Montana State junior Ben Perrin successfully navigated a 48-man field to qualify for his first ever NCAA Track and Field Championships, placing 11th in the 10,000-meters at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor West Prelims on Wednesday night at Hornet Stadium. The top 12 finishers advance to the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas, June 7-10.

Perrin, a native of Kalispell, posted a time of 28 minutes, 25.57 seconds, just missing his personal record of 28:25.24 set at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April. Two weeks ago, he captured his second consecutive 10,000-meter title at the Big Sky Conference championships in a clocking of 29:46.51. Perrin’s PR ranks second all-time at MSU behind Bobcat Hall of Famer and All-American Shannon Butler.

Wednesday night’s race, hosted by Big Sky rival Sacramento State, marked the second time Perrin has appeared at the NCAA West Prelims. He finished 27th in the 5,000-meters as a sophomore.