La CROSSE, WIS. - Cortland junior Storm Malone (Harrison/Highland) advanced to the finals of the 110-meter hurdles after posting the seventh-fastest time in the preliminaries during Day 2 of the NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Malone and junior Micheal Outing (Farmingdale) each competed in the third of three preliminary heats. Running into a 2.8 meter/second headwind, Malone finished third in the heat in 14.80 seconds and Outing was fifth in the heat in 15.09 seconds.

Nine hurdlers advanced to the finals - the winners of each of the three heats and the next six fastest times. Malone will compete in Saturday's finals at 12:50 p.m. (Central), with the top eight finishers earning team points and All-America honors. Outing did not advance to the finals and finishes 14th nationally. Malone entered nationals with the third-fastest qualifying time (14.12) and Outing was seeded 16th (14.51).

"The headwind was certainly a challenge for all of the athletes competing in the high hurdles today," said Cortland head coach Steve Patrick. "Obviously we're thrilled that Storm was able to make it back to the finals (he was an All-American with a fifth-place finish in the indoor 60-meter hurdles this winter), but Mike also had a tremendous effort. Any time you can finish near your seed coming into the meet you've done something great, and being in the top 15 in the nation is a tremendous accomplishment."

Mount Union's Mason Plant, who ran in the same heat as Malone and Outing, posted the fastest time of the day at 14.50 seconds. Malone, who finished 11th at outdoor nationals last spring, is joined in Saturday's nine-person finals by two other Atlantic Region athletes - St. John Fisher's Peter Girardi, who won the opening heat in 14.63 seconds, and Rowan's Bobby Cooks, who placed second in the second heat in 14.63 seconds.

In addition to Malone's hurdles finals, Cortland senior Dawan Jones (Buffalo/Tapestry Charter) will compete in the triple jump Saturday at 2 p.m. (Central). Jones is making his third straight outdoor national appearances in the event. He was also a three-time indoor qualifier, including an All-America seventh-place finish this past March.

Championship Web Page (run by host school Wisconsin-La Crosse; includes links to results, video, and other items)

110-Meter Hurdles Preliminary Results