The first heat of the men’s 800 meters prelims wasn’t much different than a hard workout session for OTC Elite.  Teammates Nick Symmonds, Tyler Mulder and Mark Wieczorek lined up in the same heat looking for spots in Sunday’s final.  Things couldn’t have worked out much better for the Eugene-based group.  Mulder set a strong pace from the onset and was closely followed by Symmonds and Wieczorek.  With his patented kick Symmonds took the win with a time of 1:47.59 and Mulder and Wiexzorek advanced on time.

In other 800 meters prelims, Khadevis Robinson appeared to be in shape and ready to challenge Symmonds.  KD led his heat from wire to wire and was never challenged.  The surprise of the prelims had to be Brian Gagnon.  The former UConn standout surged past Jacob Hernandez in the final meters to secure his place in the finals.

Heat 1: Symmonds and OTC Video Link

Heat 2: Hernandez and Gagnon Video Link