Tyler Shipley improved on his season-best time by 42 seconds.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Pacific (Ore.)'s plan was to give Tyler Shipley his best chance to run a qualifying for the NCAA Division III Track and Field championships. On Friday, he did that and so much more.
Within a field laden with high-caliber Division I and Division II runners, running a school record and the top time in NCAA Division III in the men's 10,000 meters at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival, held Friday at Cox Stadium.
Shipley finished in 11th place with a time of 30:24.44. The time was a 42-second improvement from his previous season-best and school-record performance of 31:06.59, which he ran at the Linfield Erik Anderson Memorial Icebreaker on Feb. 28. The time also marks a 1:34 improvement from Shipley's best time in 2013 of 31:58.44.
The time ranks No. 1 this season for the 10,000 meters at the Division III level and is among the top-50 times in the nation collegiately in all divisions.
"It was a great race effort for Tyler," Pacific head coach Tim Boyce said. "I believed that he was ready to go sub-30:30. He ran an even race and finished strong through the last mile."
The performance gives Shipley a great shot qualifying for his first NCAA Division III Track and Field championships, which will be held May 22-24 in Delaware, Ohio. The top-18 times in the event nationwide will advance to the national meet.
