SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On Thursday, Makena Morley qualified for the NCAA outdoor track and field championships in the 10,000-meter run.
On Saturday, she added the 5,000 meters.
The former Bigfork High School standout now running at the University of Colorado placed seventh in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA West Preliminaries, crossing the finish line in 15 minutes, 42.55 seconds. Morley was running in the faster of two heats Saturday, as she finished her heat in sixth. The five runners in front of her also will advance to the national championships. Boise State’s Allie Ostrander won Morley’s heat and will take the West’s top qualifying time of 15:30.94 into the national championships.
“Makena had a wonderful race again, coming back on tired legs from the 10,000 just 48 hours ago,” Colorado coach Mark Wetmore said in a university media release. “She fought the whole way and closed on some people and got herself into a second event in Austin, very proud of her.”
Morley, a junior, will be running the 5,000 meters at the NCAA championships for the first time in June. It will mark her third consecutive June running the 10,000 meters at the national meet, earning a 17th-place finish in 2017 and an 11th-place finish in 2018.
The NCAA outdoor track and field championships are June 5-8 at Austin, Texas.
