at NCAA outdoor championships' first day

BEREA, Ohio – The first step toward winning a national championship in many individual events is qualifying for the championship round. That’s just what seniors Cory Beebe (Medina, Ohio) and Delannie Spriggs (Owings, Md.) did on Thursday, the first day of the 2010 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College.

Spriggs qualified for the final of the 200-meter dash on Thursday, winning one of three heats with a time of 21.29 seconds; he was the third-fastest of 17 runners in the preliminary round. Spriggs will compete for the title on Saturday afternoon at 3:45 p.m. He hopes it will be one of two races on Saturday, as he will attempt to qualify for the 100-meter dash final on Friday.

Beebe was the second-fastest runner in the 400-meter hurdles, winning his heat with a time of 52.13 seconds. He will run to defend his 2009 title on Saturday at 3:25 p.m. Beebe will also look to make that one of two titles on Saturday; he will run in the preliminary round of 110-meter hurdles on Friday.

While the duo will run in preliminary round events on Friday, senior Brandon Fugett (Randallstown, Md.) will step in the circle Friday afternoon and compete in the preliminary and final rounds of the shot put competition looking to defend his 2009 national championship. Fugett enters the competition as the top-seeded athlete in the event.