Perkins’ Cory Leslie helped lead Ohio State men’s track and field team to a record-breaking final day of competition on Saturday at the NCAA East Regional Preliminaries.

Jeff See, Leslie and OSU’s four-time defending Big Ten champion 4x400m relay team will represent the Buckeyes June 9-12 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon joining Matt DeChant and Thomas Murdaugh, who secured invitations Friday night.

Leslie will compete in the first national championship of his career after a 14th-place and personal record time of 8:49.06 in the 3000m steeplechase. Although, he wasn’t among the Top 12 finishers, he advanced to Eugene thanks to a third-place finish in his heat.

Back in February, Leslie etched his name in the Ohio State record books.
One week removed from running the fourth-best indoor mile in school history, Leslie re-wrote the Ohio State records with his second-place run of 2:22.48 in the 1000m at the Meyo Invitational, the top time in OSU history.

"Cory’s performance was definitely the highlight of day one," Ohio State head coach Robert Gary said of Leslie’s effort through a press release. "He has put himself into great shape. With the way he is running now, he could very easily run under four minutes in the mile, something only the best of athletes are able to accomplish."

swalker@MorningJournal.com