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Notable U.S. Championships Heat Draws

By Chris Chavez

July 5, 2023

Start lists for the 2023 U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships have been unveiled. Competition begins on Thursday, July 6 and will run through Sunday, July 10.

You can find the start lists and live results here.

Read our comprehensive previews here: Sprints | Distance | Jumps, Throws and Multis

Here are some of the notable heats for the first round of competition:

Thursday

6:18 p.m. ET – In the women’s 800m, the top three in each heat + the next two fastest will advance to the semifinals. Heat 1 features Olympic bronze medalist Raevyn Rogers and 2022 world indoor champion Ajee’ Wilson. Both made last year’s team. Heat 3 will feature Nia Akins, who has a season’s best of 1:59.37, and LSU’s NCAA champion Michaela Rose, who owns a personal best of 1:59.08.

7:04 p.m. ET – In the women’s 100m, the top three in each heat + the next four fastest will advance to the semifinals. Heat 1 features Sha’Carri Richardson, who has run 10.85 on the season, and U.S. high school star Mia Brahe-Pedersen. The second heat features two of the three women who made last year’s team including U.S. champion Melissa Jefferson and Aleia Hobbs.

7:30 p.m. ET – In the men’s 100m, the top three in each heat + the next four fastest will advance to the semifinals. 400m world champion Michael Norman will race in Heat 1 against world championship bronze medalist Trayvon Bromell. 200m world champion Noah Lyles will go in Heat 3 against Cravont Charleston, who just ran a 9.90 personal best last month at a meet in Finland. 2019 world champion Christian Coleman and 2022 world championship silver medalist Marvin Bracy will face off in Heat 3.

7:56 p.m. ET – In the women’s 400m, the top three in each heat and the next four fastest will advance to the semifinals. Britton Wilson, whose 49.13 from April is No. 4 on the U.S. all-time list, is in Heat 1. 400m hurdles world champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will race in the second heat. Reigning champion Talitha Diggs headlines Heat 3.

9:03 p.m. ET – In the women’s 3000m steeplechase, the top five in each heat and the next four fastest will advance to the final. 10x U.S. champion and 2017 world champion Emma Coburn will face off against Olympic silver medalist Courtney Frerichs in the second heat. Frerichs underwent surgery in the offseason and has not steepled this season. Coburn

10:01 p.m. ET – In the men’s 1500m, the top three in each heat + the next three fastest will advance to the final. Heat 1 is fairly stacked and the most intriguing. It features U.S. record holder Yared Nuguse, 2016 Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz, Josh Thompson (last year’s lone American in the world championship final), Johnny Gregorek (who has run a 3:34.35 personal best this season and reached the world championship semifinal last year), 2022 NCAA champion Joe Waskom and 2023 NCAA champion Nathan Green. Gregorek, Green and Waskom all train under coach Andy Powell, which could make for interesting tactics.

Heat 2 features Hobbs Kessler (second-fastest American on the year with a 3:32.61 PB), Eric Holt (last year’s U.S. championships fourth place finisher), Sam Prakel (who has made ever U.S. final since 2017) and Craig Engels (2019 world championship finalist).

Heat 3 will feel like practice for former Oregon teammates Cooper Teare (3:32.74 PB and reigning U.S. champion), Cole Hocker (3:34.14 SB and 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials champion) and Matt Wisner (3:36.87 PB)

10:26 p.m. ET – In the women’s 1500m, three in each heat + the next three fastest will advance to the final. The heats are fairly balanced.

800m world champion Athing Mu will race in the first section with Cory McGee, who split 4:00.61 through 1500m on her way to a 4:18.11 mile at the Oslo Diamond League. Reigning U.S. champion Sinclaire Johnson will go in Heat 2. Nikki Hiltz, who split 4:01.42 en route to their 4:18.38 mile in Oslo, headlines Heat 3.

Saturday

7:43 p.m. ET – In the men’s 200m, the top three + next four fastest will advance to the semifinals. Heat 1 features 200m world championship silver medalist Kenny Bednarek and bronze medalist Erriyon Knighton, plus 400m world champion Michael Norman. 100m world champion Fred Kerley, who is only contesting the 200m at the U.S. Championships, will go in Heat 2.

8:09 p.m. ET – In the women’s 200m, the top three + next four fastest will advance to the semifinals. Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas headlines the first heat against 2019 world championship silver medalist Brittany Brown. Sha’Carri Richardson, who only reached the semifinal last year but owns the second-fastest time by an American woman on the year (22.07s), will go in Heat 2. Heat 3 is loaded with all three members of last year’s U.S. team from the world championship – reigning champion Abby Steiner, Tamara Clark and Jenna Prandini.

We’ll have a full team of boots on the ground for every minute of the action in and around Hayward this weekend, so make sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube for expert analysis, live commentary, post-race interviews and more.

We’re excited to be bring back CHAMPS CHAT, a daily podcast through the CITIUS MAG feed giving you an inside look at the championships with insights from Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, Katelyn Hutchison, Jasmine Todd, and Dana Giordano. Hit subscribe so you don’t miss it!

Chris Chavez

Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.