EUGENE, Oregon- Just over a week until the Olympic Trials for track and field in Eugene, Oregon, another prestigious meet is already underway at historic Hayward Field, the home of the Oregon Ducks.
The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships made its return on Wednesday, with prelims in all but one of the running events on the men’s side. The women’s prelims were contested on Thursday.
Wednesday was highlighted by an improbable victory from Tulsa’s Patrick Dever in the 10,000m, as he broke a 42-year old meet record behind a phenomenal finishing kick, crossing the line in a time of 27:41.87. His final lap time? A blistering 57.37 seconds.
But the majority of the races to watch on the men’s side will be run tonight , with the finals in the vast majority of the men’s running events. All races can be seen live on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.com.
Here is a snapshot at two races to watch on the men’s side tonight:
Men’s 1500m Final (Friday 8:11 p.m. ET)
Arguably the most hyped-up race of this year’s meet, it features two Olympic candidates in Notre Dame’s Yared Nuguse and Oregon’s Cole Hocker.
Nuguse, the reigning NCAA champion, also holds the collegiate record in a time of 3:34.68, which he ran at the ACC Championships on May 13.
Hocker, the hometown favorite, running for the Ducks of Oregon, and is just under a second behind Nuguse’s top time, having run 3:35.16.
It pits the reigning outdoor national champ (Nuguse) against the reigning indoor national champ (Hocker), and is a rematch of the May 8 race that saw Nuguse defeat Hocker in his home state by .51 seconds.
But while Nuguse and Hocker are far and away the two favorites to compete for the NCAA title, the entire men’s 1500-meter final is stacked. Entering 2021, only six men had ever broken 3:36 in the event during a college season. But in 2021, things have rapidly changed. Five guys alone have broken 3:36 this year.
Considering the tight competition of this field, it is unlikely that this will be a distance race that features Nuguse, Hocker and possibly one or two others running away from the rest of the field on the bell lap. On top of this, because the pace will be pushed so much, there is a high chance that we will see the NCAA record broken in this race.
Nuguse will start in position one for the final, with Hocker out in the 12th position. Also keep an eye on Alabama’s Eliud Kipsang, who will start in seventh position with a season-best of 3:35.49.
Men's 1500m Prelims:
Men’s 800-meter Final (8:14 p.m. CT)
The prelims did not tell us much on Wednesday, as it did not seem that everybody, including favorite Isaiah Jewett of USC, was running at top speed. However, we did see Texas’ Yusuf Bizimana make a phenomenal move on the rail on the final straightaway to take the top overall time in the prelims at 1:46.90.
Bizimana could easily be the dark horse in this race, as the Big 12 Champion had only the fourth-best seed time entering his heat on Wednesday, but has shown time and time again during this outdoor season that his kick down the homestretch is unstoppable. With his strategy of sitting towards the second half of the pack for the first lap before getting set up to make his move on the second, it is hard to predict when he will break away, but inevitably, he seems to always be in contention for victory as the race nears the finish line.
The mention of Bizimana would not be complete without talking about Iowa State’s Festus Lagat. Lagat and Bizimana developed a rivalry over the course of the outdoor season, and that was no more clear than at the Big 12 Championships. As Bizimana made his move in the 800m, moving from third to second after sliding out to lane three, Lagat went from lane one to lane three purposely, glancing in the direction of Bizimana, as the Iowa State Cyclone pushed the freshman to the side. It did not phase Bizimana, though, as he adjusted and crossed the line in 1:46.84, a new collegiate personal best.
The same happened in the 1500-meter, as Lagat, neck-and-neck with Bizimana, leaned to his side, stumbling across the line, although Bizimana held on for the win.
Lagat will start in lane three of the final with a season-best time of 1:46.09, and Bizimana in lane five with a season-best of 1:46.84.
In lane two, despite a relatively slow time of 1:47.43 in the semifinals, is Jewett, who also has a legitimate shot at making the Olympic Team in two weeks. He is one of two men in this final who has broken 1:46 this year, with a season-best 1:46.16. He won the Pac-12 championship in mid-May, and the only time this season that he has not placed first in an 800-meter final was at the NCAA West Prelim, when he crossed the line fourth.
With women’s finals on Saturday, our preview of the two women’s races to watch will become available Saturday morning.
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