Ohio Northern senior Cory Bailey finished 17th out of 20 runners in the 800-meter run on a chilly, breezy Friday night at the NCAA III Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships Thursday night at Burns Field on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.

Bailey finished fifth in his heat in 1:53.87 and finished just .35 of a second away from qualifying for Saturday's finals.

Bailey entered the meet seeded 20th.

"I was nervous at first," Bailey said. "But once I got started, I just went with it and had a blast. It was a great experience and something I will always remember. I'm happy with the performance, too."

"He ran great," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "He certainly proved that he belonged at the national meet. He was competitive, ran a solid race and beat a few guys. We are very happy for him."

The third and final day of the championships will be on Saturday.

ONU senior Dan Smith will run in the finals of the 1,500-meter run at 6 pm (EST).