Hayward Field, historic track venue in Eugene, Ore., was unforgiving to Dan Strackeljahn, a former Eastern distance runner, and JaRod Tobler, Eastern track’s jumps and vaults coach, at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships this past weekend.

Both athletes failed to automatically qualify for a spot on Team USA, which will compete at the IAAF World Championships August 15-23 in Berlin. In order to automatically be invited to compete for Team USA, an athlete must finish in the top three at the USATF championships, which serve as trails for the national team.

Furthermore, in order to compete at the IAAF championships, an athlete must meet a minimum qualifying standard, regardless of finish at the USATF championships.

Tobler narrowly met the latter requirement with his entry mark of 8.16 meters in the long jump, which seeded him seventh overall at the USATF championships; the international qualifying standard in the event is 8.15 meters.

However, Tobler failed to place in the top three on Saturday in Eugene. He finished 25th overall with a top distance of 7.33 meters, obtained on his second jump. Tobler fouled on his first and third attempts, ending his day early.

The top eight jumpers advanced to a final round where they are given three more attempts; the last athlete to advance was Randall Flimmons, with a jump of 7.99 meters, .66 meters further than Tobler’s mark. The eventual U.S. champion in the event was Dwight Phillips, of the Track Star Apparel team, with a winning mark of 8.57 meters.

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene last June, Tobler narrowly missed qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team that represented the country in Beijing. Tobler finished sixth, with a jump of 8.09 meters.

Strackeljahn, who was seeded 25th in the field after posting a personal-best 3:42.57 in the 1500-meter run in late May at the Indiana Invaders High Performance Series meet, ran a time five seconds slower in the first round of the event at the USATF championships Thursday.

He finished 32nd overall with a 3:47.55, failing to qualify for Sunday’s final. The last runner in the field of twelve to qualify for the finals was Derron Brown, with a 3:41.60, about a second faster than Strackeljahn’s best. Team Nike’s Lopez Lomong won the event with a Sunday time of 3:41.68.

Strackeljahn, who is an Eastern graduate and full-time teacher at Minooka High School, was making his debut at the USATF Nationals. While at Eastern, he was the 2007 OVC Male Track Athlete of the Year.

Jeff Jurinek can be reached at 581-7943 or at densportsdesk@gmail.com.