Butler's Angelina Ellis advanced to Saturday's NCAA Championships final in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with her performance Thursday night in Austin, Texas.
 
Ellis took one of the five automatic qualifying spots in her heat with a fourth-place finish. She crossed the line in a time of 9:52.13. She held the fourth position for a majority of the heat, and then held off two charging athletes.
 
Ellis edged New Mexico's Maisie Grice and Liberty's Calli Doan at the line by .01 and .02 seconds, respectively.
 
Oregon State's Kaylee Mitchell won the first heat in a time of 9:51.46, while Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame took the second heat in 9:40.81.
 
Ellis also made the NCAA Championships in the steeplechase in 2021, but she didn't make it out of the semifinals. That means that Saturday's result is guaranteed to be her best NCAA Championship finish in what will be her final race as a Bulldog.
 
Saturday's steeplechase final is scheduled for a 9:24 p.m. (Eastern) start.
 
Friday has the men return to the track in Austin and the Bulldogs will be represented by Simon Bedard in the final of the 5,000 meters. The 24 athletes will head to the start line at 10:55 p.m. Friday and Saturday's action will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks and ESPN+ online.