NCAA track & field athletes aim to make Team USA at this weekend’s Olympic trials

The GIST: Baseball teams aren’t the only ones going for glory this weekend — tons of current and former NCAA track & field stars are also chasing spots on Team USA. Don’t blink: The U.S. Olympic Team Trials begin today and run through next Sunday on NBC.

• Current and recently graduated college athletes are at a disadvantage because they’re worn out from the NCAA outdoor ’ship, which ended on June 8th, when most pros they’ll compete against have focused only on this meet. Nonetheless, three runners could get it done.

💨 McKenzie Long, Ole Miss: Likely the NCAAer with the best shot at booking a ticket to Paris, Long won three women’s titles (the 100m and 200m sprints, plus the 4x100m relay) at the outdoor natty two weeks ago, — a mere four months after losing her mother. She could qualify in either individual event, but her 200m is especially impressive with multiple sub-22-second career showings.

🏃 Caleb Dean, Texas Tech: Dean’s stellar collegiate season earned him two titles in the indoor 60m hurdles and the outdoor 400m hurdles. In the latter, his stunning 47.23-second time was this close to breaking the NCAA record. If he can do it again, Dean could rep the red, white and blue next month.

🏆 Parker Valby, Florida: Arguably the most dominant name in collegiate track & field, Valby is the reigning champ in women’s cross country, the indoor 5k and 3k, and the outdoor 5k and 10k. Plus, she owns the NCAA record in three (!!!) of those races. The pro field is stacked in distance events, so she’ll have to pull out all the stops to qualify in either the 5k or 10k this weekend.