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EUGENE, Ore.-- Michael Hammond used a big kick in the final 200 meters to finish third in his heat in the 1500m Thursday evening at the 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. By finishing third in Heat #1, Hammond automatically qualifies for Saturday’s 5:51 p.m (ET) final.

The competition is being held June 23-26, at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. The junior competition is taking place in conjunction with the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will select the members of Team USA who will compete in the IAAF World Championships Aug. 27-Sept. 4 in Daegu, South Korea.

Past, present and future Olympic and World Champions converging on Hayward Field include men’s stars Tyson Gay (100 meters), Nick Symmonds (800 meters), Bryan Clay and Trey Hardee (decathlon), David Oliver (110 hurdles) and Jesse Williams (high jump), as well as women’s standouts Allyson Felix (100 meters), Lolo Jones (100 meter hurdles), Lauren Fleshman (5,000 meters) and Shalane Flanagan (10,000 meters), among dozens of other track and field luminaries.

Hammond (Jr., Midlothian, Va.) was in next to last place midway through the final lap, before kicking his way to the final in a personal best 3:40.43 which was the sixth fastest time among qualifiers. His time is the second best in school history. He was a second team All-American after finishing 14th (3:49.45) at the NCAA Championships. Hammond was third in the event at the ACC Championships in a time of 3:43.62 and finished second (3:48.45) at the NCAA East Regional.

Former Tech stand-out Queen Harrison finished second in the second women’s 400m hurdles heat in 56.49, which was the sixth fastest qualifying time. The 400m hurdles semifinals are scheduled for Friday at 7:45 p.m. (ET). The final in the event is slated for Saturday at 5:21 p.m. (ET). The top three finishers will earn a sopt on Team USA.

In 2010, Harrison received the Bowerman Award which is given to the most outstanding male and female athlete of the season. She became Tech’s first ever women’s NCAA Champion, eventually earning three titles and becoming the first athlete in NCAA history to win both the 100 and 400-Meter Hurdles during the outdoor championships. She was named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year, earned four ACC titles and set four school records, including an ACC Championship record in the 60-Meter Hurdles.

Three Tech freshmen will see action on Friday in the junior (19 and under) competition. Taylor Crosson (Fairfax Station, Va.) and Courtney Dobbs (Glenn Allen, Va.) will take part in the women’s 5,000m event at 1:10 p.m. (ET). Crosson set personal bests this year in the 800m (2:21.57), 1500m (4:39.96) and 5000m (16:58.24). Dobbs qualified for the NCAA East Regional 10,000m after running a personal-best (35:06.40) at the ACC Championships. Her personal best in the 5000m is 17:00.68.

The third freshman, Darrell Wesh (Virginia Beach, Va.), will participate in the men’s 100m first round on Friday at 2:15 p.m. (ET) with the final scheduled for 3:55 p.m. (ET). He has a personal best of 10.51 in the 100m and ran the third leg on the 400-meter relay team.

Kelly Phillips (r-Sr., Blacksburg, Va.) will compete in the women’s pole vault competition which will take place on Sunday at 3 p.m. (ET). Phillips posted a season-best 12-11.75 (3.96m) in winning the Liberty Twilight women’s pole vault competition. She qualified for the NCAA East Regional finishing 13th 12-7.5 (3.83). During the indoor season, Phillips was a second team All-American after placing ninth at the national meet. She won the ACC Indoor Championships (13-11.5) after setting a new school record two weeks earlier at the VT Elite Meet of 14-1.25 (4.30m).

Television coverage of the event is as follows:

ESPN2 Re-air, June 25 1:00 -3:00 pm ET

Universal, June 25 3:00-4:30 pm ET

NBC, June 25 5:00-6:00 pm ET

Universal, June 26 3:00-4:00 pm ET

NBC, June 26 5:00-6:00 pm ET

In addition, a free webcast will be provided in partnership with RunnerSpace.com.

For updates on Virginia Tech track & field, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Track).