BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Duquesne University junior
Collin Ebling (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville) rallied on the final turn to place third in his heat of the 800-meter run at the NCAA East Preliminary Championship to automatically qualify for the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships next month.
Ebling was near the rear of the pack entering the final turn, before pulling past all but two of the competitors in the first of three heats of the quarterfinals of the 800 meters. He crossed the final line at one minute, 48.41 seconds to post the sixth-fastest time out of the 25 runners who reached the quarterfinal round.
Ebling automatically qualified for the semifinals of the 800 meters by placing among the top-three in his heat. A total of 12 runners at the NCAA East Preliminary Championship will move on to compete at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Oregon from June 8-11 at Hayward Field. Both the semifinals and the finals of the 800 meters will take place during the event.
Ebling is just the third Duquesne men's track & field athlete to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the first since Jim Spisak in 2014 (10,000-meter run). Former Duke Tom Slosky advanced to the NCAA National Championships in the steeplechase three times (2006, 2007 & 2008).
In addition to Ebling, runners from Villanova, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Miami (Fla.), Clemson, Ole Miss, Michigan, Georgia, Lipscomb and Princeton also qualified for the national championships in the 800 meters out of the NCAA East Preliminary Championship. There will also be 12 qualified athletes in the 800 meters from the NCAA West Preliminary held in Arkansas today.
Ebling has broken and re-broken a total of seven school records this season, including his time of one minute, 47.88 seconds during the sixth and final heat of the first round of the 800 meters on Wednesday that advanced him to Friday's competition.
