GREENSBORO, N.C. - VMI's Felix Kitur finished second in his section of the 800-meters, thanks to a strong kick over the final 75 meters, and earned his second career berth at the NCAA Division I Track and Field National Championships due to his performance on the second day of the NCAA Preliminary Round meet, hosted by North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C.

Kitur settled in at fifth place after one lap of the event's middle section, but quickly moved to fourth shortly after the bell. He then went to second on the back stretch, passing Penn State's Casimir Loxsom, who came into the meet with the #2 time in Division I, with 250 meters to go. Loxsom then went to the outside and went by both Kitur and fellow Nittany Lion Ryan Foster for the lead, leaving the VMI standout third.

Coming around the final turn, Jeff Moriarty of Columbia started his kick and came to third, taking Kitur out of the automatic qualification position and leaving him seemingly boxed in on the rail. The junior out of Eldoret, Kenya responded with a kick of his own, powering by Moriarty and splitting Foster and Loxsom with the race-ending move. Kitur wound up second with a time of 1:47.94, as his lean at the line bested Foster for the runner-up position.

"I am very excited for Felix," said VMI head coach Darrin Webb. "I'm also very pleased with the job Coach Spangler has done. This is a big day for our program, but also for Felix personally. He still has some work to do though, and goals to fulfill in Oregon."

"We spent a lot of work this year on improving Felix's finishing kick," said assistant track and head cross country coach Paul Spangler. "It paid off today, because the race went out slowly and came down to who had the best kick. That's not been his strong point historically, but again, all the hard work paid off today."

With the result, Kitur moves on to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., where he will open competition on June 9.