Merckle to Compete at U.S. Olympic Trials
7/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
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By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeTrack)
EUGENE, Ore. – Jessie Merckle, a 2016 Wake Forest women's track and field senior, will compete in the women's javelin throw at the United States Olympic Trials at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
Merckle will participate in the qualifying round on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET and will look to finish in the top 12 to earn a spot in the finals on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The top three finishers in the event finals will earn a trip to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.
"I'm super excited and feel very fortunate to be at the Olympic Trials this week," Merckle said. "The chance to compete with the best throwers in the country has been a longtime goal of ours. Coach Sion and I are both proud to be a part of such an amazing opportunity."
Merckle recently graduated from Wake Forest after winning three ACC javelin titles and earning All-America status three times. The Hickory, Pa. native set a personal record and school record at the High Point VertKlasse Meeting this past season with a throw of 56.91m. The qualifying standard for the U.S. Olympic Trials was 54.00m.
"I am very excited to be back in Eugene for the Olympic Trials," said Demon Deacon assistant coach Zeb Sion. "Wake Forest athletes and specifically great throwers like Andy Bloom and Ben Lincoln have competed very well at this meet. This is the perfect meet to end Jessie's collegiate career."
At the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in June, Merckle came in 10th place after a senior season that included three event wins and a pair of runner-up finishes.
"Jessie has worked incredibly hard and made great decisions throughout her time as a collegiate student-athlete," Sion added. "While she is definitely gifted in terms of athleticism and coachability, her dedication and work ethic are second to none. I am very proud to be her coach and can't wait to see her sassy, competitive self compete this week."
Joining Merckle in Track Town will be third-year Demon Deacon volunteer assistant coach Donnie Cowart, who qualified for the men's 3,000m steeplechase final. The 2009 VMI graduate will look to punch his ticket to Rio on Friday at 8:23 p.m. ET.
NBC will air more than 30 hours of track and field coverage on NBC, NBC Sports Network or the NBC Sports Live Extra stream. The women's javelin and men's steeplechase finals will both be streamed. Live results will be provided through flashresults.com.
Players Mentioned
