by staff–6 Jul ’16
UW Alum Mason Finley to Compete in Olympic Trials This Week
Finley Enters Competition With Fifth Best Throw in the Nation
Link to Live Results is Available at: http://trialsresults.usatf.org/
This coming Thursday and Friday, University of Wyoming alumnus Mason Finley will compete in the discus throw at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. Finley will enter Thursday’s qualifying round with the fifth best throw in the nation this year at 215’ 4” or 65.63 meters. He will be vying to be one of the three individuals in the men’s discus competition to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 5-21.
Finley captured sixth in the 2015 U.S.A. Track and Field Championships held in Eugene, Ore., which is also the site of this year’s U.S.A. Track and Field Olympic Trials. He captured sixth place with a throw of 200 ‘ 6” or 61.11 meters.
The men’s discus competition at this year’s Trials will be contested over two days. The Qualifying Round will begin at 7 p.m., Mountain Time on Thursday, July 7 and the finals will be held at 4:30 p.m., M.T. on Friday, July 8. The discus finals are scheduled to be televised on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) as part of the network’s coverage from 4-6 p.m. on Friday.
The native of Buena Vista, Colo., won the 2014 Mountain West Conference individual title in the discus back on May 16, 2014, when he recorded a throw of 202’ 11” for the second-best mark in MW Championship history. Finley was named the Outstanding Male Athlete at the 2014 Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He went on to place sixth in the discus at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon to claim the 11th All-America honor of his college career. He began his college career at the University of Kansas.
Finley began throwing in the sixth grade when his father, Jared, began teaching him. Mason’s father was an All-America discus thrower at Wyoming in 1979. His younger sisters, Matia and Rebecca, are also throwers at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Colorado State, respectively. Matia was a sophomore this past season at UMKC and Rebecca was a freshman at CSU.
We recently spoke with Finley about his life the past two years since graduating from Wyoming in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in theatre. He currently resides in Lawrence, Kan., where his mother, Lisa Finley, also lives.
2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, Men’s Discus Competition Schedule
Thursday, July 7, 2016 7 p.m., M.T. Men’s Discus Qualifying Round
Friday, July 8, 2016 4:30 p.m., M.T. Men’s Discus Finals (To be televised on NBCSN during 4-6 p.m., M.T. telecast)
