Terrance Ellis kicked it into another gear with 200-meters to go to turned in a fast enough time for him to qualify for today's finals in the 800-meter run at the NCAA Championships.
Ellis, the school and track record holder in the event at Cal State Stanislaus, surged up to the second spot at turn No. 3 before finishing fifth in his heat in a time of 1:51.92. The time turned out to be fast enough to get him among the top nine finishers as he will get a chance to run today at the Thunderbowl on the campus of Colorado State-Pueblo.
The top two finishers in each heat and the next five best times advance to today's finals set to start at 7:05 p.m. Mountain Time.
The junior from Stockton was among the six qualifiers from heat one with Adams State's Boris Berian, the indoor track and field champion in the event, having the best preliminary time of 1:50.87.
Ellis could earn an All-America status in the event with a top eight finish.
Setting the pace early, junior Dawson Vorderbruegge ran out near the front of the pack and sprinted to the finish to qualify as he will get another run at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.
In men's long jump, Abdullah Dosu was in the finals of the event before finishing ninth with a day's best of 23-feet, 10 inches. Cal State L.A.'s Giogrio Bryant was eighth with a leap of 24-1 3/4. The top eight finishers were named All-Americans.
Vorderbruegge took off at the gun and ran in second with Jeremy Antivo of American International for most of the race. When the rest of the pack made a move in the final 200-meters, Vorderbruegge held his own to finish in seventh in his heat in a time of 4:00.78.
His heat was much faster than heat one as all eight runners in heat two, which included defending national champion Russell Drummond of Colorado School of Mines, all advanced to today's finals. The top four runners in each of the two heats plus the next four best times will compete for the championship. The finals is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. today Mountain Time.
Based on preliminary time, Vorderbruegge will be the 11th seed in today's finals. The top qualifying time f 3:58.35 belonged to Mack McLain of Colorado School of Mines. Perhaps due to the elevation, five of the top six qualifiers are from either Colorado School of Mines or Adams State (Colorado).
For Dosu, his best mark on the day of 7.26 meters occurred on his second attempt. Levance Williams of Abilene Christian won with a 25-11.
Fans will be able to watch live action from Pueblo online at NCAA.com.