In the 800-meter run at the Brown Springtime Invitational Saturday in Providence, R.I., Meaghan Casey '09 found herself in the same spot she was in her previous meet; seconds away from qualifying provisionally for NCAA championships.But after falling milliseconds short of the goal at the University Athletic Association championships April 21, Casey came through in this race, turning in a third-place finish in two minutes, 14.60 seconds to qualify provisionally for Nationals, barely satisfying the 2:14.70 benchmark.

"There was a lot less pressure going into this race [than there was before last week's race]," Casey said. "I paced myself the right way, [and] I felt great after the race. I felt like I could run another one right after it."

The Brown Invitational, sandwiched between two major meets for the Judges, the UAA championships and the New England championships, is a non-scoring, open event where many top-notch Division I and Division II runners compete, as well as semi-professional athletes.

Casey, seeded ninth coming in, finished in third behind two elite Boston College runners. Casey passed the fourth-and fifth-place finishers early on in the race at the 300-meter mark.

"[Against top competition], you have to be as aggressive as you can be at the start of the race," Casey said.

Provisional qualifying times, unlike automatic times, do not guarantee a runner a spot at Nationals. Casey predicts she will have to shave two seconds off her time to assure a trip to Osh Kosh, Wi. for NCAAs May 24.

Megan Bisceglia '07 and Beth Pisarik '10 both qualified for next weekend's New England Championships with impressive times in the 1,500-meter-run.

On the men's side, Matt Jennings '09 posted a solid 3:56.00 time in the 1,500- meter run, finishing ninth.

"Next week [at New England's] I want to get a top-three placing," Jennings said. "The New England region is really strong in the 1,500; it's great to match up with those guys."

For many on the team, this meet was the last chance to qualify for the New England Championships. As a result of the unfavorable spring weather, there have only been four meets, this past weekend's included, in which to post a qualifying time. Dan Suher '08 was among those who just missed out on qualifying, falling short in the 1,500 meter run by 0.3 seconds.

"I'm extremely disappointed," Suher said. "I saw the clock as I was 10 to 15 meters away from the finish line and then turned around after I had crossed the finish line and saw 4:05.00 on the clock. I thought I had it by half a second. I found out after my cool-down that I didn't qualify. I was shocked."

The Judges who qualified will compete in the Division III New England Championships Friday and Saturday.