SACRAMENTO, Calif. – UTA senior Erik Martinsson broke his own school record in the 800 meters to earn a return invitation to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships next month.
 
Martinsson crossed the line with a time of 1:47.34 in the quarterfinals at the NCAA West Preliminary Round. It was nearly a half-second faster than his previous school standard (1:47.81), which was set last month and eclipsed a 30-year-old UTA record.
 
Martinsson finished third in his heat to automatically qualify for one of 24 spots at the NCAA meet in Austin (June 5-8). He had the No. 8 time overall in the 800 meters. Last year, Martinsson finished 22nd nationally with a time of 1:52.48.
 
Victor Fincher also had a big day, running a personal-best 14.02 to advance to the quarterfinal round in the 110m hurdles. He will race Saturday at 9:20 p.m., and the top 12 of the 24 remaining qualifiers will move on to the NCAA meet. His clocking on Friday ranked 19th overall among the 48 contestants.

Meanwhile, Justin Domangue finished 26th in the men's 3000m steeplechase with a time of 8:58.07. It was less than a half-second off his career-best time.
 
In other action, Deontre Haynes competed in his second individual event of the NCAA West Prelims. He ran a time of 21.51 in his race and has the 4x100m relay remaining.
 
Martinsson is the second UTA athlete to qualify for the meet, joining Alexus Henry, who reached the NCAA Championship in the high jump on Thursday.
 
The final day of the NCAA West Preliminary Round is Saturday. Fincher, Justin Domangue (5000 meters) and Darius Prescott (triple jump) will be UTA's individual participants. In addition, the Mavericks' men's relay teams (4x100m and 4x400m) are on the slate.
 
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