July 10, 2016
EUGENE, Ore. -
San Diego State alumnae Kristen Brown and Allison Reaser wrapped up a successful U.S. Olympic Trials for former Aztecs Sunday in Eugene, Ore. Brown finished eighth in the pole vault final, while Reaser came in 11th in the heptathlon.
Brown, a seven-time Mountain West track and field champion while with SDSU from 2013-15, cleared 14 feet, 9 inches (4.50m) on her first attempt after missing on her first two tries at the opening height of 14-05.25 (4.40m) and clearing it on the third vault. Brown, however, was unable to clear 15-01.00 (4.60m) and finished in eighth place in her first-ever U.S. outdoor championship meet.
Reaser, meanwhile, moved up three places on the final day of the seven-event heptathlon to finish in 11th with 5,865 points. Competing in her fifth consecutive U.S. outdoor championship meet (sixth straight including a U.S. Junior Championship appearance in 2011), Reaser started the final day with an eighth-place showing in the long jump with a leap of 19-09.75 (6.04m) for 862 points. Next up was the javelin throw, where she came in 15th with a heave of 126-04 (38.51m) for 639 points. Reaser finished the grueling event with the fourth-fastest 800-meter run in 2 minutes, 13.07 seconds for 920 additional points.
Last weekend former San Diego State athletes Whitney Ashley (discus throw at U.S. Olympic Trials) and Shanieka Thomas (triple jump at Jamaican Senior National Championships) each qualified for the Rio Olympics. Current Aztec sophomore Ashley Henderson also finished 20th in the 200.
U.S. Olympic Trials
Hayward Field - Eugene, Ore.
July 1-10, 2016
Individual Results
Pole Vault (final) (out of 12 entrants)
1. Jenn Suhr (adidas) - 15-09.00 (4.80m)
8. Kristen Brown (Nike) - 14-09.00 (4.50m)
Heptathlon (after 7 of 7 events) (out of 21 entrants)
1. Barbara Nwaba (ABEO / Santa Barbara TC) - 6,494
11. Allison Reaser (Arete Elite TC) - 5,865