Andrews Advances to 800m Finals at NCAA Championships

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Robby Andrews, running in his first-ever NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, continued his stellar freshman campaign Friday evening at the University of Arkansas by winning the first of two 800m heats to remain undefeated on the season and automatically advance to tomorrow’s finals in the event.

Andrews enters the 800m finals at the Randal Tyson Track Center seeded second with his time of 1:49.31 from tonight’s preliminary round. Oregon’s Olympian Andrew Wheating won the second heat with a time of 1:49.23 to hold the top time out of the prelims, while all eight competitors who advanced to the finals finished within .50 seconds of one another.

In other events, sophomore Ryan Collins wrapped up an impressive season in the 5000m, finishing 11th with a time of 14:06. Collins, Virginia’s only ACC Champion in the 5k, won his second-straight conference title in the 5000m this year.

Collins advanced to the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time in his career by hitting the automatic mark in the 5k at the Husky Classic on Feb. 12. He shattered Virginia’s 21-year-old school record with his time of 13:46.41, replacing Kris Herdt’s time of 14:02.00 atop the program’s record boards. His mark was also just 14 seconds shy of the all-time ACC record set by Clemson’s Robert deBrouwer at 13:32.00 in 1985.

Northern Arizona’s David McNeill won the national title in the 5000m, leading all competitors across the line with at time of 13:36.41.

The Cavaliers will conclude the 2010 indoor season tomorrow, as Andrews will toe the line for the 800m finals at 8:35 p.m. The race will be streamed live on ESPN360.com.

800m Finalists
Andrew Wheating, Sr., Oregon – 1:49.23
Robby Andrews, Fr., Virginia – 1:49.31
Ryan Foster, Jr., Penn State – 1:49.39
Richard Jones, Jr., LSU – 1:49.47
Jack Howard, Sr., Notre Dame – 1:49.52
Jamaal James, Sr., LSU – 1:49.67
Owen Dawson, Jr., Penn State – 1:49.72
Zach Mellon, Fr., Wisconsin – 1:49.73