AUSTIN, Texas Mike Hardy punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships in the 3,000 meter steeplechase on Friday evening. Hardy took second in his heat running 8:43.99, which automatically qualified him for the championships. That was the second-fastest time in the event. This will be Hardy' second trip to the NCAA Championships. lt;br />"He (Mike) ran a good race and took control in the first 800-meters of the race to make sure it wasn't slow," Associate head coach Paul Pilkington said. "He ran an outstanding race and was only off two second off his personal-best in the humid conditions. I am really happy for Mike and is coming on at the right time." lt;br />But Hardy unleashed a tactic that he had been training for a majority of the season, hurdling the last water steeple. He entered the final water steeple with three other competitors and gave himself enough separation to finish second. lt;br />"We have been working on hurdling the water jump as he is faster doing that," Pilkington said. "Because he hurdled it, he got through quicker than the other runners. We just wanted him to play it safe and qualify but that helped him close well." lt;br />The four other Wildcats who participated in the NCAA West Preliminary Round were Jamie Stokes, Ellie Child, Trevor Ricks and Anthony Gregory. lt;br />Stokes took ninth in her heat of the 1,500 meters running 4:40.52 while Ellie Child took eighth in her heat of the 3,000-meter steeplechase running 10:38.65. lt;br />Ricks took 13th in his heat of the 3,000-meter steeplechase running 9:17.33 while Anthony Gregory took 28th in the high jump with a mark of 6-09.75. lt;br />The NCAA Championships will take place in Eugene, Oregon on May 10-13.