LA CROSSE, Wis. - Bard College senior Perry Scheetz, who was the 22nd and last seed entering the preliminaries in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Div. III Track & Field Championships, ran the race of her life on Thursday night.

On Saturday, she'll run her last race.

That's because Scheetz amazingly qualified for the national final by outrunning her own seed time by 13 seconds, and eclipsing her own Bard record by eight seconds.

The field of 22 was split into two heats, with the top five runners from each heat and the next four best times qualifying for the final. With a late surge, Scheetz passed two runners on the final lap and placed eighth in 10:54.82. As the second heat went on, it became clear that the first heat was the fast one, and that Scheetz had a chance to advance.

In the end, she was the 14th and last qualifier for the final by one second. Ironically, it was one second that kept her out of the National Championships last year, and one second that got her in this year.

She is the only Bard student-athlete to ever qualify for the National Championships.

Click here to see the results.

Scheetz's best time this season was 11:07.22; her personal best, set last year at the ECAC Championships, was 11:02.32. She went into the meet knowing that she would have to break the 11-minute barrier to have any shot at making the final.

The final race of Scheetz's career will start at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. You can follow it via Live Video right here.