Schedule of Events | Status of Entries
 
Grand Valley State's track & field program has three former athletes that will attempt to qualify for this summer's Olympic games at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials starting on Monday (July 4). Betsy Graney (3,000m steeplechase), Kristen Hixson (pole vault), and Darien Thornton (hammer throw) will compete next week (July 4-10) at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Ore., looking to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
 
Graney, Hixson, and Thornton - who all captured Division II National Championships during their GVSU careers - qualified for the Olympic Team Trials and have a tremendous opportunity to earn a spot on the United States Olympic team in their respective events. The 2016 Olympic Games run from August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
 
Here is the complete schedule for the Grand Valley State trio competing next week in Eugene, Ore.
 
Monday, July 4th
4:03 p.m. PDT (7:03 p.m. ET):
Graney - 3,000m steeplechase (First round)
 
Wednesday, July 6th
5:00 p.m. PDT (8:00 p.m. ET):
Thornton - Hammer throw (Qualifying)
7:00 p.m. PDT (10:00 p.m. ET):
Thornton - Hammer throw (Final)
 
Thursday, July 7th
7:48 p.m. PDT (10:48 p.m. ET):
Graney - 3,000m steeplechase (Final)
 
Friday, July 8th
3:00 p.m. PDT (6:00 p.m. ET):
Hixson - Pole vault (Qualifying)
 
Sunday, July 10th
2:30 p.m. PDT (5:30 p.m. ET):
Hixson - Pole vault (Final)
 
Graney is a four-time USTFCCCA All-American, won the steeplechase outdoor national championship in 2012 and was a part of the indoor distance medley relay national championship team, also in 2012. She is the first Laker to compete in Oregon next week, as her opening round of qualifying is on Monday afternoon. She qualified for the team trials with a time of 9:51.86 and enters the event ranked 32nd in the country. If Graney reaches the finals, she would race again on Thursday night.
 
Thornton, a nine-time All-American and the most recent individual national champion at GVSU, enters the hammer throw competition ranked eighth in the field of 24 competitors. His qualifying throw of 73.26m came in mid-June at the Ashland University 'Summer Series' and was the sixth-longest throw in the United States this year. Thornton won the outdoor national championship in the hammer throw in late-May to cap off his stellar Laker career. He will compete at historic Hayward Field next week, with both the qualifying and final rounds taking place on Wednesday night.
 
Hixson takes a seventh-place ranking into Friday afternoon's qualifying round, as the seven-time All-American aims to reach Sunday afternoon's finals. She earned a trip to the team trials with a vault of 4.65m. Hixson is a three-time national champion, as the former GVSU vaulter won both the 2012 indoor and outdoor national titles before finishing her career by winning the national championship on Grand Valley State's campus at the 2014 outdoor competition held in Allendale.
 
To follow Graney, Thornton, and Hixson, fans can click on the links at the top of this page or visit usatf.org.