GENEVA — Junior Emily Richards(Delaware/Hayes) raced into the 800-meter run finals on the second day of the 2017 NCAA Div. III Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Fridayafternoon at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Richards finished first in her heat and posted the fastest time overall in 2:08.59 to advance to the finals on Saturday

."Today was pretty similar to yesterday," said Richards. "I got out a little hard again but it ended up being fine. We just wanted to make sure we made it to the finals tomorrow and I did what I needed to do get there. I feel really good heading into both events tomorrow and I'm excited."

"Emily's race was really good," said head coach Jason Maus. "The two heats before her were a little faster than we expected so she had to run a little bit harder than we anticipated. She really handled it well and was in control the whole time. The goal today was to advance to the finals, and she did that so we are happy with where we are at."

Northern will return to action on the final day of the 2017 Championships as Richards competes in the finals of the 800 and 1,500-meter runs and senior Kelsey Commager (Maumee) competes in the triple jump.