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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It's official. Four weeks after Alex Cisneros and Sarah Medved ran to historic times in the men's 10,000 meters and women's steeplechase, respectively, at the Mt. SAC Relays, the pair become the first Vikings to ever qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in either category.
 
Cisneros and Medved made the cut as the NCAA announced qualifiers for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, May 24-26, in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday. Both runners raised the possibility of their qualification with record-breaking performances at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 18, but it didn't become official until Thursday.
 
Cisneros not only becomes the first Viking men's runner to qualify regionally in the 10,000 meters, but also the first men's runner to qualify in an event longer than 800 meters.
 
Cisneros' historic qualification comes fittingly after an historic performance, as he broke a 34-year-old school record in the 10,000 meters with his finish in 29:25.74 at the Mt. SAC Relays. No Viking had ever cracked 29:30 in the 10,000 meters before Cisneros, as Dave Henderson set the previous record at 29:30.04 in 1984.
 
Cisneros has been no stranger to history this season, as he had already broken the school records in the indoor 3,000 and 5,000 meters before breaking the school record in the 10k. Additionally, Cisneros became the first Viking since 2005 to crack the top 10 all time in the outdoor 5,000 meters with his finish in 14:28.96 at the L&C Spring Break Open back in March.
 
Medved, meanwhile, broke the school record in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase twice this season. Medved originally broke the record while making her debut in the event at the L&C Spring Break Open, and then shaved 36 seconds off that time with her finish in 10:21.56 at the Mt. SAC Relays. Medved's time at the Mt. SAC Relays stands more than 50 seconds clear of the old record that Mandy Peterson had held for 15 years since finishing in 11:11.60 in 2003.
 
Medved made history again in the steeplechase at the Big Sky meet, as she passed Montana State's Patricia Carlson on the final water jump before kicking home for the Vikings' first Big Sky title in the steeplechase, men OR women. No Viking woman had even scored in the steeplechase at the Big Sky outdoor meet before Medved's win last week.
 
It's fitting, then, that Medved also be the first Viking – man or woman – to qualify regionally in the steeplechase. Medved qualified after finishing the regular season ranked 27thin the NCAA west region, and was never really in doubt of missing out on the meet since running her record time at the Mt. SAC Relays.
 
Medved will run in the quarterfinals of the women's steeplechase at 9 p.m. Friday, May 25, with the top 12 finishers advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Cisneros will run in the semifinals of the men's 10,000 meters at 9 p.m. Thursday, with the top 12 finishers advancing to the national meet.