BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Midwestern State senior Ashley Flores used a relaxed approach to post a personal best time of 5:00.56 in the indoor mile preliminaries of the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships ran at the Birmingham Crossplex.

"I am really proud of Ashley," MSU coach Koby Styles said. "She will go down as one of the best athletes to ever come through Midwestern having qualified for more national championships than anyone else, but she is not done yet."

Flores felt she had nothing to lose after earning the final national qualification, but needed to be amongst the top three finishers in either of the two qualifying heat or post one of the next three best times to move on to Saturday's championship heat.

Her time wasn't good enough to snag a coveted spot in the finals as she finished 15th overall.

"She finished ahead of three runners to improve on her qualifying time, but she really wanted to break the 5-minute barrier," Styles said. "She has the drive to be an All American and has one more chance to do that."

Flores competed in the 1,500-meter run at the 2014 Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Allendale, Mich. placing 19th. She aspires to make another jump in her final outdoor campaign.

"Ashley learned a ton from her championship experience last season and wants to use this good indoor showing as a springboard into the outdoor season," Styles said. "She just won't quit working until she becomes an All American."

Azusa Pacific's Staci Foster claimed the win in the second heat with a best time of 4:52.17 while Missouri Southern's Emily Harris claimed a win in Flores' first heat with a time of 4:52.21.

Other finals qualifiers include: Minnesota-Duluth's Emilee Trost (4:52.67), Minnesota State-Moorhead's Molly Montonya (4:52.86), Metropolitan State's Breanna Hemming (4:52.85), California (Pa.)'s Alexandra Zenella (4:53.01), Western State's Alicja Konieczek (4:53.22), Ferris State's Samantha Johnson (4:54.59) and Western Oregon's Stephanie Stuckey (5:54.79).

The indoor mile finals are set for Saturday at 4:15 p.m.

Flors also qualified for cross country nationals in 2010, 2011 and 2012.