Special to the News

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Four members of the Auburn track and field teams earned automatic spots in the NCAA Championships, and six Tigers advanced from prelims into today’s finals in running events during the opening day of the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships at John McDonnell Field.

The top five finishers during the regional meet earn automatic spots at the NCAA Championships, while others who finish in the top 12 at the meet must wait to find out if they earn an at-large spot in the field.

“This meet is all about advancing to the NCAA Championships,” said head coach Ralph Spry. “We had a few kids who competed hard and didn’t quite make it through, but our heavy hitters did what they had to do. We’re still right where we need to be in terms of accomplishing our mission at nationals.

“Our key people are stepping up, and if we can come back tomorrow and finish what we started today, it’s going to be a real exciting NCAA meet for us.”

Senior Cory Martin continued his domination of throwing events this season, winning the shot put, while sophomore Eric Werskey also punched his ticket to Des Moines by finishing third.

Martin took only his first three attempts before passing on the last three, and all three of his throws were better than anyone else in the field, culminating in a mark of 20.05m (65-9.5).

Werskey, who finished a disappointing ninth at the SEC Championships in the shot put, rebounded to take third at the regional meet with a throw of 18.09m (59-4.25). He entered the meet seeded third in the region and 11th nationally.

Sophomore Valentina Srsa qualified for her first NCAA Championship meet, finishing fifth in the women’s hammer throw. Srsa, who won the SEC title in the event two weeks ago, posted a mark of 59.03 (193-8), which was good enough to edge the sixth-place finisher by 17 inches for the final automatic qualifying spot. She entered the competition ranked seventh.

Sophomore Felix Kiboiywo finished second in the men’s 5,000m to earn a trip to his first NCAA Championship meet. The SEC champion in the 1,500m raced to a time of 14:06.32 in the final event of the night, after entering the meet seeded seventh. Sophomore Jean-Pierre Weerts placed 14th in 14:41.71.

In the women’s 5,000m, freshman Hollie Knight came up one spot shy of earning an automatic spot in the NCAA field, finishing sixth with a time of 16:42.62. However, she still stands a good chance of earning an at-large spot in the field, as she entered the meet ranked No. 18 nationally.

Sophomore Laurel Pritchard placed 19th with a time of 18:05.84.

Auburn advanced two women into the finals of the 400m hurdles, as junior Amelia Anderson and sophomore Danielle Gilchrist both won their respective heats. Gilchrist’s time of 57.47 ranked third overall, while Anderson’s time of 58.94 ranked 10th overall but was good enough to win her heat and advance her to the finals.

The second and final day of the NCAA Mideast Regional will take place today before NCAA qualifiers will compete at the NCAA Championships hosted by Drake University from June 11-14.