CLAREMONT, Calif. – Haverford College's Andrew Sturner finished sixth in the 10,000 meter run final and Tim Schoch raced his way into the national final of the 1,500 meter run with his finish in Friday afternoon's preliminary heat at the NCAA 2012 Division III Outdoor Track & Field championship meet on the campus of Claremont-McKenna College.
Sturner, seeded 19th of the 20 runners in the timed final of the 10,000, put Haverford on the scoreboard in the team race with his sixth-place time of 30 minutes, 53.09 seconds. He earned All-American honors and was one of 12 runners to break the stadium record (31:27.10) as Tim Nelson from the University of Wisconsin-Stout set a new standard with a winning time of 30:16.07. The Fords' Brian Sokas finished 17th.
Schoch posted a third-place time of 3:55.10 in the first of two heats of the 1,500 Friday. The first four finishers in the two preliminary heats gained automatic advancement into the final on Saturday afternoon with the championship heat's field of 12 rounded out by the next four fastest times. Jack Deichert of Hamline University registered the fastest time of the day, 3:52.02, in winning heat two.
At the end of Day 1 the Fords sit in 11th place with three points and Wis.-Stout finishes the opening day in first with 10 points. The national championship meet continues Friday with Haverford's Andrew Golato running in the preliminary heats of the 800 meter run.