Jake Freeman Places Eighth at U.S. Olympic Trials

BEAVERTON, Ore. - The 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Track & Field got underway on Thursday with the hammer throw competition at Ronaldo Field on the Nike Campus.  Former Manhattan College star Jake Freeman was among those vying for a berth in the London Games.

With the top three throwers earning the right to represent the United States in the Olympics, Freeman finished eighth overall with a toss of 70.41 meters (231 feet).  Kibwe Johnson won the national title with a 74.97 m (245'11)-effort.  Chris Cralle took the silver, but doesn't have the Olympic "A" standard of 78.00 m (255'11), so bronze-medalist AG Kruger will be the only other American contesting the hammer throw in London.

This marked the fourth Olympic Trials for Freeman, who was an eight-time All-American for the Jaspers.  Freeman made his Olympic Trials debut as a 19-year-old Manhattan freshman in 2000.  He won the NCAA title in the hammer throw in 2004, then finished sixth in the Trials for the Athens Games later that year.  Four years ago, Freeman made the Olympic team with a third-place finish at the Trials.  However, he hadn't achieved the Olympic qualifying standard and, as a result, didn't compete in Beijing.