SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Campbell University senior Alicia Valtin finished 19^th in the preliminaries of 3000m steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships late Wednesday night in Sacramento, Calif. just missing out on qualifying for the finals by five spots.

Valtin, a Sanford, N.C. native, finished in 10:17.93 missing out on the finals by just over nine seconds. She was just the second Campbell female to compete in the NCAA Championships (Heather Lee, 2005).

Valtin received Atlantic Sun Conference Athlete of the Week honors nine times during her Campbell career, was named A-Sun Cross Country Runner of the Year two times and was the Most Outstanding Female Track Performer at the 2007 A-Sun Indoor Championships.

She set the Campbell school record with her time of 10:14.63 in the steeplechase at the East Regional good for sixth place. Only the top five in each event received an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships, but the senior's time was the best non-qualifying time in the nation earning her one of eight at-large bids.

Weber State's Lindsey Anderson ran the best time in both heats finishing in 9:56.14, while Barbara Parker from Florida State (9:57.71) and Michigan State's Nicole Bush (9:58.20) were the only other runners to run a sub 10-minute time in the field of 28 runners.

The top five finishers in each heat advanced to the finals along with the next four highest times. Valtin entered the second heat with the ninth best seed time and finished ninth in the heat. Her time was the ninth-best non-automatic time in the prelims.