WAVERLY, Iowa – Macalester College senior Sarah Jonathan (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) qualified for the finals of the 3000 meter steeplechase on Thursday at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Wartburg College. Jonathan finished second in her preliminary heat to advance to Saturday's final.

With the top five in each of two preliminary heats making the final, Jonathan maintained her position among the leaders throughout the race. She cruised across the finish line in second place behind Erin Herrmann of Hope with a time of 11:00.32, just .47 seconds behind Herrmann. The other qualifiers from Heat 1 were Sara Rosenzweig of SUNY-Geneseo, Jessie Cardin of Westfield State and Sarah Fowler of Ohio Wesleyan.

Sanjuanita Martinez of Cornell College won Heat 2 with a time of 10:55.71. The others to qualify out of Heat 2 were Jordan Tuin of Wheaton, Alanna McDonough of Colby, Jaqueline Huben of SUNY-Geneseo and McKenzie Diemer of Calvin.

Jonathan is making her first appearance at the NCAA Championships after qualifying in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10:49.66 at the MIAC Championships on May 14. That performance was good for second place and ranked 15th nationally in Division III. It also marked the fourth time this spring that Jonathan lowered the school record in that event.

Jonathan competes in the final on Saturday, May 28, with the race scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. in Waverly, Iowa. On Friday, May 27, senior Logan Hovie (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) will compete in the high jump at 11:30 a.m.

Live video and live results will be available on Wartburg's Championships Information page (http://go-knights.net/sports/2015/7/23/MTRACK_0723154023.aspx?id=154).