Wyoming Area graduate Marc Minichello hoists his NCAA Championship trophy after he won the men’s javelin title on June 5. Minichello advanced to the finals of the men’s javelin competition at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a ninth-place finish in qualifying on Friday.
Kirby Lee | Courtesy of Georgia Athletics
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Needing to improve his top distance by just a little bit to advance in the javelin event at Friday’s U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, Marc Minichello saved his best qualifying throw for last — and pushed his way through to the finals.
The Wyoming Area graduate and University of Georgia star, fresh off his second NCAA championship a few weeks ago, posted a throw of 70.64 meters to qualify for Sunday’s javelin finals with a ninth-place finish in the qualifiers.
With the top 12 qualifiers out of 24 throwers advancing to the finals and a chance to make the U.S. Olympic team, Minichello’s first two throws traveled 69.73 and 63.16 meters respectively, putting him in 11th place heading into the final round of qualifying.
As the very last competitor to throw in each round, Minichello was briefly knocked out of the top 12 in the final round. When he stepped up for his final throw, Minichello was in 13th place and needed a throw of at least 69.81 meters to make it back into finals contention.
Minichello delivered on the last throw of the day, knocking Notre Dame graduate John Keenan from contention and leaping all the way up into ninth place.
This is Minichello’s second crack at the Olympic Trials, his first coming back in 2021. There, Minichello finished fourth in the javelin finals, narrowly missing out on a trip to the Olympics.
He’ll take his second shot at qualifying for the Games on Sunday night, as the finals of the men’s javelin throw take place at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.
According to USA Track and Field website’s schedule, the finals are set to start around 9:40 p.m. Eastern.
Sem grad Blades headed to Paris with U.S. Olympic wrestling team
After coming up just short of a spot in the Olympics as a 17-year old in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, Wyoming Seminary graduate Kennedy Blades wouldn’t be denied a second time.
Blades qualified for the Olympic Games coming up next month with a win in the 76-kilogram division back in April at the Olympic Trials.
There, Blades dethroned former Olympic silver medalist and multi-time world champion Adelina Gray in the finals to earn her trip to Paris.
Currently a student-athlete at Arizona State, Blades began her wrestling career in her native Chicago, winning a boys state title in Illinois before transferring to Wyoming Seminary.
As a Blue Knight, Blades won the 2019 Prep School national championship, and a gold medal at the 2021 Junior World Championships, among many other accolades and achievements.