KEVIN JENISON

GoSycamores.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Two current Sycamore athletes and three Indiana State alumni are expected to compete for a spot of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field team. Current Sycamores Felisha Johnson and Major Clay have been entered for the U.S. Olympic Trials as have former Indiana State athletes Jordan Fife, Kylie Hutson, and Erica Moore.

The U.S. Olympic Track & Field trails will be held in Eugene, Ore., June 21 through July 1. The field of Olympic hopefuls consists of those who surpass the “A” standard or automatic qualifying mark for their respective events along with those who surpass the “B” standard or provisional qualifying mark until the field size is reached.

Johnson, a junior at Indiana State, surpassed the provisional qualifying mark in the women's shot put of 53-feet-9 ¾-inches (16.40 meters) for the Olympic Trials with a school record heave of 56-feet-11¼-inches (17.35 meters) in placing fifth at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Johnson currently ranks 16th on the USA Track & Field performance list which includes professionals and amateurs and marks from both the indoor and outdoor seasons. There will be 24 competitors invited to compete for a roster spot.

Clay, who completed his eligibility at Indiana State this past season, is a provisional qualifier in the men's high jump with a school record indoor leap of 7-feet-5-inches (2.26 meters) that he accomplished at the EIU Friday Night Special in February. That height currently ranks fourth on the USA Track & Field performance list and is just shy of the “A” standard of 7-feet-5¾-inches (2.28 meters). There will be 24 competitors invited to compete for a roster spot.

Clay suffered an injury in winning his third straight MVC indoor championship but recovered in time to win his fourth straight MVC outdoor title. He was able to compete in the NCAA East but did not advance to the NCAA Finals for the first time in his four-year Indiana State career.

Fife competed at Indiana State from 2004 through 2007 and currently competes for Brooks Indiana. He is a provisional qualifier in the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 8:33.89 which he ran at Palo Alto, Calif., in April. The time ranks him 10th on the USA Track & Field performance list and is just shy of the “A” standard of 8:32.00 which would have automatically qualified him for the Olympic Trials. There will be 24 competitors invited to compete for a roster spot.

Hutson competed at Indiana State from 2007 through 2010 and now competes for Nike. She won the 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field championship in the women's pole vault by clearing 15-feet-3-inches (4.65 meters). Her best vault of the 2012 indoor season came at the USATF Indoor championships at 14-feet-10-inches (4.52 meters) which surpassed the “A” standard of 14-feet-9-inches (4.50 meters) to automatically qualify her for the Olympic Trials.

Her best outdoor vault of the 2012 season came at the Adidas Grand Prix held recently in New York at 14-feet-5¼-inches (4.40 meters). She currently ranks fifth on the USA Track & Field performance list. There will be 24 competitors invited to compete for a roster spot.

Moore competed at Indiana State from 2007 through 2010 and now competes for Nike. She ran to a third place finish in the 800 meters at the IAAF World Indoor Championships with a personal best 1:59.97 and ran a personal best outdoors of 2:00.72 at the Adidas Grand Prix.

Both times surpass the “A” standard of 2:01.30 and automatically qualifies her for the Olympic Trials. She currently ranks fifth on the USA Track & Field performance list. There will be 32 competitors invited to compete for a roster spot.

Another current member of the Sycamore team, Greggmar Swift, will be competing for a spot on the Barbados Olympic Team later this month in the 110 meter hurdles. Swift ran an outdoor season best of 13.55 at the NCAA East preliminary round which ranks him third among Barbados hurdlers.

The official list of competitors for the USA Olympic Track & Field Trials will be released next week.

USA Track & Field Olympic Team Trials: http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/OlympicTrials-TF/\