Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Graves Punches Ticket to 1,500m Final at NCAA Championships
6/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
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By Josh Gresh, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeTrack)
EUGENE, Ore. - Senior mid-distance runner Kyle Graves of Wake Forest track and field finished third in the semifinal first heat of the men's 1,500m to punch his ticket to the final at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Wednesday afternoon.
Graves was running at the back for most of the race, but used a kick and a heat-best 53 second 1,500m split to cross the finish line at 3:45.94, earning him a third place finish in the heat. With the finish, the senior clinched a spot in the final of the men's 1,500m, which will take place on Friday. The top-five finishers from each heat, plus the two next best times qualified the 12 total competitors to the final race.
A native of Silver Spring, Md. earned his first-career trip to the NCAA Championships at the East Regional less than two weeks ago and has now earned his first trip to the NCAA championship in an event. Now that he is one of the top-12 that qualified for the final, Graves needs to finish top-8 to earn First Team All-America honors but will earn Second Team honors if he finishes between ninth and 12th.
Primed to earn All-American honors, Graves becomes the first Wake Forest male outdoor track and field athlete to earn All-American accolades since Ben Lincoln earned All-American Honorable Mention in 2012 finishing 18th in the javelin. Graves becomes the first distance All-American since Nolan Swanson in 1999 in the 10,000m and only the second Wake Forest male to earn All-American honors in a mid-distance event since Warren Sherman in the 800m in 1995.
Graves will now compete in the final of the NCAA men's 1,500m on Friday, June 12, at 7:45 p.m. EST (4:45 p.m. PST). You can watch live coverage of the event on ESPN or on the WatchESPN app.
Players Mentioned
