Maria Mettler Secures Spot in NCAA 10K Final

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Air Force's newly-minted second lieutenant Maria Mettler secured her spot in the NCAA finals of the 10,000-meter run this evening (May 27), following a strong performance at the NCAA West Preliminary. Mettler, who was commissioned as an Air Force officer this morning at a special graduation ceremony in College Station, took to the track 12 hours later and cruised to the NCAA bid.

Competing for just the second time in the 2021 calendar year after missing the majority of the season with injury, Mettler found her place in the main group right from the gun and stayed tucked within the lead pack as its numbers started to dwindle in the Texas heat. Sitting within the top 20 with 10 laps remaining, Mettler continued to pick off her competitors and climbed into the top 10 with five laps left. Crossing the finish line in a time of 33:43.43, Mettler placed seventh in the 48-runner preliminary and – as one of the top 12 finishers – easily claimed a spot at next month's finals in Eugene.

Junior Michelle Roca made her NCAA debut in the 400-meter hurdles this evening, clocking the third-fastest time of her career – 60.70 – to finish 35th in the full field of first-round competitions.

The Falcons return to E.B. Cushing Stadium tomorrow (May 28) for the final day of men's competition at the NCAA West Prelim. Air Force's day gets underway with the high jump at 1:00 p.m. (CT).

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maria Mettler

Michelle Roca

Footer