Hope College's Nicholas Salomon grabbed the last spot for the men's 800 meters at this week's NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship in Waverly, Iowa.
The junior from Troy, Michigan (Detroit Jesuit HS) plans to make the most of his opportunity.
Salomon is one of 20 men's runners Friday racing for one of eight berths in the championship race on Saturday.
The 2016 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association 800-meter champion earned his berth with a qualifying time of 1 minute, 51.12 seconds at the Grand Valley State University Al Owens Invitational on April 23 in Allendale, Michigan.
"The times were really tough this year to get into the 800. We weren't sure he was going to make the cut right there until the end," Hope coach Kevin Cole said. "It really doesn't matter if you come in 2nd or 20th. If you have a good race, you can make it to the final. His goals are to get into the top eight and race on Saturday."
Salomon is scheduled to run in Friday's preliminaries at 5:45 p.m. Central. The event's top seed is Mitchell Black of Tufts, Massachusetts at 1:48.60.
Click here to watch live video of Friday's meet.
Click here for an event schedule and live results.
Salomon is aiming to join two other Hope All-Americans in the 800 meters: Joel Rietsema (2012-13) and Steve Rabuck (2001).
Salomon is within one-half second of Rietsema's 2012 school record for the 800 meters.
"He's always been a good 800-meter runner," Cole said of Salomon. "One of his gifts is his leg speed. Plus, he's been working really hard on his core and his endurance. Put those two together, and you're going to have a great 800-meter runner."
