June 11, 2003

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The University of Kentucky track and field team advanced four of its 800-meter runners past the preliminary round and into Thursday’s semifinals at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif., on Wednesday, June 11.

In the men’s 800 meters, Jean Balan led the group, finishing fourth in the preliminaries with a time of 1:49.27. Also advancing was Paul Ciurlys, who was 15th in the opening day of action. The two will return to the track at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday.

Beth Heimann and Brooke Patterson were able to advance to Thursday’s semifinals after taking eighth and 15th on Wednesday, respectively. Heimann crossed the line in 2:07.77, while Patterson finished in 2:06.03 in her heat.

Also competing on Wednesday was the women’s discus duo of Molly Lonergan and Ildiko Varga. The two failed to advance past the qualifying round as only 12 spots were open for Friday’s final.

Two other events remain for UK on Wednesday as Olubusola Adeagbo competes in the 400-meter hurdles at 11 p.m. ET, while Thomas Morgan will run in the 5,000-meter prelims at 1 a.m. ET. Results from those events will be available on UK’s website on Thursday morning.