EMPORIA, Kan. Western Colorado, on the opening day of the 2024 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships, was able to push three Mountaineers from Thursday's preliminary heats into their respective final heats on Friday or Saturday at Emporia University's Welch Stadium.

The opening events for Western came in the men's and women's 1,500-meter run.

The top four finishers in each of the two men's and two women's heats automatically advanced into Sunday's championship final, with the next four fastest finishers joining them.

Western's Simon Kelati assured himself of a finals spot, finishing second in heat two with a time of 3 minutes, 51.99 seconds. That time was fast enough to slot Kelati into the final as the second seed overall.

The opening heat included Tyler Nord, who crossed the finish line in 3:55.33 and in seventh place within the heat. Nord finished 16th overall, not advancing to the final but he has one race under his belt as he will take to the oval again on Saturday, with Kelati, for the 5,000m timed final.

The women's 1,500 saw Emma Kjellsen in the first heat, followed by Leah Taylor and Lauren Willson in heat two.

Taylor came through with a strong finishing kick over the final 200 meters to place third in her heat – securing automatic advancement into the final – in a time of 4:36.24. She will enter Sunday's final as the 11th seed of the 12 runners.

Kjellsen (4:39.49) missed out on advancing after placing ninth in the first heat, and Willson (4:42.82) was also unable to crack the qualifying group as she placed ninth in heat two.

Western had one entrant each in the men's and women's 3,000m steeplechase, with Eddie Siuda earning advancement into Friday's men's final.

Siuda was sixth in heat one, finishing in 9:10.67 to earn his finals spot as one of the next-four-fastest of the two heats.

An All-American in the event at the 2023 national meet, Western's Allison Beasley had an awkward landing on the water jump in an early lap and was unable to finish. She will have a recovery day on Friday and looks to be back on the oval for the women's 5,000 final on Saturday.

The final competitor of the night for Western was school record-holder Kaiya Firor in the women's 400 hurdles.

Firor was in the third and final heat, unenviably starting in lane 2 with the largest stagger to make up and the tightest turns of the competitors in the heat. Firor pushed past three competitors over the final straightaway but finished fourth in the heat with a time of 1:00.00, a clocking that sat outside the advancing group with a 12th-place finish overall.

Friday's action at Welch Stadium will see Eireann Donohoe participate in the women's triple jump and Siuda racing in the finals of the men's 3,000 steeplechase.