Courtesy of Binghamton Athletics
VESTAL, N.Y. – Senior middle distance runner Jesse Garn who earned first-team All-America honors last week at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, is wasting no time getting ready for another meet.
Garn returns to Heyward Field at the University of Oregon for the U.S. Track & Field Championships, which will be held June 25-28. His best time in the 800 of 1:46.98 (which he ran at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 14) met the qualifying standard of 1:47.50. This marks the second consecutive year Garn has qualified for the meet, having made it in the 1,500 in 2014.
There are 32 runners entered in the 800 and there will be three rounds. The first round, which includes four heats of eight runners, will take place on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. EST. You can watch this round LIVE on the USATF.TV website.
The top three finishers in each heat, plus the next four fastest times, advance to the second round, which is scheduled for Friday at 11:44 p.m. EST. The finals are set for Sunday at 4:47 p.m. EST.
NBCSN will carry the championships on Friday from 10 p.m.-midnight while NBC will air the meet from 4-6 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. In addition, USATF.TV is schedule to air a live webcast of the complete meet.
The top three finishers in the finals automatically advance to the World Track & Field Championships, which will be held August 22-30 in Beijing, China. The fourth-place finisher will serve as the alternate. The quadrennial event started in 1983 and is traditionally held the year before the Olympics.
Among the top entrees this year in the 800 are Duane Solomon, who was fourth in that event at the 2012 Olympics in London. Charles Jock ran for the U.S. in the 2011 World Championships, which were held in South Korea. This year's top time of 1:43.84, however, belongs to Boris Berian.
Garn has already had a standout 2014-15 campaign. He was fourth in the 800 at the NCAA meet two weeks ago and ended the year as a two-time All-American. During the indoor season, Garn was named the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Track Athlete of the Year.