Milwaukee City Wire

Natalie Block is set to represent Milwaukee Track & Field at the NCAA Track & Field Championships this week. She will compete in the semifinals of the 400m hurdles on Thursday evening in Eugene, Oregon. The event is scheduled to start at 7:30 PM PST.

Block earned her place at the national meet by achieving a personal-best and program record time of 57.02 seconds in the 400m hurdles quarterfinals during the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds held in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

In the first round, Block's time of 57.90 secured her the 16th seed for the quarterfinals, where she faced one of the day's fastest heats. The top three finishers recorded times of 55.45, 55.80, and 57.00 seconds respectively. Although she missed an automatic qualification by just 0.02 seconds due to a top-three finish, Block secured an "at-large" spot as well as being seeded tenth from the West.

Block will become Milwaukee's first Track & Field All-American since 2017 regardless of team outcome. First team status is awarded to those finishing in the top eight positions, second team for those finishing between ninth and sixteenth places, and honorable mention for those between seventeenth and twenty-fourth places.

To advance to Saturday's national finals, Block must either secure a top-two finish in her heat or record one of the next three best times overall. She will compete in the second of three heats with her seed time ranking eighth within her heat.