BOSTON, Mass. – A beautiful Saturday at Boston University played host to the heats of the men's mile in the IC4A Championships yesterday. Similarly, to last year, both Nick Dahl and Allen Siegler qualified smoothly for the final.

In each of the four heats, the first two runners would qualify for the final – in addition to the two fastest losers across all the sections. Dahl was in the first, seeded first, but surrounded by competitive athletes from across the East Coast. The pace went out slow, coming through 800m in 2:14.65 – positively pedestrian for Dahl, who took the lead with three laps left and never let go, slowly winding the pace up while expending as little energy as possible. He ran 56 seconds for his last 400m to win his heat in 4:14.08, giving the competition a taste of the kick that won him the race last year.

Siegler and Will Laird were both in the final heat, meaning they knew what was required of them to qualify for the final – be it simply by being in the top two, or running faster than any of the other sections had. Accelerating off the line, they settled into first and second, and controlled the race – swapping the lead each lap or so. At the bell, however, a good portion of the fiel was still hot on their heels, as as they rounded the final bend, with Siegler speeding safely away, Laird found himself in a desperate sprint to the line. With a long season full of PRs and Ivy League Championship points, Laird was out-dipped and cruelly shunted into third, meaning he misses today's final.

Dahl and Siegler, however, go into their final race of the season as favorites potentially looking to break four minutes over the distance – and definitely aiming to take the top two steps on the podium. 

After they have competed at 11.45 AM, Henry Saul will line up in the third of three 3000m finals, followed by Harrison Smith in the second. Both have the potential to win their races.