Butler's Mitchell Advances To NCAA Steeplechase Finals

June 11, 2004

Austin, Texas - Butler's Victoria Mitchell passed her first test at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Austin, Texas, on Thursday (June 10). The talented junior placed seventh in the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase preliminaries and advanced to the national finals on Saturday.

Mitchell placed fourth in the first heat of the two-heat race. Her time of 10:16.98 was the seventh-best overall effort in preliminaries, and she was one of 14 athletes to qualify for the steeplechase finals. Briana Shook of Toledo won the first heat and paced all competitors in the preliminaries with a stadium record 10:05.18.

Senior Gary Blackman closed out his Butler track career with a tenth place finish in the second heat of the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase. His time of 9:13.08 placed him 20th overall in the competition.

Junior Olly Laws was the first Butler runner to compete in a finals race at the national meet. He placed 17th in the men's 10,000 meter finals in 31:15.68. Alistair Cragg of Arkansas won the national competition in 29:22.43.

(Courtesy of the Butler Sports Information Department)