FAYETTEVILLE, AR - Iona College women's indoor track sophomore Heidi Gregson advanced to the final heat of the 2010 NCAA Championship mile with her performance in the preliminary round this evening. Gregson ran a 4:46.05 for a sixth place finish in her heat at the Randal Tyson Track Complex at the University of Arkansas.

"Heidi ran a very tactical and gutsy race," said head coach Ricardo Santos. "To come back from an emotional run to earn a spot in this event last week to making it into the final is a great accomplishment for in just her first national championship experience. In the end, she had enough to make it and now we get ready for the final tomorrow night."

Gregson's time was 10th overall in the two-heat, 17-competitor event. She earned the final qualifying time for tomorrow's championship by a .2 second margin. The top four qualifying times for the final came from Gregson's heat.

Gregson qualified for NCAAs last week at the Armory with a school record time of 4:40.08.

The NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship mile begins tomorrow at 7:25 pm ET and can can be seen live on the web on ESPN360.com.

2010 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship
Randal Tyson Track Complex - Univ. of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR
March 12, 2010.

Mile Preliminary Heats
Heat 1
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Pl  Athlete Name        Affiliation        Time  
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1.  Katie Follett       Washington      4:41.84Q
2.  Keri Bland          West Virginia   4:41.87Q
3.  Jordan Hasay        Oregon          4:41.89Q
4.  Mihaela Susa        Oklahoma State  4:42.03Q
5.  Dina Nosenko        Wake Forest     4:43.61q
6.  Heidi Gregson       Iona College    4:46.05q
7.  Amanda Winslow      Florida State   4:52.99  
8.  Ashley Miller       Nebraska        4:54.47  
  
Heat 2
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Pl  Athlete Name        Affiliation        Time  
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1.  Charlotte Browning  Florida         4:43.35Q
2.  Anne Kesselring     Oregon          4:43.38Q
3.  Pilar McShine       Florida State   4:44.23Q
4.  Caroline Karunde    Texas Tech      4:44.45Q
5.  Kristie Krueger     Georgia         4:46.25  
6.  Kaylyn Christopher  West Virginia   4:46.76  
7.  Nicole Schappert    Villanova       4:47.46  
8.  Purity Biwott       Texas Tech      4:50.12  
9.  Sharla Manuele      Southern Utah   4:54.15  

Overall
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Pl  Athlete Name        Yr  Affiliation     Time     Heat(PL)
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1.  Katie Follett       SR  Washington      4:41.84Q     1(1)
2.  Keri Bland          JR  West Virginia   4:41.87Q     1(2)
3.  Jordan Hasay        FR  Oregon          4:41.89Q     1(3)
4.  Mihaela Susa        JR  Oklahoma State  4:42.03Q     1(4)
5.  Charlotte Browning  SR  Florida         4:43.35Q     2(1)
6.  Anne Kesselring     FR  Oregon          4:43.38Q     2(2)
7.  Dina Nosenko        SO  Wake Forest     4:43.61q     1(5)
8.  Pilar McShine       SR  Florida State   4:44.23Q     2(3)
9.  Caroline Karunde    JR  Texas Tech      4:44.45Q     2(4)
10. Heidi Gregson       SO  Iona College    4:46.05q     1(6)
11. Kristie Krueger     SO  Georgia         4:46.25      2(5)
12. Kaylyn Christopher  SO  West Virginia   4:46.76      2(6)
13. Nicole Schappert    SR  Villanova       4:47.46      2(7)
14. Purity Biwott       JR  Texas Tech      4:50.12      2(8)
15. Amanda Winslow      FR  Florida State   4:52.99      1(7)
16. Sharla Manuele      SR  Southern Utah   4:54.15      2(9)
17. Ashley Miller       JR  Nebraska        4:54.47      1(8)