JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Two Doane heptathletes scored points and three Tigers qualified for running event finals at the NAIA National Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday.

Freshman Brad Higgins, who was placed as low as ninth during Thursday’s first day of heptathlon events, used strong showings in both the pole vault and 1,000-meter run Friday to climb to fourth overall with 4,734 points.

Higgins began Friday with a 9.32-second clocking in the 60-meter hurdles, then picked up a few more spots with a clearance of 13 feet, 11 1/4 inches in the pole vault.

He won the 1,000-meter run, the heptathlon’s final event, in a time of 2 minutes, 50.25 seconds, earning 763 points.

Higgins’ teammate Rob Keeney finished seventh in the heptathlon with 4,602 points. He had the second-fastest time in the 60 hurdles at 8.84, then vaulted 10-0 and finished the 1,000 meters in 2:52.72.

Virgil Mitchell began defense of his 2009 title in the 60 hurdles by winning his prelim in 8.09. He also won his semifinal in 8.06 to advance to Saturday’s final. Mitchell did not qualify in either the 60- or 200-meter dashes.

DeeJay Silcott won her 60-meter dash preliminary in a Doane school-record time of 7.66, then placed fourth in her semifinal heat in 7.73, a time that got her into Saturday’s final by the skin of her teeth.

Silcott also qualified for the 200-meter final after clocking a time of 24.97, breaking her own school record for the second time in the space of just a few hours.

In the women’s 400, Tiger freshman Blair Dixon placed second in her qualifying heat with a lifetime-best clocking of 57.95 and advanced to the final.

That race will be run as a two-section final Saturday due to a ruling that advanced Brandy Hurd of Fresno Pacific, who fell down in her prelim, to the final. A total of seven runners will run, four in one section and three in another. The final results will be determined after time comparison from the two sections.