WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Senior Chris Perry (Attleboro, Mass.) captured All-American honors, while juniors Conor Murtagh (Walpole, Mass.) and Chinedu Chukwu (Randolph, Mass.) advanced to Saturday's finals at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships held at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Friday.
Perry, who was seeded 14th in the long jump, placed third in the event with a leap of 22 feet, 10 inches (6.96 meters). The top eight finishers in each event garner All-American status.
Murtagh posted the top mark in the preliminaries of the 60-meter hurdles as he broke his own school record with a time of 7.96 seconds. Murtagh eclipsed his previous standard of 7.99 seconds set earlier this season at the Division III New England Championships.
Chukwu finished eighth in the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash as he posted a time of 6.92 seconds.
By finishing in the top eight in their respective events, Murtagh and Chukwu advance to the finals on Saturday. The finals of the 60-meter hurdles is scheduled for 2:15 PM while the finals of the 60-meter dash is slated for 3:25 PM.
Senior Brian Espinosa (Rehoboth, Mass.) placed ninth in the preliminaries of the 200-meter dash (22.23), while classmate Andy Sukeforth (Middleboro, Mass.) finished 11th in the preliminaries of the one-mile run (4:15.94). Espinosa and Sukeforth missed qualifying for Saturday's finals by one spot.
The Bears are tied for ninth place in the team standings with six points after the first day of events. Wisconsin-La Crosse is in first place with 31 points followed by North Central College (26 pts.) and University of Mount Union (11.5 pts.).
Along with Murtagh and Chukwu competing in Satuday's finals, Perry will be competing in the triple jump as he is seeded second. The triple jump is scheduled for 10:00 AM.
For results and to watch the webcast of the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday, click on the links below: