Charles Jock, a recent UC Irvine graduate, won his first-round heat of the 800 meters in the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on Friday.
Jock recorded a time of 1 minute, 47.90 seconds in rainy conditions with Michael Rutt (1:47.99) and Michael Preble (1:48.20) finishing second and third in his heat.
Tyler Mulder of Oregon TC Elite had the fastest overall qualifying time of 1:46.81.
The semifinals of the 800 are at 4:45 p.m. Saturday with the top eight advancing to the final Monday at 7:47 p.m. The top three from Monday's final will earn spots on the U.S. team for the London 2012 Olympics.