Two local world-class athletes prepare for competition at the USA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships and compete for spots on the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil. Since 1992, the national championships serve as the United States Olympic Trials for the sport of Track and Field.
Paige Blackburn, a graduate of Soldotna High School in 2008, a graduate of the Air Force Academy and a captain in the Air Force will compete in the Women’s Discus event at the national championships in Eugene, Oregon at Hayward Field. The discus event includes two-days of competition with the qualifying round scheduled for Friday, July 1st and the Women’s Discus finals scheduled for Saturday, July 2nd.
The qualifying round begins at 3:50 p.m. Alaska time on Friday with each competitor allotted three throws. The top-12 finalists begin Saturday’s round at 9:45 a.m. Alaska time with a clean slate. Each athlete is again allotted three throws; the top eight advance to the final’s round for another round of three throws. The best throw per competitor of the six throws will determine the national champion and the three Olympic qualifiers to represent the United States at the Rio Games.
Paige qualified to the USA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships with a personal-best throw of 200′ 8″ (61.16 Meters) which places Paige in 9th on the entry list of qualifiers.
Paige will be competing in her second Olympic trials having competed in 2012.
Paige, in her high school career, twice won both the shot put and discus events at the Alaska State Track and Field Championships with double victories in 2007 and 2008.
Allie Ostrander, a graduate of Kenai Central High School, current Boise State track champion, NCAA Division 1 runner-up in cross country running and Mountain West Indoor Women’s Track and Field Student-Athlete of the Year is qualified and scheduled to compete in the 5000M run at the national championships in Eugene, Oregon at Hayward Field. The 5000M Qualifying round is scheduled for Thursday, July 7th at 3:20 p.m. Alaska time. The 5000M Final is scheduled for Sunday, July 10th, the final day of competition at the track and field national championships. Race time is scheduled for 3:28 p.m.
Allie has posted the 12th fastest qualifying time of the declared entrants (as of June 27th). Allie ran a 15:21.85 at the University of Washington Invitational Indoor Meet. Allie did not compete in the outdoor season for Boise State.
Allie, in her high school career, twice won both the 1600M and 3200M events at the Alaska State Track and Field Championships and holds the state record in both distances. Allie also won the Alaska State Cross Country Running Championships three times 2013-15 and was named Gatorade Cross Country and Gatorade Track (two separate awards) a total of five times.
Michaela Hutchison, a graduate of Skyview High School and current college wrestling coach also qualified to an Olympic qualifying event in the spring of 2016. Michaela, in her second Olympic qualifier, advanced to the semi-finals in the 116.5 pound weight class in the Women’s Olympic Wrestling Trials in Iowa City, Iowa. A semi-final finish in 2016 marks the second semi-final performance for Michaela at an Olympic trial, she also qualified to the wrestling trials in 2012.
Michaela, in her high school career, earned an Alaska State Wrestling Championships gold medal in 2006 becoming the first female in the nation (and Alaska) to win a state championship in co-ed high school wrestling, winning the 112 pound division.
Media Coverage of USA Track & Field National Outdoor Championships
Link to USATF.TV coverage of Olympic Trials
NBC Trials Coverage
STAMFORD, Connecticut — NBC Olympics will present an unprecedented 76 hours of coverage of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials across NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra – including more than 60 hours of coverage in primetime – in the months leading up to the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
NBC Olympics will provide 16.5 hours of Trials coverage in the semifinals and finals of track and field events, including seven primetime telecasts, five on NBC. Coverage begins on Friday, July 1, at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, with the finals in men’s shot put and 10,000m. NBC’s coverage continues Saturday, July 2 at 2 p.m. ET, with the finals in women’s 10,000m, long jump, and discus, and continues on NBCSN at 5 p.m. ET with coverage of the decathlon.
NBC’s coverage on Sunday, July 3, at 7 p.m. ET features the finals in men’s and women’s 100m and 400m, men’s long jump, and women’s high jump. The action shifts to NBCSN on Monday, July 4, at 7 p.m. ET with the finals in men’s and women’s 800m, as well as the men’s pole vault and javelin. NBCSN’s presentation on Thursday, July 7, at 8 p.m. ET includes the finals in women’s steeplechase, shot put, and triple jump.
NBCSN’s Trials coverage on Friday, July 8, begins at 6 p.m. ET, showcasing the semifinals of men’s 1500m, women’s 100m hurdles, and men’s and women’s 400m hurdles, and continues on NBC at 8 p.m. ET with the finals of women’s 100m hurdles, and men’s discus & steeplechase. NBC’s coverage on Saturday, July 9, at 8 p.m. ET includes the finals in men’s 110m hurdles, 200m, 5000m, triple jump, and women’s javelin. Sunday’s coverage will highlight the finals in the men’s and women’s 1500m, men’s and women’s 400m hurdles, women’s 200m, and men’s high jump.
| Date | Coverage | Network | Time (ET) |
| Fri., 7/1 | Men’s Shot Put & 10,000m Finals | NBC | 9 p.m. |
| Sat., 7/2 | Women’s 10,000m, Long Jump & Discus Finals | NBC | 2 p.m. |
| Decathlon | NBCSN | 5 p.m. | |
| Sun., 7/3 | Men’s & Women’s 100m & 400m Finals* | NBC | 7 p.m. |
| Mon., 7/4 | Men’s & Women’s 800m, Men’s Pole Vault & Javelin | NBCSN | 7 p.m. |
| Thur., 7/7 | Women’s Steeplechase, Shot Put & Triple Jump | NBCSN | 8 p.m. |
| Fri., 7/8 | Men’s 1500m, Women’s 100m Hurdles, & Men’s & Women’s
400m Hurdles Semifinals |
NBCSN | 6 p.m. |
| Women’s 100m Hurdles, Men’s Discus & Steeplechase Finals | NBC | 8 p.m. | |
| Sat., 7/9 | Men’s 110m Hurdles, 200m, 5000m, Triple Jump* | NBC | 8 p.m. |
| Sun., 7/10 | Men’s & Women’s 1500m & Women’s 200m
Men’s & Women’s 400m Hurdles & Men’s High Jump* |
NBC | 7 p.m. |
*coverage may include additional events