WAVERLY, Iowa -- Katherine Geist (So./Crookston, Minn./Crookston) punched her ticket to the upcoming NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships by winning the mile run at the Wartburg Qualifier, one of a handful of last chance meets held the weekend before the field for the national meet is selected.
 
Geist smashed her previous personal best by 10.8 seconds as she topped the 23-runner field with a time of 4:56.93, bettering both the Hoover Fieldhouse and meet records.
 
She now ranks No. 9 in the country this season for the mile and No. 23 in the 800-meter run. The top 20 athletes that are entered in an event received spots to the national meet to be held March 11-12 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Those selections are set to be released by 7:00 p.m. ET at deltatiming.com.