| Senior Larry Brooks |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? UTSA senior Larry Brooks kept his dream of a second All-America honor this year alive with a solid showing Thursday in the 800 meters semifinal round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Brooks finished fifth in heat one of the semifinals with a 1:49.17 clocking. However, the Stafford native had to wait to find out his fate for the final as the top three finishers in each heat plus the next two fastest times stayed alive.
The wait proved suspenseful, as Brooks advanced to Saturday’s final with the eighth-fastest qualifying time of the day, the last runner in the final field of eight. His time marked a .22-second improvement from the 1:49.39 he posted in the first round on Wednesday and is less than one second off his school record of 1:48.44 set last month.
"This time of year it's all about taking one race at a time and taking care of business," assistant coach Scott Slade said. "This whole season is a testament to Larry and the hard work and commitment he has shown in being the best he can be. He is very excited about having a chance to run in Saturday's final."
Saturday’s final is set for 12:19 p.m. (CT) and it can be seen live on CBS Sports.
In other action, senior All-American Brandon Buteaux, a San Antonio Churchill graduate, scored 3,633 points on day one of the decathlon, but a nagging hamstring kept him out of the competition on the final day.