The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
U.S. Olympic Trials
Hall claims bronze to qualify for Olympic Games
07.02.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Distance runner headed to Rio in the 10,000 meters
USATF Olympic Trials | June 30-July 10 | Hayward Field – Eugene, Ore.
Info | Schedule | Live Results |
EUGENE, Ore. – The second day of action at the USATF Olympic Trials did not disappoint for the Texas Longhorns. Texas Ex Marielle Hall made it a second straight day a Longhorn has made Team USA and head to the Olympic Games this summer.
Hall took bronze in the women's 10,000 meters as she ran in the lead pack for the entire race before she and her Olympic teammates Molly Huddle and Emily Infield pulled away with four laps to go.
Hall clocked in at 31:54.77, off her season-best but enough to ensure her spot on Team USA for the Olympics.
"I'm really proud to represent so many people, everyone who has gotten me here," Hall said. "My mom and my sister never come to my races, and they're here today. I just feel really lucky to be in this situation. I watched this meet from home four years ago."
Texas Head Coach Mario Sategna said he is happy to see another Longhorn qualify for the Olympic Games and for Hall to represent Texas.
"It was a great day for the Horns getting another Olympic qualifier with Marielle Hall," Sategna said. "I'm so excited for Marielle."
Hall said she is happy to represent The University of Texas as well with the rich history the school has in track and field. Some of the most decorated athletes in school history have come from the track and field program and she is excited to continue that tradition.
"It's so special. Texas is tradition. That's the slogan. That's the tagline," Hall said. "I watched Ryan (Crouser) in the shot put last night and that was just so exciting. I went to school with him. … The list goes on past, present, future. It's an honor."
A Longhorn fighting to be on his third Olympic team started his quest on Saturday morning in the decathlon and Trey Hardee put himself into a strong position before a slip up in the final two events due to a minor injury.
Hardee, the silver medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, has been open with his recovery from a dislocated ankle that occurred in January and told reporters after Saturday's competition he also is fighting a pulled hamstring that happened 10 days ago during training. He posted a score of 3,329 points in on the first day after he struggled in the high jump and pulled up with 120 meters to go in the 400. After a brief pause, he jogged to the finish line of the 400 to end his day in 17th place overall.
He started the day with a time of 10.54 seconds in the 100 meters to open the competition in second place. Hardee slipped to 10th place after the long jump but used a strong showing in the shot put to move back up the standings with a toss of 15.68 meters (51-5.50).
Hardee said he intends to complete the decathlon but will evaluate his health and fitness in the morning before the final five events get going.
"This is my last Olympic Trials," he told reporters. "And I'm not gonna watch it from the stands."
Pole vaulter Reese Watson got to the Olympic Trials after a roller-coaster week of emotions. He was not initially accepted to the meet but thanks to some injury scratches and other unaccepted entries, he got in on Wednesday night.
Watson took advantage of that opportunity and cleared a season-best 5.50 meters (18-0.50). His previous high of the season was 5.35 meters at the Big 12 Championship and he bested that on his first jump with the opening height registering at 5.40 meters.
Despite the crazy travel and see-saw of emotions as to whether or not he would be in the meet, Watson said he was happy with his performance and to know he can overcome that adversity to qualify for the final.
"Now I definitely got some confidence. Since I didn't think I was going to be coming, I've been sitting around a little bit. So, I kinda shook the cobwebs off and I think I'll be ready for the final now."
On the track the Longhorns continued to burn it up.
Morolake Akinosun ran a personal best in her heat of the 100 meters. She crossed the line in 10.99 seconds to best 2016 NCAA champion Ariana Washington of Oregon by .01. Her time now ranks her second in school history and was sixth in the prelims.
The duo of Courtney Okolo and Ashley Spencer made it a Texas double headed to the final in the women's 400 meters. Okolo won their heat in 50.36 seconds to rank third overall in the semifinals. Spencer crossed the finish line in 51.21 seconds to take third in the heat and move to the final.
For the men, Aldrich Bailey ran the No. 9 time of the semifinals and was not able to advance to the final. The top four finishers of each semifinal heat advanced automatically with no at-large time qualifiers for that event. He finished sixth in his heat, clocking 45.42 seconds. One runner was called for a false start in Bailey's heat. That competitor ran under protest and then was ruled back into the competition and his time was allowed to stand and was second in the heat.
Marquise Goodwin is headed to the final in the men's long jump after a dramatic wait. He posted a jump of 7.82 meters (25-8.00) on his second attempt to rank fifth. He had no improvement on his third jump and had to wait to see if he would stay in the top 12.
He would slide to 11th place with three jumpers having final attempts to go. A foul kept him safe but an improvement by one jumper put Goodwin on the bubble at 12th place. The final jumper got his first legal mark of the day but the distance was not enough to knock Goodwin out of the competition and the current world leader will attempt to make his second Olympic team on Sunday afternoon.
Texas returns to action on Sunday with five Longhorns set to compete. Hardee will start things off with conclusion of the decathlon. Akinosun, Okolo, Spencer and Goodwin will join him in action.
Fans can keep up with the action online with live results provided at USATF.org. NBC and NBC Sports Network will be providing television coverage as well as online streaming. Updates on the Longhorns can be found on the team's official Twitter account @UTexasTrack.
