When wondering whether any of Virginia Tech's track athletes would advance past the preliminary round of the Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., one would have to take into consideration the fact that two of the Hokies' top athletes were coming off of injuries.

Queen Harrison was questionable going into the Olympic trials after having suffered a left hamstring injury during the opening day of the NCAA championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Going into the meet, the three-time All-American held the top spot in the 400-meter women's hurdles but was forced to miss the rest of the meet after having to pull up in the third leg of the 4x100m relay.

Speculations spread that Queen Harrison would miss the Olympic trials or wouldn't make the cut. Much to the contrary, however, Harrison not only participated in the Olympic trials, she earned a spot on the 2008 Olympic Track and Field team with her performance in the 400-meter hurdles.

Director of Track and Field for Virginia Tech Dave Cianelli spoke about Harrison before her race that day and made it clear that although Queen had not done much in the way of training, as long as she was healthy, she would be a favorite to advance.

"She hasn't really done much in the way of training per se," said Cianelli, "but it's been about two weeks, and if she's healthy, she certainly has a great chance to make the final."

Apparently he was right — Harrison would go on to earn a spot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a final time of 54.60 seconds in the 400m hurdles. All-American Kristi Castlin will also try and earn a spot on the Olympic team when she races on Friday, July 5, in the 100m hurdles along with Harrison.

Cianelli spoke highly of both Harrison and Castlin saying they could become great with just more time and practice. "Queen Harrison and Kristi Castlin, both at age 19, have the tools and the talent to become the best in the world. There is no question they can be two of the best in the world potentially."

Tasmin Fanning, who ran in the 5000-meter preliminary finished with a time of 15:37, respectively, eleventh overall in a field of 19 runners. That time was good enough to allow her to advance to the final on Friday. If she manages to do well enough on Friday, Fanning could earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. The top performer for the 5000 meters was Kara Goucher, who finished with a time of 15:32.

With some good things to say about the past season, Cianelli said that the team met and exceeded all expectations.

"Finishing in the top 10 of the indoor NCAA championships was one of our goals, and we finished tenth, winning the outdoor ACC title, winning the east regional title, and then we ran into some bad luck in terms of injuries. Overall, as a team, we met or exceeded all our expectations for the year. We have a great recruiting crew coming in for the fall so I am already looking forward to next year."

Tuesday and Wednesday were rest days for all athletes participating in the Olympic trials.

Action will resume today, July, 3, and will run through July 6. Hokie teammates Castlin, Harrison, and Green will run again on July 5 in the 100 meter hurdles. That event will take place at 11 a.m. pacific time.