EUGENE, Ore. (6/9/21) – Not even a routine Oregon rain shower could stop Bennett Pascoe in Wednesday's 3000m steeplechase semifinal at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
It actually went well with the seven water jumps, which the Conway, Arkansas, native conquered en route to a Sun Belt-record time of 8:31.79 that was good enough to win his heat and automatically qualify him for Friday's final. The time, which shattered his own school record by nearly six seconds, was the fastest time in the semifinals.
The Sun Belt Conference champion now looks to add a national title to his résumé, racing in the final set for a 7:24 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Friday will mark the first time since 2017 (Jaylen Bacon) that A-State boasts a men's finalist on the track.
The championship final was not the only thing Pascoe qualified for, as his time met the automatic-qualifier benchmark for the U.S. Olympic Trials, held at the same venue later in June.
Pascoe cruised in the bottom half of the pack early on in the race before making his move up in the third lap, posting the fastest third-lap 400m split of 1:06.99.
He remained in the middle of the pack before making another big move before the bell lap, taking the lead and closing with a split of 1:03.12 to edge Middle Tennessee's Kigen Chemadi and take the heat.
NEXT UP
In addition to Pascoe's championship race, Eron Carter will step into the circle vying for a national title as well, throwing the discus. Carter is slated to begin at 6:35 p.m. CT on ESPN3.
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