JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Junior distance runners Casey Comber (Maple Glen, Pa.) and Logan Wetzel (Saline, Mich.) each advanced to the national quarterfinal round of the 1500 meters during competition at the NCAA East Preliminary at Hodges Stadium on Thursday evening.  Villanova had four men's athletes in competition on the first night of the East regional meet.  Junior Andrew Marston (Wayne, Pa.) raced in the national semifinal race of the 10000 meters, while sophomore sprinter Keegan Hughes (Malvernn, Pa.) ran in the first round of the 400 meter hurdles. 
 
There were four heats in the first round of the 1500 meters, with the top five finishers in each heat and the next four fastest times moving on to the quarterfinals on Saturday night.  From there, the top qualifiers in Saturday's races will move on to the NCAA Championships next month.  Comber and Wetzel were each automatic qualifiers coming out of their heats. 
 
Comber ran in the third heat and settled in just off the lead for most of the race.  He made a move with 300 meters to go to solidify his spot in the top five and then stayed in good position coming down the final straightaway.  Less than half a second separated the first five runners across the finish line, while the sixth place runner was another half second behind and did not advance out of the heat.  Comber finished with a time of 3:56.02, coming in second in his heat and ninth overall among the 24 qualifiers for the quarterfinal round. 
 
Wetzel ran in the first heat of the 1500 meters and closed strong during the final lap to come in fourth in the heat with a time of 3:47.09.  After being bunched up in the crowd midway through the race and early on in the bell lap, Wetzel crossed the finish line nearly half a second ahead of the fifth place finisher behind him.  This is the second time in three years that Wetzel has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 1500 meters at the NCAA East Preliminary.  He also did so as a redshirt freshman two seasons ago. 
 
The final race of the night on Thursday was the national semifinal of the 10000 meters.  Marston came in 18^th in the race with a time of 29:51.23, one spot higher than where he finished last season.  He qualified for this week's meet for the second straight year after posting a personal best time of 29:21.46 at the Stanford Invitational in March.  Marston went on to earn All-BIG EAST honors in the 5000 meters two weeks ago. 
 
Hughes came in eighth in his heat of the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 52.53.  He was making his debut at the NCAA East Preliminary to cap off a season in which he twice lowered his personal best time in the 400 meter hurdles and defended his BIG EAST title in the event.  Hughes' current top time of 52.37 came in the final at the BIG EAST Championships.  His mark in Thursday's opening round heats is the second-fastest of his career. 
 
Villanova has two men's events on the Friday schedule at Hodges Stadium, beginning with the first round of the javelin at 12 p.m.  Senior thrower Jack Judge (Palisades, N.Y.) will compete in the javelin for the second straight year at this meet, while sophomore Nick Steele (Harvard, Mass.) will be on the track for the quarterfinals of the 3000 meter steeplechase at 9 p.m.