EMPORIA, Kan.  Western Colorado's Peyton Weiss and Jan Thewes advanced from their respective preliminary heats on Thursday to their championship finals after the opening day of the May 21-23 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Emporia State University's Welch Stadium. 

Weiss will race in Saturday's championship heat of the women's 1,500-meter run after posting the second fastest time in the prelims, crossing the finish in the first of two heats with a time of 4 minutes, 24.21 seconds. 

Thewes advanced from Thursday's prelims of the men's 3,000m steeplechase after placing fourth in the second of two heats with a time, 8:54.56, that will enter the final as the eighth fastest from the prelims. 

In both events the top four in each heat automatically qualify for the final in a field of 12 rounded out by the next four fastest times from the preliminary heats. 

Also on the track Thursday but not advancing to their championship heats were Tyler Nord, Emma Kjellsen and Myia Dantzler. 

Nord finished 21st in the men's 1,500 with a time of 3:53.14, and Kjellsen (4:38.32) was 22nd in the women's 1,500. 

Dantzler, the school record holder in the women's 100m dash, placed 20th in the preliminary heats of the event on Thursday. 

The final competitor of the night for Western was Annaka Rudolph in the women's 10,000m run, a timed final event in which the freshman in her first national meet placed 20th with a time of 37:03.49. 

Thewes will race in his steeplechase final Friday at 6:15 p.m. MT. 

Weiss' championship heat of the women's 1,500 is scheduled for a 3:05 p.m. MT start on Saturday, and Nord will take to the oval again on Saturday in the timed final championship heat of the men's 5,000m run at 5:30 p.m. MT.