EUGENE, Oregon — Lake Stevens High School graduate Taylor Roe placed eighth in the final of the women’s 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Monday night at Hayward Field.
Roe, who just completed a star-studded five-year collegiate career at Oklahoma State University, finished the race in a time of 15 minutes, 15.37 seconds. The time was 11 seconds faster than she ran at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships earlier this month, when she placed sixth.
Elle St. Pierre won the race in 14:40.34, while Elise Cranny (14:40.36) and Karissa Schweitzer (14:45.12) claimed the other two Olympic berths.
Roe qualified for one of the 16 spots in the final with her performance in Friday’s heats. Roe placed seventh in her heat, which didn’t earn one of the six automatic qualifying spots. However, her time of 15:30.75 was the fastest among those who didn’t automatically qualify, thus earning one of the last four berths.
Roe also planned on competing in the 10,000, which takes place this Saturday — there are no heats, just the final. Roe described her chances of making the Olympics as “very, very, very very long shot” before the trials.
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