Results 

GENEVA, Ohio— The Cal State San Marcos women's track and field team kicked off the first of three days of competition at the NAIA Indoor National Championships at the SPIRE Institute with a ninth place finish in the distance medley, barely missing out on Saturday's final.

The team of Heidi Swanson, Brianna Gibas, Michelle Cruz, and Kate Bouvatte each ran different legs of the relay, coving the distances of 1200m, 400m, 800m, and 1600m respectively for a total time of 12:08.11.

The top two teams from each of the two heats automatically qualified for Saturday's final, with the next four fastest times from qualifying joining them for automatic All-American recognition and a chance at the national championship. The Cougars finished fourth in Heat 2, but finished just .02 of a second behind Dordt (Iowa) for the eighth and final qualifying spot.

CSUSM also nearly beat out Jamestown (N.D.), who ran 12:07.92 in the first heat and also advanced. Instead, the Cougars will finish ninth in the competition with their heads held high after a school-record time, breaking their own time from earlier this season by 13 seconds. Bouvatte, a senior who has not run a mile since high school, ran an impressive 5:03 in the final leg.

Coach Steve Scott was pleased with the effort, noting "Heidi was sick with the flu the past couple days, but she showed a lot of courage to get out there and run, and all the others ran great. We just fell .02 short."

The Cougars will have several individual athletes compete Friday in prelims, starting with Swanson in the mile at 1:05pm Eastern Time, or 10:05 PST. Brittany Hollie will compete in the semi-finals of the 60m hurdles at 1:35 Eastern Time, or 10:35 PST. Kelly Thompson and Bouvatte will wrap things up in the 3000m semi-finals Friday at 4:25 Eastern, or 1:25 Pacific.

Thompson and Bouvatte are seeded first and third in the 3000m, while Swanson is ranked fourth among contestants in the mile. Hollie has the 15th fastest time among all the event entrants Friday. Eight athletes from the 60m hurdles will advance to Saturday's final, while 12 athletes will move on in both the mile and 3000m.

Live Video of the championships can be purchased through the NAIA for a one-time payment of $5.95. Broadcast information and a full event schedule can be found on the NAIA website.