Isaac Russo, Jeremy Miller and Michelle Kuipers are all making their final preparations in advance of the NCAA Championships this weekend. All three will be looking to build onto an already impressive individual season on the indoor track. It was one of the toughest years to qualify for the Championships because of the talent spread throughout the country, so for these three to qualify is already a major accomplishment.
 
Both Isaac Russo and Jeremy Miller will both be competing in the Mile. The Prelims will be on Friday March 11 starting at 2:30PM MST. It is a talented group of distance runners in the field, so Russo and Miller will be looking to position themselves and kick at the right time in order to be able to advance into the finals. Russo has a seed time of 4:05.54, and Miller's time was 4:06.42. The fierce competition should allow for both runners to push themselves for a great time.
 
Michelle Kuipers will be taking on the 800M, an event that she is very familiar with both on the indoor and outdoor tracks. Just seven seconds separate the field in what will most certainly be a highly contested race. Kuipers seed time of 2:10.46 has her in a good position heading into the race. The Prelims for the Women's 800M will be run on Friday March 11 at 4PM MST.
 
Head coach Jon Poag said, "Anything can happen in the prelims, so it is exemplifies how difficult it is to make the finals. I have seen years where the top seeds have had a bad race and failed to make the finals. This is why I have preached to Michelle, Jeremy and Isaac the importance of treating the prelim like it is a final. It all comes down to the one race to determine the finals."
 
Stay tuned to CCUCougars.com for updates over the weekend. You can also stream the events live at www.NCAA.com.