USA Track & Field Olympic Trials: Friday’s Qualifiers

Donn Cabral 2016 US Olympic Trials

Men’s steeplechase competitor Donn Cabral is one of nine who earned Olympic bids Friday (Getty)

Just three days remain in the United States Track & Field Olympic Trials, and on Friday Olympians in three disciplines will be determined. The men’s discus, men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase and women’s 100 meter hurdle finals were held Friday, with the top three finishers in each event earning a spot on the United States Olympic Team.

Below are the final results for each of the three events. Complete results of all the action in Eugene are available at the USA Track & Field website.


Men’s Discus: Finley Wins Title, Earns First Olympic Berth

Mason Finley 2015 US Track & Field Championships

Mason Finley is headed to Rio after comfortably winning the men’s discus competition (Getty)

Mason Finley led the way into the men’s discus final with a throw that was nearly six meters better than that of his closest competition, and he continued on that track in earning a trip to Rio. Finley may not have matched his 66.72 meter throw from the preliminary round, but his throw of 63.42 meters on his second attempt of the finals was enough to win the event. Of the ten throws to travel more than 60 meters in the final, Finley was responsible for four of them (all of his legal attempts were at least 62.04 meters).

Finley won the final by nearly two meters, with Tavis Bailey and Andrew Evans making throws on their first attempts that proved good enough to earn a spot on the Olympic team. Below are the final standings for the men’s discus final. Also of note is the fact that none of the three athletes headed to Rio in this event were sponsored.

1. Mason Finley 63.42 meters
2. Tavis Bailey 61.57m
3. Andrew Evans 61.22m
4. Jason Harrell 61.05m
5. Lance Brooks 60.50m
6. Nate Moses 59.87m
7. Jared Schuurmans 59.12m
8. James Plummer 58.14m
9. Sam Mattis 57.86m
10. Rodney Brown 57.09m
11. Jason Young 56.82m
12. Russ Winger 54.11m

Going to Rio: Mason Finley, Tavis Bailey, Andrew Evans


Men’s 3,000 Meter Steeplechase: Evan Jager Leads Trio To Brazil

Donn Cabral 2016 US Olympic Trials

Donn Cabral is headed to Rio after finishing third in the final (Getty)

After coasting into the final of the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 8:33.73 in the prelims, Evan Jager took it up a notch in Friday’s final. Jager won the final with a time of 8:22.48, finishing well under the Olympic qualifying standard of 8:30.00. Jager will lead three competitors to Rio in this event, with Hillary Bor and Donn Cabral earning the other spots.

Bor, who like Jager posted a time in the prelims that placed him well off the pace established by Cabral, finished second in the final with a time of 8:24.10. Cabral finished third with a time of 8:26.37, a slight improvement on his prelim round time of 8:26.96. Below are the results of the men’s steeplechase final, with Cabral the only runner to finish amongst the top five in the prelims who managed to earn a trip to Rio.

1. Evan Jager 8:22.48
2. Hillary Bor 8:24.10
3. Donn Cabral 8:26.37
4. Andrew Bayer 8:28.59
5. Mason Ferlic 8:30.03
6. Craig Forys 8:34.16
7. Cory Leslie 8:37.54
8. Donnie Cowart 8:39.02
9. Daniel Huling 8:39.50
10. Bryce Miller 8:40.32
11. Tabor Stevens 8:41.98
12. Isaac Updike 8:42.92
13. Stanley Kebenei 8:48.99
14. Travis Mahoney 8:49.01
15. M.J. Erb 8:50.95

Going to Rio: Evan Jager, Hillary Bor, Donn Cabral


Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles: Rollins, Castlin, Ali Earn Olympic Spots

Brianna Rollins 2016 US Olympic Trials

Brianna Rollins is among three women headed to Rio in the 100 meter hurdles (Getty)

Through each round of the women’s 100 meter hurdles Brianna Rollins was the best performer in the field, and that carried over into Friday night’s final in Eugene. Running out of lane four Rollins won the final with a time of 12.34 seconds, leaving little doubt as to who the best runner in the field was. However the other two places on the United States Olympic Team had more drama, with with second through fifth place separated by a total of one tenth of a second.

Finishing second was Kristi Castlin, who won the second semifinal heat of the day, with a time of 12.50 seconds. Right behind her was Nia Ali, whose time of 12.55 seconds was good enough to earn third place by two hundredths of a second over Queen Harrison. Here are the complete results for the women’s 100 meter hurdles final.

1. Brianna Rollins 12.34 seconds
2. Kristi Castlin 12.50s
3. Nia Ali 12.55s
4. Queen Harrison 12.57s
5. Sharika Nelvis 12.60s
6. Keni Harrison 12.62s
7. Jackie Coward 12.75s
8. Jasmin Stowers 17.13s

Going to Rio: Brianna Rollins, Kristi Castlin, Nia Ali