CEDARVILLE — Two-time NCAA Division II 800 meter champion Carsyn Koch has declared entry in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials scheduled for July 1-10 in Eugene, Ore.
The Washburn, Maine product will run in the women’s 800-meter preliminaries on July 1 with competition beginning at 7:45 p.m. EDT.
The semifinals are slated for July 2 at 2:43 p.m. EDT with the finals on July 4 at 8:51 p.m.
Koch met the Trials qualifying mark with a 2:02.39 effort on May 1 in the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University, in Palo Alto, Calif. It’s the fastest outdoor women’s 800 time in NCAA Division II history.
The qualifying time for the Trials was 2:03 and under. Anyone with a time of 2:01.50 automatically qualifies to the Olympics.
The sophomore standout went on to win the Division II Outdoor title in Bradenton, Fla. on May 28 in 2:03.48.
She was the DII Indoor champion with a winning performance of 2:05.12 in March.
Koch isn’t the first Lady Jacket to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
That distinction belongs to 1986 graduate Jane (Romig) Brooker, who participated three times – 1988 in Indianapolis (800/1,500); 1992 in New Orleans (800/1,500); and 1996 in Atlanta (800).
According to Runners World.com, six runners in the field have run times under two minutes within the past year. Philadelphia’s Ajee’ Wilson leads the field with a time of 1:57.87 set last season, but none of the Trials entrants has eclipsed the 2-minute mark during the 2016 outdoor track & field season.
Jearl Miles-Clark holds the American record in the 800 with a time of 1:56.40, set in 1999.
Czechoslovakian runner Jarmila Kratochvilova set the world mark of 1:53.28 in 1983.
