The Washington University indoor track and field teams took advantage of a final opportunity to qualify for the 2011 Division III NCAA Indoor Championships.

The Bears set three new school records and two automatic qualifying times at the North Central College Last Chance Qualifier on Friday in Naperville, Ill.

The team competed at North Central with the intention of securing NCAA qualifying times for those athletes who were close in previous attempts but had fallen short.

“This was a last chance meet, so we only took the athletes that we thought had a good chance of qualifying,” junior Liz Phillips said. “The ultimate goal was to qualify as many athletes as possible for the national meet this coming weekend.”

The distance-medley relay was a strong event for both men and women. The women’s team of senior Jessica Londeree, freshman Shannon Howell and juniors Erica Jackey and Liz Phillips posted a time of 11:48.98, the fastest in Division III this season and the new school record by 2.33 seconds.

“We had some really good competition in this race, and many of the teams we raced against this week will be our competition next week at nationals,” Phillips said. “I ran the 1,600-meter leg [of the DMR], and we ended up finishing right ahead of some of the best teams in the nation. It was a great race, and everyone ran the times they needed to in order to run the race we wanted.”

The men’s team of junior Paul Garcia and seniors Dave Spandorfer, Chris Malaya and Chris Brennan finished first with a time of 10:05.34, which ranks as the No. 15 time in Division III this season.

“We all ran great races—the atmosphere was electric, so it was hard not to be excited—and when it came down to it, everybody on the relay ran with heart,” Malaya said. “I think we all knew that whatever our time ended up being and wherever it left us, we were proud of the effort and the sweat we had put into it. When you have three other guys running with you, guys who are just as serious and are running as much for you as you are for them, it’s hard not to run well.”

Malaya also had a strong performance in the 400-meter dash, setting a new school record with a time of 48.68 seconds. His time was also the fifth best in Division III this season and automatically qualified him for NCAAs.

“Everything just really came together,” Malaya said. “I ran my own race, rather than letting someone else dictate the pace, and I ran as hard as I could. It paid off in the end, and I walked away with a time I’m incredibly proud of.”

Junior Dan Davis continued his fantastic season by setting yet another school record. His time of 8.20 took 0.08 seconds off his record time in the 60-meter hurdles from the Engineer Invitational on Jan. 29.

Other noteworthy performances for the Bears included freshman Anna Etherington finishing second in the pole vault, freshman Jasmine Williams finishing fourth in the high jump and Spandorfer finishing fifth in the mile run.

The indoor track and field championships will be hosted by Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday. Because of the quick turnaround, there will be minimal time for training and adjustments.

“Training will be a little easier this week as we prepare for the nationals meet on Friday and Saturday,” Philips said. “We are all really excited to run a great race and see how much time we can drop.”

The official selections for nationals were posted late Sunday night on the NCAA website.