Phoebe Wright, Sarah Bowman, Ellen Wortham and Tianna Madison all extended their stays in Eugene, Oregon, tonight.
Each of the Tennessee Lady Vols qualified for the semifinals of their event at the US Olympic Track & Field Trials.
Wright missed out on the team in the 800 meters and ran a 4:16.29 to move to the 1500 meter semifinals, along with former Lady Vol teammate Sarah Bowman, who ran a 4:16.86.
Ellen Wortham moved into the 400 meter hurdles semifinals with a time of 56.63, while Tianna Madison won her heat in the 200 meters and will try to earn a second Olympic berth in the finals on Saturday. She had already qualified in the 100 meters.
It was a productive Thursday at the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials for those with Tennessee ties, as competition resumed at Hayward Field following a two-day break.
Four former UT standouts and one current Lady Vol were in action, and four of the five moved out of the qualifying rounds in their respective events and into the semifinal round.
Big Orange senior Ellen Wortham took care of business in the qualifying round of the 400m hurdles. The Maryville native turned in a time of 56.63 seconds to finish second in heat four. That mark ranked her 10th of the 16 advancing runners. She will take part in the semifinal round at 6:20 p.m. Eastern time on Friday.
In the 1500 meters, a pair of former Lady Vols also moved along to the semifinals. After finishing fifth in the 800 meters on Monday and missing out on an Olympic berth by two spots, Wright decided to take a stab at London via a longer distance. Her clocking of 4:16.29 left her sixth in heat three and 16th of the 24 advancers. Sarah Bowman checked in at 4:16.86 to place third in heat one and 20th of the qualifiers. UT product Heidi Dahl missed the cut, running ninth in heat three and 28th overall at 4:27.68.
In the final event of the day in Eugene involving Tennessee athletes, former UT sprints/jumps star Tianna Madison rocketed to the fastest qualifying time in the 200m dash. After making the Olympic Team with a second-place finish in the 100m dash on Saturday, Madison took a step toward making the squad in a second event. Her 22.57 readout won heat five and sent her on to Friday's semifinal at 5:15 p.m. ET. She'll also tackle the qualifying round of the long jump at 6:30 p.m. ET and potentially a 200m final at 9:50 p.m. ET.
Patricia Hall Moves To 400m Semifinals At Jamaican Championships
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Former Lady Vol Patricia Hall matched what four others with Tennessee ties did at the U.S. Trials on Thursday, advancing to the semifinal round at the Jamaican Senior National Championships.
Hall finished third in heat three of the qualifying round, posting the seventh-fastest time overall at 52.40. She will run at 8:15 p.m. ET on Saturday.
LADY VOLS/FORMER LADY VOLS AT U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS
Thur., June 28
200m Qualifying: Adv. Tianna Madison, 22.57p/1st, ht. 4 (1st)
400m Hurdles Qualifying: Adv. Ellen Wortham, 56.63p/2nd, ht. 4 (10th)
1500m Qualifying: Adv. Phoebe Wright, 4:16.29p/6th, ht. 3 (16th), Adv. Sarah Bowman, 4:16.86p/3rd, ht. 1 (20th); DNA - Heidi Dahl, 4:27.68p/9th, ht. 3 (28th)
Mon., June 25
800m Final: 5. Phoebe Wright *, 1:59.72
5000m Qualifying: DNA - Jackie Areson *, 16:11.19p/12th, ht. 1 (23rd)
Sun., June 24
400m Final: 2. DeeDee Trotter *, 50.02
Sat., June 23
100m Final: 2. Tianna Madison *, 10.96
100m Semifinal: Adv. Tianna Madison *, 10.96p (w: 1.4)/1st, ht. 3 (1st)
800m Semifinal: Adv.. Phoebe Wright *, 2:00.88p/3rd, ht. 1 (5th)
400m Semifinal: Adv. DeeDee Trotter *, 51.23p/2nd, ht. 1 (4th)
Fri., June 22
10,000m Final: 16. Liz Costello *, 32:53.31
100m First Round: Adv. Tianna Madison *, 11.10p (w: 0.5)/1st, ht. 1 (1st)
400m First Round: Adv. DeeDee Trotter *, 51.64p/1st, ht. 4 (2nd)
800m First Round: Adv. Phoebe Wright *, 2:00.83p/2nd, ht. 3 (2nd); DNA - Chanelle Price, 2:04.17p/4th, ht. 4 (19th); DNA - Erica Moore *, 2:04.44p/5th, ht. 4 (21st)
VOLS/FORMER VOLS AT U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS
Sun., June 24
100m Final: 1. Justin Gatlin *, 9.80! (w: 1.8)
100m Semifinal: Adv. Justin Gatlin *, 10.06p (w: 1.4)/1st, ht. 2 (3rd)
Sat., June 23
Decathlon (Final Day): 5. Chris Helwick *, 7,744 (14. 110mH, 15.30 (w: 0.8), 814 pts.; 5. Discus Throw, 143-1/43.61m, 738 pts.; 5. 16-0.75/4.90m, 880 pts.; 1. Javelin Throw, 224-3/68.37m, 865 pts.; 5. 1500m, 4:33.85, 720 pts.)
100m First Round: Adv., Justin Gatlin *, 9.90p (w: 1.7)/1st, ht. 5 (1st)
Fri., June 22
Decathlon (First Day): 13. Chris Helwick *, 3,727 pts. (18. 100m, 11.49 (w: -0.2), 755 pts; 14. long jump, 22-3/6.78m w: (-0.6), 762 pts.; 4. shot put, 46-9/14.25m, 744 pts.; 8. high jump, 6-4/1.93m; 740 pts.; 17. 400m, 51.97, 726 pts.)
Thurs., June 21
Hammer Throw Final: 7. Garland Porter *, 232-11/71.01m