EUGENE, Ore.—Villanova middle distance runner Sean Dolan (Pennington, N.J.) powered down the final straightaway and automatically qualified for the semifinal round of the men's 800 meters during the first night of competition in the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Hayward Field on Friday evening. Dolan recorded a time of 1:48.68 and placed second in his heat to advance to Saturday night's semifinals which take place at 10:04 p.m. Eastern time (7:04 p.m. Pacific time).
 
The first round of the men's 800 meters featured Dolan along with Wildcats alum Sam Ellison '14 who recorded a time of 1:48.64 in the second heat but did not advance. The top three finishers in each of four heats and the next four fastest times moved on to the semifinal round on Saturday, while eight athletes from the semifinals will move on to the final on Monday night. Dolan is ranked 15^th overall among the semifinal qualifiers after finishing second in his heat.
 
Running in the third heat, Dolan had plenty of work to do in the final lap around the Hayward Field oval. He was in fifth place, three meters off the lead after the first lap and was still in fifth place with 200 meters to go. Dolan covered the final 200 meters in 27.32, the fastest split among the eight competitors in the heat. It was a particularly impressive finish considering that Dolan needed to move to the outside of the pack coming around the final curve just to put himself in position to challenge for a top-three finish and an automatic qualifying spot.
 
Dolan appeared to pick up steam in the final 50 meters as he surged through the ranks and across the finish line. He had run 1:46.41 just six days earlier at the USATF NJ NY Open and Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships in New York. Dolan is one of six current collegians among the 16 qualifiers for the semifinal round.
 
"That's an impressive run by Sean," Villanova head coach Marcus O'Sullivan said. "They [the heats] are tough with everyone in it."
 
The past five months of competition for Dolan have been outstanding since he was able to open the abbreviated indoor collegiate season in February. He ran the first two sub-four minute miles of his career at the NCAA Championships and earned first team All-America honors with a sixth place finish at the national meet. During the outdoor season, he ran a personal best time of 3:38.60 in the 1500 meters in April and won the BIG EAST title in the 800 meters later in the spring. Dolan's time of 1:46.41 in the 800 meters last week lowered his personal best in the event by more than four seconds and is the eighth-fastest time in by a Villanova runner during the NCAA competition season.
 
Ellison ended a sensational collegiate career seven years ago, but it was nevertheless a familiar sight to see him performing at an elite level in the 800 meters. He ran in what ultimately turned out to be the fastest of the first round heats on Friday and placed seventh in his heat in 1:48.67. Ellison went out in 52.26 on his opening lap in a heat that ultimately produced the five fastest qualifiers coming out of the first round. He ranked 16^th overall out of the 32 competitors in Friday's competition.
 
Ellison was a seven-time All-American, a five-time BIG EAST champion and a 12-time All-BIG EAST performer during his collegiate career. He earned four career All-America honors in the 800 meters and finished as high as sixth at the NCAA Championships indoors his senior year. He has gone on to have success running professionally and sports a lifetime best of 1:46.10 in the 800 meters which was recorded on May 31, 2019 at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville, Tenn. Ellison tallied a runner-up finish in the 600 meters at the 2019 USATF Indoor Championships, placed third at the 2019 Millrose Games in the 800 meters in a then-lifetime best 1:46.13 and was second at the 2018 SC Track Fest 800 meters in 1:46.20. He held the 2018 world lead over 500 meters indoors thanks to his 1:00.92 performance at the Boston University Scarlet & White Invitational in February of that year.