Werner advances to 5,000m final, Hiltz 1,500m semifinal at Olympic Trials

EUGENE, Ore. – A pair of Arkansas alums advanced past the opening round of their respective events on the first day of the U.S. Olympic Trials held at Hayward Field Friday. Taylor Werner advanced to the final of the 5,000 meters while Nikki Hiltz qualified for the 1,500m semifinal.

A total of six athletes with ties to the Razorback program competed on Friday. On Saturday, two more UA alums – Taliyah Brooks and Payton Chadwick – raced in the first round of the 100m hurdles.

Hiltz and Krissy Gear ran in the same 1,500m heat. Hiltz posted a time of 4:11.42 to earn an automatic qualifier for the semifinal, which was also ran on Saturday.

It was the second-best

Sullins improved to 234-0 and into eighth place overall. A third-round attempt was released early by Sullins and resulted in a foul.

Sullins, who qualified for the Olympic Trials with a career best of 236-6 (72.10) from earlier this season, will compete in the finals on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. (PT) [6:25 p.m. CT].

Four throwers who have already bettered the Olympic Games standard (254-3 | 77.50) advanced to the final, including the top three throwers in the qualifying round – Rudy Winkler (259-7 | 79.13), Daniel Haugh (2540 | 77.43), and Alex Young (252-11 | 77.09). The other thrower with the Olympic Games standard is Conor Mccullough, who placed seventh (236-7 | 72.11).

Action for the Razorbacks on Saturday of the Olympic Trials included Markus Ballengee in the decathlon, as well as Andrew Irwin in the pole vault qualifying.

It was the second Olympic Trials appearance for Irwin, who competed in the 2012 Trials, also held in Eugene.

Meanwhile, Ballengee will be the fifth Razorback to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials decathlon, dating back to 1924. Arkansas has been represented in the decathlon by Herman Bagby (5th in 1924), Charles Baker (7th in 1948), Dean Pryor (8th in 1952), and Kevin Lazas (8th in 2012).