U.S. Olympic Trials: The Big Board

 

 

By DyeStat Staff

 

The U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials are under way at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., July 1-10. The meet will select the athletes who represent the United States at the Olympic Games in Brazil.

 

 

Storylines - 10 THINGS TO WATCH - by Scott Bush

INTERVIEWS

BUILDING THE TEAM FOR RIO

 

 

New Records:

 - Brittney Reese broke the meet record in the long jump with a leap of 7.31 meters. It also tied the Hayward Field record and is #10 all-time.

- Chaunte Lowe equaled her own meet record set four years ago with her 2.01 meter clearance in the high jump.

- Sam Kendricks broke the pole vault meet record set by Tim Mack in 2004. Kendricks set the new record at 5.91 meters.

- The men's javelin meet record was broken twice. Curtis Thompson broke it in the first round with his throw of 82.88 meters. But then Cyrus Hostetler improved on that mark in the fifth round, throwing 83.24 meters.

- All three medalists broke the meet record in the women's hammer throw. Amber Campbell came out on top on her final throw with a mark of 74.03 meters.

- Noah Lyles of T.C. Williams broke the all-time national high school record in the 200 meters with 20.09 seconds in the final.

- Matthew Centrowitz broke Steve Scott's meet record in the 1,500 meters when he crossed the line in 3:34.09. Robby Andrews also broke the old record with his second place finish.

- Michelle Carter broke the shot put meet record on her final throw of 19.59 meters.

- The top 3 women in the 3,000 steeplechase broke the meet record, with Emma Coburn taking the win in 9:17.48.

- Dalilah Muhammad ran away from the field to break the meet record in the 400 hurdles with a time of 52.88.

- Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic broke the World Junior Record in the 400 hurdles with her 3rd place finish of 54.15.

 

 

Meet Notes:

- During the Opening Ceremony, Adam Nelson was awarded his gold medal from the 2004 Olympics. He finished in silver position, but the gold medal winner was eventually convicted of doping. His medal ceremony included all of the regalia of the Athens medal ceremony, including a live playing of the National Anthem.

- For the first time in at least 44 years the hammer was thrown inside the Hayward Field stadium. A free standing hammer cage was built around the west shot put ring. Fans were invited down onto the track for a more intimate atmosphere.

 

Men's 100:

- Justin Gatlin reigned supreme, winning in a world leading 9.80 on Sunday. Trayvon Bromell showed he has recovered from his injury issues that forced him to withdraw from his early season races to cross the line second in 9.84. Marvin Bracy was third in 9.98. Michael Rogers, Tyson Gay and Christian Coleman finished fourth through sixth, making them likely candidates for the 4x100 relay pool.

- All the major players advanced to the final to be contested at the end of the day Sunday. It took 10.01 to qualify.

- Trayvon returned from injury to run 9.94, the fastest time in the first round. 2012 Olympian, Ryan Bailey did not advance. Also, Noah Lyles, the prep from TC Williams in Virginia was the first non-qualifier, missing the next round by the slimmest of margins.

 

Women's 100:

- The table was set for English Gardner in the 100 final and she ate it up, winning in a wind legal 10.74. Tianna Bartoletta and Tori Bowie tied for second, with Bartoletta getting the nod for second by three thousandths of a second. The top four women, including fourth placed Morolake Akinosun ran personal bests. Akinosun, Jenna Prandini and Ariana Washington could all be part of the 4x100 relay team in Rio.

- Six current and former Ducks ran in the semifinals. English Gardner, Jenna Prandini and Ariana Washington made the final. All three semifinal heats were run with tailwinds above the allowable limit.

- Former Duck Jenna Prandini ran the fastest time of the day with a 10.81. That included a 3.6m/s tailwind. Jeneba Tarmoh was the first non-qualifier at 11.29. Four years ago she tied Allyson Felix for third in the Olympic Trials 100.

 

Men's 200:

- When push came to shove in the finals, experience mattered. Justin Gatlin, running in Lane 8, raced to victory in the final and clocked 19.74 seconds. LaShawn Merritt, flashing world class speed, was second in 19.79. Ameer Webb claimed the third and final spot with 20.00, holding off the high school phenoms. Noah Lyles ran 20.09 for a new national high school record and Michael Norman was fifth in 20.14.

- The buzz was over the exceptional first and second rounds by high schoolers Noah Lyles and Michael Norman. They both won two races in the prelims, secured Lanes 4 and 6 for the final, and got the attention of the track world. In the final, however, former Olympic champions used their experience to go 1-2. Justin Gatlin won it from Lane 8 in 19.73 and LaShawn Merritt was second in 19.79. Meanwhile, Ameer Webb held off Lyles for third in 20.00 and the T.C. Williams VA graduate broke the high school national record with 20.09. Norman was fifth in 20.14.

 

Women's 200:

- Tori Bowie made the team in a second event, winning the 200 meters final in 22.25 for a thorough victory. Behind her, there were surprises. Deajah Stevens of Oregon, not the fastest sprinter on her own team in the spring, stepped up in a huge way to take second place in 22.30. Stevens, who has been a Duck for just six months, was sensational. The fight for third was fierce and Oregon grad Jenna Prandini of Puma dove to beat Allyson Felix, spoiling the track legend's hope of a 200-400 Olympic sweep. 

 

Men's 400:

- LaShawn Merritt ran a world leading 43.97 to win. Gil Roberts and David Verburg filled out the top three and will make the trip to Rio. Tony McQuay, after running the top time in the semifinal on Staurday, only finished fifth in the final. He, Arman Hall and Kyle Clemons could be on the 4x400 relay team in Rio.

- With only the top 4 finishers in each semifinal heat advancing to the final on Sunday, running sub-45 was no guarantee of making the final, as LSU's Michael Cherry discovered after running 44.81, but finishing 5th in the Heat 1. Tony McQuay had the best time of the day with his 44.24 clocking. Jeremy Wariner, the 2004 Olympic Champion did not finish.

-  LaShawn Merritt cruised in his heat 3 win to qualify for the semifinal. David Verburg had the fastest time of the day in 45.31 to win heat 4. Notable athletes who did not advance included Vernon Norwood, who pulled up with 100 meters to go and did not finish, and Michael Norman, a high schooler.

 

Women's 400:

- Allyson Felix came from behind in the final 80 meters to take the win in a world leading 49.68. Phyllis Francis broke 50.00 to finish second and Natasha Hastings, running through a sore hamstring, finished third in 50.17. Taylor Ellis-Watson, Francena McCorcory and Courtney Okolo round out the top six and potential 4x400 relay members.

- Allyson Felix has yet to win a heat of the 400, but she still advances to the final. On Saturday it was Francena McCorcory who bested Felix in the first semifinal, 50.28 to 50.31. Quanera Hayes was the final qualifier for the final, finishing in 51.28.

- Courtney Okolo ran the fastest time of the day in 50.78 for her heat 3 win. The big story, however, was Sanya Richards-Ross pulling up with 150 meters to go. Her leg was heavily wrapped from a previous injury. It was a teary good-bye for the 2012 Olympic Champion.

 

Men's 800:

- The 800 final was a little bit different than usual. Starting in two alleys for the nine athlete race completely changed the dynamics of the race. Boris Berian led the field through 400 in 50.60. However, it was the hard chanrging Clayton Murphy who took the win on the homestretch in 1:44.76. Berian was able to hold on for second in 1:44.92. Charles Jock earned the final spot to Rio when he moved from eighth to third in the final 200.

- Boris Berian continued to lead the way, winning his semifinal heat in 1:45.72. Both time qualifiers came out of Berian's heat, including Penn State freshman Isaiah Harris and Oregon Track Club Elite Harun Abda. Clayton Murphy won the second semifinal.

- Boris Berian, wearing New Balance, had the top time of the 1st round with his 1:46.03 heat 2 win. Nick Symmonds scratched on Thursday with an injured ankle. However, the big surprise was Duane Solomon and Donavan Brazier not advancing out of their respective heats.

 

Women's 800:

The 2016 women's 800 final will always be known as the race where Alysia Montano fell with less than 150 meters to go.She and Brenda Martinez got tangled up with each other. Both failed to qualify. Instead, Kate Grace closed hard to take the win in 1:59.10. She will be the first U.S. Olympian sponsored by Oiselle. Ajee Wilson had been in the lead coming off the Bowerman curve, but faded slightly to second. Chrishuna Williams moved from seventh to third over the final 120 meters to also make the team. Molly Ludlow, for the second time in two Olympic Trials, finished fourth and will likely not make the team to Rio. The top four women all broke two minutes.

- Brenda Martinez and Molly Ludlow both broke 2-minutes in the second semifinal to advance to Monday's 800 final. 2014 World Indoor Champion, Chanelle Price did not advance. Ajee Wilson remained calm and collected to win the first semifinal heat in 2:00.81.

- Molly Ludlow ran the top time in the qualifying heats with her 2:00.30 heat 1 win. Laura Roesler was the biggest name not to advance when she finished 4th in heat 4. Only 2 runners automatically advanced from each of the 5 heats.

 

Men's 1,500:

 - The pace was honest from the gun as Jordan McNamara, Izaic Yorks, Eric Avila pushed the pace early in an attempt to earn the Olympic standard, which all but five athletes did not have. Despite the fast pace, there was still quite a bit of pushing early on. However, the race belonged to Matthew Centrowitz as he kicked away from the field over the final 300 meters. Robby Andrews used his signature closing speed to take second while Ben Blankship was able to hold off the hard charging Leo Manzano to take third.

 

Women's 1,500:

- There was lots of jostling over the last half of the race as the athletes worked for position. Jenny Simpson moved to the lead with 600 meters to go, leaving the rest of the field to chase after her heels. She won in 4:04.74. Shannon Rowbury closed hard over the final 100 meters for second. Both Brenda Martinez and Amanda Eccleston came from behind and fell across the finish line together with Martinez getting the nod for third over Eccleston by three hundredths of a second.

 

Men's 5,000:

- Ageless wonder Bernard Lagat made his fifth Olympic team by overtaking the best kickers in the field and taking the victory in 13:35.50. He was joined on the podium by fellow 10K casualty Hassan Mead and Paul Chelimo of Dan Browne's U.S. Army training group.

- Both qualifying heats of the 5,000 started at a crawl and both finished fast. Portland Pilot Woody Kincaid ran the fastest time of the day from the first heat in 13:47.86. Many of the big names that dropped out in the 10,000 on Day 1 qualified on Monday, giving them another chance to make the Olympic team. Notable athletes who did not qualify included Chris Derrick and Sam Chelanga.

 

Women's 5,000:

- Molly Huddle showed the same prowess as she did in the 10,000 meters, winning her second title of the Trials in 15:05.01. Shelby Houlihan finished only 1 second back to make her first Olympic team. Kim Conley was able to bounce back from her disapppointing 10,000 to finish third. However, Huddle opted to only contest the 10,000 in Rio, leaving a spot open on the team. Emily Infled was fourth, but like Huddle opted not to double, giving fifth place Abbey D'Agostino a spot on the team to Rio.

 

Men's 10,000:

- In the first track final of the 2016 Trials, Galen Rupp used multiple surges throughout the race to slowly break the field apart. The combination of the pace changes and the heat made the race a war of attrition, with Rupp much of the race at the front. With 450 meters to go, Shadrack Kipchirchir, running for the U.S. Army, moved into the lead, but the final lap belonged to Rupp.  He closed in 60.74 to win in 27:55.04. Kipchirchir finished second in 28:01.52. Emerging from the chase pack, Kipchirchir's U.S. Army teammate, Leonard Korir finished third in 28:16.97. All three athletes have the Olympic standard and will be on the team to Rio.

 

Women's 10,000:

- Despite the early start, the heat was still a factor. Molly Huddle led for all but two laps as she pulled away to win in 31:41.62. Emily Infeld was second (31:46.09) and Marielle Hall was third (31:54.77). After finishing sixth in the Olympic Trials Marathon, Kellyn Taylor improved her position by two places, but that was still not enough to make the team. She will try again in the 5,000. Both Huddle and Hall have stated they plan to race the 5,000 as well. Kim Conley was spiked early in the race and lost her shoe. She stopped to put it back on, but she was never able to catch back up to the leaders. Conley eventually dropped out to begin preparations for the 5,000.

 

Men's 110 Hurdles:

Oregon's Devon Allen lit the Hayward Field crowd on fire by running the second-fastest collegiate time ever -- 13.03 seconds. The result instantly turns the NCAA champion into a medal contender. Behind him, the competition was fierce and excruciatingly close. Ronnie Ash beat Jeff Porter by a thousandth of a second and world record holder Aries Merrit was behind them both by a hundredth.

 

Women's 100 Hurdles:

 

The final was loaded and tense and Brianna Rollins rose to the challenge and delivered a gold-medal worthy race, clocking 12.34. Kristi Caslin (12.50) and Nia Ali (12.55) joined Rollins on the podium. One of the biggest shockers of the meet was that Pre Classic and No. 2 world all-time Keni Harrison was sixth in 12.62.

 

Men's 400 Hurdles:

-  Kerron Clement returned to his winning ways with his first place finish in 48.50. Byron Robinson of Texas was second while Michael Tinsley was third. Johnny Dutch was in qualifying position going into the final hurdle, but he faded down the stretch and finished fifth.

 

Women's 400 Hurdles:

-In one of the highly anticipated matchups of the final day, Dalilah Muhammad ran away from the field in a new meet record of 52.88, making her the US#5 all-time performer. Ashley Spencer, after failing to qualify for the team in the flat 400, closed hard on the home stretch to take second and earn her Olympic spot. Much of the attention was on 16-year old, Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic, who finished third in a new world junior record of 54.15. She is the youngest US track and field Olympian since 1972.

 

Men's 3,000 Steeplechase:

- The steeplechase qualifying round went to script. MJ Erb was the final qualifier in 8:37.60.

- Evan Jager won his fifth US title, running away from the field over the final kilometer to win in 8:22.48. Hillary Bor, running for the U.S. Army, was a surprise second place, two seconds back of Jager. Donn Cabral finished third.

 

Women's 3,000 Steeplechase:

- All of the big names made it through qualifying to the final. Nicole Bush was the last qualifier, running 9:46.29.

- Emma Coburn waited until late to take charge of the final, but that did not keep her from standing atop the victory stand. She finished in 9:17.48, a new meet record. Courtney Frerichs, the 2016 NCAA champion, and Colleen Quigley, the 2015 NCAA champion, finished second and third, also under the previous meet record. Frerichs recently joined Quigley to train as part of the Bowerman Track Club.

 

Men's 20K Race Walk:

- Getting things started for Tracktown16, the race walk took place in Salem, Oregon, starting in front of the state capitol steps. Nick Christie was the early leader as he pushed the pace to try and hit the Olympic standard of 1:24:00. The middle of the race belonged to Trevor Barron who took 3.5 years off from the sport after his London appearance in the 20k race walk. But the last stage of the race belonged to John Nunn. He won in 1:25:36.10. While that was not enough to earn a berth in the 20k, he will still be in Rio competing in the 50k race walk. He is now US Champion over indoor 3k, 20k and 50k race walks. Barron was second and Christie third.

 

Women's 20K Race Walk:

 - The women started one minute after the men and Maria Michta-Coffey and Miranda Melville separated themselves from the pack early. They both had the Olympic standard and only needed to finish to make the team to Rio. Erin Gray pushed the chase pack early but was disqualified in the first half of the race. Michta-Coffey won in 1:33:40.80 with Melville finishing second in 1:34.11.10. Katie Burnett finished third.

 

Men's High Jump:

 - The rain was a major factor in the men's high jump. In the qualifying round, making opening height was enough to qualify for the final. Randal Cunningham, the NCAA champion three weeks ago, was one of the major casualties.

- The conditions once again played a factor in the high jump final. Erik Kynard won with ease, but did not face the competition necessary to be successful at the high bars. Kyle Landon of Southern Illinois finished second, but he does not have the Olympic standard. Bradley Adkins of Texas Tech finished third and does have the standard so will be going to Rio. Ricky Robertson finished sixth, but he was the next best jumper to have bested the standard and will be joining Kynard and Adkins on the Olympic team.

 

Women's High Jump:

- The women overcame windy conditions on Sunday to name the team to Rio. There were several scares, but Chaunte Lowe continued her great form this season with a top clearance of 2.01m. Vashti Cunningham, after a disappointing performance at the Prefontaine Classic, bounced back to take second in an outdoor personal best 1.97m. Inika McPherson finished third in her 1.93m clearance.

- 12 women advance to the final round to be held on  Sunday. All the major players advance. Amy Acuff, 40 years old and already a 5-time Olympian, did not advance.

 

Men's Long Jump:

- Jeff Henderson continued his fantastic form he showed in the qualifying round by leading one of the greatest long jump competitions since the 1991 World Championships when Mike Powell set the world record. Henderson led after each round, hitting his best in the third with 8.59m. Jarrion Lawson finished second, one centimeter back. Will Claye and Marquis Dendy tied for third. Claye's second best jump was better than Dendy's but Claye does not have the Olympic standard, giving the nod to Dendy for the trip to Rio. While the top seven jumpers bettered the standard in the compeition, the wind prevented the majority of those jumps to count. In addition, fourth through seventh places had the best jumps in history for that position.

- Jeff Henderson only took one jump, but his leap of 8.22m was more than enough to secure his place in the final. Marquise Goodwin, taking the summer off from the gridiron survived a poor performance to earn the final qualifying spot for the final. Marquis Dendy returned from a spraining his ankle in the Prefontaine Classic triple jump to finish 6th.

 

Women's Long Jump:

- Brittney Reese went big. She leaped out to 7.31m, an Olympic Trials record and #10 all-time. This was her first competition using a full approach this year. Tianna Bartoletta finished 2nd with her first round jump of 7.02m. She also ran the 1st round of the 100, which occured in the middle of the long jump competition. She passed all but two of her jumps. Janay DeLoach sat in 6th place going into the final round of jumps. She leaped out to 6.93m to move up to third and stamp her ticket to Rio.

- In qualifying, Brittney Reese jumped 7.01 meters on her first jump to automatically qualifying. Four women, including Tianna Bartoletta, surpassed  the automatic mark of 6.70 meters. It took 6.49 meters to make the final.

 

Men's Triple Jump:

- Will Claye made up for the disappointment of missing a spot in the long jump by one centimeter by putting together the performance he needed to win the triple jump. Claye jumped 57-11 (17.65m) and beat fellow Gator and 2012 Olympic teammate Christian Taylor, who went 57-0.75 (17.39m). Chris Benard edged out Omar Craddock by two inches to secure the final Olympic berth.

 

Women's Triple Jump:

 - There were few surprises in the women's triple jump qualifying. Despite the success on the men's side, U.S. women have yet to make an impact on the world stage. That may change this year with Keturah Orji. She set the American Record three weeks ago at the NCAA Championships. Only she and Andrea Geubelle have the Olympic standard and could be the only triple jumpers to make the trip.

-  Keturah Orji won the triple jump, as expected, jumping 14.32 meters. However, the surprise came from Christina Epps who bested the Olympic standard on her fifth round jump of 14.17 meters. That jump was good for second and a spot on the Olympic team. Andrea Geubelle finished third and will be joining Orji and Epps in Rio.

 

Men's Pole Vault:

Sam Kendricks is already beginning to make his mark on the pole vault in the U.S. On Monday, Kendricks beat Tim Mack's Olympic Trials record with a 5.91m clearance. Kendricks took three attempts at 6.00m His first two attempts appeared close, before he bailed out slightly on his final jump. There was some confusion on who would make the team to Rio. Of second place Cale Simmons and third place Logan Cunningham, at least one of them was originally listed without the Olympic standard, but that was eventually cleared up. Both Simmons and Cunningham will be on the team to Rio.

 - The men in the pole vault were forced to deal with windy conditions in their qualifying round.Sam Kendricks, Jacob Blankenship and Logan Cunningham all had clean cards, each of them clearing three heights and finishing at 5.55m. There were be 12 vaulters in the final on Monday. American Record holder Brad Walker and high school record holder Christopher Nilsen both failed to make the opening height.

 

Women's Pole Vault:

 - Rain played a major factor in qualifying, at times delaying the competition for a break in the weather. Demi Payne was the big name not to qualify. She injured her hand during the NCAA outdoor season and was only able to train for a few days before the Trials.

- Jenn Suhr won her thrid straight Olympic Trials pole vault title with a clearance of 4.80m (15-9.0). She struggled at 4.70m, but cleared on her third attempt. Sandi Morris, returning from a broken bone in her hand after breaking a pole in the early outdoor season successfully completed her comeback, by finishing second with a clearance of 4.75m (15-7.0). Lexi Weeks proved to be the surprise third place finisher. Just off her NCAA win three weeks ago to complete her freshman year, she cleared 4.70m (15-5.0) on her second attempt, a personal best. She stopped jumping once her spot on the Olympic team was secure.

 

Men's Discus:

- In very wet conditions on Friday, Mason Finley was able to hold onto his discus well enough to make good on his top qualifying mark and win the final with 208-1 (63.42m). He was six feet up on Tavis Bailey and Andrew Evans, who were second and third. One of the favorites, Jared Schuurmans, fouled five of his six throws and finished seventh. Fourteen of the 24 throws in the finals were fouls. 

 

Women's Discus:

- Youth got it done in the final. Whitney Ashley won with 62.25m. All of her throws would have won the competition. Shelbi Vaughan (60.28m) and Kelsey Card (60.13m) will join her in Rio. Stephanie Brown-Trafton, the 2008 Olympic Champion finished 6th and hinted afterward that she may retire.

- Whitney Ashley was the only thrower to surpass the auto mark of 61.00 meters with her 61.16 meter throw. Stephanie Brown Trafton, Kelsey Card and Shelbi Vaughan all bettered 60 meters. It took 55.73 meters to qualify for the final on Saturday.

 

Men's Shot Put:

- Ryan Crouser had the best mark in qualifying and he did again in the final, producing a PR best of 22.11 meters on his second throw. Darrell Hill also had a PR in the second round of 21.63m to put him into second place. However, Joe Kovacs, the defending World Champion improved on his bronze placement in the final round with a mark of 21.95. Hill was unable to respond and finished third. Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs and Darrell Hill will all be on the team to Rio.

- The shot put competition proved to be young versus old. Reese Hoffa, in likely his last competition, finished 5th. Adam Nelson, having returned from a 4-year retirement, finished 7th.

- Qualifying: Almost all of the big names qualified for the 12-man final. Adam Nelson returned from retirement to compete in one last Olympic Trials at the age of 40. He was recently upgraded from silver to gold from the 2004 Olympic shot put in Athens. This was his first competition where he was introduced as an Olympic Champion. Kurt Roberts finished a non-qualifying 13th.

 

Women's Shot Put:

- There were few surprises in shot put qualifying Thursday morning. Eight women surpassed the automatic qualifying mark of 17.75 meters. The 12th and final qualifier to the final was Kearsten Peoples whose best throw reached 17.37 meters. The biggest name not to qualify was Kelsey Card, 3rd in the discus, as she fouled all three of her attempts.

- Michelle Carter led the final through the first four rounds, but then Raven Saunders and Felisha Johnson moved into first and second in the fifth round with marks of 19.24m ad 19.23m, respectively. However, Carter was not to be denied as she won the competition on her final attempt with a mark of 19.59m. Saunders and Johnson held on for second and third.

 

Men's Javelin Throw:

- Only three men entered the javelin final already owning the Olympic standard. Those will be out three in Rio. Cyrus Hostetler, a local product won on his fifth round throw of 83.24m. He will be on the team. Second place Curtis Thompson did get the javelin out to 82.88m, but that is still 12 centimeters short of the Olympic standard. Riley Dolezala previous member of Team USA, placed third. He does not have the Olympic standard so will not be on the team. Sam Crouser, a local fan favorite, finished fourth, but he already has the standard. Sean Furey finished 11th over all, but he will still represent the USA as the only other javelin thrower with the Olympic standard.

- There were few surpises in the javelin qualifying. All three men with the Olympic standard, Cyrus Hostetler, Sam Crouser and Sean Furey, advanced to Monday's final. Unless someone throws over 83 meters in the final, those three men will make the team to Rio.

 

Women's Javelin Throw: 

- Three women came into the Olympic Trials owning the standard and those are same three women who will go to Rio. NCAA champion Maggie Malone of Texas A&M threw 199-7 (60.84m) for the win and was the only thrower to surpass 60 meters. American record holder Kara Winger was second and Brittany Borman was third. Hannah Carson of Texas Tech gave collegians a 1-2 finish in the Trials final, but she does not have the standard. 

 

Men's Hammer Throw:

- There was a changing of the guard in the men's hammer. Rudy Winkler of Cornell won the competition on his fourth round throw of 76.76 meters. Kibwe Johnson was second and Conor McCullough was third. A.G. Kruger, in possibly his final hammer throw, was fourth.

- There is confusion over who might represent the U.S. in Rio, if at all. None of the throwers have met the Olympic standard. However, only 22 athletes have surpassed it. The IAAF has a preferred field size of 32 throwers. If they invite additional athletes to fill the field, the U.S. is well positioned to send someone. However, who might be selected is unkown. While Winkler won, his mark trails the best qualifying mark of the three men behind him. Any of those four could be selected, or none of them. It is in the IAAF's court now.

Women's Hammer Throw: 

- DeAnna Price of Southern Illinois took the early lead. Through five rounds, she led after all but one of them. In the final round, Amber Campbell, who had spent much of the competition in third, launched the hammer out to a distance of 74.03 meters. Gwen Berry also responded with a 73.09 meter throw, tying Price's best mark. However, Berry's second best throw was better than Price's, giving Berry the nod for second. All three throwers bettered the Olympic standard and the meet record.

Men's Decathlon:

- Ashton Eaton held his lead throughout the day, finishing with 8750 points. After a rough start to the day, Jeremy Taiwo finished second overall with 8425 points after he finished second in the 1,500. Zach Ziemek of Wisconsin earned a spot in Rio, finishing with 8413 points.

- Ashton Eaton led the way in safe mode in the decathlon. His 4560 points put him squarely in the lead after day 1. Jeremy Taiwo was second with 4478 points. Trey Hardee's performances declined throughout the day as he battled through multiple injuries. It is unkown whether he will compete on day 2. His chances of making the Olympic team at gone.

 

Women's Heptathlon:

 - Barbara Nwaba got off to a slow start in the hurdles on the first day, but she more than made up for it with a personal best and top mark of the heptathlon in the high jump (1.90m). She led after the first day with 3903 points. Kendell Williams was second and Heather Miller-Koch was third.

- Day Two started off slow for Barbara Nwaba. She fell to fourth after the first event, the long jump. However, she performed at her best in the javelin and the 800 meters to win overall with 6494 points. Little separated second, third and fourth places going into the final event (800 meters). Kendell Williams sat in second, Heather Miller-Koch was third and Sharon Day-Monroe was close behind in fourth. Miller-Koch and Day-Monroe both had personal bests under 2:10, while Williams' best was only 2:17. For Day-Monroe, she only needed to beat Williams by 5.5 seconds to move past her into a medal position. For Miller-Koch it was even less. In the end, Miller-Koch won the 800 to secure a second place finish. But Day-Monroe came up about one second short in her Olympic bid. Williams ran a two-second personal best to stamp her ticket to Rio.