EMPORIA, Kan. – Junior Isabel Perez-Zoghbi punched her ticket to Saturday's national final in the 800 meters after a strong performance in the preliminaries Friday afternoon at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas.
Representing Cal Poly Humboldt on the national stage, Perez-Zoghbi placed second in heat two with a time of 2:07.65 to automatically qualify for Saturday's championship race. The junior started in lane five and maintained her spot near the front of the pack for nearly the entirety of the race, securing one of the automatic qualifying positions.
Friday's Heat 2 Results:
| Place |
Athlete |
School |
Time |
Lane |
| 1 |
Veronica Dee |
Simon Fraser |
2:07.64 Q |
3 |
| 2 |
Isabel Perez-Zoghbi |
Cal Poly Humboldt |
2:07.65 Q |
5 |
| 3 |
Megan Postma |
Grand Valley State |
2:07.95 |
6 |
| 4 |
Charlotte Young |
CSU Pueblo |
2:08.01 |
7 |
| 5 |
Marie Dea |
Northwest Missouri State |
2:08.27 |
4 |
| 6 |
Taylor Roth |
Embry-Riddle |
2:08.85 |
2 |
| 7 |
Jenna Rodriguez |
Cal State East Bay |
2:16.64 |
8 |
The CCAA Champion in the 800 meters and USTFCCCA All-West Region selection will now race for a national title on Saturday at 3:25 p.m. PT (5:25 p.m. CT). The final will stream live on NCAA.com.
Saturday's 800-meter final field includes:
| Lane |
Athlete |
School |
Season Best |
| 1 |
Lexie Fontaine |
Washburn |
2:06.40 |
| 2 |
Arissa Hatcher |
Cal Poly Pomona |
2:06.18 |
| 3 |
Isabel Perez-Zoghbi |
Cal Poly Humboldt |
2:04.92 |
| 4 |
Trista Etheridge |
Oklahoma Baptist |
2:06.07 |
| 5 |
Abigail Abugire |
West Texas A&M |
— |
| 6 |
Veronica Dee |
Simon Fraser |
2:07.23 |
| 7 |
Jade Avance |
Ashland |
2:05.76 |
| 8 |
Sierra Cornell |
West Texas A&M |
2:07.43 |
Perez-Zoghbi enters the final with the fastest season best in the field after clocking a school-record 2:04.92 earlier this season.
With a top-eight finish on Saturday, Perez-Zoghbi would become the first track athlete in Cal Poly Humboldt history to earn All-American honors during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Fans can follow Saturday's championship final live on NCAA.com.
