DEKALB, Ill. -- The Western Michigan track and field team had two athletes qualify for Saturday finals to open the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships on Thursday.

Mabinty Kebe was able to qualify for Saturday's final in the 400-meter hurdles, winning her heat with a time of 1:01.83. Among all competitors, she had the second best time in the event. Claira Gilchrist nearly made the final after crossing the finish line in a time of 1:04.61. That was the next best time after all of the qualifiers. 

In the 1,500-meter run, Danielle Rinn earned her spot in Saturday's final. She led for most of the race and earned a season-best time of 4:30.07. 

Later in the day, Soniya Jones competed in the 200-meter dash, recording a season-best time of 24.36. However, she narrowly missed on out qualifying for the final on Saturday.

The last running event of the day was the 10K, which featured Lillian Zelasko, Brooke Soper and Larissa McGrath. The trio all finished in the top-15, led by Zelasko. She finished ninth with a time of 35:33.48. That time is the eighth best in program history. Soper crossed the finish line in 12th with a time of 36:29.25, while McGrath was 14th with a time of 37:04.20. Soper's time was a PR by nearly two minutes. 

Throwing wise, the Broncos had Kennedy Hagens and Mariah Sackett in action. The two competed in the hammer throw, and each of them collected marks of 38.53 meters. 

UP NEXT
The Brown and Gold will be back in action tomorrow for day two of the MAC Championships. The meet is set to begin at 11:00 AM CT.