EUGENE, Ore. — Cole Hocker is going to another Olympic Games. This time he is going for gold.
The former University of Oregon miler crushed the U.S. Olympic Trials record in the 1,500 meters, seizing the lead from 250 meters out and completing a virtuoso performance with a time of 3:30.59 Monday night at Hayward Field.
Yared Nuguse was second in 3:30.86 and 20-year-old Hobbs Kessler third in 3:31.53.
Hocker’s time was a personal best, bettering his time in finishing seventh at the 2023 World Championships.
Hocker, 23, said pressure can be greater at these trials than at the Olympics.
“This team is so cutthroat to make,” he said. “When the pressure was the highest, I executed. I couldn’t have raced better, I don’t think.”
Hocker became the first to win the 1,500 back-to-back at the trials since Jim Ryun in 1968-1972. Another Oregon runner, Dyrol Burleson, did so in 1960-64.
Top eight were under the trials record of 3:34.09 set by Matthew Centrowitz in 2016, the year he won gold at Rio de Janeiro. All eight ran personal bests except for Nuguse, who holds the American record of 3:29.02.
Vincent Ciattei was fourth, 3:31.78; Washington’s Nathan Green fifth, 3:32.20; Henry Wynne sixth, 3:32.94; Washington’s Joe Waskom seventh, 3:33.74; Oregon’s Elliott Cook eighth, 3:33.84.
Cook climbed to No. 3 on the Ducks’ all-time list behind Andrew Wheating (3:30.90) and Hocker (3:31.40).
“Overall, it’s mixed emotions right now,” Cook said. “I would have liked to place a little higher. But to come away with a messy race and still run a PB . . .
“I had to make quite a few athletic maneuvers to stay on my feet.”
Notably, three of the top eight are Pac-12 collegians: Green, Waskom, Cook.
In 10th in 3:35.17 was former Oregon runner Cooper Teare, who has a better chance to make the Olympic team at 5,000 meters.
Nuguse had won every meeting against Hocker for a 6-0 record since the 2021 Olympic Trials, with three of the races at Hayward Field. In 2021, Hocker beat Nuguse to win at the trials and NCAA Championships.
In another momentous final, defending Olympic champion Athing Mu fell in the 800 meters and finished last after collecting herself and resuming the race. In a distance that short, it was utter futility, and she was in tears afterward.
Nia Akins won in a PB of 1:57.36, followed by 28-year-old Allie Wilson in 1:58.32.
Stanford’s Juliette Whitaker took the last Olympic spot in 1:58.45, just off the Pac-12 record of 1:58.33 held by Oregon’s Claudette Groenendaal since 1985. Whitaker completed a triple crown of NCAA titles indoors and outdoors, plus an Olympic berth.
Oregon graduate Raevyn Rogers, an Olympic bronze medalist, was seventh in 2:01.12.
In the 5,000 meters, Elle St. Pierre was overtaken at the end by Elise Cranny, then reclaimed the lead at the tape. St. Pierre, world indoor champion at 3,000 meters, won in 14:40.34 for a trials record. Cranny was .02 behind in 14:40.36.
Previous record was 14:45.35 in 2000 by Regina Jacobs, who was later banned from the sport for doping.
Karissa Schweizer was fourth in 14:45.12. Florida’s Parker Valby, after pushing the pace in pursuit of the 14:52 Olympic standard, was fourth in a collegiate record of 14:51.44.
Anna Hall, a gold-medal favorite before January knee surgery, showed she is still a contender for that by winning the heptathlon with 6,614 points. She has won bronze and silver medals at the past two World Championships.
Claiming the two other Olympic spots were 33-year-old Chari Hawkins, 6,456, and Taliya Brooks, 6,408.
Quincy Hall, a world bronze medalist last year, won the 400 meters in 44.17. Michael Norman, the 2022 world champion, was second in 44.41 and Chris Bailey third in 44.42.
Quincy Wilson, the 16-year-old high schooler and fan favorite from Gaithersburg, Md., was sixth in 44.94. Because top six are customarily taken for relays, Wilson could be on the Olympic roster.
In the first round of the 110-meter hurdles, Grant Holloway clocked 12.92. It was the fastest time in the world since former Oregon hurdler/football player Devon Allen ran 12.84 at New York in June 2022.
Contact KGW correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.