Lewiston native and Penn State sophomore Isaiah Harris settles into the middle of the pack on the first lap of the 800-meter run during the Big 10 Championships at University Park on the campus of Penn State University earlier this year.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lewiston native and Penn State sophomore Isaiah Harris continued his spectacular season Friday night by advancing to the final in the 800-meter run at the 2017 USATF Outdoor Championships at Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium.
Harris, who won his qualifying heat Thursday afternoon in the blistering heat, needed to place in the top four of his semifinal Friday to reach Sunday afternoon’s final.
After taking the race out slowly, as he is wont to do, Harris closed from seventh position to third to earn the qualifying spot. His time of 1:45.77 was third best not only in his heat, but also across both semifinal races on Friday. The time is also just .65 seconds off of his personal best that he set while racing for Penn State at Charlottesville, Virginia, on April 21, and was the top time among collegiate runners at the event.
Erik Sowinski, a Nike runner, won Harris’ heat in 1:45.48. Nike teammate Clayton Murphy was second in 1:45.70, while Drew Piazza of Virginia Tech placed fourth.
All four qualifying times in the first heat were faster than the four in the second heat, which included former college standout Donavan Brazier, who turned pro after one year at school and now also runs for Nike. Brazier was third in his heat, which Abraham Alvarado of BYU won in 1:46.62.
The eight qualifying runners will race again at 4:20 p.m. Sunday for the national title, and a trip to the World Championship. The top three finishers in Sunday’s race qualify for the IAAF World Championships in London in August, provided they’ve achieved the qualifying standard of 1:45.90 in a sanctioned race this season (which Harris has on multiple occasions).
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