Four Colorado student-athletes representing Metropolitan State University of Denver and Colorado State University-Pueblo will be running for the NCAA Division II national championship in the 1,500-meter run on Saturday.
Michael Warburton and Breanna Hemming will represent Metro State in the men’s and women’s races, respectively; running alongside them will be Derrick Williams and Racheal Lopez from CSU-Pueblo. Each duo posted qualifying times on Thursday at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Allendale, Mich.
Warburton’s time of 3:52.67 was the fifth-fastest time overall for the men and was a personal-best. Hemming’s run of 4:30.59 was the sixth-fastest overall and the second-fastest in the second heat for the women.
Lopez ran a time of 4:32.60, good for the 12th and final qualifying time for the finals. Williams qualified for the finals by finishing second in his heat with a time of 3:51.15, second fastest in the field. He finished second at the indoor national championships in the 1500 meter run.
The field of 12 finalists for both the men and women will run for the national championship on Saturday afternoon, the women at 2:25 p.m. MDT and the men at 2:35.