Four Huskies among qualifiers Thursday in men's 1500 at Toyota USATF Champs...
Out of heats 1 and 2, alums Luke Houser and Nathan Green (Paul Merca file photo) each won their heats.
Houser took heat 1 in 3:44.02, while Green won heat 2 in 3:42.91.
In Green's heat, he was pressed by Virginia alum and the newest member of the Seattle based Brooks Beasts, Gary Martin, who was second in 3:42.94.
Washington alum Sam Ellis was originally listed in heat 2 as finishing third in 3:43.12, but was disqualified for a lane violation.
Out of heat 3, Washington alum Joe Waskom finished second in 3:41.56, while current Husky Reuben Reina was fourth in 3:41.61.
All three time qualifiers, led by Reina, came out of the third heat.
The most surprising non-qualifiers into Saturday's final came out of heat 1 when both Waleed Suliman of the Brooks Beasts and Seattle resident Sam Prakel finished fourth and fifth in 3:44.34, and 3:44.60, respectively.
The first heat turned out to be the slowest of the three heats.
Brannon Kidder of the Brooks Beasts was fifth in heat 2 in 3:43.74, while Washington alum Aidan Ryan was eighth in heat 3 in 3:42.83.
In the women's 1500, Teagan Schein-Becker (Paul Merca file photo) of the Brooks Beasts finished second in heat 2 to advance to Saturday's final, running a personal best 4:04.91.
Washington's Mia Cochran was ninth in the heat in 4;12.12.
The previous heat of the women's 1500 saw Washington alum Chloe Foerster finish tenth in 4:10.86, just ahead of fellow alum Eleanor Fulton's 4:11.90.
Hours before the race, Foerster signed a sponsorship deal with Nike, and will join the Nike Swoosh TC based out of Flagstaff, Arizona, where she'll be coached by former Northern Arizona coach Mike Smith.
Parker Stokes of the Brooks Beasts ran the fastest qualifying time in the men's 3000 steeplechase, winning heat 2 in 8:23.04 to advance to Saturday's final.
It was a rough outing for Paris Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Rooks from College Place, as he finished 11th in the heat in 8:46.26.
In the previous heat, Washington alum Julius Diehr was 13th in 8:57.85.
In the first round of the men's 100 meters, former Washington State Cougar Mason Lawyer was fifth in his heat in 10.31, to advance to Friday's second round.
Central Washington alum E'lexis Hollis was sixth in her heat of the women's 100, running 11.35 to advance to Friday's second round.
In the one field event involving a Washington athlete, Ridgefield's Trey Knight finished third with a sixth round throw in the men's hammer of 241-9 (73.70m)
The final of the women's 10000m saw Allie Buchalski of the Brooks Beasts finish third in 33:42.29, while teammate Chloe Scrimgeour was eleventh in 34:37.40.
Washington alum Acer Iverson finished fifth in the finals of the men's 10000, running 30:25.82, while Gonzaga alum James Mwaura was eighth in 30:28.07.
The semifinals of the women's 3000 steeplechase were cancelled, with all 23 women, including former Seattle Pacific All American Kaylee Mitchell, and Pasco native and Paris Olympian Marisa Howard, advancing to Saturday's final.
Friday, Brannon Kidder of the Brooks Beasts returns in the first round of the men's 800, along with teammate Valery Tobias in the women's 800.
Mason Lawyer and E'lexis Hollis run in the second round of the 100 with a spot in the finals later that evening on the line.
Finally, Olympia resident Katie Burnett goes in the finals of the half marathon race walk, which replaces the 20k walk as a national championship event.
The Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships will be streamed and televised on a combination of Peacock ($), USATF.tv ($), NBCSN, and NBC.
NOTE: USA Track & Field contributed to this report.
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