The relay quartet was first on the track, taking part in the fifth heat of the event. The Tornadoes were in the last heat, so they knew upon lining up in the blocks that they needed to win their heat or post a time better than at least one other team who occupied one of the top nine spots in the field through four heats. As it turned out, 'Dega did both. The Tornadoes blistered the track in a time of 40.41 seconds to set a new program record in the event and place them solidly in the middle of the pack entering the final on Friday. The Tornadoes will be seeded sixth, though they came within just 15 thousandths of a second of third in the heats.

Just less than two hours later it was Nastario Williams' turn to try and advance in an individual event. He lined up in heat three of the 200-meter dash, and he posted a time that set another new program record - 20.71 seconds. The time was the fifth fastest time to that point, and though two runners in the final heat were able to surpass his time, he still solidly qualified for the finals on Friday.

The Championship qualifying heats and flights will continue on Thursday, and the Tornadoes will be represented in four different events. Emmanuel Niang will be in lane 6 for the second heat of the 110-meter hurdles which is set to begin at 1:15 p.m. central time, Williams will line up in lane 4 of the first heat of the 100-meter dash at approximately 2:40 p.m., and the men's 4x400-meter relay team will start in lane 8 of the second heat which is slated to commence at 7:45 p.m. Williams will also take part in the first flight of the long jump beginning at 1:30 p.m.