Dawgs and Beasts advance six to Saturday's men's 1500 meter semis at Olympic Trials...

EUGENE--Day 1 of the US Olympic Track & Field Trials got underway at Hayward Field with a large contingent of Washington athletes competing.

In the men's 1500, all three of the University of Washington's recent NCAA champions--Luke Houser, Nathan Green (photo courtesy UW Athletics), and Joe Waskom,  advanced to Saturday's semifinals.

Houser and Green were in the third and final heat, with Houser, running in his pro debut as a member of the Brooks Beasts, finishing second in 3:35.24, just ahead of former UW volunteer coach Sam Prakel, who still trains under Husky coach Andy Powell.

Prakel clocked 3:35.37, while Green was fourth in 3:35.71.

Washington alum Sam Ellis was with the lead group early, but faded to eleventh inn 3:43.45.

In heat 2, Henry Wynne of the Brooks Beasts finished fourth in a blanket finish won by Hobbs Kessler in 3:37.50.

Wynne crossed the line in 3:37.68, while Waskom, who was wearing an adidas pro kit instead of his UW uniform, was sixth in 3:37.84.

Washington State alum Paul Ryan was tenth in 3:39.18, and Brannon Kidder of the Brooks Beasts was twelfth in 3:40.59.

The opening heat, which was won by Colin Sahlman of Northern Arizona in 3:38.67, saw Waleed Suliman of the Beasts finish ninth in 3:39.12 and advance as a time qualifier.

Johnny Gregorek, who trains with Andy Powell at UW, was eleventh in 3:39.24.

Defending national champion Nia Akins of the Brooks Beasts comfortably won her heat of the 800 in 2:01.18. Teammate Valery Tobias was fourth in her heat in 2:01.78, as Juliette Whittaker of Stanford won in 2:01.70. 

In Tobias' heat, Teagan Schein-Becker was eighth in her Brooks Beasts debut, running 2:04.54.

Walla Walla native Kenneth Rooks, the defending national champion, won his heat in the men's steeplechase, running 8:26.90 to advance to the finals on Sunday.

Cashmere's Rob McManus was eleventh in his heat in 8:41.83 and did not advance.

In the women's 5000 semis, both Allie Buchalski of the Brooks Beasts and Lake Stevens native Taylor Roe of Oklahoma State advanced to the finals on Monday.

Buchalski was fifth in 15:24.22, while Roe was one of the time qualifiers in seventh in 15:30.75, as all four time qualifiers came out of heat one, won by Elle St. Pierre in 15:13.82.

In the one final contested Friday, Gonzaga's Wil Smith finished 13th in the men's 10000, running 28:33.30, while Washington's Evan Jenkins had a rough go, running 30:33.47 for 22nd.

Kirkland native Dillon Maggard of the Brooks Beasts dropped out just past the 6000 meter mark.

Stanford alum Grant Fisher took the win in 27:49.47.

On the field, Walla Walla's Dash Sirmon of the University of Nebraska had the fourth furthest throw in the javelin, tossing the spear 248-6 (75.74m). Washington grad Chandler Ault only threw 228-5 (69.63m) and finished 14th, two spots short of making the finals.

Washington grad Jacob Englar cleared the opening height in the pole vault of 17-8.5 (5.40m) and didn't advance to Sunday's final.

Pullman HS grad Maayi (Hawa) Mahama finishes 19th in the qualifying round of the hammer with a best of 208-10 (63.65m).

Curtis HS alum Lexi Ellis fouled on all three attempts in the women's triple jump qualifying.

Washington State's Lee Walburn (Paul Merca photo) stands tenth in the decathlon after five events, with a score of 4078 points, ahead of his first day score of 3976 points from two weeks ago here at the NCAA championships.

Walburn's day included a time of 10.85 in the 100; 22-1.5 (6.74m) in the long jump; 47-6.5 (14.49m) in the shot put;  a clearance of 6-6 (1.98m) in the high jump, which was a personal best; and a time of 48.44 in the 400.

In addition to his high jump, his time in the 100 was also a personal best.

Michigan State's Heath Baldwin is the leader with a score of 4508 points.

Saturday will see six of the 25 entries in the men's 1500 semis come from either Andy Powell's group at the UW, or from the Brooks Beasts at 6:54 pm.

Walburn returns to the track for day 2 of the decathlon starting at 10 am, where he's on pace to exceed his personal best score of 7816 set two weeks ago.

On the field, Puyallup native JaiCieonna Gero-Holt goes in the qualifying round of the women's high jump at 5 pm, while fifteen minutes earlier, the Huskies' Prestin Artis, the reigning Pac-12 long jump champ, goes in the qualifying round of his specialty.

The link to heat sheets and live results is available here at https://results.usatf.org/2024trials/

NOTE: UW Athletics and USA Track & Field contributed to this report.

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