UC Irvine’s Akraka Advances to 1,500 Final

UC Irvine’s Maria Akraka, running in conditions she disliked and at a distance with which she is unaccustomed, nevertheless advanced Thursday to the final of the 1,500 meters at the NCAA track and field championships.

Conditions at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field were markedly better than Wednesday’s opening day of cold and rain. But while the rain left, leaving partly cloudy skies and higher temperatures, the wind arrived.

Akraka, running in a blustery and shifting wind late in the day, finished second in her heat with a time of 4 minutes 21.14 seconds. It was the fourth-best time of two qualifying heats.

“It’s always harder than you think, running in prelims,” she said. “I felt OK, but I didn’t care at all for the wind.”

Akraka, a senior, has run only four 1,500-meter races this season, having moved up from the 800 meters.

UCI sprinter Desiree Bracey finished fifth in her heat in the 100-meter prelims, running 11.76. It was not enough to advance the sophomore to today’s semifinal.