EUGENE, Ore. - Senior Patrick Strong recorded the second fastest 10,000 meter run in school history Thursday night at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds from Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
Strong, who came into competition ranked 48th in the region, finished 28th overall in the national semifinal with a time of 30:02.82, just 42 seconds out of a berth at the NCAA Championships.
Five other members of the North Texas track & field team were in action on Thursday night including sophomore Steven White.
White, who was a member of the United States Junior National Team as a freshman, fell just short of advancing to Friday's 400-meter hurdle quarterfinal round when he crossed the line in 52.33 seconds.
That time put him at 26th place overall, a mere .21 seconds from the 24th and final spot.
In the women's 100-meter dash, seniors Brittany Blaylock and Alysha Adams also failed to advance to Friday's action. Recovering from a minor injury that held her out of the Sun Belt Conference Championships, Blaylock was able to muster a 12.34 second time, ranking her 46th.
Adams was issued a false start. She will compete tomorrow afternoon in the 100-meter hurdles as well as Saturday as a member of the 4x100-meter relay team.
Another senior's career with the Mean Green came to an end Thursday as Jordan Wehr cleared 4.90 meters in the pole vault but finished in 33rd.
Christal Brewster, Clinton Collins, Justin Flowers and Adams will all be in action for North Texas on day two at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds.
