Morris, Campbell advance to Olympic Trials pole vault final
EUGENE, Ore. – Action resumed Thursday at the U.S. Olympic Trials with five Razorbacks in action at Hayward Field and a pair, Sandi Morris and Nastassja Campbell, advanced to the finals in the women’s pole vault.
The qualifying round in the women’s pole vault included Arkansas alum Morris, along with a pair of current Razorbacks in Campbell and Lauren Martinez, and Megan Clark, who trains in Fayetteville with Morris.
A height of 14-9 (4.50) determined the top 12 advancing to Saturday’s final. Making that height with no misses were Morris and Campbell while Clark needed two attempts.
Campbell, the lone collegian out of six entered to advance, was clean with first attempt makes on the three bars she attempted while Morris only attempted the final height of 14-9.
“With any prelim you gotta come out and execute,” said Morris. “For me, it was one jump and done. There were a lot of nerves. Came in and did my jump and one was it all it took.
“It gave me a chance to jump at the venue for the first time and get a feel for the temp and the wind. It was a good practice for Saturday. I train in Arkansas. I like to train in the heat of the day. It’s been good and it feels really similar to what I’ve been training in. I feel right at home to be honest.”
An opening height of 14-1 ¼ (4.30) eliminated six vaulters, including Martinez.
Jada Baylark competed in a second event at the U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing fifth in the opening heat of the 200m during first round action. Baylark posted a time of 23.11 (1.7 wind) to place 18th overall. With 16 advancing to the semifinal, 22.97 was the last time qualifier.
Nikki Hiltz also had a second event in the Trials after reaching the final of the 1,500m. In the first round of the 800m, Hiltz finished fourth in the second of five heats at 2:01.42.
In placing 17th overall, Hiltz just missed advancing on time with 16 advancing to the semifinal. The final time qualifier was 2:01.31 while there was an automatic qualifier who matched Hiltz’s time from another heat.
The next group of Razorback women competing in Eugene will be on Saturday. Arkansas freshman Taylor Ewert competes in the 20km walk, which will now start at 7 a.m. PT (9 a.m. CT). Taliyah Brooks starts the heptathlon at 1:15 p.m. PT (3:15 p.m. CT) while the pole vault final begins at 5:40 p.m. PT (7:40 p.m. CT).