The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships kicked off today in Eugene, Oregon where two Bobcat’s competed for a shot at a national championships. Cristian Soratos pushed himself into the finals and Sean Ferriter finished his career in the hammer throw.
Soratos came into today’s race ranked third overall with a seed time of 3:42.60. The Salinas, California native placed sixth out of 23 total competitors, crossing the finish line in 3:41.15, .02 seconds faster than his school record time. Soratos placed sixth in his heat and sixth overall.
Soratos will compete on Friday at 5:45 p.m. in the finals.
“Cristian started to scare me a little bit, but he got the job done,” head coach Dale Kennedy said. “He’s going to have to run a little more tactically on Friday if he wants to win this thing. He ran a 60 and 57 in his first two splits, which is a little too aggressive in a race like this. He’s a smart runner and knows what he has to do physically and mentally be a competitor in the finals.”
Ferriter ended his career as a Bobcat today, finishing 24th at the championships throwing a distance of 186-10. The Butte native didn’t see the results he hoped for. Ferriter sits second all-time on MSU top 10 list with a mark of 211-08, a throw that won the Big Sky title in the hammer.
“Sean has been a great competitor of us for your years. He’s improved from throwing in the 160’s to being one of the best throwers to come through the program. Sure, it was a disappointing finish to his career and his season, but he has so much to be proud of making it this far. He’s one of the top 24 throwers in the country and that’s something he can look back on and be proud of.”
Heather Demorest and Paige Squire will compete tomorrow in the semifinals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 400 hurdles, respectively. Demorest will run at 5:57 and Squire at 7:00 p.m., both on ESPNU.
