Junior distance runner Michael Bohlke reached the NCAA quarterfinals in the 1500m last week at University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium.
Bohlke ran a time of 3:41.92 to secure one of the five guaranteed spots from his heat in the quarterfinal. He was the only Rev to qualify for the NCAA Track and Field first round this year.
The only Rev to make NCAA first rounds last year was distance runner Ryan Fowkes — whose 1500m program record Bohlke broke in 2023 — where he also failed to reach the NCAA championships. The program has yet to produce a championship qualifier.
“Just getting there was a big deal,” said Head Coach Terry Weir. “And then getting to the quarterfinals for Mike, we were in bonus category.”
The top 48 times of declared athletes in the East region qualify for the NCAA first round, which left Bohlke waiting for almost a week to see if his seed time of 3:41.26, which he ran at the Princeton Invitational on May 17, would hold up for qualification. Bohlke officially secured the 46th seed in the 1500m when the NCAA released the list of east first round qualifiers on May 22.
“Making first round itself was such a big goal of mine that the amount of stress in the days leading up to finding out, I was hardly sleeping,” Bohlke said. “It was ridiculous, but then it’s such a load off your shoulders once you made it.”
In addition to his 1500m season best at Princeton, Bohlke racked up multiple winning efforts this season. On April 25, Bohlke anchored the distance medley relay to victory at the Penn Relays in a time of 9:50:92, beating out conference foe Fordham by .14 seconds.
Bohlke carried his momentum from Penn Relays victory into the Atlantic 10 Championships a week later on May 3, taking the conference crown in the 1500m with a time of 3:48.42. He finished fifth in the 5000m at last year’s conference championship.
Bohlke said managing the emotional highs of big races, like Penn Relays and A-10s, is key to maintaining consistency in training and carrying the momentum forward. He said this training continued into his preparation for NCAAs.
Through the first 1200m of the NCAA first round heat, Bohlke was near the back of the pack. But thanks to two runners falling in front of him and a strong kick on the last lap, Bohlke finished fourth and advanced to NCAA quarterfinals.
“I was in 11th with 400 to go, which in a heat of the best milers in the country is not where you want to be,” Bohlke said.
Bohlke said he thought only the top four runners qualified for quarterfinals which gave him the extra motivation to sprint past an Iona runner and take fourth place in the heat.
“I don’t think anyone saw him getting in there, so when he did, it was a big surprise,” Weir said.
Bohlke’s season came to an end in Jacksonville when he finished last in his quarterfinal heat last Friday with a time of 3:50:16.
Bohlke said now that the track season is over he will shift his focus towards training for next year’s cross country season, where he thinks the team can produce multiple all-conference finishers.
“[Bohlke] gets a well deserved break here now for the next month or so, and then get to dreaming up all over again going into next year,” Weir said.
