Julius Mutekanga and Cat Beck of Central Park Track Club New Balance each qualified for major championships with performances on Saturday.

CPTC New Balance’s Mutekanga hit the IAAF World Indoor Championships qualifying standard in the 800 meters at the New Balance Games.  His time of 1:48.00 is among the top ten fastest times in the World for 2012.  The World Championships start March 9 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mutekanga, a graduate of Long Island University, continues his breakout year running for CPTC New Balance.  Last summer, he ran 1:46.30 to qualify for the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Daegu and also hit the  “B” Qualifier for the Olympic Games in London with that time.  Mutekanga is currently Uganda’s top-ranked 800 meter runner. 

CPTC New Balance’s Beck qualified for the USA Indoor National Championships with a time of 4:45.02 in the mile today.  This will be Beck’s second time competing at this event at USA Indoor Nationals in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is scheduled for February 26.

Beck was an 11-time All-American for Tufts University and an NCAA Division III runner-up in the 1500m and 5000m.  Since joining CPTC New Balance in 2009, Beck has drastically improved in the mile.