Already a two-time all-American following his freshman season at St. Ambrose, John Darmody faces one of the toughest tests of his collegiate career today.

Darmody will race in the preliminaries of the USA Junior National Championships this afternoon in Eugene, Ore., seeded sixth in the 1,500-meter run.

The Everett, Wash., native is the first St. Ambrose athlete to compete in the national event, earning that opportunity with a time of 3 minutes, 50.12 seconds in the NAIA National Championships last month in Edwardsville, Ill.