EUGENE, OREGON - Iona University men's outdoor track senior Damien Dilcher advanced to the 2024 NCAA Championship 1500-meter final with his fifth place performance in his semifinal heat Wednesday afternoon at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
 
Dilcher's late kick in the final 30 meters pushed him into fifth place and automatic qualification for Friday's final. He posted a 3:40.07 and was .03 ahead of sixth place Parvej Khan from Florida. Villanova's Liam Murphy won the heat in 3:39.68, just .39 ahead of Dilcher. South Carolina's Anass Essayi, Virginia's Wes Porter and North Carolina's Ethan Strand finished just ahead of the Gael senior.
 
The second heat saw all seven qualifiers post a sub 3:38 time. Twelve runners qualified for Friday's final in Eugene which takes place at 9:12 pm ET Friday night on ESPN2. Dilcher competes for the national championship and looks to become Iona's first All-America First Team honoree since Gilbert Kirui and Chartt Miller in 2017.

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