BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Sophomore middle distance runner Sean Dolan (Pennington, N.J.) is headed to the NCAA Championships as the fastest qualifier in the 800 meters coming out of the NCAA East Preliminary which wrapped up men's competition on Friday night. Dolan posted a time of 1:47.37 in his quarterfinal heat to move on to the national championships for the third time in his career and the first time during the collegiate outdoor season. He and senior distance runner Josh Phillips (Belrose, Australia) were in action for Villanova at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex on the third of four days of competition at the NCAA East Preliminary, which will wrap up with the final day of women's events on Saturday.
 
Dolan pumped both fists in celebration after crossing the finish line in the second of three heats of the 800 meters. His time of 1:47.37 is a season best and the third-fastest time of Dolan's career. He got out to a strong start at the gun and put himself into the middle of a tight back during the first lap of the race, then made a move towards the lead just before the bell. Dolan was a stride off the pace set by Dugion Blackman of Hampton with the final lap remaining but closed with a 55.61 final lap to outkick Ayman Zahafi (1:48.03) of Miami by two-thirds of a second at the finish line. Only three runners among the 24 that competed in the quarterfinal heats on Friday broke 1:48 in their races; Dolan joined Navasky Anderson from Mississippi State (1:47.83) and Tim Zepf from Notre Dame (1:47.94) each ran in the opening heat.
 
The only faster races that Dolan has run in the 800 meters in his career came on a national stage last season. He set his lifetime best of 1:46.41 at the USATF New York Open & Masters Outdoor Championships in New York on June 12, 2021 to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials later in the summer, then registered a time of 1:47.16 in the semifinal round at the Olympic Trials in Notre Dame. Dolan qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 800 meters indoors earlier this year and earned second team All-America honors in the event. He was previously a first team All-American in the Mile as a redshirt freshman in 2021 and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 1500 meters outdoors last year.
 
Phillips closed the evening for the Wildcats on Friday in the semifinal round of the 5000 meters. Making his second straight appearance at the NCAA East Preliminary, Phillips ran in the second of two heats and recorded a time of 14:21.11. He ran near the front of the pack early on in the race and was in fifth place for the first 1500 meters before the chase began to heat up after the 2K mark. Phillips was racing for the first time since late April and ran only his second 5000 meters of the season. He won the 5K with a time of 13:49.64 at the Sam Howell Invitational in early April to earn his qualifying spot for the East Preliminary meet.
 
Villanova has two men's qualifiers for the NCAA Championships which take place at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. from June 8-11. The men's events will be held on Wednesday, June 8 and Friday, June 10. On the first night of the national meet the Wildcats will have Dolan running in the semifinals of the 800 meters at 9:14 p.m. Eastern time (6:14 p.m.) and senior Haftu Strintzos (Melbourne, Australia) competing in the championship race of the 10000 meters about 45 minutes after the conclusion of the 800 meters.
 
The final day of the NCAA East Preliminary is on Saturday and Villanova will be in action in three women's events, including the high jump (2:30 p.m.) and the quarterfinal rounds of both the 3000 meter steeplechase (5:40 p.m.) and the 800 meters (7:05 p.m.).