Morley 17th at NCAA finals

EUGENE, Oregon — University of Colorado redshirt freshman Makena Morley just missed out on an All-American finish in the women’s 10,000-meter run on Thursday at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.

Morley, a 2015 Bigfork graduate, ran near the back of the pack for the majority of the race, maintaining a per-lap pace of around 1 minute, 20 seconds for the first half of the race. She hung around 15th place for the last few laps but couldn’t hold off a late push from Auburn senior Veronica Eder and North Florida junior Eden Meyer.

Morley finished in 17th in 33:58.17, one spot short of qualifying as a second-team All-American. The top eight placers are first-team All-America and the next eight make up the second team.

Hers was the second-fastest time posted by a freshman, with only Notre Dame’s Anna Rohrer eclipsing her time, one spot ahead in 16th in 33:56.54.

Colorado’s Zach Perrin, a 2013 Flathead grad, and Gonzaga’s Troy Fraley, a 2013 Glacier grad, will compete in national finals today. Perrin is one of 24 qualifiers in the 5,000 meters and Fraley one of 12 qualifiers in the steeplechase.

Fraley’s race is expected to start at 6:54 p.m. and Perrin’s race at 8:25 p.m., both to be aired on ESPN.