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OGDEN — A Weber State University student qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials after running the Houston Marathon Sunday.
Taylor Ward ran track and cross country for four years at Weber State University and graduated in 2014 with a degree in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, according to a WSU news release. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree at WSU and Sunday, she finished the Chevron Houston Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 38 minutes, 30 seconds, earning a chance to race for a spot in the 2016 Olympics. Ward’s time was almost five minutes faster than the “B” standard, the news release said.
The 2016 Olympic Trials will be held in Los Angeles Feb. 13, 2016, and the top three finishers will earn a chance to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
During her athletic career at WSU, Ward received all-conference honors six times and competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships twice. As a senior she also earned the Big Sky Outdoor title in the 10,000 meters and finished 20th at the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
Ward currently holds the third-fastest time in WSU history for the indoor 5,000 meters; the ninth-fastest time in the indoor 3,000 meters; the fourth-fastest time in the outdoor 10,000 meters; and the seventh-fastest time in the outdoor 5,000 meters, the news release said.
Ward currently lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband who is also a former WSU track athlete.
