Olympia native Brooke Feldmeier sets personal best in first round as USATF nationals begins...

EUGENE--While there were no finals involving athletes with Washington ties, there was plenty of action in qualifying races as the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships opened at Historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.

Olympia native Brooke Feldmeier (Paul Merca photo) set a personal best in her heat of the 800 meters, as she ran 2:01.45 to finish third behind Olympic champion Athing Mu (2:01.24) and Nia Akins (2:01.40) of the Seattle based Brooks Beasts to advance to Friday's semifinals.

"It was good. I really wanted to get to the semifinals," said Feldmeier. "I knew I wanted to be out there and be competitive for that second or third spot. I wanted to run hard and make sure I got an auto qualifier instead of waiting on a time."

In the men's 800, Isaiah Harris and Brannon Kidder of the Beasts advanced to Friday's semifinals. Both were in the third heat, with Harris taking the win in 1:47.10, and Kidder moving on as a time qualifier, after he finished fourth in 1:47.40.

University of Washington volunteer assistant coach Sam Prakel won his heat of the men's 1500 to advance to Saturday's final in a time of 3:40.91, while Washington State alum Paul Ryan was third in the same heat in 3:41.29.

In a separate heat, Henry Wynne of the Brooks Beasts finished fourth but advanced as a time qualifier, running 3:39.17.

Kenneth Rooks of BYU from College Place near Walla Walla advanced to Saturday's finals in the 3000 steeplechase, as he finished third in his heat in 8:29.44.

Washington alum Eleanor Fulton (4:11.50), Anna Gibson of Washington (4:13.86), Seattle resident Rebecca Mehra (4:17.85), and Allie Schadler of the Huskies (4:20.47) did not advance in the women's 1500 semifinals.

The same fate befell Stanford grad Julia Heymach (4:11.68), who made her professional debut Thursday as a member of the Brooks Beasts. She finished seventh in her heat.

Friday, former Pullman resident and reigning Olympic champion Katie Nageotte, along with Washington alum Olivia Gruver will go in the finals of the women's pole vault.

Washington alum Katie Rainsberger, Washington State alum Caroline Austin, and Yale's Kayley DeLay, who will attend Washington as a grad transfer this fall, all compete in the semifinals of the women's steeple.

Washington State alum CJ Allen and current Husky Cass Elliott will run in the first round of the 400 hurdles, while Isaiah Harris, Brannon Kidder, and Nia Akins of the Brooks Beasts, along with Olympia's Brooke Feldmeier run in the semis of the 800 meters.

In the concurrent USATF U20 Championships, JaiCieonna Gero-Holt of Emerald Ridge HS is the current leader in the heptathlon competition, ending the first day with a score of 3371 points.

After finishing third in the 100 hurdles in 14.62, she rattled off two straight wins, taking the high jump at 5-11.25 (1.81m) and the shot put at 39-6 (12.04m), before ending the day with a third place finish in the 200 in 25.69.

Gonzaga's Bryce Cerkowniak finished tenth in the men's 5000 in 14:38.18.

The USATF U-20 championships continue Friday morning and afternoon.

Results of the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships are available here, while results of the USATF U-20 Championships are available here.

NOTE: The sports information offices of the University of Washington, Princeton University, and Yale University contributed to this report.

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