PUEBLO, Colo. — Competing under cool evening conditions at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships on the campus of Colorado State Pueblo, four Chico State men's athletes saw action Thursday as the Wildcats opened their national meet campaign.

The night was highlighted by strong qualifying performances from Damian Garcia and Hunter Dougherty, who each earned a spot in their respective finals.

Garcia placed 10th overall in the 1,500-meter preliminaries to secure his spot in Saturday's final. Sitting mid-pack through the first half of the race, Garcia shifted gears approaching the 1,100-meter mark and surged into second place in his heat. He crossed the line in 3:54.19, earning an automatic qualifying spot and the opportunity to race for All-America honors in Saturday's final at 4:45 p.m. PDT.

Dougherty followed with an equally impressive run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Starting near the back, he steadily moved up, climbing to seventh at 1,400 meters, sixth at 2,200 meters, and cracking the top five on the final lap. He finished third in his heat with a time of 9:14.05, advancing to Friday's 5:30 p.m. PDT final.

In the 400-meter dash prelims, Brody Staley placed sixth in his heat, clocking 47.92 and narrowly missing a spot in the final. He'll return to the track Friday night alongside Quincy Patton, Vincent Rinaldi, and Trey Suffredini in the 4x400-meter relay prelims, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PDT.

Wrapping up the day was senior Brayden McLaughlin, who made his second career NCAA Outdoor Championship appearance. He finished 21st overall in the 10,000 meters, crossing the line in 32:32.07.