There was no time than the present for Colorado's Dani Jones and Maddie Alm to run the best 1,500 meters of their lives.
Both did exactly that Thursday at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., securing a spot in Saturday's finals. Jones, a freshman, finished second in her heat and second overall in a time of 4 minutes, 13.44 seconds. She was just .26 seconds back of Dartmouth senior Dana Giordano. Alm, a senior who also ran in the first semifinal, finished seventh in 4:14.54. They'll be two of 12 runners in the championship heat.