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        Aanstad's Grand Bargain

SEATTLE – She's in.
 
Brittany Aanstad, who won the NCAA Division II women's javelin title last month in Colorado, is officially on the list of competitors for that event at the United States Olympic Track & Field Trials.
 
Aanstad and the other 23 qualifiers will begin competition at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on Friday at 2:30 p.m. The top nine advance to Saturday's finals, and the top three earn tickets to London.
 
“It's going to be an amazing experience to be in the presence of such greatness,” said Aanstad (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS). “I'm super excited to go down there.”
 
Aanstad made the 'B' (provisional qualifying) standard on May 26 when she unleashed a throw of 168 feet, 1 inch, to win the NCAA championship in Pueblo, Colo. At the time, that put her 21^st on the Olympic Trials list.
 
“Karl (Falcons head coach Lerum) and I had talked about it a little bit last summer in setting our goals for this year,” Aanstad said. “But I really hadn't touched on it until after I threw as far as I did at nationals.”
 
In the ensuing weeks, she hovered right around the 24^th and final spot, then actually dropped below that after the final weekend of qualifying opportunities on June 17.
 
“It has been kind of like, what do you do?” said Aanstad, who was co-winner of SPU's Ron Grady Athlete of the Year award on May 31. “Originally, I thought I made it, then there was a late entry. So I just had to wait.”
 
By this past Monday, one of those late entries had scratched out, and others had chosen not to declare for the javelin. So Aanstad was back up to No. 24, and her participation became official late Wednesday morning.
 
When she gets to Eugene, she'll be wearing her Seattle Pacific uniform even though she graduated three weeks ago.
 
“Seniors are allowed to do that, so I want to go and represent SPU,” Aanstad said.
 
With top qualifier Rachel Yurkovich of Team Nike having thrown 200 feet, 4 inches, and three competitors in the 190s, Aanstad is taking a keen sense of reality with her to Eugene.
 
Even so, she's eager to get onto the runway and let it fly.
 
“My goal is just to go out there and give it my three best throws. If I went out there and threw anything close to what I did at NCAAs, I would be extremely happy,” said Aanstad, who has continued to do her regular workouts with Lerum and Seattle Pacific javelin coach Duncan Atwood. “I'm definitely not going to be making the trip to London.
 
“But how many people even get to go to the Olympic Trials?”