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Three Spartans Look to Fulfill Olympic Dreams at U.S. Trials
 
Nicole Bush, Marcus Poteete and Kevin Puskaric take aim at the opportunity.
 
 
 

 
Rising senior Marcus Poteete will compete in the 100m butterfly at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials on July 4-5 in Omaha, Neb.
 
 

June 27, 2008

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Nicole Bush
Marcus Poteete
Kevin Puskaric

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The dream of almost every American is to don the red, white and blue, and represent their country at the Olympic Games. Three Michigan State student-athletes will have a chance to fulfill that dream over the next week at their respective United States Olympic Trials.

Spartan track & field standout Nicole Bush will depart today for Eugene, Ore. in hopes of qualifying for the U.S. team in the women's 3000m steeplechase. Meanwhile, MSU swimmers Marcus Poteete and kevin Puskaric head to Omaha, Neb. with their eyes on Beijing.

Bush's attempt begins at Heyward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon on Monday, June 30 with the semifinal race, which is scheduled for 10:40 p.m. ET, while the finals are set for Saturday, July 4 at 12:45 a.m. ET. Both races can been seen live as part of USA Network's coverage. The MSU All-American enters the trials ranked No. 8 in the field, having run 9:49.92 on May 31 at the American Milers Club 2008 High Performance Meet in Indianapolis, Ind. In order to make the U.S. squad, she will need to finish among the top-three and run an Olympic standard time of 9:46. Currently, 19 athletes are declared for the steeplechase, with another 19 pending final approval.

Bush, an All-American in the steeplechase in 2006 and 2007, redshirted her 2008 outdoor season in order to prepare of this opportunity. She currently holds the school record in the event (9:56.68) and looks to become the only the third Michigan State women's track & field student-athlete to qualify for the Olympic Games. Sevatheda Fynes, a four-time All-American, won gold in 2000 as part of the Bahamas' 4x100m relay team and also took home silver at the 1996 Games in 4x400m relay. Meanwhile, three-time All-American Judi Brown is the lone Spartan to represent the United States, winning a silver medal in the 400m hurdles in 1984.

 

 

At the U.S. Swimming Trials at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Poteete and Puskaric look to become the first Michigan State swimmers since 1996 to qualify for the Olympic Games . Poteete, a rising seniors for the Spartans, will competing in the 100m butterfly, which will be held July 4-5. On Friday, the preliminaries will be the third event in the 12 p.m. ET sessions with the semifinals scheduled the 7:45 p.m. ET session. The finals will take place on the Saturday during the 7:45 p.m. ET session. Puskaric, MSU's men's freshman of the year, will be attempting to qualify in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke. The 100m breast will run June 29-30, while the 200m breast will take place on July 2-3. In both events, prelims and semis will be held the first day, with the finals taking place in the afternoon session of the second day.