EUGENE, Ore. – Furman senior Ryan Adams earned All-American honorable mention accolades in the 1,500-meter run Wednesday in the opening day of the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Heyward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.
A native of Hudson, Ohio, Adams finished 12th in his heat and 21st overall with a time of 3:44.28. He competed in the event at the championships for the third time after placing fourth with a time of 3:38.36 at the NCAA East Preliminaries. He entered the preliminaries ranked fifth in the event after posting a program record of 3:37.66 at the Oregon Twilight Meet. As a junior in 2019, Adams earned All-American accolades with a 16th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He finished 22nd at the 2017 NCAA Championships to earn All-American honorable mention honors.
Adams concludes his collegiate career as one of the most decorated athletes in Furman cross country and track and field history. A six-time All-American, he earned the distinction in cross country, indoors in the mile and 3,000-meter run, and outdoors in the 1,500m on three occasions. A three-time All-Southeast Region selection in cross country, he was honored as the 2019 Southern Conference Cross Country Runner of the Year and as a the 2019 SoCon Men’s Indoor Track Most Outstanding Track Performer. He holds Paladin program records in the 800-meter run, mile, and 3,000m indoors and in the 1,500m outdoors.
The meet will continue on Thursday, when senior Gabbi Jennings will compete in the semifinals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 7:02 p.m. ET. A native of Slidell, Louisiana, Jennings enters the race with the fastest time in the nation at 9:40.53. She made her third consecutive preliminaries appearance in the event, posting the 9:40.53 to win the preliminaries and set a new program record. An All-American in the steeplechase in both 2018 and 2019, she qualified for the East Preliminaries with a time of 9:43.48, the previous program record and an Olympic Trials qualifying time, which she posted at the Drake Relays. Jennings scored a ninth-place finish at the 2019 championship meet.
The top five runners from each of the two heats plus the individuals with the next two best times will advance to the finals of the event, which will be held Saturday at 6:24 p.m.
The top eight finishers in each event at the NCAA Championships are deemed first team All-Americans, with finishers nine through 16 earn second-team All-American accolades. Honorable mention All-American citations are bestowed on athletes who finish in 17th through 24th place.
The championships will be broadcast live on ESPNU or ESPN2 beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Coverage will start at 8 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday. A full broadcast schedule can be found at https://www.ncaa.com/championships/trackfield-outdoor/d1/broadcast-info.
NCAA Championships (All times noted are Eastern Standard Time)
Wednesday
Men’s 1,500m Semifinals - Ryan Adams - 21st (3:44.28)
Thursday
7:02 p.m. Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase Semifinals - Gabbi Jennings
Saturday
6:24 p.m. Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase Finals