Zimmer Moves Into NCAA Qualifying Position in 1500 Meters by Two-Hundredths of a Second

REDLANDS, Calif. - Laura Zimmer ran a personal-best 4:34.53 in the 1500 meters at the Redlands Final Qualifier, moving her into position to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships by two-hundredths of a second with just one more day left in the qualification period.

Zimmer's time moved her into 22nd place in the country in Division III, and the top 22 times earn invitations to nationals. Her time edged out Brenna Sclair of George Fox by just .02, who held 22nd place at 4:34.55 heading into today, and puts her right behind teammate Natalie Bitetti, who is in 21st place at 4:33.69. 

Zimmer and Bitetti will need to wait 24 more hours to find out if they will earn their way to the NCAA Division III Championships. There are still six other qualifying meets taking place tomorrow around the country for others to try to surpass their times. In addition, not everyone above them in the top 20 is guaranteed to be in the NCAA field, with the possibility that one or more could be out due to injury, or could willingly opt out to focus on other events.

The second day of the Redlands Final Qualifier takes place tomorrow, as Zimmer will run again in the 800 meters, with Caroline DelVecchio (hurdles) and Brooke Simon (pole vault) also scheduled to compete.

The NCAA Division III Championships will be held next week from May 26-28 at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.