Logan Grads Eye Olympics

The list of accolades is long for 2005 graduate Nkosinza Balumbu.

A talented triple jumper who went on to the University of Arkansas, Balumbu has been an NCAA champion, an All-American, a Southeastern Conference champion and a high school state champion in California.

Now he’s trying to add Olympic qualifier to that resume.

At the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus Thursday, Balumbu qualified for the finals when he finished seventh with a leap of 53 feet, 11 ¾ inches. The top qualifier was Christian Taylor, who cleared 56-8 with just one jump — his first.

The top 12 marks qualified for Saturday’s finals, which are slated for 4:40 p.m. The top three finishers qualify for the Olympics, which will be held in London July 27-Aug. 12.

More recently, at the Stanford Invitational on April 7, Balumbu took first with a mark of 55-3 ¾.

Another 2005 Logan graduate Kevin Craddock II, will be competing in the men's 110-meter hurdles. He’s in heat No. 1, lane No. 8 of the prelims that will be Friday at 4:05 p.m. The semifinals will be at 4:20 p.m. Saturday and the finals are at 6:40 p.m.

On the women's side, 2010 Logan graduate Thandi Stewart, a sophomore at the University of Miami, qualified for the semifinals in the 400 hurdles with a time of 56.34 seconds, which was the eighth-best time.

The semifinals are Friday at 3:20 p.m. The finals will be Sunday at 4:02 p.m.

Stewart was a second-place finisher in the 2010 California Interscholastic Federation State Championships. 

Follow Steve R. Waterhouse on Twitter @SRWaterhouse

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