Green gets Olympic reprieve; Williams, Wiltrout come up short

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, June 26, 2021 | 10:18 PM

Latrobe native and graduate Hanna Green received good news late Friday at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore.

Her appeal in the 800-meter semifinals was upheld, and she went from missing the finals Sunday to becoming the ninth runner in the field.

Green finished fourth in her heat of the 800 on Friday in a time of 2 minutes, 1.19 seconds. The top three finishers in each heat and the top two remaining times qualified for Sunday’s final. Nia Akins grabbed the last spot in the final with a time of 2:01.09. Green had the next-best remaining time.

However, Green appealed because of a collision with competitor Sage Hurta near the end of the second lap of their semifinal. Hurta was chasing Green when they made contact. Hurta took a hard fall. Green was knocked off stride.

The finals are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

Things didn’t go as well for Hempfield graduate Bridget (Guy) Williams in the women’s pole vault and Connellsville graduate Madison Wiltrout in the women’s javelin.

Both were bidding for a spot on the United States Olympic team. Only the top three in each event make the squad.

Williams cleared 4.5 meters and failed on three attempts at 4.6. She finished ninth.

Wiltrout’s best throw in the javelin was 50.82 meters, which placed her 10th.

Hempfield grad Maddie (Holmberg) Nickal took park in the first day of the Heptathlon. She competed in the 100 hurdles, the high jump, shot put and 200 dash. She won her heat in the 200.

She is in ninth place with 3444 points. Annie Kunz is in first place with 4142 points.

The three events in the final day of competition are long jump, javelin and 800 run.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.