Garcia and Gay Qualify For Finals at NCAA Championships

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DES MOINES, Iowa – Senior Stephanie Garcia and junior Morgane Gay led the Virginia track and field team on the second day of the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The duo each won their respective heats to automatically qualify for Saturday’s finals, while senior Adams Abdulrazaaq (110mH) and sophomore Brett Johnson (1500m) each earned second-team All-America honors today. On Saturday, Garcia will be the top seed in the 3,000m steeplechase, while Gay earned the top seed in the 1500m finals.

Gay started things off on the track by running a personal-best time of 4:14.72 to break Michelle Rowen’s 24-year-old school record of 4:15.37, set in 1987. Gay, a 2009 All-American in the event, won her heat to automatically advance to Saturday’s finals and become the first two-time finalist in the women’s 1500m in program history. She will be the top seed in the 12-competitor final and will toe the line at 1:18 p.m. ET.

Garcia wrapped up events for the day by winning the first heat of the steeplechase in 10:00.27. A four-time NCAA Championships qualifier and a 2009 All-American in the steeplechase, Garcia becomes the program’s first two-time finalist in the event. She will race in the finals of the event on Saturday at 1:54 p.m. ET.

In other semifinal events, Abdulrazaaq, making his first NCAA outdoor appearance, wrapped up his career in the 110m hurdles with second-team All-America honors. Abdulrazaaq smashed his previous school record of 13.82 from earlier this year, running 13.66 to finish 13th overall. Abdulrazaaq earned second-team All-America honors during the indoor season in the 60m hurdles and is the school record holder in both the 110m hurdles outdoors (13.66) and the 60m hurdles indoors (7.75).

In the 1500m, Johnson narrowly missed making the finals, finishing eighth in his heat and eighth overall with a time of 3:47.96. With his finish, he earned second-team All-America honors in his first NCAA Championships appearance.

Sophomore Robby Andrews, the 2010 NCAA runner-up in the 800m, will represent Virginia tomorrow, racing in the finals of the 800m at 8:20 p.m. ET. The Cavaliers will conclude competition at NCAAs on Saturday.

Thursday’s Results
Women’s 1500m – Morgane Gay – 1st – 4:14.72 **
Men’s 1500m – Brett Johnson – 8th in heat, 8th overall – 3:47.96
Men’s 110mH – Adams Abdulrazaaq – 13th – 13.66
Women’s Steeple – Stephanie Garcia – 1st – 10:00.27

** Automatically advances to Saturday’s finals