Ferlic, Forys on to Steeplechase Final at Olympic Trials
7/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
July 4, 2016
» Ferlic was second in his heat to the current American record holder, Evan Jager, while Forys also claimed an automatic spot in the final placing fifth in his heat.
» The final will be a 14-man field and the race will be run on Friday (July 8) at 5:23 p.m. PDT, where a top-three finish will send athletes to Rio for the 2016 Olympics.
EUGENE, Ore. -- Reigning NCAA champion Mason Ferlic (2012-16) and Craig Forys (2008-12), formerly of the University of Michigan men's track and field team, competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase preliminary round of the U.S. Olympic Trials on Monday (July 4), running at historic Hayward Field. Both athletes advanced to Friday's 14-man final; the top three finishers will qualify to represent Team USA in Rio later this summer.
The steeplechase was broken into two heats, with the top five automatically advancing from each heat and the next four fastest times also moving on. On the track where he won a national championship nearly one month ago, Ferlic ran in the same heat as American record-holder Evan Jager (8:00.45), who is seeking his fourth U.S. title (2012, '13, '15).
Forys ran in the first heat and moved comfortably with the leaders throughout. Over the final straightaway he checked behind his shoulder and knew he had a top-five finish in the heat locked up. That fifth-place time of 8:30.42 ensured his place in Friday's final.
In the second heat, Ferlic closed with 2:08 over the final 800 meters to finish second to Jager, who won the heat in 8:33.73. Ferlic jumped into the top three off the gun and sat on the outside shoulder of Michael Jordan, the early leader. Ferlic took the lead on the second lap for a short while and held it with six laps remaining before he shifted back a few places, never letting the leaders get more than a few paces in front of him.
After 69- and 70-second laps through the first half of the race, Ferlic laid the final two laps down at 64 and 63 seconds to earn his spot in Friday's final. He was fourth headed into the bell lap near the 7:30 mark, and not long after when Jager finally made his separation, a group of three followed with Ferlic included. Two athletes succumbed to falls on the final lap, including an athlete in fifth place while Ferlic was fourth, but Ferlic closed especially strong after the final water pit and edged out Army's Hillary Bor (8:34.48) by .03 seconds to finish second to the American record-holder.
The Olympic Trials are off Tuesday (July 5) for a day of rest, but competition continues on Wednesday (July 6) until July 10, with another two male athletes with Michigan ties competing in the coming week. Rising sophomore Taylor McLaughlin will compete in the 400-meter hurdles and alum Jeff Porter (2004-07) will run the 110-meter hurdles. In Porter's 110-meter hurdle qualifying, semifinals are scheduled for 3:02 p.m. PDT on Friday (July 8) with finals one day later at 5:52 p.m. PDT, and the 400-meter hurdles feature an opening round on Thursday (July 7) at 6:53 p.m. PDT, a semifinal round Friday (July 8) at 4:47 p.m. PDT, and a final round Sunday (July 10) at 4:51 p.m. PDT.
.@masonferlic leading the second heat of the steeplechase prelim!
Streaming: https://t.co/CfGDMZ4Abe pic.twitter.com/eRbXB6VP3R-- Michigan Track&Field (@UMichTrack) July 4, 2016
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
