Day 8: Friday, July 8
Five Preps Advance To Next Round at Olympic Trials
In a repeat performance from yesterday's 200m prelims, recent high school graduates Noah Lyles and Michael Norman won their semi-final races. Norman ran 20.21 (-1.1) to win Heat 1 over Justin Gatlin, while Lyles won Heat 2 in 20.26 (+0.4). Heat 3 was the fastest of the day as LaShawn Merritt (19.74), Ameer Webb (19.97) and Tyson Gay (20.16) ran the quickest three times of the day.
They will contest the 200m finals on Saturday at 5:42 p.m. PT.
Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic, N.J. continued her domination of the 400m hurdles by winning her semi-final round in 55.23. Anna Cockrell of Providence Day, N.C. placed sixth in 56.51.
McLaughlin said after the race that she deliberately slowed in the middle to rest up for the final, which will be held on Sunday at 4:03 p.m. PT.
Both Candace Hill and Kaylin Whitney placed second in their 200m prelims. Hill, who represents ASICS, ran 22.93 to place second behind Jenn Prandini of Puma. Whitney, who represents Nike, finished behind only Deajah Stevens of Oregon, 22.91 to 23.14. Hill ranks No. 6 and Whitney ranks No. 17 after the first round. The high schoolers -- Hill, a rising senior at Rockdale County in Ga., and Whitney, a recent graduate of East Ridge, Fla. -- will race the semi-finals on Saturday at 4:40 p.m. PT.
Christina Aragon, Kate Murphy Both Place Ninth in 1500m Semis
Christina Aragon and Kate Murphy raced in different sections of the 1500m semi finals and both ultimately placed ninth. Aragon ran 4:12.71 and Murphy ran 4:14.52 in Heat 2. Both athletes had similar closing speed: Aragon ran 1:03.71 and Murphy closed in 1:03.55. Next up for the prep stars is the IAAF World U20 Championships in Poland, where Aragon will race the 1500m and Murphy will race the 3K.
USATF Junior 1500m champion Alexa Efraimson placed third in Heat 1 in 4:10.49, the third-fastest time of the day. The 19-year-old Nike pro will race the finals on Sunday.
Chanel Brissett Takes Fifth in 100m Hurdle Semi Finals
Cheltenham, Pa. rising senior Chanel Brissett placed fifth with a time of 13.37 (-1.1) in her semi final section of the 100m hurdles. The run came one day after running a lifetime best of 12.95 (+0.2) in the prelims, which ranks No. 3 on the all-time prep list.