INDIANAPOLIS (May 18, 2021) – As expected, Oklahoma Christian sprinter Verrell McBride made the field for the 200 meters for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which was announced Tuesday.

McBride, a junior from Norman, Okla., will be seeded ninth among 14 runners for the preliminary round of the event, which will be at 1:45 p.m. on May 28 at the Grand Valley State University Lacrosse/Track and Field Stadium in Allendale, Mich.

The preliminary round will determine which eight men will advance to the title race, set for 1:20 p.m. on May 29.

McBride's seed time for the event of 21.03 seconds is slightly slower than the career-best time of 20.96 seconds he ran while finishing second in the Lone Star Conference Outdoor Championships in Canyon, Texas, on May 8.

McBride is the first male OC track and field athlete to qualify for the Division II Outdoor Championships since 2018, when Landon Huslig won the national title in the 400-meter hurdles.

"I'm excited about it and I just want to take advantage of the opportunity," McBride said.

OC coach Wade Miller had hoped that sophomore Dylan Burrows might squeeze into the national field for the 800 meters, but the NCAA ended up taking only 13 runners for that race and Burrows didn't make the cut. The NCAA reduced its field sizes for the national meet this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.