EUGENE, Ore. – Despite two solid races, both Taylor Austin and Alethia Marrero fell short of advancing to the national final in their respective events at Day Two of the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships, hosted by the University of Oregon at historic Hayward Field on Thursday.
 
Austin, who qualified for the national meet in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after a stunning 10:02.89 school-record at the NCAA East Prelim two weeks ago, ran her second best steeple of her Sycamore career at 10:11.63 but finished 11th in her heat and 18th overall for Honorable Mention All-American honors.
 
The pace started out even in Heat Two, but picked through around one mile in what turned out to be a very fast semifinal race. Seven of the 12 finals qualifiers came from the second heat, and all 12 finalists were either at 10:00 or below – including a very tight three-way battle for first in Heat Two among Northern Illinois' Hope Schmelzle (9:50.51), Penn State's Tori Gerlach (9:50.54) and Boise State's Allie Ostrander (9:50.55).
 
"I think the race was a very physical race, the most physical race I've been in," Austin said. "I got trapped in a few spots where I didn't know how to get myself out. It went out really fast, so I wasn't prepared for that as well. Overall, I think I didn't quit. I hung in there and finished the best I can."
 
"The biggest thing I've learned is to not overthink it and stay engaged in the race and know that each girl that I am competing against is on another level, and that I am on that level as well," Austin continued.
 
Despite today's finish, Austin's junior season has been an incredible one – capped off by her first trip to Eugene for the national meet. She broke her own steeple record twice during the season and won her second-straight MVC title in the event, setting the stage for what could be an eventful senior season with the Sycamores.
 
"Personally, I think getting to this level was self-rewarding," Austin said. "I definitely had a rough year for cross country and indoor. I was very motivated to try and get myself back to the next level."
 
Marrero, meanwhile, was in a similar boat in the women's 800-meter. The All-American was slotted on the outside lane eight to start the race, but Heat Three got off to a blistering start at 59.58 on the first lap. Marrero hung with the top pack through that first lap, but was unable to make a move from the outside to make a run at a qualifying spot or time, finishing eighth in her heat and 24th overall at 2:13.24 for Honorable Mention All-American status.
 
"Being in lane eight it was kind of hard to get into that good position at the beginning of the race, so that whole first lap I was just vying for position and trying not to be in lane three, but I had to stay in lane three," Marrero said. "And then, our first 400 was really fast, so I think I've gained a lot from not running the 800 a lot this year, but that was probably one of the points where I haven't been able to experience enough 800s to get through that one."
 
Today marks the end of a remarkable comeback season for Marrero, who sat out the 2016 outdoor season after a magical 2015 season. That year, she finished fifth in the 800-meter NCAA final for First-Team All-American honors after shattering the indoor and outdoor MVC records in the event earlier in the season. This season, Marrero returned to form with an MVC win indoors in the 800 and outdoors in the 400-meter hurdles.
 
"This season I've had to really control my emotions," Marrero said. "I've had so many points this season where I could have been so proud, and I was, but I guess controlling my emotions allowed me to keep pushing myself and set higher standards. I wasn't really sure what I could do this season, so I think having that mentality is what got me back here again."
 
"I'm super confident in my abilities," Marrero continued. "To have sat out a whole year and not even know if I was going to continue track and be able to make it back to this level is a definite confidence booster. I'm not beat up about this race at all. I'm ready to go again, whenever that is."
 
With the Sycamore women unfortunately done for the weekend, all eyes turn to senior All-American David Timlin tomorrow evening as he looks to make some noise in the NCAA final of the 1500-meter run. Timlin will run at 8:42 p.m. ET tomorrow night, which will be broadcast live on ESPN.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track and Field team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.