EUGENE, ORE. -- Former Drake track standout Matt Gabrielson moved a step closer toward earning a berth on the U.S. Olympic men's track and field team Friday night.
Gabrielson, a five-time Missouri Valley Conference champion at Drake, placed eighth in heat one of the men's 5,000-meter run, being clocked in 14 minutes 0.92 seconds.
The Belmond, Iowa, native posted the 12th-fastest time of the 23 runners. The top 16 qualified.
"The only thing I was thinking about was when the break would be made," Gabrielson said. "I was thinking don't let these guys get away."
He will advance to Monday's final which will start at 11:40 p.m. Iowa time.
The U.S. Olympic Trials will be televised on the USA Network from 10 p.m. to midnight Iowa time Monday.
While at Drake, Gabrielson was a 12-time All-Missouri Valley Conference Performer, a USATF Junior All-American in the 1500, and a Cross Country Academic All-American.
He also was a five-time Missouri Valley Conference champion - three indoor distance medley relays, the 3,000 indoor, and the 3,000 steeplechase outdoors.
U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trails
Men 5000 Meter Run
=Heat 1 Preliminaries1 Matt Tegenkamp Nike 13:54.62q
2 Jonathon Riley Nike 13:54.69q
3 Bernard Lagat Nike 13:54.93q
4 Stephen Pifer Colorado 13:55.10q
5 Adam Goucher Nike 13:56.25q
6 Josh Rohatinsky Nike 13:56.94q
7 Thomas Morgan ZAP Fitness 13:57.28q
8 Matthew Gabrielson Reebok 14:00.92q9 Ryan Vail unattached 14:05.26q
10 Brent Vaughn Nike 14:06.90q
11 Hassan Mead unattached 14:07.44
12 Andrew Carlson T USA Minn/N Bal 14:13.78
Heat 2 Preliminaries1 Galen Rupp unattached 13:59.14q
2 Chris Solinsky Nike 13:59.65q
3 Robert Curtis Reebok 14:00.00q
4 Bolota Asmerom Oregon TC Elite 14:00.48q
5 Ian Dobson adidas 14:01.42q
6 Kyle King ZAP Fitness 14:04.82q
7 Ryan Bak Oregon TC Elite 14:07.42
8 Anthony Gallo Run Flagstaff Mz 14:12.54
9 James Strang Arkansas 14:12.68
10 Ryan Kirkpatrick Reebok 14:29.66
11 Rod Koborsi Reebok 14:30.41
-- Patrick Tarpy Reebok DNF
