UK Athletics

UKTF Alumnus Andrew Evans Makes U.S. Olympic Discus Team

U.S. Trials Results Canada Trials ResultsEvans Reaction VideoEUGENE, Ore. – The Kentucky track and field program had a day of highs and lows on Friday at the United States Olympic Team Trials in front of 22,356 fans inside Hayward Field.Class of 2014 alumnus Andrew Evans became the first Wildcat to qualify for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team by placing third in the discus. Evans capitalized on a solid throw of 200-feet, 10 inches/61.22 meters on his first attempt. Junior Nick Anderson moved on to the 110m hurdles semifinal. Alumna Kendra Harrison was sixth in the 100m hurdles final – missing the Olympic Team by three spots, freshman Jasmine Camacho-Quinn narrowly missed the 100m hurdles final and junior Kiah Seymour did not advance out of the 400m hurdles semifinals.Evans, two-time Southeastern Conference Champion (2012 and 2014), opened up with a mark that was good for third place after round one. The mark held up through five more rounds to clinch his Olympic berth.Most of the throwers’ best marks were recorded in the first two rounds as heavy rains fell for the rest of the competition.“I specifically knew to be sharp on the first few attempts,” Evans said. “Obviously you want to be sharp on all of them, but I took special care to make sure I took care of business on the first throw because I had no idea if the rain was coming. It did come – a lot more than I thought it would.”Evans, who placed third at the USATF Outdoor Championships last season, but missed out on the American team that travelled to the IAAF World Championships because he did not record the standard mark at any point during the season, qualified for his first Senior U.S. Team for a major competition.Evans eclipsed the Olympic Standard with a throw of 214'7”/65.41m in Chula Vista, California, earlier this season.Harrison (Class of 2015) – the pre-meet favorite – placed sixth in the 100m hurdles final. The 23-year-old had the slowest reaction time of the final (0.229) and was unable to make up that deficit over the course of the race. She ran a time of 12.62 (+1.3). The trials were Harrison’s first 100m hurdles loss this outdoor season as she’d previously won three Diamond League meetings plus two early-season races and set the American Record (12.24) at the Prefontaine Classic.Brianna Rollins (12.34), Kristi Castlin (12.50) and Nia Ali (12.55) were the top three finishers in the final.Harrison and Camacho-Quinn lined up alongside one another in the same semifinal heat with Harrison gaining an auto-qualifier second-place finish. She ran 12.91Q (-1.3) in a heavy rain. Camacho-Quinn ran 13.02, missing the final by .02 seconds on time.Anderson placed third in his 110m hurdles prelim heat, running 13.77Q into a -1.4 wind. Anderson claimed the NCAA Silver Medal in his most recent race, last month.Kiah Seymour – the reigning NCAA Silver Medalist -- placed fifth in the first 400m hurdles semifinal. She ran a time of 56.26 and did not advance to the final.Results from Canada TrialsUK Class of 2015 alumnus Ray Dykstra placed fifth at Canada Trials in the javelin with a mark of 215'3"/65.62m.Alumna Jenna Martin-Evans ran 53.27Q to make the Canadian Trials 400m final, which is scheduled for Saturday. Saturday PreviewNick Anderson will run in the semifinals of the 110m hurdles at 7:25 p.m. ET.NBC Sports Live Extra (digital platform) will cover the meet from 6:30-8 p.m. ET. NBC will pick up coverage from 8-9 p.m.Wildcats already heading to RioEvans became the sixth Wildcat to qualify for 2016 Olympic Games in athletics so far this year.Leah Nugent qualified for Rio in the 400m hurdles at Jamaica Trials, last Saturday.Alumni Rondel Sorrillo, a UK volunteer assistant coach who trains in Lexington, and Mikel Thomas both qualified for the Olympics at the Trinidad and Tobago trials. Freshman Camacho-Quinn (Puerto Rico – 100m hurdles) and Luis Orta (Venezuela – marathon) are also already qualified for the Olympic Games. Camacho-Quinn has never competed internationally so she was still eligible to compete at U.S. Trials, as she is an American citizen. 

Meet Schedule and Results (Times ET)

Friday, July 1

Women’s Discus Qualifying

14. Beckie Famurewa: 181'4"/55.28m

Women’s Long Jump Qualifying

2. Sha’Keela Saunders (Q): 22'3.5"/6.79m (+5.0) 10. Kenyattia Hackworth (q): 21'6.25"/6.56m (+2.3)

 

Saturday, July 2

Women’s Long Jump Final

4. Sha’Keela Saunders: 22’7.25”/6.89m (+1.8) 7. Kenyattia Hackworth: 21’10”/6.65m (+2.3)

 

Wednesday, July 6

Men’s Hammer Throw

5. Andy Fryman: 238’7”/72.73m

 

Thursday, July 7

Women’s 100m Hurdles Prelims

2. Keni Harrison (Alum): 12.57Q (+0.2) 8. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn: 12.82Q (+0.3)

Women’s 400m Hurdles Prelims

4: Kiah Seymour: 55.58Q

Men’s Discus Qualifying

3. Andrew Evans: 199’/60.66q

 

Friday, July 8

Men’s 110m Hurdles Prelims

15. Nick Anderson: 13.77Q (-1.4)

Discus Final

3. Andrew Evans (Qualifies for U.S. Olympic Team)

Women’s 100m Hurdles SF

6. Keni Harrison: 12.91Q (-1.1) 10. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn: 13.02 (-1.1)

Women’s 400m Hurdles SF

10. Kiah Seymour: 56.26

100m Hurdles Final

6. Keni Harrison: 12.62 (+1.2)

                                                                           

Saturday, July 9

7:25 p.m.

Men’s 110m Hurdles SF

Nick Anderson

8:52 p.m.

Men’s 110m Hurdles Final

TBD if Nick Anderson

 

Saturday, July 9th (Day Nine)

6:30-8 p.m. (NBC Sports Live Extra)

Saturday, July 9th (Day Nine)

8-9 p.m. (NBC)

 

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