WALNUT, Calif. – Five Vikings provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships on day one of the prestigious 57th annual Mt. Sac Relays while Augustana sent another group of athletes to compete at the Cal State (LA) Twilight Open on Thursday.
 
At the Mt. Sac Relays, Leah Seivert was the highest Division II runner to finish in the women's 10,000-meter with a fourth-place finish. Seivert set a new school record and provisionally qualified with a time of 34:38.77. Seivert's mark provisionally qualifies her for the NCAA Championships and currently ranks as the fastest time in Division II.

Meritxell Delgado and Annie Kruse both earned provisional marks in the women's 10,000-meter run. Delgado put up an equally impressive time with a new personal-best run of 35:34.24 for 13th-place. Freshman Kruse clocked a time of 36:40.20 to place 27th overall.

Senior Paul Yak finished eighth, second among Division II runners, in the men's 10,000-meter run provisionally qualifying with a time of 30:14.15. 

Ryan Heuer and Irene Almarcha led the way for Augustana at the Cal State (LA) Twilight Open both taking fifth-place in their respective events. Heuer started the Vikings off in the men's 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.94, while Almarcha provisionally qualified time of 14.21 in the women's 100-meter hurdles.

Three Vikings placed in the women's 200-meter dash. Carina Hofmeister was the fastest Viking with a 25.17 time followed by Anne Parsley taking 16th and Charissa Etrheim placing 28th. Hofmeister also competed in the women's 100-meter dash clocking a time of 12.50 to earn a 16th-place finish.

CJ Ham also competed at the Cal State Twilight Open breaking his current school record in the men's hammer throw with a personal-best heave of 53.54 meters (174 feet 4 inches) to earn a 13th-place finish. The Duluth, Minn. native also dominated the men's shot put placing sixth with a heave of 15.20 meters.

Augustana will continue to stay busy on Friday in California for day two of the Mt. Sac Relays followed by competing at the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific University. The Vikings will also send a group of athletes to Sioux City, Iowa for the Sioux City Relays.