William and Mary grad student Chas Gillespie qualified for his first Olympic Trials Saturday, running 1:04:56 in the Gerry Bjorklund Half-Marathon to slide in under the U.S. Marathon Trials standard.  Gillespie, a 2010 graduate of Harvard, was 12th in the race that was held in conjunction with the 2011 Grandma's Marathon.

Gillespie finished up his final year of collegiate eligibility at the College in 2010-11, running as the Tribe's top finisher at the NCAA cross country championships in the fall and taking third indoors at the IC4A Championships 5,000m.  The Wilmette, Ill. native was the Colonial Athletic Association's Male Cross Country Runner of the Year, and is currently pursuing his master's in education at W&M.

The 2012 U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials will be held Jan. 14, 2012 in Houston, Texas.  The top three finishers for both men and women who have met the Olympic standards of 2:18:00 and 2:43:00 (respectively) will qualify to advance to the London Olympics in August.  Gillespie is the first man from W&M to qualify for the 2012 trials, and will be joined in Houston by Kathy Newberry '00, who ran 2:35:23 at the 2010 New York Marathon.  Newberry has already been named to the 2011 World Championships marathon team for the United States.

Marathon Trials Qualifiers
Chas Gillespie M.Ed 2012 1:04:56 (2011 Grandmas Half Marathon)
Kathy Newberry '00 2:35:23 (2010 New York Marathon)

Track Trials Qualifiers (projected off 2008 standards)
Kathy Newberry '00 10,000m Provisional (32:57.51, 2011 Payton Jordan Invitational)
Janice Keppler Pole Vault Provisional (4.25m, 2011 US Indoor Championships)
Christo Landry '08 10,000m Provisional (28:30.07, 2011 Payton Jordan Invitational)
Brandon Heroux '12 Javelin Provisional (73.09m, 2011 Penn Relays)

Previous Olympic Marathon Trials Competitors
1996 - Steve Swift '94, Leslie Minnix-Wolfe '83
2000 - Steve Swift '94
2004 - Megan Holden '91
2008 - Cheryl (Bauer) Anderson '03, Megan Holden '91, Jacob Frey '02