GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Another 4x800 relay national appearance by College of Saint Mary's "Fantastic Four,'' another All-American performance.

For the second straight indoor track & field season, the Flames' quartet of Carly Henderson, Mira Fosmer, Kara Muller and Olivia Elbert qualified for the final in the 4x800 relay. They grabbed the eighth and final spot in 9:11.14 on Thursday in the prelims of the NAIA's showcase indoor track & field event at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center.

"What a day to be a Flame!'' CSM Head Coach Steve Gordon Jr. said. "We opened up our nationals campaign with collective held breaths and 'watch the clock' moments. Our young ladies are truly among the best in the nation and they validated that with season-best performances when it mattered most."

The CSM team placed third in the third of four heats on Thursday. The four heat winners and four next-best times advanced to Friday's final, which is set for 5:10 p.m. Central time and can be viewed for free at this link: NAIA Network.

If only two teams in the final heat finished faster than CSM's 9:11.14, the Flames knew they would advance to the final, However, if at least three times finished faster than that time, they would have been eliminated. The first two teams in the fourth heat did finish faster, but the third one – Eastern Oregon in 9:12.35 – didn't, meaning the Flames were on to the final.

"The singular goal for the 4x800 relay was to get to Friday,'' said Derek Fey, the head cross country coach and assistant track coach specializing in distance runners. "It didn't matter what places we were, just needed to be in the top eight. It was a stressful final heat, waiting to see what teams would run. By the slimmest of margins, they will repeat as NAIA All-Americans.''

CSM's time of 9:11.14 was just off the program record of 9:11.09 set by the same four in last year's final, in which they finished fifth.