ROCK HILL, S.C. – Tray Oates made history yet again as he qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the pole vault at the KMR Pole Vault Invitational on Saturday.

The redshirt sophomore cleared 5.65m to become Samford's first ever student-athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. The mark was also good enough to set a new Samford record and to win the meet as the next best height was 5.41m.

"This is quite the accomplishment for Tray and Samford University." Head Coach Rod Tiffin stated. "He will be the first athlete to represent Samford at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

"What he has accomplished after having a possible career ending foot injury two years ago is just astounding. There are not enough superlatives to describe how happy I am for Tray right now. The great thing is that this sophomore's journey is just the beginning."

It was just a mere four days ago that Oates attempted to qualify here at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium and posted a strong mark of 5.56m, at that time a new Samford record, on his second attempt at the height. The mark put Oates in good shape to qualify should there be both a preliminaries and a finals but did not guarantee him an invitation to Eugene.

The program's first All-America First Team selection has made great strides this season to improve his craft. He broke the Southern Conference record in the pole vault at the 2016 SoCon Outdoor Championships when he broke a 27 year old SoCon record as he won the event while he also set the new school record in his last meet at Samford on June 21.

5.65m is the automatic qualifying mark set by USA Track & Field.

The U.S. Olympic Trials are set to begin on Friday, July 1 in Eugene, Oregon.