BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Norfolk State junior Martha Bissah ran away with the first heat of the women's 800 meters Friday night at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, advancing to Saturday's national final.

Bissah clocked a preliminary time of 2 minutes, 6.36 seconds to win her heat. She pulled away with a strong final lap, winning by 0.4 seconds ahead of runner-up Rachel Pocratsky of Virginia Tech. Both earned automatic spots from the heat into Saturday's final, which is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET.

ESPN3 is broadcasting both days of the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Earlier on Friday night, sophomores Trequan Barnes (men's 400 meters) and Kiara Grant (women's 60 meters) also performed well, but failed to qualify for Saturday's finals. Barnes was 10th in the field of 16 in the 400 meters with a time of 47.11 seconds. Grant placed 14th in the 60 meters in 7.35 seconds. Both were making their first-ever appearances at an NCAA national championship event.

Friday marked the first time the Spartans have ever had three athletes compete at the Division I Indoor Championships in the same year.