For Immediate Release: March 11, 2008
Contact: David O'Brian (dobrian@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6478

Quiller heads to NCAA Indoor Championship for final collegiate meet

BOSTON, Mass. -- Graduate student Rory Quiller (West Point, N.Y.) concludes his prolific college career on Friday evening at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the University of Arkansas. He will compete in the men's pole vault, which starts at 8 p.m. EST.

Including the meet this week, Quiller is a five-time NCAA qualifier and a two-time All-American. Friday will mark his third appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He has also advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships the past two years. At least season's indoor meet, Quiller placed second with a then lifetime-best jump of 18-0 1/2. He tied for fourth at the 2007 outdoor meet (17-6 1/2).

Heading into this year's NCAA Indoor Championships, Quiller has broken his lifetime-best height three times in the past month. Most recently, he won the IC4A title this past Saturday with a height of 18-6 1/2. Two weeks earlier, he placed second at the U.S. National Indoor Meet (18-4 1/2) behind current world champion Brad Walker.

Quiller is seeking to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials, which will be held June 27-July 6 in Eugene, Oregon. He has already met the provisional standard of 18-0 ½ and is closing in on the automatic standard of 18-8 1/4. The top 24 athletes will qualify for the Olympic Trials, provided they have made the provisional height. All athletes who meet the automatic standard, however, will advance to the Olympic Trials, even if there are more than 24 who do such.

NOTE: On Monday, Quiller was named the Northeast Regional Field Event Athlete of the Year for the indoor track season by the College Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Last spring, he received the same honor during the outdoor season.