Eugene, Ore. – Oklahoma State track and field standout Ryan Vail fell short in his bid to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
Vail placed 12th in the finals of the 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials late Monday night at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.
Vail ran a 13:54.77, finishing 25 seconds behind the last qualifier.
The top three finishers in the race (Bernard Lagat, 13:27.47; Matt Tegenkamp, 13:29.68 and Ian Dobson, 13:29.76) will represent the U.S. at this year’s Beijing Games.
As for Vail, his 2007-08 cross country and track and field seasons will go down as one for the Oklahoma State record books.
The Gresham, Ore., native was an All-American during the cross country season, leading the Cowboys to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championship.
He then followed that up by winning his first career Big 12 championship in the indoor 3,000 meters and securing All-America honors in the outdoor 5,000 meters with a fifth-place finish.
During the 2008 outdoor season, Vail set a personal best in the 5,000 meters when he ran a 13:41.61 at the Stanford Invitational.
His success translated in the classroom as well, as he was honored as an ESPN the Magazine first-team Academic All-American to go with academic all-district, academic all-Big 12 and USTFCCCA all-academic team honors as well.
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