LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor
EUGENE, Ore. – Despite a bevy of entrants from the HBCU ranks, none was able to come through and join quartermilers Quanera Hayes, Randolph Ross Jr. and Trevor Stewart on the U. S. Olympic team after a break in competition at the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials here last week.
The athletes took a break on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week and resumed men’s and women’s competition Thursday through Sunday.
Among those competing in the second part of the trials was North Carolina A&T sophomore Cambrea Sturgis and Hayes in the women’s 200 meters and former Prairie View A&M sprinter Deonca Bookman in the women’s 400 meter hurdles.
On the men’s side, former A&T sprinters Christopher Belcher and Rodney Rowe competed in the men’s 200 meters while former Aggie Christopher Dickson ran in the men’s 110 meter high hurdles. Also competing for the men was former Stillman long jumper Jeff Henderson.
Bookman, Dickson and Henderson made it to the finals in their events.
Women’s 200 Meters
Hayes, who won the women’s 400 meters in the early part of the Trials, and Sturgis both advanced out of the first round of the 200 meters competition Thursday. Sturgis won her first round heat in 22.37 while Hayes advanced with a third-place finish in her heat in a time of 22.58.
In the 200 semifinals, Sturgis, who had won both the 100 and 200 meters at the NCAA Championships a week earlier, finished seventh in her heat in 22.68 and did not make the finals. Hayes ran 22.83 and finished sixth in her heat to finish out of the finals.
Women’s 400 Meter Hurdles
Bookman finished third in her heat in 56.96 in Friday’s first round of the 400 meter hurdles to advance to the semis. Saturday, she finished fourth in her heat but advanced on time (55.66) to make Sunday’s final line-up.
Running with world record holder Dalilah Muhammad and up-and-coming star Sydney McLaughlin in the finals, Bookman finished sixth in 56.90 behind McLaughlin who set a new world record in the event (51.90) and Muhammad (52.42). In the win, McLaughlin because the first woman to run under 52 seconds in the event.
Men’s 200 Meters
Rowe (20.62) advanced on time Friday in first round competition in the men’s 200 meters while Belcher (20.89) did not. Rowe’s time of 20.46 in Saturday’s semifinals was not good enough to advance to Sunday’s final.
Men’s 110 Meter Hurdles
In the first round of the 110-meter hurdles Friday, Dickson advanced in his heat with a second place time of 13.26. In his semifinal heat Saturday, he clocked 13.29 to finish third and advance to Sunday’s finals. He finished sixth in the finals in 13.34. Grant Holloway’s 12.96 won the event.
Men’s Long Jump
Henderson, a three-time U. S. long jump champion who won the gold medal in the event in the 2016 Summer Olympics, advanced through Thursday’s qualifying round with a best leap of 8.08 meters (26-6 1/4 inches). He was sixth entering Sunday’s finals. He never bettered that jump and finished sixth.
Earlier Competition
The earliest competition from Friday, June 18th through Monday June 21st saw Hayes, Ross Jr. and Trevor Stewart earn berths on the U. S. team that will compete at the Tokyo Olympics from Friday, July 23 to Sunday, August 8. Hayes won the women’s 400 meters while Ross Jr. finished third and Stewart fourth in the men’s 400 meters. Stewart’s fourth-place finish landed him in the pool of potential runners for the men’s 4×400 meter relay.