UCI’s Jock in final

DES MOINES, Iowa — UC Irvine senior Charles Jock won his semifinal heat of the 800 meters Wednesday to advance to Friday’s final at the NCAA Track & Field Championships at Drake University.

Jock won the first heat in 1 minute, 46.24 seconds. He will be joined by Big West Conference rival Ryan Martin from UC Santa Barbara, who finished second to Jock in 1:46.44. They also finished 1-2 at the conference championships in May.

Jock’s time was the fourth-fastest in the semifinals. Iowa’s Erik Sowinski won the third heat in 1:46.09 with Edward Kemboi of Iowa State the runner-up in 1:46.20. Oregon’s Elijah Greer (1:46.22) and Missouri’s Ricky West (1:46.41) also qualified from that heat.

Georgia’s Aaron Evans (1:48.24) and Villanova’s Samuel Ellison (1:48.40) were the qualifiers from the second heat.

The top two finishers from each of the three heats in Wednesday’s semifinals, plus the next two-fastest times, advanced to Friday’s NCAA final at 4:10 p.m. (PT).

Jock, a three-time Big West Athlete of the Year and a two-time All-American, was runner-up by four-hundredths of a second in the NCAA 800 final a year ago.

He competed for the USA at the IAAF World Championships last summer and will run at the U.S Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., beginning June 22. The top three finishers at the Trials will earn berths in the London 2012 Olympics.

— From staff reports