AUSTIN - Both Verity Ockenden and Sam Stabler needed to finish in the top 12 to advance to the NCAA, but both fell just short and ended the season for the Lamar Track and Field teams at the NCAA Division I West Preliminaries, hosted by Texas at Mike Myers Stadium.

Ockenden, who moved to the quarterfinals with a third place heat finish on Thursday, fell three spots short on Saturday in the quarters, but set a Lamar record in the 1500-meter run with a blistering 14:49.95 mark. She took over the top spot from Clerk Koenck's 4:23.11 mark.

She finished 15th overall behind Eleanor Fulton's, Washington, 14th-place time of 4:19.59 and Stanford's Elise Cranny, who was the final qualifier with a 4:19.38 time. Shelby Houlihan of Arizona State was the top runner with a 4:13.27 time.

Stabler, senior from Queniborough, England, finished his career as one of the most decorated runners in school history. He finished 15th in his heat on a 14:35.92 time in the 5000-meter run, and the top time in his heat was Oregon's Edward Cheserek, who clocked at 14:11.66. William Kincaid, Portland, had the best time of the event on 13:48.27.

The distance runner finished with all three league athlete of the year awards offered (cross country, indoor and outdoor) this season, along with two student-athletes of the year- the outdoor award has yet to be announced.

He is a five-time champion this year, and had the second highest time in the nation in the 5K heading into the preliminary meet.

For his career, he's been crowned as the Southland Conference Athlete of the Year four times and has taken all of them in the last five chances. His dominance on the track was carried to the classroom, which netted him CoSIDA Academic All-Conference and has the chance at being Capital One Academic All-American.