AUSTIN, Texas - Isaiah Jewett continued his stellar sophomore campaign by punching his ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a runner-up finish in Heat 3 of the 800m quarterfinals at the NCAA West Preliminaries Friday evening at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

The top three finishers in each of the three quarterfinal heats plus the next three fastest times earned a trip to nationals in Eugene, Ore., June 7-10.

Jewett, who is in his first year running the 800m, crossed the finish line in 1:48.40, marking his third sub-1:49 race of the season. It was also the second-fastest time of his career as he came in just .18 seconds off his personal-best 1:48.22, which he established at the adidas/Steve Scott Invitational on April 29.

Once again, Jewett jumped out to the front where he stayed comfortably for the first 400m. He then went into another gear on the backstretch of the final lap where he started to pull away from the group. Jewett maintained a decent-sized lead until the final 30 meters or so when Nate Roese of Minnesota made his last push to edge out Jewett for the top spot. The Inglewood, Calif., native still secured one of the automatic bids to the NCAA Championships and finished 10th overall.

"I'm excited to be amongst the elite traveling to Oregon to compete at the NCAA Championships, and to represent UC Irvine is awesome," Jewett said. "This year has been such a process of learning and trusting my coaches. I trained physically, mentally and emotionally every day for this moment. I can't wait to run at Historic Hayward Field."

Jewett is the first 'Eater to qualify for nationals in the 800m since former NCAA champion and All-American Charles Jock in 2012. Earlier this year, Jewett beat out Jock to win the Steve Scott Invitational, while he also claimed the Big West title two weekends ago.

Senior Lloyd Sicard began his Road to Eugene on Friday, advancing out of the first round of the 110-meter hurdles. The top-three finishers in each of the six heats, plus the next six fastest times qualified for tomorrow's quarterfinal. Sicard, who was running in lane nine, left no doubt by winning his heat in 13.77 seconds.

A three-time Big West champion, Sicard had the sixth-fastest time of the 24 qualifiers and 48 overall competitors. This is his fourth-straight NCAA West Regional meet and he will be looking to earn his third consecutive trip to nationals with a top-12 finish in Saturday's quarterfinal round.

Sicard is set for double duty as he runs the 110H at 5:20 p.m. (PDT), before teaming up with Jewett, sophomore Paul Resong and senior Brandon Howard in the 4x400 relay at 7:45 p.m. (PDT). Senior Matt Seawright will be the first Anteater in action on Saturday, May 27, with the discus at 11 a.m. (PDT). 

NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mike A. Myers Stadium - Austin, Texas
Day 3 Results - May 26, 2017

800m Quarterfinals
10. Isaiah Jewett (1:48.40)*

110H First Round
6. Lloyd Sicard (13.77)**

* Qualifies for NCAA Championships
** Qualifies for West Preliminary quarterfinal round