EUGENE, Ore. (June 11, 2026) – Northern Arizona's Hayley Burns secured a spot in Saturday's NCAA Outdoor Championships final, winning her 1500-meter semifinal Thursday evening at Hayward Field.
Burns positioned herself near the front of the field from the opening stages of the race, taking control through the first 300 meters before maintaining her position throughout the semifinal. She closed strongly over the final lap to cross the finish line first in her heat in 4:09.48, automatically advancing to Saturday's national championship final.
The victory marks another milestone in a standout season for Burns, who entered the NCAA Championships after setting both the Northern Arizona and Big Sky Conference records in the 5,000 meters earlier this spring.
Northern Arizona will continue competition Friday evening with two athletes competing in NCAA championship finals. Colin Sahlman will race in the men's 800-meter final at 6:14 p.m. PT, while Josiah Johnson will compete in the men's 400-meter hurdles final at 6:27 p.m. PT.
Saturday's women's 1500-meter final is scheduled for 5:12 p.m. PT at Hayward Field.
Live results of the NCAA Championships are available here.
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