Eugene, Ore. ? Kansas University freshman Michael Stigler claimed a spot in the final of the 400-meter hurdles while junior Andrea Geubelle moved into the final of the long jump Friday at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field. Both will compete for spots on Team USA in their event finals Sunday.
Stigler’s time of 49.50 was good for third place in his heat, with the top four in each heat advancing to the final. It was the second-fastest of his career and the sixth-fastest of the final qualifiers.
Stigler will look to claim a top-three finish and a spot on Team USA for the 2012 Olympics as he runs in the event final at 6:12 p.m., Sunday.
Just four days after claiming national bronze in the triple jump, Geubelle looked to advance to the final in the long jump. The University Place, Wash., native was the 14th-ranked American entering the day.
Geubelle started the day with a leap of 21-3.5, which put her in the lead for a short time. She was unable to improve upon her mark on the next two jumps, but her first-attempt leap was long enough to keep her in the top 12 through the remainder of the competition.
Geubelle finished 10th among the 12 qualifiers and will compete at 5 p.m. Sunday in the long jump final. She will need to hit the Olympic A-standard of 22-1.75 in order to put herself in contention for a spot on the Olympic team.
Senior Rebeka Stowe closed out the evening in the final of the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The All-American fell to the back of the pack at the start of the race but fought back in the final 1,000 meters to finish 13th overall. Stowe crossed the finish line in 10:02.82, her fourth-fastest time of the season.
Juniors Heather Bergmann and Paris Daniels were unable to advance to finals in their respective events earlier in the afternoon. Bergmann finished eighth in the first of two javelin qualifying flights, hitting a mark of 47.05m (155-4 ft.) on her final attempt. However, after completion of the second flight, she was unable to remain in the top-12, ending her week in Eugene. Daniels finished seventh in her semifinal heat of the 200 meters, running 23.36 and finishing 19th overall.
None of the Jayhawks will be in action today.