By Becky Hoag
Penn State sophomore Isaiah Harris looked relaxed during his preliminary race for the men’s 800 meters on Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and he did what he needed to do: qualified for Friday’s final.
He got caught behind some of the runners and remained around fifth place in his heat until the last 200 meters, then moved his way up to the front of the race.
The last 200 meters ended up being close, but Harris still finished second in his heat with a time of 1 minute, 46.62 seconds, the second fastest time in the prelims. First place finisher in his heat UTEP’s Michael Saruni qualified first overall in 1:46.38.
“We ran the hard way,” Harris said. “We negative split it, but I felt good. It was the most stacked heat out there, and I’m happy with the finish.”
This is Harris’ fourth time competing at Hayward Field. The first time he was a freshman competing in the 800 at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He got fourth place with his season best.
Another time he competed in the same event at the U.S. Olympic Trials. He got sixth place.
But Harris walked into this meet with more awards under his belt. He grabbed All-American honors in the event during the indoor season, finishing fourth. He broke the Penn State outdoor record when he ran 1:45.12 at the Virginia Challenge in April, winning that event. He’s the All-Time Big Ten indoor record holder and a three-time Big Ten champion.
Harris had the second fastest seed time in the event, 1:45.92.
UTEP freshman Emmanuel Korir, who won his heat Wednesday and qualified third overall in 1:46.63, 0.01 behind Harris, had the fastest seed time by 0.04 seconds; however, his personal record stands at 1:43.73, over a second faster than Harris’ personal best.
Korir is another young college track athlete making headlines. He had the NCAA’s No. 2 all-time performance with is personal record at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge in California the same month Harris broke the Penn State record.
The final on Friday will be the second time Harris and Korir go head to head, the first time being the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. While Harris got the All-American honors placing fourth, Korir won the race.
Harris and Korir will make for a compelling final race on Friday. As he headed off to prepare for the 4×400 relay later in the evening, Harris said, “The final will be fun.”
