JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Loyola University Maryland senior Senna Ohlsson overtook two runners in the final 150 meters of her 800 meters heat Thursday night and ran a school-record time of 2:05.30 at the NCAA East Preliminary Championships to advance to Saturday night's quarterfinal in the event.
 
Ohlsson was fifth after more than 600 meters – the top three in each heat were to qualify automatically and the next six fastest times would also advance – in her heat, but Norfolk State's Martha Bissah and she passed Ohio State's Aziza Ayoub and Richmond's Maria Acosta to third and fourth, respectively, and advance.
 
Her time of 2:05.30 bested her previous school record of 2:05.84 set earlier this month at the ECAC Championships in Springfield, Massachusetts.
 
Ohlsson will now compete in a heat of the quarterfinal round on Saturday night; heats begin at 7:35 p.m. and can be seen here.

She is the first Loyola representative to compete since the format changed to the current East and West Region Preliminary Championships with competitors qualifying for the meet based solely on time and performances.
 
Ohlsson won the Patriot League title in the event for the fourth time in her career – twice indoors and twice outdoors – earlier this month, and at the ECAC Championships, she ran her previous-fastest time in the event to secure a spot in the NCAA event.