JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Samford University track and field senior Karisa Nelson qualified for the NCAA Track and Field Championships in the women's' 1500-meter run at the NCAA East Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Florida this past weekend.
 
The recent Samford graduate finished inside the top five, automatically qualifying her for a trip to Austin, Texas where the championship meet will be held.
 
Nelson will be returning to the NCAA Championships, where she finished third in the same event in 2017.
 
On Thursday of the meet, Nelson finished with a 4:20.88 time in the first round of the meet and advance to the quarterfinals.
 
Saturday, she bettered her time, placed fourth in her heat and 11^th overall in the field with a 4:20.39 time to punch her ticket to the championships.
 
The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held in Austin, Texas on the campus of the University of Texas at Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium June 5-8.
 
To follow Karisa on her journey to the championships, follow @SamfordXC_TF on Twitter, @samfordxctf on Instagram, and stay tuned to samfordsports.com.