Complete pole vault, 800 meters results (PDF) 
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MANKATO, Minn. – McKayla Fricker said she was going to run her preliminary heat as if it was the finals. She did – and won it.

Now, the Seattle Pacific sophomore is in the finals of the 800 meters at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Fricker out-leaned Amanda Raudabaugh of Shippensburg (Pa.) at the wire to win the second of two heats on Friday at Myers Field House on the campus of Minnesota State Mankato. She stopped the watch in 2 minutes, 14.17 seconds and guaranteed herself a spot in Saturday's championship race, which starts at 3:00 p.m. Pacific time.

Raudabaugh was just one-tenth of a second behind Fricker at 2:14.27.

“It played out perfect for me,” Fricker said “I watched the first heat, and then went out super-fast in 62 (seconds for the first 400 meters). We went out in 64 or 65, and that was perfect. “

Fricker's decisive move came just as she started the final 200 meters.

“I just waited for the opportunity to kick it in, and finally, someone moved, and I got around and passed her on the (first) curve of the last 200,” Fricker said. “I was looking for a spot to open up a little before that, but I was boxed in, just like I was at conference.

“I knew when it opened up that I just had to go,” she added. “I didn't know where anybody else was. I just knew I needed to get first or second to make the finals.”

The time for Fricker (Canby, Ore.) was the sixth-fastest overall and was the second-fastest of her indoor career. She went 2:15.53 in winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship on Feb. 18 in Nampa, Idaho, then followed up a week later with a 2:12.67 at the SPU Last Chance meet to secure a spot at nationals.

“For a prelim time, that's fine,” Fricker said. “I need to talk to the coaches now on just getting prepared for finals.”

The one to beat in Saturday's race will be Alycia Wright of Saginaw Valley (Mich.). Wright won her heat in 2:11.06, just .06 ahead of Amanda Putt of Hillsdale (Mich.).

Senior Terra Schumacher (Sublimity, Ore.) placed 14th in the pole vault on Friday as Seattle Pacific's only other competitor of the day. Schumacher cleared 11 feet, 5¾ inches on her first try before coming up short on all three attempts at 11-9¾.

Kristen Hixson of Grand Valley State (Mich.) and Kayla Caldwell of Hillsdale went highest at 13-1 ½, with Hixson claiming the crown by virtue of clearing it the first time, while Caldwell needed one extra attempt.

SPU senior Ali Worthen (Coos Bay, Ore.) and junior Katy Gross (Everett, Wash.) will be in action on Saturday in the pentathlon. Worthen comes in as the No. 7 seed with 3,729 points. Gross, who was added to the field on Wednesday after one competitor scratched out, is No. 12 with 3,469 points. The pent begins at 7 a.m. Pacific time with the 60-meter hurdles.


NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
NCAA Division II Indoor Championships
Friday, March 9, 2012
Myers Field House / Mankato, Minn.

FINALS
Pole vault – 1, Kristen Hixson (Grand Valley State) 13 1 ½ / 4.00m. SPU placer – 14, Terra Schumacher 11-5 ¾ / 3.50m.

PRELIMINARIES
800 (top 9 to finals) – 1, Alycia Wright (Saginaw Valley) 2:11.06. SPU placer – 6, McKayla Fricker 2:14.17.