Day is headed to the Olympics

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Sharon Day, who just completed a standout career at Cal Poly, qualified for the Beijing Olympics on Friday in the women's high jump at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Day finished third in the women's high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 3 1/4 inches behind Chaunte Howard (6-5 1/2) and Amy Achuff (6-4). The top three finishers in each event qualify for the Olympics if they have achieved the Olympic "A" qualifying standard in their event. The women's high jump "A" standard is 6-4 3/4, which is exactly what Day jumped to win the Big West Conference meet in May.

Howard, who briefly lived in Templeton as a child, and Day are the only two Americans with the "A" qualifying standard.

Day was the 2005 NCAA champion in the high jump at Cal Poly and concluded her career with a runner-up finish in the NCAA meet last month in Des Moines, Iowa.

Day also finished second in at the 2005 U.S. national meet and third at the 2007 national meet, but did not compete in the World Championships those years as she didn't have the "A" qualifying standard.

Also Friday, former Cal Poly star Aris Borjas finished ninth in the men's javelin throw with a best of 239 feet, 8 inches to advance to Sunday's final.

On Saturday, former Cal Poly star Ben Bruce will be in the finals of the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. He won his preliminary heat Thursday.

For more on the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trails, see Saturday's print edition of The Tribune.