JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Big Red got off to a great start on day one of the NCAA Preliminary Round at the University of North Florida on Thursday. Led by junior captain Stephen Mozia in the shot put, the Cornell men advanced their first competitor to the national finals in Eugene (the top 12 finishers in each event this weekend in Jacksonville will move on to the Finals) and also had senior co-captain Will Weinlandt (800) and sophomore Max Hairston (400 hurdles) move on to Friday's rounds with their hopes for a trip to Eugene still very much alive. There were several outstanding efforts on the the women's side as well, as junior Elyse Wilkinson advanced to Friday's rounds in the 800 and sophomore Caroline Kellner and senior Devin McMahon finished in the top 20 in the 10K.

Stephen Mozia was Cornell's first competitor of the day and he got the team off to a fantastic start, breaking his own outdoor school record in the shot put, reaching 66-10 1/2 on his fifth throw of the day to place third to punch his ticket to the NCAA Finals for the second straight year outdoors.  He actually broke the school record twice as his third throw of the day (65-6 1/4) was nearly two feet better than his previous record.

Max Hairston was terrific in the 400 hurdles, placing third in his heat in 51.42, No. 4 all-time at Cornell and good for the tenth best time on the day. He will compete again on Friday for a chance to advance to Eugene. Also running very well in the 400 hurdles was freshman Jordan Sherwood, who placed 29th in a PR 52.28, nine places better than his seed coming into the meet.

Last but not least for the men, Will Weinlandt ran a very strong 800, leading his heat for the first 600 meters before placing third in a seasonal best 1:48.89.  He will compete again on Friday as well in search of a trip to Eugene.

On the women's side, Elyse Wilkinson ran a very good race in the 800, moving up very well in the final 200 meters to finish in 2:06.39 (a PR by nearly 1.5 seconds), good for No. 5 all-time at Cornell as well as a berth in Friday's heats that will provide her with an opportunity to continue fighting for a berth in the NCAA finals.

Earlier in the afternoon, the duo of junior Zena Kolliesuah and sophomore Udeme Akpaete competed aggressively in the 400. Kolliesuah was sixth in her heat and 32nd overall in 54.19 (only .01 from her PR) and Akpaete was sixth in her heat as well, placing 39th overall in 54.37.

In the final event of the evening, the Big Red was represented by a meet-best four runners in the women's 10K. Sophomore Caroline Kellner put herself in contention for a top 12 finish in the first 5K and rallied well in the final mile to place 16th (she was seeded 27th coming in) in a time of 34:50.17. Senior Devin McMahon ran an inspired second half of the race to pass nearly half the field, ultimately finishing 18th in 34:56.31. On a very humid evening that saw several competitors in both the men's and women's 10K not able to finish, the Big Red was also well represented by sophomore Maggi Szpak (41st, 36:45.12) and senior Liz Simpson (43rd, 37:37.42).

Complete results can be found here:

http://results.flashresults.com/2014_Meets/outdoor/05-29-NCAAEast/

Action resumes on Friday and the Big Red will have a busy day with Hairston in both the 110 hurdles and 400 hurdles, Weinlandt and Wilkinson in the 800, sophomore Larry Gibson in the 200, and junior David Melly, sophomore Claire DeVoe and senior co-captain Rachel Sorna in the 3K steeplechase.