EUGENE, Ore. -- The 2012 U.S. track and field Olympic trials resumed Thursday in a big way for Arizona State alumnus Kyle Alcorn, who earned his first-ever Olympic bid with a third-place run in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Alcorn, who now competes for Nike, clocked an Olympic "A" standard time of 8:22.17 at Hayward Field in the final of the men's steeplechase to take the final spot in London behind Nike teammates Evan Jager and Don Cabral. Alcorn will be ASU's first-ever Olympian in the steeplechase.
Alcorn was a two-time NCAA champion -- once in the indoor 3,000 meters and once in the outdoor steeplechase -- and continues to train with Arizona State cross country coach Louie Quintana.
Alcorn's exceptional finish was part of an eventful day for the ASU track and field program in Eugene.
In the men's triple jump preliminaries, senior Chris Benard kept his senior season alive for another day by finishing sixth overall with a best leap of 16.46m (54-00.00) to advance to Saturday's final. Benard, the ASU school record holder in the indoor and outdoor triple jump, is one of several Americans bunched tightly together in the battle for the third and final qualifying spot behind Christian Taylor and Will Claye, who finished first and second, respectively, in the prelim round.
Alumnus Latosha Wallace ran the ninth-fastest time of the prelim round of the women's 400-meter hurdles in a time of 56.53 to advance to the semifinals in the event. Wallace holds the school's third-fastest time in the event and was a fourth-place finisher at the 2007 NCAA championships.
In the women's shot put, ASU great Sarah Stevens-Walker cruised into the finals by launching her first throw of the day 18.31m (60-01.00), the third-best distance of the round. Stevens-Walker, a 15-time All-American at ASU, passed on her final two attempts and will vie for a Olympic bid in Friday's final.
In the women's 200 meters, alumnus and school record holder Charonda Williams ran the seventh-fastest time of the opening round to advance to the semifinals. Williams, who now competes for Adidas, ran a 22.89 to advance.
With Alcorn's berth, the ASU track and field program now has 10 athletes qualified for the London Games.
