EUGENE, Ore. – Sean McGorty advanced to the men's 5,000-meter final at the U.S. Olympic Trials, but Stanford teammate Grant Fisher missed by less than two seconds in their first-round heat Monday at Hayward Field.
McGorty was the final time qualifier for the 16-runner field, running 13:52.16, to finish just behind former Stanford star Garrett Heath (13:50.63). McGorty placed ninth in the first heat, with Fisher 10th in 13:53.27. Fisher was 18th overall among the two heats and former Stanford great Chris Derrick also was unable to qualify, running 14:01.51.
McGorty, the recent NCAA outdoor runner-up in his sophomore year of eligibility, and Heath race the 5,000 final on Saturday at 5:20 p.m. Each has achieved the Olympic standard and therefore would earn passage to Rio by finishing among the top three.
Their semifinal heat was relatively slow, with McGorty and Fisher part of the main pack that didn't begin to separate until the final lap. Fisher started to fall back when the pace quickened with 400 left, and McGorty held strong until 250 remained, but was able to hang tough down the stretch to gain the final spot.
Derrick led the second heat until two laps remained, but was swallowed by the pack and quickly lost contact.
Among those McGorty and Heath will contend with Saturday are Galen Rupp, Bernard Lagat, Ryan Hill, Lopez Lomong, Hassan Mead, and Ben True. University of Portland's William Kincaid, the first heat winner, is the only other collegian in the final.
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Williams recalls pole vault
A day after a no-height in the pole vault marred an otherwise strong decathlon to that point, Stanford sophomore Harrison Williams explained what happened at the Trials on his opening height of 15-7.
"I blew through my first attempt, then came down on the bar on the second," Williams said. "Then, on the third, I ran myself under and almost missed the pit.
"I think, overall, the meet was a great learning experience. I can't say what the no-height taught me, but I'm sure once I review the meet a bit more and everything sinks in, I'll be able to learn a lot."
Williams confirmed that he expects to compete at the Thorpe Cup, a U.S.-Germany decathlon duel, as a coach's selection. The competition will be July 29-30 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
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U.S. Olympic Trials
At Hayward Field
Men
5,000 semifinals – 15 (overall), Garrett Heath '08 (Brooks Beasts TC) 13:50.63 (advanced to final); 16, Sean McGorty (Stanford) 13:52.16 (advanced to final); 18, Grant Fisher (Stanford) 13:53.27 (did not advance); 23, Chris Derrick '12 (Bowerman TC) 14:01.51 (did not advance).
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Stanford Schedule
Thursday
11 a.m. – Women's shot put qualifying (Jillian Camarena-Williams '04).
3:30 p.m. – Women's javelin qualifying (Mackenzie Little).
4:20 p.m. – Women's 5,000 first round (Sara Hall '05, Jessica Tonn '14).
5:58 p.m. – Women's 400 hurdles first round (Kori Carter '14).
6:15 p.m. – Women's shot put final.
6:26 p.m. – Women's 1,500 first round (Elise Cranny, Christina Aragon '20).
Friday
4:31 p.m. – Women's 400 hurdles semifinals.
5:03 p.m. – Women's 1,500 semifinals.
Saturday
4 p.m. – Women's javelin final.
5:20 p.m. – Men's 5,000 final (Sean McGorty, Garrett Heath '08).
Sunday
4:03 p.m. – Women's 400 hurdles final.
4:28 p.m. – Women's 5,000 final.
5 p.m. – Women's 1,500 final.