SACRAMENTO, Calif. – For the first time ever, a Billiken will be competing in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships as Toby Gillen qualified in the 5,000 meters Friday night.

Running at the NCAA First Round competition in Sacramento, Gillen finished the 5,000 meters in a school-record time of 13:30.27. The time was good for sixth in his heat, and he qualified for the national meet by having the best time outside of the top-five finishers in each of the two heats.

The NCAA Championships will be held June 7-10 at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Gillen's event, the men's 5,000 meters, will take place Friday night, June 9.

Gillen's historic season already includes two gold medals during the A-10 Indoor Championships and another gold during the A-10 Outdoor Championships. He now holds the honor of being the first Billiken to advance to the NCAA Championships in program history.

Also competing in the NCAA First Round meet Friday were triple jumpers Evan Bruenderman and Jayden Kouadio. They finished their highly successful seasons with jumps of 14.64 meters and 14.49 meters, respectively.