EUGENE, Ore. ? Former Jacobs High star Evan Jager is a newcomer to the 3,000-meter steeplechase, but he's showing everyone how it's done ? and will get another chance to display his skills at the London Olympics.
His blond hair bobbing and his tongue sticking out in celebration as he neared the finish, Jager won the Olympic trials final in 8 minutes, 17.10 seconds Thursday before a Hayward Field record crowd of 22,602.
"I was in the lead with 500 (meters) to go and pushed it from there," Jager said. "I saw I had it and had pure elation on my face and I knew I was going to London."
Jager, who competed in the 5,000 at the world championships in Berlin in 2009, was running the steeplechase for only the fourth time, but he performed like a veteran. He moved into third with about a mile to go, then to second before taking the lead exiting the water jump with just more than a lap to go and holding off Donn Cabral (8:19.81) and Kyle Alcorn (8:22.17).
In the field: Millikin graduate Lance Brooks waited until his sixth and final attempt in the men's discus to unleash a personal-best throw of 213 feet, 9 inches, winning the event by nearly 6 feet and reaching the "A" standard to earn a spot in London.
"I knew I had to calm down," said Brooks, who fouled on his fourth and fifth throws. "I just kind of took a minute to relax and not tense up. ? I knew it was possible."
Southern Illinois' Jeneva McCall ranked fifth in the preliminary round of the women's shot put with a toss of 57-93/4 and advanced to Friday's final.
Fantastic finishes: Galen Rupp, who won the 10,000 meters on Friday in a meet-record 27:25.33, added the 5,000-meter title, running 52.54 seconds on the final lap to edge Bernard Lagat (13:22.67 to 13:22.82). Lopez Lomong was third in 13:24.47. Rupp broke Steve Prefontaine's trials record of 13:22.8 set in 1972. Rupp plans to run both events in London. Kim Conley earned the final women's 5,000 spot with a strong kick, edging Julia Lucas by 0.04 seconds and hitting the "A" standard by less than a second at 15:19.79. Julie Culley (15:13.77) and Molly Huddle (15:14.40) went 1-2.
On the mats: Arlington Heights' David Sender, 14th out of the 15 men who advanced into the two-day gymnastics trials, fell off the parallel bars in his first event Thursday. Paul Ruggeri, a University of Illinois graduate, is seventh overall, while current Illini C.J. Maestas is 10th overall going into Saturday's final round.
Diane Pucin contributed.
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