Dressel Qualifies Through In 10,000 Finals

COLLEGE STATION – Colorado track and field senior John Dressel kicked things off at the first day of the NCAA West Preliminaries here Wednesday evening with a NCAA Championships qualifying mark in the men's 10,000-meter finals.
 
"John was obviously a seasoned veteran," said head coach Mark Wetmore after the race. "Very calm and patient. Covered all the important moves; ignored the others. I think he had a gear left if necessary. Off to Eugene."
 
Dressel ran an incredible race, sticking with the chase pack and sitting around 14th through the first 8,000 meters. The senior jumped up to fourth with the final move and closed to finish comfortably in seventh, three seconds ahead of the final qualifying position.
 
This marks Dressel's second trip to the NCAA Championships in the 10,000 after competing in the distance double two years ago in 2019.
 
CU also had Aaron McCoy advance to the 24-person final in the 400 hurdles after he finished third in the third heat. The top-three marks in each heat qualified through for the final along with the next six fastest times. McCoy ran 51.36 seconds which was tied for the 27th-best time of the day.
 
Ironically Ronald Sayles placed the same position in the open 400 at 27th, but unfortunately placed fourth in his heat in 46.86 seconds and will not advance to finals.
 
The Buffs also had Dominique Williams in the men's hammer throw finals where his first throw of competition put him at 43rd in the pack. His mark of 55.77 meters (182-11) would stay his best through the competition as he scratched his second throw and threw a meter less in his third attempt.
 
The women take to the track tomorrow a dozen competitions that all begin with Jada Green in the javelin at 12:30 p.m. MT. Colorado will also compete in the long jump, 1,500-meter prelims, 400 hurdle prelims and conclude with the 10,000 finals at 8:10 p.m.
 
All of the action will be live streamed on ESPN+ and the SEC Network plus with live stats available here.