After being one of just four Boston College athletes to qualify for the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field East Preliminary Round in Bloomington, Ind., Lynnfield native Kate Mitchell has punched her ticket to the 800-meter national championship meet of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The senior star put up the second-best performance of her career to punch her ticket to nationals. Mitchell posted a time of 2:04.53 in the quarterfinal round to notch a third-place finish, which automatically advanced her to the semifinal race on Thursday, June 9 in Eugene, Ore. She ran a time of 2:04.67 in the preliminary race to advance to the quarterfinal round.
Mitchell, who earlier this month was named 2022 co-MVP Female Athlete of the Year for Boston College, entered the East regional of the 800-meter as the No. 16 seed after notching a second-place finish in the event at the ACC Championships on May 14 with a time of 2:04.09 — a personal-best that was just .09 seconds off the facility record and was the third-fastest time in Boston College history.
The strong finish was just the latest in a long line of great performances for Mitchell this year. She won the ECAC Indoor Championships back in March with a time of 2:04.72, which was good enough for an all-time second in that race. She also broke the meet record at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in the 1,000-meter back in January, running a time of 2:44.49.
