EUGENE, Ore. -- Just as the clouds darkened overhead and rain poured onto the Hayward Field track, Hannah Moen began her heat in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase race.

The former Coconino star and six-time state champion kept pace with the lead pack for the first few laps but suddenly fell behind as the downpour increased. The top six finishers in each semi-final heat advance to Saturday's final at the NCAA Track and Field Championships and Moen found herself in seventh with several laps to go.

That's when the Arizona sophomore made her push, as one of the top six started to fade behind the pack and Moen surged in front of her.

"I just tried to stay within the sixth-place range and I started to drop back," Moen said. "In my mind, I was fighting myself not to give up. I didn't know what times we were running so I wanted to keep pushing to see if I could get in (the top six)...I saw the girl in front of me was falling back so I thought, 'Maybe I can catch her.'"

She did and maintained her lead over the last few laps to come in sixth place in 10 minutes and 13.13 seconds. She improved her personal-best time by more than four seconds and guaranteed herself a spot in Saturday's final on the campus of the University of Oregon.

"That last lap, I was just trying to finish and had a funky water jump," Moen said. "I'm happy to be done with this part of the race and that much further (in the championship)."

It was Moen's goal since the beginning of the season to make to the NCAAs after coming up one spot short in last season's West Regionals.

"I'm very excited. I was already excited just to be here," said Moen, who graduated from Coconino in 2008. "Last year, I was one place away from making it and said 'Oh, next year I'll be there,' and now I'm actually here."

In fact, Moen was excited throughout the day trying her best to calm her nerves, but they popped up once she stepped on the track shortly before the steeplechase started.

"I got butterflies in my stomach and wanted the race to start already," she said.

Although she had never run the race in the rain before, Moen wasn't affected by the weather, as her time indicated.

"I was trained in the snow in Flagstaff," she said. "I didn't let it get to me. It kind of felt good.

"Coming from Austin (Texas) in regionals in that heat and humidity, it felt great. It's good racing weather."

With one race left for her sophomore season, Moen is hoping to go out with a bang.

"I was injured during cross country so I was more determined to do something (during track season)," Moen said. "It's my goal to be in the top eight and race to win, at least."

In other competition on Thursday, NAU's Ahmed Osman ran in the 10,000 and finished in 15th with a time of 29:29.62.

It was Osman's second-straight appearance in the NCAA finals in the event but he couldn't improve on last year's ninth-place finish.

The sophomore kept pace with the main pack for most of the race, as was his plan going in, but fell back after experiencing some discomfort in his back over the last several laps.

"It wasn't my day," Osman said. "I gave it my whole, best shot."

Osman was looking good most the race as he was almost squarely in the center of the pack following Liberty's Sam Chelanga, who won the race by a significant margin. But discomfort set in and he faded from the group quickly.

"With five or six laps to go, all of a sudden, he didn't look like the same runner he was the first four-fifths of the race," NAU head coach Eric Heins said. "It's too bad, especially for it to happen on a day like this. He's been running so well all year long."

As disappointed as Osman is, he still has another two years to improve his finish.

"It's always a learning process. Every time, you learn something and correct your mistakes," Osman said. "I learned a lot today."

Jacob May can be reached at jmay@azdailysun.com or 556-2257.