June 18, 2008

OXFORD, Ohio - Michael McCarty, a freshman on the 2008 Miami University men's track and field squad, will compete in the United States Junior Track and Field Championships this weekend at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University.

McCarty, a product of Hudson, Ohio and a graduate of Walsh Jesuit High School, will compete in the decathlon, where he ranks 13th nationally among athletes under 20-years of age.

McCarty's top mark in 2008 came in the Mid-American Conference Championship at Bowling Green State University, where he placed third with a total of 6,312 points. The decathlon competition takes place on Friday and Saturday in Columbus.

In addition to McCarty's upcoming national competition, a Miami alumnus will be making a run at a spot on the USA Olympic team when he competes in the USA Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Dan Huling, a 2006 Miami graduate and a two-time All-American as a RedHawk, will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He ranks in the national top-15 in that event.

The Olympic Trials run from Friday, June 27 to Sunday, July 6 at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. The semifinals of the steeplechase will be run on Thursday, July 3 at 9:10 p.m. while the finals begin at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 5.

The Olympic Trials will be televised on July 3 from 11 p.m.-1 a.m. on the USA Network, while NBC will televise the action on July 5 from 5-6 p.m.

The XXIX Olympiad will take place in Beijing, China between Aug. 8 and 24.