In his maiden voyage at an NCAA DII National Meet, Hillsdale College men's track and field sophomore Richie Johnston acquitted himself well on Thursday in Pueblo, Colorado.
Competing in the 3,000m steeplechase prelims on Thursday evening, Johnston put himself in the thick of the race in his heat, hanging with the lead pack for much of the competiton and keeping himself in position to challenge for a spot in the finals of the event on Friday.
In the end, however, Johnston came up just short of moving on, placing 13th in a time of 9:24.18, one place off of earning one of the 12 spots in the finals.
It's still valuable experience and a nice capper to a break-out sophomore season for Johnston, who earned his first NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark during the indoor track season in February, and followed it up by earning a spot in the field for the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships just three months later. That rapid progression bodes well for Johnston's future as a competitor with two more years to look to improve on his finish this season.