GRINNELL, Iowa - Christopher Newport University senior, Dira Hansen, finished ninth in the 800m preliminary at the NCAA National Championship meet. She finished the race 6th in her heat with a time of 2:15.14.

The top two finishers in each heat in addition to the next four fastest times qualify for the finals. Hansen competed in the first heat, the faster of the two heats. Roanoke's Carmen Graves finished first with a time of 2:11.77 while Coe's Keelie Finnel finished second at 2:12.09.

The fastest time in the second heat came from Illinois Wesleyan's Tara Clemens at 2:13.00. Taking the other top spot in the second heat was Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Christy Cazzola at 2:14.84.

Hansen just missed the finals as she finished .12 behind Ohio Wesleyan's Katie Reid who rounded out the field for the final race. The finals are set to start at 6:05pm (EST) tomorrow night.

Women's 800m

Preliminaries                                                                   
  1 Carmen Graves             JR Roanoke              # 2:11.77Q                
  2 Tara Clemens              JR Illinois Wesleyan    # 2:13.00Q                
  3 Keelie Finnel             JR Coe                  # 2:12.09Q                
  4 Christy Cazzola           JR Wis.-Oshkosh           2:14.84Q                
  5 Emily Schudrowitz         SR St. Norbert          # 2:12.43q                
  6 Jessica Thornton          JR Birmingham-Southern  # 2:12.56q                
  7 Emily Mazzaferri          SO Mount Union          # 2:13.43q                
  8 Katie Reid                FR Ohio Wesleyan          2:15.02q                
  9 Dira Hansen               SR Christopher Newport    2:15.14                 
 10 Kirkley Doyle             JR Kenyon                 2:15.30                 
 11 Lauren Brunetto           SR Oneonta                2:15.36                 
 12 Rebecca Hammond           JR Swarthmore             2:16.08                 
 13 Cailin Kowalewski         JR Geneseo St.            2:16.58                 
 14 Ann Tank                  SR Wis.-Platteville       2:18.67                 
 15 Amy McCasland             SR Plattsburgh St.        2:18.68