JACKSONVILLE Fla. – A strong finish from Gemma Finch in the first round of the women's 800m Thursday evening in Jacksonville, Fla. propelled the senior into the quarterfinals. Finch nearly broke her own school record, missing it by just .59 seconds, to finish third in her heat with a time of 2:05.88.
Finch found herself in fifth with just 200 meters remaining, but made a move on the outside at the beginning of the curve to improve her standing to fourth. A burst on the home stretch the vaulted Finch into third place in her heat and an automatic qualifying spot in Saturday's quarterfinals.