EUGENE, Ore. — Indianapolis runners Cole Hocker and Lynna Irby-Jackson climbed closer Saturday night to making their second Olympic team.
They won their respective semifinals in the 1,500 meters and 400 meters in track and field’s U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
(NOTE: The video above is from a previous report on Indianapolis already pushing to host the 2028 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials.)
At Tokyo 2021, Hocker finished sixth in the 1,500, and Irby-Jackson won gold and bronze medals from relays.
Irby-Jackson runs in the final Sunday night, and Hocker's race is on Monday night. Because so many runners from the 400 will be selected for relays at the Paris Olympics, Irby-Jackson might need only to finish in the top six. Three will run the individual 400.
Hocker slipped through an opening along the rail of the home stretch and sprinted to victory in the first semifinal, clocking 3:37.89.
Hocker won Friday’s first round in 3:34.54, close to the trials record of 3:34.09 set by Matthew Centrowitz in 2016. Then, in Saturday's second semifinal, Notre Dame graduate Yared Nuguse tied Centrowitz’s record. Twenty-one-year-old Hobbs Kessler was second in 3:34.16.
“I thought maybe I was dumb to go that fast in the first round,” Hocker said, a Cathedral High School graduate. “Today was reassuring because I felt I didn’t even race yesterday. I feel more confident walking away today than I did yesterday.”
Irby-Jackson, a 12-time state champion at Pike High School, won her semifinal in 50.17. It was her second-fastest since 2018 – when she won an NCAA title in 49.80 as a Georgia freshman – and ranked fifth overall.
NCAA runner-up Kaylyn Brown, 19, an Arkansas freshman, was the fastest qualifier in 49.71. Kendall Ellis, from the same semi, clocked 49.81, bettering her best time from 2018.
Tonja Buford-Bailey, who coaches Irby-Jackson in Texas, said improved running technique and posture have allowed the sprinter to thrive.
In semifinals of the 100 meters, Texas A&M’s Semira Killebrew, who set a state record while at Brebeuf Jesuit, was 20th out of 27 in 11.31.
In the high jump, Charity Hufnagel, a 2023 NCAA champion for Ball State, was one of five women to clear 6 feet without a miss. She advanced to Monday’s final.
Rose-Hulman graduate Liz Evans jumped 5-10 and ended up 13th in a jump-off, one spot from the final. She finished fifth at the 2021 trials.
Zionsville’s Katie Isenbarger, a former Western Kentucky volleyball player who came here ranked fifth, cleared 5-8 before missing three times at 5-10.
Contact WTHR correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.