Samford’s Oates finishes fourth at Olympic Trials
EUGENE, Ore. – A matter of inches was the difference for Samford University track and field pole vaulter Tray Oates as he attempted to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio on Monday in the U.S. Olympic Trial Finals at Hayward Field.
Oates needed to clear 5.70m (18' 8 ½") in order to place third overall and post the qualifying standard set for entry into the Olympics. On all three attempts at the height, he barely clipped or grazed the bar off its perch, which allowed Logan Cunningham to receive the final spot on the Team USA pole vaulting squad.
The Acworth, Georgia, native passed on the height of 5.65m (18' 6 ½") in order to save his energy for the 5.70m mark, which would have given him both the minimum Olympic qualifying standard and a top-three finish. Oates finished fourth overall at this year's U.S. Olympic Trials.
The redshirt sophomore was on fire to start the finals as he cleared the opening height of 5.40m (17' 8 ½") on his first try and followed up clearing marks of 5.50m (18' ½") and 5.60m (18' 4 ½") on two tries apiece.
Oates concludes his impressive season as Samford track and field's first male All-American first-team selection after finishing seventh overall at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships earlier this year and also holds the Samford school record in the pole vault.
The Citadel’s Williamson finishes eighth at Olympic Trials
EUGENE, Ore. – The Citadel graduate senior Capers Williamson finished eighth in the javelin throw Monday at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
The top-three finishers in the event qualified to represent Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Williamson, the first track and field athlete from The Citadel to participate in the final round of an Olympic Trials, posted a top throw of 232 feet, 10 inches on his second attempt of the final.
His first throw traveled 203-6 and left him 10th after the first round, and then he used his second toss to catapult himself into seventh place, where he stayed after a third-round toss of 229-11 to be one of eight throwers awarded three additional throws. He advanced to Monday’s final after placing 12th overall among the 24 best javelin throwers in the United States with a throw of 227-2 during Saturday’s preliminary round.
Williamson qualified for the Olympic Trials with his season-best throw of 239-4 at the 2016 Southern Conference Outdoor Championships. The throw broke his school and SoCon records for the third time in 2016 and clinched the conference javelin crown.
In his final season at The Citadel, Williamson won his second Southern Conference title and became the first Bulldog to earn SoCon Field Athlete of the Month honors twice in the same campaign. He went on to place 15th at the NCAA East Preliminary before rounding out his career at the U.S. Olympic Trials.