Seven More T&F Collegians Join Team USA Ranks

NEW ORLEANS — When the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials – Track & Field entered the final weekend, 10 collegians had successfully navigated the "Road to Rio" and landed on Team USA.

By the end of the meet on Sunday, that number blossomed to 17.

QUICK LINKS: List of Collegians on Team USA

Seven collegians from 2016 nabbed spots on Team USA over the final three days at Hayward Field: Bradley Adkins, Devon Allen, Maggie Malone, Byron Robinson, Deajah Stevens, Lexi Weeks and Kendell Williams.

Allen and Malone got the party started last Saturday when they both became U.S. champions. The former scorched the field in the 110 hurdles, while the latter made quick work of her fellow javelin competitors.

To those who forgot how dominant Allen can be, he reminded them in successive championship meets at Hayward Field. Allen ran roughshod over his fellow NCAA hurdlers in early June and then posted the largest margin of victory in Trials history (0.18). His time in last Saturday’s final also left him as the second fastest hurdler in the world behind former Arkansas hurdler and current Jamaican standout Omar McLeod.

Malone won an NCAA title as well in early June and used that as fuel to propel herself to bigger things. She fouled on her first attempt, but her second throw landed at 60.07m (197-1) and left her squarely in first place. Since she already had the Olympic standard, she could relax and watch as the others tried to catch up. When the competition ended, she was the only thrower to eclipse the 60-meter barrier (she actually did it twice).

Weeks’ rise from blue-chip recruit to Olympian in less than a year might be unprecedented, but only to those who haven’t seen her compete. She rises to the occasion on the biggest stages (both NCAA meets) and did so again on Sunday. Weeks had a clean sheet through 4.65m (15-3) and one clearance of 4.70m (15-5) would send her through to Rio. She got over on her second attempt and will be joined on the team by Jenn Suhr and Sandi Morris.

A "down" senior year wasn’t enough to keep Adkins from realzing his Olympic dreams. Adkins finished ninth indoors and sixth outdoors, yet it was his mark of 2.29m (7-6) in the high jump at the Tyson Invitational that put him in position to be an Olympian come July. He weathered the elements in the qualifying rounds and then placed third in the final, which made up for his struggles during the NCAA season.

After proving herself to be "The Best Female Athlete in the NCAA" during the indoor and outdoor cycle (won both the pentathlon and heptathlon titles), Williams turned her attention to making yet another international team. A big first day left her in position to do so and her time of 2:15.31 in the climactic 800 for 888 points cemented her spot in Rio. Williams scored a total of 6402 points — the second most points tallied by a collegian outside the collegiate season — and will be joined by Barbara Nwaba and Heather Miller-Koch in Rio.

Big-race experience might have eluded Robinson this year (didn’t compete at NCAA Prelims or NCAAs), but that didn’t keep him from shining at Hayward Field. Robinson surged over the final few hurdles in the 400-meter hurdles to finish runner-up behind Kerron Clement. His time of 48.79 is a personal best, topping the old one of 49.39 ran at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in May.

Before Stevens stepped on the track, Oregon only had one current athlete on Team USA (Allen). Stevens changed that in a matter of 22.30 seconds. The sophomore finished a clear second behind Tori Bowie and ahead of both 2015 The Bowerman Award winner Jenna Prandini and Allyson Felix.