Seattle's Sam Prakel, plus UW alums Nathan Green & Joe Waskom entered in Zagreb 1500...
Seattle based training partners Sam Prakel (photo courtesy Fanny Blankers-Koen Meeting), Nathan Green and Joe Waskom are all entered in Friday's Boris Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb, Croatia, where they'll contest the 1500.
Both Prakel and Green are coming off wins in their last races. Prakel won the 1500 in Hengelo at the Fanny Blankers-Koen meet on Sunday, where he ran 3:33.23. Meanwhile, Green won the mile at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet on June 16th, where he broke 3:50 for the first time, setting a meet record 3:49.44.
Washington alum Waskom was also in the Ostrava race, where he was 15th in 4:01.39.
All three are part of University of Washington men's head coach Andy Powell's pro group.
Based on season bests, Prakel enters the meet as the top seed at 3:32.76, while France's Romain Mornet has the fastest personal best of the large 21-man field (including two pacesetters) at 3:31.62.
Flotrack ($) will live stream the Boris Hanžeković Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold level meet, starting at 9 am Pacific time.
UW ALUMS LUMB, AHL & O'TOOLE NAMED TO CANADIAN COMMONWEALTH GAMES TEAM...
On Wednesday, Washington alums Kieran Lumb, Aaron Ahl and Justin O'Toole were among those athletes Athletics Canada named to the team that will compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland from July 27th to August 1st.
Lumb, a two time world championships competitor and Olympian at 1500 meters, won the Canadian title over 5000 meters, and will compete in the longer event.
Ahl finished third in the 3000 steeplechase at the Canadian championships, and was fourth in the 1500. He will double in both the steeple and the mile at the Commonwealth.
O'Toole, who made his first world championship team last year, will run the 800 after finishing sixth in that event at the Canadian championships.
For all three, this marks their first time competing for Canada at the Commonwealth Games, which happens every four years.
NCAA MAKES CHANGES TO D1 ELIGIBILITY RULES...
In a development that will have wide spread ramifications, the NCAA Division I Cabinet Tuesday approved a sweeping overhaul of eligibility rules.
Basically, D1 athletes now have five years of eligibility if they enroll in college no later than the academic year after their 19th birthday.
The new rule streamlines a significant portion of the Division I rule book by eliminating season-of-competition limits, sport-specific eligibility and redshirt rules, and eligibility extension waivers, according to a release from the NCAA.
Class of 2026 athletes who just completed their fourth season of eligibility without a redshirt will not get an additional year. Whether or not an athlete who used four years consecutively without a redshirt who maintains the age criteria can challenge this in court before the start of the 2026-27 school year remains to be seen.
Schools will have flexibility in determining whether to use previous eligibility rules or the new age-based model for athletes with eligibility remaining after the 2025-26 academic year.
Athletes who have eligibility remaining after the 2025-26 season, and prospects who enroll full time at any college or university in 2026-27 will have either the previous rules or the new age-based model, whichever is beneficial to the athlete. For now, athletes competing in Division I who still have eligibility remaining who are over age, are allowed to compete.
The exceptions to the age-based rules include pregnancy, active-duty military service and official religious missions. These exceptions will only be available if the athlete does not participate in organized competition for the duration of the exception.
Waivers will not be available — including clock extensions and waivers previously granted for hardships, seasons of competition and delayed enrollment.
NOTE: The Boris Hanžeković Memorial, World Athletics, Athletics Canada and the NCAA contributed to this report.
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