McKenzie International attracts athletes aiming for Olympic standards on Trials rest day...

VIDA, Oregon--Tuesday and Wednesday were rest days at the US Olympic Track & Field Trials, so what did publisher Paul Merca do on one of the rest days?

Merca checked out the McKenzie International Track Meet in Vida, an unincorporated town about 45 minutes east of Eugene.

The town is on the McKenzie River and is within the Willamette National Forest.

Vida was in the news last September as it was hit by a major forest fire that left devastation over the town and the surrounding area.

As a fundraiser, the folks at Portland Track staged a small meet Tuesday night with only three events each for men and women--800, 1500 and 5000 meters.

The meet had top international fields in all events, with the intent of going for Olympic qualifying standards, at the venue where Portland Track staged one of the "Big Friendly" meets last year.

Highlights:

The women's 1500 saw Oregon alum Jessica Hull (Paul Merca photo) of Australia duck under the Olympic Games qualifying standard of 4:04.20, as she ran 4:04.01 to take the win and a season best, with Camas' Alexa Efraimson pacing.

Washington's Allie Schadler was seventh in 4:17.77.

In the men's 1500, former Washington volunteer coach Amos Bartelsmeyer of Germany fell short of the Olympic standard in the 1500 of 3:35.00, as he ran 3:35.24 for the win, tying his personal best set on May 29th at the Portland Track Festival.

Charlie Hunter of Australia and the University of Oregon did get the Olympic standard in the 800, winning in 1:44.35, comfortably under the standard of 1:45.20.

Husky grad Mick Stanovsek was fifth in 1:51.02.

Complete results of the McKenzie International are available here.

NEWS AND NOTES FROM EUGENE...

While there was no competition as well on Wednesday at the US Olympic Trials, there were some significant news coming out of Eugene.

USA Track & Field tonight announced adjustments to the competition schedule for the Olympic Trials with regard to athlete safety while competing in high temperatures. USATF is following the guidance from the ACSM guidelines. 

With a triple-digit temperature forecast over the weekend, the women’s 10,000m final will now be run in one section at 10:00 a.m. Pacific on Saturday, June 26. The men’s 5,000m final will now be run at 10:00 a.m. Pacific on Sunday, June 27.

Earlier, the men's and women's 20K walk was moved from 9 am to 7 am on Saturday.

The USATF release is available here.

Also, Reuters reported that Eugene and the Nike Prefontaine Classic will host the Wanda Diamond League finals in 2023.

"We are very pleased to have the final in Eugene, TrackTown USA in the year after the world athletics championships at the iconic and new Hayward Field arena," Petr Stastny, chief executive officer of the Diamond League, told Reuters in an email.

This marks the first time that the Wanda Diamond League finals will be staged outside either Zurich or Brussels.

"It will rotate annually as we intend to give more member meetings of the Wanda Diamond League the opportunity to host the final," he added.

The Reuters report is available here.

TRIALS RESUME THURSDAY...

Thursday, Katie Nageotte, Olivia Gruver & Chloe Cunliffe (pole vault); Henry Wynne, Brannon Kidder, Sam Prakel, Izaic Yorks, Paul Ryan, Jack Yearian, Dillon Maggard & David Ribich (1500); Nia Akins & Brooke Feldmeier (800); Elijah Mason (discus); CJ Allen & Cass Elliott (400 hurdles), and Hassan Mead (5000) all go in qualifying action, while Mel Lawrence, Marisa Howard, Allie Ostrander and Katie Rainsberger all race for spots on the Olympic team in the 3000 steeplechase.

Going into Thursday's final, Lawrence and Howard both hold the Olympic qualifying standard of 9:30.00.

NBC Sports (KING 5 in Seattle) and NBCSN, along with nbcsports.com will offer live and streaming coverage of the US Olympic Track & Field Trials.

Thursday's competition begins at 1:25 pm with the women's hammer throw and shot put qualifying rounds, with the first running event, the men's 1500 starting at 6:04 pm.

The start lists along with all results from previous days are available here.

NOTE: NBC Sports, Reuters, TrackTown USA and USA Track & Field contributed to this report.

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