May 25, 2007
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Navy men's track & field middle distance runner Paul Harris (Jr./Woodbury, Minn.) qualified for the finals of 800-meter run to highlight the Midshipmen performance during the opening day of the 2007 NCAA East Region Championship at Florida's James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track on Friday.
Racing in the second of four heats, Harris paced the field with a time of 1:48.77. His time was the third-fastest on the day, as Miami's Tim Harris registered a 1:48.50 clocking and Iona's Tim Bayley produced a 1:48.58 showing during the opening heat. Paul Harris' performance on Friday ranks as the third-fastest time in school history and marks his third sub-1:49.00 effort in the event this outdoor season.
The top-five runners in the event will qualify for the NCAA Championship at Sacramento State's Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex on June 6-9. In addition to the five runners earning an automatic bid, up to three additional spots could be claimed by provisional qualifiers. At the 2006 NCAA East Region Championship, Harris finished fifth in the 800-meter run finals to earn a spot at the national championship. With a top-five finish tomorrow, Harris would become the first Navy runner since John Mentzer in 1997-98 to make back-to-back trips to the NCAA Championship.
Classmate Craig Meekins (Jr./Baldwin, N.Y.) joined Harris in the 800-meter run prelims on Friday, placing fourth in his heat and 16th overall with a time of 1:50.48. He missed qualification for the finals, as the four heat winners and the next four-fastest times advanced to Saturday's action.
Two other Midshipmen saw action during the opening day of the regional championship. Ron Belany (Jr./Haiku, Hawai'i) finished 24th in the preliminary round of the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.20 seconds and did not qualify for the Saturday finals. Andre Barber (Jr./Carrollton, Texas) did not advance to the finals flight in the discus throw, finishing with a distance of 147'8" (45.00 meters).
The Midshipmen will participate in four events tomorrow to wrap up the two-day regional championship. Bo Lawson (Jr./Fredon,N.J.) will open up for Navy in the javelin throw at 3 p.m., followed by Darryl Hunter (Jr./Des Moines, Iowa) in the shot put at 6 p.m. Harris will partake in the 800-meter finals at 6:55 p.m. and Navy's 4x400-meter relay of William Ricks (Jr./Sussex, Va.), Cameron Lindsay (Sr./Kernersville, N.C.), Meekins and Harris will close out the championship at 8:35 p.m.
