GENEVA, Ohio – Nathaniel Oczkowski of the Ithaca College men's track & field team was the final competitor for IC during the opening day of the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at SPIRE Institute on Thursday.

Oczkowski ran in the 400-meter hurdles preliminary race, which went off at 6:25 p.m. and he secured the eighth qualifying spot after a DQ was announced later in the evening for Saturday's final at 2:25 p.m.

He ran in the second heat of the prelim and posted a time of 52.73 seconds, which is the second-fastest time of his career. Oczkowski placed third in his heat behind the top qualifying time of 52.26 from Dallas Wright of Wartburg and 52.36 from Peter Hansen of Middlebury.

If Oczkowski remains in the top eight on Saturday, he will earn his first All-America honor of his career.