July 1, 2008

EUGENE, Ore. - Alice Schmidt became the third Tar Heel to punch her ticket for the 29th Olympiad on Monday in Eugene, Ore. when she finished second in the 800-meter run to earn her first career Olympic bid. Schmidt battled Hazel Clark throughout the race as the duo pulled away from the other finalists to claim the top two spots in the final. Several other Tar Heels were in action Monday night.

Schmidt was a two-time national champion in the 800 during her time at North Carolina and had been ranked in the top three for the past two years leading up to this week's Olympic Trials. She lived up to the billing on Monday as she ran a 2:00.46 to earn a spot in her first Olympic Games. Schmidt now joins Friday's 10K winner Shalane Flanagan and marathon qualifier Blake Russell as former Tar Heels headed to Beijing in August.

"My last Olympic Trials, I didn't make the final, but since graduating college I have been in the top three for other world championship teams. I kind of know what is expected of me. Obviously, the Olympic year is another big media frenzy. I am looking forward to representing the United State and having this experience under my belt and hopefully having some more teams in the future," Schmidt said following the race.

Shalane Flanagan completed the first step towards her double Monday night as she cruised to victory in the first semifinal in 15:35.86 to advance to Friday's final. Flanagan moved to the front of the pack right away in Monday's semifinal and ran an impressive race just 72 hours after battling for the 10K championship.

"It's going to take a lot faster than that in Beijing, but my plan was to go out there and get my rhythm back and not get tripped up. I wanted to qualify and didn't take anything for granted, because a number one seed time doesn't mean anything," Flanagan said.

Another Tar Heel will be moving on to a final, as Sheena Gordon cleared 5-10 1/2 in the high jump in the first round to qualify as one of the 14 qualifiers for the final on Friday. Gordon cleared the height in her first attempt but was unable to get over the next height of 5-11 1/2 but due to her clearance on her first jump she will move on to the final. Two-time Olympian Tisha Waller was scheduled to compete in the high jump as well but was a late scratch.

Monique Hennagan's bid for her third consecutive Olympic Games fell short on Monday as she was unable to qualify for the final in the 400-meter dash. Hennagan clocked a 51.99 which placed her fifth in her heat a half second shy of the top four that move on to the final.

Nick Owens placed 15th in the hammer throw with a top toss of 219-8 on his third and final attempt. Owens consistently improved upon his throws Monday night as he moved from 65.58m to 66.12m to his final throw of 66.95m. The mark of 219-8 fell four feet shy of moving on as the top 12 results move on to the final.

The athletes will have two days off before returning to action on Thursday where a trio of Tar Heels will be competing for the first time at this year's Olympic Trials. Current Tar Heel and seven-time All-America Brie Felnagle will compete in the quarterfinal round of the 1500-meter run along with former Tar Heel Erin Donohue. Also in action will be a former national champion Adam Shunk who will advance out of the qualifying round in the high jump.

Television coverage of Thursday's track and field action will be broadcast on USA from 11 p.m. until 1 a.m. (ET).