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Senior Emily Ritter became the first woman from the С����Ƶ track and field team to advance to the NCAA Championships, running a Rider record 9:54.34 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase on Friday evening in Jacksonville, Fla., at the NCAA East Regional.


“I’m excited for Emily,” said Rider head coach Bob Hamer. “She worked very hard since last year’s disappointment to get back here.  She ran a great race and executed everything perfectly. I’m really proud of her.”



Overall, Ritter placed second in her heat and seventh overall out of 47 runners with the top three runners in each of three heats and the next three top times advancing to the NCAA Championships.



The West Regional is being contested this weekend in Austin, Texas, with the top 12 qualifiers from each (24 total) advancing to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon June 10-13.



Last season, competing for only the fourth time ever in the steeplechase event, Ritter ran a time of 10:53.99, placing 45th out of 48 competitors in the East at the NCAA Regional.



“I feel great,” Ritter said. “This is the first big race that I felt confident going in. I felt like I belonged in this race.  There were runners in the race that I’ve faced before and I know that I can run with them.  I’m very excited right now.”



An All-East performer, Ritter qualified for the NCAA East Regional at the ECAC Championships on May 15.  In that meet, Ritter ran a then Rider record time of 9:55.15, placing second.



At the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships at the beginning of May, Ritter had a gold (steeplechase) and a pair of silvers (1500, 5,000m) and was named the Championship Meet Most Outstanding Performer.



Ritter becomes the first woman and just the third member of the Rider track and field team to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Rider Hall of Famer Jose Lopez ’95 competed at Nationals in the 400-meter hurdles and Desmond Hamilton completed in 2007 at Nationals in the long jump.



“To be the first female NCAA qualifier for Rider is an amazing accomplishment,” Hamer said. “It is something that will cement her legacy in Rider Track and Field history.”