Results

        ABILENE, Texas — Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Jonathan Bannister (Plano, Texas) won his heat and advanced to the 400-meter hurdle finals at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships at Abilene Christian University's Elmer Gray Stadium.
        Bannister's winning time of 51.85 seconds was the third fastest among the field's 18 hurdlers. He trailed only Saint Augustine's Tim Riley and Adrian Findlay, who won their heats in times of 51.34 and 51.46.
        Bannister clearly broke his own personal best of 52.46 on April 29. It also neared the record set by Mike Allen in 1971, a converted time of 51.8. Bannister's time is the fastest since track meets began running standard distances of meters instead of yards.
        The 400-meter hurdles final is scheduled for 8:09 p.m. on Saturday.
        All three SIUE runners missed qualifying for the finals at 400 meters. Bannister (Plano, Texas) was the closest, placing 10th overall and fourth in the third heat. The sophomore recorded a time of 48.01. The ninth and final spot in the finals went to Jared Peacock of Colorado Mines in 47.75.
        The best qualifying time was Marvin Essor of Abilene Christian in 46.44.
        Kyle Rose (Kankakee) and Jeff Fearday (Teutopolis) finished 14th and 15th, respectively, in the preliminaries with times of 48.46 and 48.76.
        The SIUE men's track and field team continues Friday with two field events and a preliminary relay race. The 4 X 400-meter relay will run at 9 p.m. Anthony Weber (Marengo) competes in the pole vault beginning at 6:30 p.m. Lee Weeden (Ferguson, Mo.) competes in the shot put at 6:45 p.m.