Tanner Braces for Saturday's NCAA 5,000m Final
6/9/2016 9:30:00 AM | Track and Field
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EUGENE, Ore. - Columbia junior Natalie Tanner will be one of 24 women who take off in the 5,000m final on Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene.
Tanner is scheduled to run at 5:25 pm local time in the second to last event of the meet. The junior qualified after taking ninth place during the NCAA East Prelims on May 28, as the top-12 runners from the two prelim meets will meet in the 24-person field.
"Natalie ran a great race at regionals to qualify for the finals in Eugene," said the Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Daniel Ireland. "She always seems to run her best races at the end of the season, so we are excited to see what she can do in her first race at Hayward Field."
The Rye, New York, native came on strong late in the season, taking third place at the Ivy League Outdoor Championships in the 5,000m run, right behind teammate Henna Rustami. On that day, Tanner went 16:36.69, a shade under three seconds behind Rustami, who clocked a 16:33.92.
Three weeks later in Jacksonville, Florida, Tanner clocked a career best 16:12.04 during the prelims, only 10 seconds off the pace of the winner on that day, Furman's Allie Buchalski.
Columbia has now had at least one male or female representative at the last 10 NCAA Championships, including cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field.
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