MARION, Ind.- Maya Pearcy's electrifying anchor leg led Rocky's 4x800 meter relay into the finals, while Grace Timm advanced to the finals in the Steeplechase to lead Rocky on day one at the NAIA National Championships. 

The Battlin' Bear 4x800-meter team of Tyne Stokes, Kallyn Wilkins, Grace Timm, and Maya Pearcy turned heads on Wednesday, running the fourth-fastest time in the preliminaries and placing second in their heat with a time of 9:18.51. Their time was the fourth fastest among the three heats overall. The highlight of the race was the anchor leg from Maya Pearcy, as she ran the fastest split of any competitor in her heat with an unofficial split of 2:13.04. Her efforts helped eliminate an eight-second deficit she faced at the start of her leg, chasing down Taylor University to secure the automatic birth into Thursday's finals. The Battlin' Bears will compete in the finals at 4:10 pm (MT) on Thursday. 

Grace Timm impressed in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase, taking third place in her heat with a time of 11:15.42 to advance to Friday's finals, just over an hour after running the third leg of the 4x800-meter relay. Timm ran a strategic race, starting in the back of a tight pack before gradually working her way forward and finishing with the leaders of her heat. Her time was the seventh best amongst the two heats, and she will compete in the finals on Friday afternoon at 11:00 a.m. (MT). 

Kallyn Wilkins finished 16th overall in the women's 1,500-meter. In her first individual competition at nationals in her career, Wilkins finished ninth in her heat with a total time of 4:53.46. 

Charlize Davis enters the final day of the heptathlon in 16th place, totaling 2,514 points after four events on day one. Davis took 10th overall in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.17 and 12th place in the 200 meters with a time of 26.52. 

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Rocky Track and Field will be represented in three competitions on Thursday, as freshman Trystin Chapel will compete in the men's long jump beginning at 12:30 pm, Maya Pearcy will run in the women's 800-meter prelims at 12:30 pm, and the Rocky 4x800-meter relay team will run in the finals at 4:10 pm.