EUGENE — Two decidedly different semifinal heats Saturday night sets up a potentially great men’s 1,500-meter final at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.

A loaded final with plenty of locals, including former University of Oregon runners Cole Hocker and Cooper Teare, and veteran Craig Engels, promises to be fast and contentious Monday night at Hayward Field.

How fast? In Saturday’s second heat, Yared Nuguse tied the trials meet record at 3 minutes, 34.09 seconds. Engels, who finished seventh behind Nuguse and secured the last final berth, ran nearly three seconds faster than Hocker, who won the first heat.

The 1,500 final includes an American record holder and former Olympians. Twelve runners gunning for three Olympic team berths Monday night.

That includes the 30-year-old Engels, who says he might do something “crazy” should he secure one of the three Olympic berths.

“You never know, man. I might be hanging out with Snoop (Dogg). Maybe I’ll be streaking through the gymnasium to the quad,” said Engels, a former member of Nike Oregon Project.

• WATCH: The best way to see every event of the USA Olympic trials for under $6 is by signing up for Peacock Premium ($5.99/month), NBC’s low-cost streaming service. Top events will also be broadcast live on NBC and USA Network. If you don’t already have cable, you can still watch some of those events live for free with Fubo (free trial) or with DirecTV Stream (free trial).

Hocker won a measured opening semifinal heat after blazing to a sub-3:35 first-round heat Friday night. It appeared half the field during the first heat took turns leading the race, including Hocker and Teare. Hocker eventually drifted back to fifth, but running on the inside, heading into the final lap.

With about 200 meters left, Hocker was running out of time to make a decision. Hocker stayed on the inside, which finally opened up, allowing him to shoot through and control the race down the stretch. Hocker, his index finger extended as he crossed the finish line, won the heat in 3:37.89.

“I was riding the rail, and I knew I had 20 more meters to decide whether it was going to open up. But I knew I had enough to take the outside line if I had to,” Hocker said. “I wanted to be top five today. Why would I be outside the top five if I stuck to the process?”

Teare, fourth in the 1,500 trials in 2021, felt a bit of relief after finishing fourth in the first heat to qualify for Monday’s final.

“That’s the one where there’s the least amount of pressure. These rounds are so tough. A lot of guys are really hungry,” Teare said. “With another day of rest, I think the legs will be there.”

In the second heat, Nuguse was unmoved by tying the meet record, or the prospect of breaking it Monday.

“A record is a record. Doesn’t matter. We’ll see how I’m feeling,” Nuguse said. “We’re all feeling at a really high level, and that’s going to make for a really great race.”

Also qualifying for Monday’s final is Oregon senior Elliott Cook.

--Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, ndaschel@oregonian.com or @nickdaschel.

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