GENEVA, Ohio – Junior Ignatius Fitzgerald of the St. Olaf College men's track and field team qualified for the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase after finishing ninth in the prelims at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday evening at the SPIRE Institute.

Competing in his first national meet in track and field in a field that included five All-Americans, Fitzgerald grabbed the fourth and final automatic qualifying spot in the second heat with a time of 8:59.81 to book his spot in the final. The final will be contested at 3:40 p.m. CT on Friday, May 23.

After the first heat, Fitzgerald needed to finish in the top four or run faster than 8:55.41. to claim a spot in the final, as the top-four finishers in each heat plus the next four fastest times moved on. In a heat that saw a handful of runners lead at the lap splits, Fitzgerald oscillated between second and sixth at the eight intervals before running a 1:04.48 final lap – the fastest full lap in either heat – to secure his spot in the final.

Fitzgerald is the fifth different Ole to qualify for the national meet in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and entered the meet as the No. 7 seed with his program-record time of 8:52.30 from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Championships earlier this month. This year marked the third consecutive season St. Olaf has had a national qualifier in the event (Will Kelly '24 in 2023 and 2024).