Six Team USA Arizona Athletes Qualify For Trials

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – (December 27, 2011) – Six athletes supported by Team USA Arizona and sponsored by adidas-McMillanElite have qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston on Saturday, January 14, 2012.

Brett Gotcher (2:10:36) and Nick Arciniaga (2:11:30) are ranked 4th and 6th for the 2012 Trials, respectively. On the women’s side, Stephanie Rothstein (2:29:35) is ranked 6th, while Emily Harrison (2:32:55) jumped from 72nd in the rankings to 15th by shaving 10 minutes off her previous best marathon time at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon last October.

Also competing from Team USA Arizona / adidas-McMillanElite will be Jordan Horn (3:58 mile, 13:31 5000m) and Danny Mercado, a recent University of Oregon graduate, who qualified for the Trials by running under 1:05:00 in the half-marathon this year. The Trials will mark both Horn’s and Mercado’s debut in the marathon.

The top three men and women finishers at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials will be selected for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. NBC will broadcast two hours of Trials coverage from 3:00-5:00pm EST on January 14. Visit houston2012.com for more Olympic Marathon Trials information.

Team USA Arizona is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help post-collegiate distance runners who live and train in Flagstaff achieve their Olympic dreams. To-date, its athletes have recorded 18 top three finishes in USA Championships, won 6 national titles and also been selected for 13 U.S. National teams and 7 World teams. In 2011, the training group was the recipient of Running USA’s Allan Steinfeld Development Award.

Team USA Arizona also works to support community partners who share the team’s community mission of promoting good health and physical activity among children, youth and families in northern Arizona.

Follow the Team USA Arizona via Twitter @mcmillanelite or visit: teamusaarizona.org