Christian Campbell Advances to NCAA Indoor Finals in 200 Meters

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Christian Campbell, who came in seeded 12th, ran the fourth-fastest time in prelims of the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, advancing him through to the finals on Saturday afternoon at the Birmingham Crossplex.

Campbell came in with a top time of 21.52 indoors and took .10 off it to finish in 21.42 in the first heat. He was running with the top seed in the field, Sam Blaskowski of Wisconsin-La Crosse, who ran a 21.20, but Campbell was able to stay pretty close behind him to run a solid time and then wait out the final four heats to see if he would make it through to Saturday. 

Cheickna Traore edged Blaskowski's time in the second heat with a 21.17, but second place was a distant 21.80. The winning time in the third heat was 21.49, and when Eric Gregory of Gallaudet was the only runner in the fourth heat to pass Campbell's time (21.33), Campbell was safely through to the finals before the fifth heat even took place. 

By running in the top four, Campbell will be in the faster of the two heats tomorrow, joining Blaskowski, Traore and Gregory. JP Vaught of Centre, the defending national champion, will be in the slower heat after running a 21.49. Campbell is guaranteed to earn All-America honors merely by finishing the race tomorrow and earning one of the top eight spots on the podium. 

Campbell is making his first individual appearance at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships, after qualifying with the 4x400 relay team during outdoor season last year. He finished third in the 200 at the SCIAC Championships last year to earn all-league honors.

In addition to his indoor success, Campbell began outdoor season this year by breaking the 35-year old program record in the 100 with a 10.47 at the Pomona-Pitzer All-Comers Meet on Feb. 18, surpassing the old mark of 10.52 set by Mark Messana in 1988.