EUGENE, Ore.—After being selected for the field of competitors in the men's 1500 meters just days before the first round heats of the event were contested,
Casey Comber (Maple Glen, Pa.) made his debut at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Hayward Field on Thursday night. Comber ran in the first of three heats and posted a time of 3:46.25 to wind up eighth in the race. He is one of seven past and present Villanova athletes who earned a spot at the Olympic Trials in Oregon over the past two weekends.
The top six finishers in each first round heat and the next six fastest times advanced to the semifinal round on Friday afternoon. Comber's heat went out the slowest of the three sections and none of the nine competitors in his heat crossed the finish line any faster than 3:45. Comber had a split of 40.05 over his final 300 meters and wound up less than six-tenths of a second off the winning pace in the heat. He was one of just nine collegiate runners in the overall field of 29 declared athletes in the 1500 meters.
It has been an exciting spring for Comber, who recorded his lifetime best mark of 3:37.76 in the 1500 meters at the Joe Walker Invitational in Oxford, Miss. in April. That time was tantalizingly close to an automatic qualifying spot at the Olympic Trials (3:37.50), but ultimately it got Comber close enough to have the opportunity to be selected for the eventual field of invited athletes. His personal best also served as Comber's qualifying mark for the NCAA East Preliminary meet, where he was an automatic qualifier through the national first round and quarterfinal heats en route to reaching the NCAA Championships outdoors for the second time in his career.
Comber earned honorable mention All-America acclaim for the 1500 meters this year and is a five-time All-American overall, including finishing as high as eighth in the 1500 meters outdoors in 2019 as well as second in the Mile indoors that same year. He is ranked fifth in school history in the 1500 meters and is a nine-time BIG EAST champion in addition to his success on the national stage.
The schedule of events for Villanova at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials included competition in the men's 800 meters and 1500 meters as well as the women's 800 meters, 3000 meter steeplechase and high jump. Starting on Friday afternoon is a busy weekend of action in the 2021 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Track and Field Trials as well as the Irish Life Health National Senior Championships.
