March 12, 2011
• Live Results | Live Webcast (5 p.m.) 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The numbers going in showed Wisconsin sophomore Maverick Darling had the opportunity to prove himself as one of the nation’s top distance runners.
Friday’s performance at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium only solidified his position.
Competing in his first national indoor meet, Darling earned first-team All-America honors with a seventh-place finish in the 3,000 meters at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships. And it didn’t take him long to do so, either.
In an extremely fast race, Darling crossed the line in 13 minutes, 36.65 seconds – the third-fastest time ever by a Wisconsin runner in the event. Chris Solinsky owns UW’s school record at 13:30.74. The entire field blazed through Friday’s race, with Iona’s Leonard Korir claiming the national title in an NCAA meet-record time of 13:26.01.
Darling’s teammate in the race, sophomore Mohammed Ahmed, came home 10th in 13:41.74 – the fifth-fastest mark in school history. Under a new awards system debuting at this weekend’s championships, Ahmed earned second-team All-America laurels. He also was an All-American outdoors as a freshman last year with a fourth-place finish at 10,000 meters.
Darling’s weekend isn’t over, either. He also qualified to race in the 3,000 meters on Saturday and will be joined in that race by sophomore Reed Connor.
He’ll also be joined by a pair of teammates who opened competition Friday. Senior Zach Beth advanced to Saturday’s final in the 800 meters by taking second in his preliminary heat, clocking a time of 1:49.03. Returning All-American Zachary Mellon – who was fifth in the event as a freshman last year – failed to advance after recording a time of 1:51.62.
Redshirt freshman Japheth Cato also continues his NCAA debut on Saturday after opening the heptathlon Friday. Cato stands 16th overall after the first four events of the seven-event competition, compiling a first-day score of 2,905 points.
He opened the day with a time of 7.25 seconds in the 60-meter dash before posting a mark of 22 feet, 10 1/2 inches in the long jump. Cato’s score took a hit in the shot put, as he managed a throw of 36-11 1/2 and lost some ground on the field.
Cato wrapped up the opening day with a clearance of 6-4 in the high jump.
The heptathlon resumes with the first of three final-day events, the 60-meter hurdles, at noon. Beth’s final in the 800 meters is set for 6:30 p.m., with Connor and Darling set for the 3,000 meters at 6:55 p.m. Both races on the track can be seen live on ESPN3.com.
