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EUGENE, Ore. – Slippery Rock University javelin thrower and 2021 NCAA Division II national champion Danielle Collier was officially accepted into the field for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Tuesday evening when U.S.A. Track and Field updated the status of its entries.
 
Collier will wear her Slippery Rock uniform and represent The Rock at the most famous track and field facility in the United States when she competes in the qualifying round of the javelin at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field Friday, June 25 at 1 p.m. (PST).
 
"I am just so proud of Danielle and so excited for her and our program," said SRU throws coach Meagan Shadeck. "This is an experience that not many Division II athletes or programs get to have. Danielle has really embraced being part of this team and our program. She worked so hard this year, both in the classroom in our Doctor of Physical Therapy program and on her athletic goals. She is excited to wear the Green and White at the Trials."
 
Collier, who shattered the SRU and all-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference records this spring, is one of only 11 total athletes, eight men and just three women, from NCAA Division II programs that have been accepted to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials. She is the only female thrower in Division II that will be going to the Trials, where she will be joined by a pair of Azusa Pacific athletes – 400-meter hurdler Jaylah Walker and high jumper Chinenye Agina – as the only Division II women competing.
 
Collier's personal best of 53.41 meters (175' 2") is the 17th best mark by an American woman in the qualifying window for the Trials. If all 16 women ahead of her on the list accept their invites, Collier will be seeded 17th in a field of 24 entries.
 
The qualifying round will take place Friday, June 25 at 1 p.m. local time (4 p.m. EST). The finals will take place Saturday, June 26 at 5:30 p.m. local (8:30 p.m. EST).
 
The women's javelin field will feature the best American woman to ever compete in the discipline, with top-seeded Maggie Malone entering the meet after recently breaking the American record with a throw of 66.82 meters (219' 3"). Only five women in the U.S. have a qualifying throw over 58.00 meters, with the rest of the field from the sixth seed to the 24th seed separated by less than six meters.
 
The top three finishers at the Trials will make the U.S. Olympic Team, as long as they meet the Olympic standard of 64.00 meters.

Collier will be the first athlete to wear an SRU uniform in the U.S. Olympic Trials in track and field since fellow javelin thrower Karyn McCready competed in the 2004 Olympic Trials.



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