JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A third member of Miami's track and field program is heading to nationals as Christopher Torpy put on a strong performance at the NCAA East Region Preliminary on Saturday.

Torpy recorded the fifth-fastest time in the quarterfinal round of the 1500m, clocking 3:44.98. His performance gives him his second-straight appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in that event. While his twin, Sean Torpy, ultimately took 20th (3:53.84) in the quarterfinal, he will still continue his tremendous season after advancing in the 800m on Friday night.

Also in action for the RedHawks were their historic 4x400m relay team. The group outperformed their seed by five spots thanks to yet another record-setting performance, running in 3:37.42 to finish 18th in their final run of the season.

"You always hope that an athlete sees that finish line and has a chance to make the national meet," Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Tom Chorny said. "Luckily, we came away with three of them who are in a position to do extremely well in the national meet. 

"The 4x400m is one of the most exciting events. Seeing Emily Hooker and Olivia Bechtel run the best they ever have in the last two splits was amazing. They had an amazing year and set the bar really high for our relays to come. Kenny Glenn had a great year to end his career and it was nice to see him go out on a high note. For Olivia, she got done with her race and said 'now I know what it takes'. That sums it up for a lot of athletes that come here. You get the experience and know what it's like and know what it takes so we are hoping for a big year out of her next year."

In the end, three of the Red & White's five individual preliminary qualifiers advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which takes place in Austin, Texas June 5-8.