Hope College's Nicholas Salomon ended up in a fast-starting heat for the 800-meter preliminaries at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship, and that suited him just fine.

The senior from Troy, Michigan (Detroit Jesuit HS) possessed the staying power to top his heat and earn a spot in Saturday's 2:30 p.m. final at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Salomon will look to become the Flying Dutchmen's third All-American in the 800 meters and first national champion. He is among nine qualifiers for the final.

"It feels great," Salomon said after recording a preliminary time of 1 minute, 51.48 seconds and advancing to his first national final. He finished 10th in the 800 meters at the NCAA Championships as a junior.

"I had a totally different mindset this year. Making the final and doing better than last year were my goals," Salomon said. "It was a fun race. We pushed each other. The overall seed went after it on the first turn and took it out super fast. I got out exactly how I wanted, then finished strong. The kick set up perfectly for me, allowed me to push through the last 100 meters."

Photo of Nicholas Salomon by D3Photography

Salomon is aiming to join Joel Reitsma (2012-13) and Steve Rabuck (2001) as 800-meter All-Americans from Hope. Reitsma placed fourth twice at nationals, while Rabuck finished eighth.

Head coach Kevin Cole said he didn't have a doubt Salomon — the two-time Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion — would emerge successfully from preliminaries.

"He looked strong, looked confident all the way through," Cole said. "We had a plan, and he followed the plan. It's all about getting to the next day. As long as you're in that race, you have a chance for a decent day.

"He's set up for a great race."