GENEVA, Ohio – Wellesley College track & field junior Ella Whinney (Madison, Wis.) ran a time of 10:49.76 and placed 12th out of 22 runners in the 3000m Steeplechase prelims at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at the SPIRE Institute on Thursday night.

Whinney's performance advances her to tomorrow afternoon's finals at 4:55 PM EST. The finals will consist of the top 12 finishers from tonight's prelims. The top four finishes from both heats plus the next four fastest overall times, including Whinney, qualified for the finale.

Whinney's time placed sixth overall in the second heat. The junior sat in third around the 1000m mark with a strong pack forming at the front. Over the next 1000m, Whinney settled into a trio of 85 second splits to hang around the 4th/5th spots during the middle portion of the race. She kicked into high gear for the final 400m, dashing through the finish line with a 1:23.35 split to narrowly advance to the finals for a third time in her career.