Photo by: Errol Anderson
Texas A&M's Shelbi Vaughan earns Olympic Trials discus silver to secure trip to Rio
Jul 02, 2016 | Track and Field
EUGENE – Texas A&M senior Shelbi Vaughan is bound for the Rio Olympics after placing second in the discus at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Saturday in front of 21,866 fans. This is the first Olympic team for Vaughan, who placed fourth in the Trials as a 17-year-old high school senior in 2012.
"Today was all about getting to the final three rounds first, and then making the team," said Vaughan. "That was my goal, to make the team no matter what place I finished. First would have been nice, second is great and third would have worked too. I'm on that team and it's really exciting.
"It's amazing. Even back in 2012, placing fourth as a 17-year-old was amazing. This is a little more amazing in making the Olympic team. I'm really excited to go to Rio and see what I can do there."
A throw of 197-9 (60.28) in the second round followed a foul on Vaughan's first attempt. She produced another pair of 190-foot throws amid the final three rounds with a 192-11 (58.80) in round fourth and a 190-6 (58.07) in the final stanza.
Vaughan came into the Olympic Trials following a sixth-place performance at the NCAA Championships where she was the two-time defending champion. A couple of adjustments during training for the Olympic Trials produced the desired result.
"After the NCAA meet I made a couple of changes to what I was doing and got my confidence back," noted Vaughan, who won NCAA titles in 2014 and 2015. "It helped coming back here to Hayward Field. I've been here so many times and love competing here. So, it just made so much easier.
"Actually, I felt really confident even after my foul in the first round. It felt really good, I just released it too early. Going into my next throw I was good and confident with it."
Joining Vaughan on the U.S. team for the Rio Olympics will be Whitney Ashley, the 2012 NCAA champion while at San Diego State, and Wisconsin's Kelsey Card, the 2016 NCAA champion. All three will be making their Olympic Games debut.
Ashley was the only thrower to produce marks over 200 feet as she won the event with a 204-2 (62.25). Ashley opened with a 201-4 (61.38), then improved to 203-3 (61.96) in the second round. Her best effort arrived in round five. Card opened with a 197-3 (60.13) and that served as her best throw to lock in third place, with just a two inch cushion over a 197-1 (60.07) from Liz Podominick.
In the 10,000m final Natosha Rogers produced a time of 33:21.95 to place 13th. She will race again in the Olympic Trials at 5,000 meters with the prelims being held on Thursday, July 7.
Sam Humphreys, the 2012 Olympic Trials champion, qualified for the finals of the javelin with the fourth-best effort from a throw of 247-3 (75.36). The javelin final will be held on Monday, July 4, starting at 6:25 p.m. (CT).
The leading javelin mark was 251-7 (76.69) by Riley Dolezal followed by a 250-2 (76.26) from Sean Furey. NCAA champion Curtis Thompson of Mississippi State had the third best toss at 249-10 (76.16).
Devin Bogert placed 17th in the javelin qualifying round with a mark of 221-9 (67.59) as the top 12 advanced to the final.
Jeneba Tarmoh ran 11.29 in the opening round of the women's 100m prelims, placing fifth in her heat, and just missed the cutoff to reach the semifinals on time, which was 11.26.
Pole vault qualifying resulted in no heights for a pair of Aggies as Chase Wolfle and Audie Wyatt missed three attempts each at the opening height of 17-8 ½ (5.40). There were a total of 10 vaulters who suffered a no-height in the qualifying round. In the long jump, Will Williams registered three fouls.
"Today was all about getting to the final three rounds first, and then making the team," said Vaughan. "That was my goal, to make the team no matter what place I finished. First would have been nice, second is great and third would have worked too. I'm on that team and it's really exciting.
"It's amazing. Even back in 2012, placing fourth as a 17-year-old was amazing. This is a little more amazing in making the Olympic team. I'm really excited to go to Rio and see what I can do there."
A throw of 197-9 (60.28) in the second round followed a foul on Vaughan's first attempt. She produced another pair of 190-foot throws amid the final three rounds with a 192-11 (58.80) in round fourth and a 190-6 (58.07) in the final stanza.
Vaughan came into the Olympic Trials following a sixth-place performance at the NCAA Championships where she was the two-time defending champion. A couple of adjustments during training for the Olympic Trials produced the desired result.
"After the NCAA meet I made a couple of changes to what I was doing and got my confidence back," noted Vaughan, who won NCAA titles in 2014 and 2015. "It helped coming back here to Hayward Field. I've been here so many times and love competing here. So, it just made so much easier.
"Actually, I felt really confident even after my foul in the first round. It felt really good, I just released it too early. Going into my next throw I was good and confident with it."
Joining Vaughan on the U.S. team for the Rio Olympics will be Whitney Ashley, the 2012 NCAA champion while at San Diego State, and Wisconsin's Kelsey Card, the 2016 NCAA champion. All three will be making their Olympic Games debut.
Ashley was the only thrower to produce marks over 200 feet as she won the event with a 204-2 (62.25). Ashley opened with a 201-4 (61.38), then improved to 203-3 (61.96) in the second round. Her best effort arrived in round five. Card opened with a 197-3 (60.13) and that served as her best throw to lock in third place, with just a two inch cushion over a 197-1 (60.07) from Liz Podominick.
In the 10,000m final Natosha Rogers produced a time of 33:21.95 to place 13th. She will race again in the Olympic Trials at 5,000 meters with the prelims being held on Thursday, July 7.
Sam Humphreys, the 2012 Olympic Trials champion, qualified for the finals of the javelin with the fourth-best effort from a throw of 247-3 (75.36). The javelin final will be held on Monday, July 4, starting at 6:25 p.m. (CT).
The leading javelin mark was 251-7 (76.69) by Riley Dolezal followed by a 250-2 (76.26) from Sean Furey. NCAA champion Curtis Thompson of Mississippi State had the third best toss at 249-10 (76.16).
Devin Bogert placed 17th in the javelin qualifying round with a mark of 221-9 (67.59) as the top 12 advanced to the final.
Jeneba Tarmoh ran 11.29 in the opening round of the women's 100m prelims, placing fifth in her heat, and just missed the cutoff to reach the semifinals on time, which was 11.26.
Pole vault qualifying resulted in no heights for a pair of Aggies as Chase Wolfle and Audie Wyatt missed three attempts each at the opening height of 17-8 ½ (5.40). There were a total of 10 vaulters who suffered a no-height in the qualifying round. In the long jump, Will Williams registered three fouls.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and FieldSEC Championships Preview: Pat Henry
Wednesday, February 25
NCAA West Preview: Pat Henry
Tuesday, May 27
Pluckers Playmakers: Episode 5
Wednesday, May 07
44 Farms Preview: Pat Henry
Thursday, April 10
