GENEVA, Ohio – Maddie Dery finished fifth in the preliminary round of the steeplechase at the 2017 DIII NCAA Track & Field Championship, earning her a spot in the finals on Saturday at SPIRE Institute. She ran the 3,000 meter race in a PR time of 10:53.12.

A senior captain, Dery (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) automatically qualified for the finals by running the fifth best time in heat 2, while also beating all of heat 1, whose winner, Fabiola Oritiz of Dubuque, finished in 10:57.19. Dery was less than two seconds behind Erin Hermann of Hope (10:51.76) for fourth and just a fraction of a second ahead of Tasha Freed from Johns Hopkins (10:53.16), who she passed just before the finish line.

Dery's previous best in the steeplechase came at the Swarthmore Meet on May 15, when she took third in time of 10:53.66. She also ran a 10:55.95 at the State Meet for another third place finish.

At the 2015 NCAA Championships in Canton, N.Y., Dery ran an 11:05.71 in the steeplechase, finishing eighth in her heat and 15th overall.

The top 14 runners from the prelims qualify for the finals on Saturday, which is set to start at 11:30am.