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| Hilary Coady |
The College of Wooster's Hilary Coady won the second heat of the 400-meter hurdles on Thursday afternoon during the first day of the NCAA Div. III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, being held at Canton, N.Y., and thus automatically qualified for a spot in the finals on Saturday.
"Wow, great effort," said Wooster head coach Dennis Rice shortly after the race. "(Hilary's) overall strength showed today with the (windy) weather. She really took charge of the race during the final 150 meters."
Coady, assigned to the third lane in the second of three heats in the 400 hurdles, ran the event in a personal-best time of 1:01.65, almost a half second quicker than when she won the event in 1:02.02 at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships three weeks ago.
Coady's nearest competitor during her heat was about two-tenths of a second back (1:01.87), and overall, she recorded the sixth-best time on Thursday.
Rice believes Coady can go even faster. "She's capable of going sub-61.50 (seconds). How far under that will be exciting to see on Saturday. Obviously, she has the opportunity to challenge the best women in the country … (and) to be an All-American."
Coady will have a recovery day on Friday as other events are contested, and the finals of the 400 hurdles, which will consist of nine competitors, are scheduled for Saturday at 3:20 p.m.
Rachel Kraske of George Fox University had Thursday's fastest time (1:00.60).