EUGENE, Ore. -- If this keeps up, even Ralphie might be running over steeples soon.

The University of Colorado strengthened its case for the title of Steeplechase U on Saturday as Billy Nelson qualified for the Beijing Olympics in the event at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.

Only a few weeks removed from finishing his CU career, Nelson is on his way to Beijing after finishing second in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. He'll join Jenny Barringer, the CU junior who qualified in the women's race Thursday.

"This has been my dream since I started running in '97," the 23-year-old said Saturday, miniature American flag in hand. "It was all or nothing, and I knew that's what I had to do."

Nelson had to finish in the top three Saturday and also cross the line in eight minutes, 24.6 seconds to gain theOlympic "A" standard required to compete in Beijing.

It was clear halfway through the race Nelson would have a chance to be in the top three because he was sticking close to winner Anthony Famiglietti, who bolted away from the field at the start.

But his arms didn't fly up in celebration until he crossed the finish line and saw his time of 8:21.47 on the board at Hayward Field.

"I was actually happy that they made you get the A standard here," said Nelson, who is planning to move to Eugene. "It's great for fans to see you have to perform here."

Former Buff Steve Slattery had a far different race. Slattery came into the meet with the top time in the nation but fell in the water hazard on the fourth lap Saturday. That forced him out of the race and shattered the former Lafayette resident's chances at this year's Olympics.

"I felt something pop, but I think that was just tightness. It hurts right now, though," he said with his wife, Sara, by his side. "It's disappointing. I don't know what to say."

Slattery said he tweaked something in the area of his left achilles tendon in the prelims. He couldn't push off when he tried to clear the steeple Saturday and splashed into the water. He landed hard and medical personnel rushed to help him to the infield.

He's only 27 years old and likely has a chance to qualify for London in 2012, but that seemed a long way from where he stood behind Hayward Field on Saturday afternoon.

"I felt like my fitness was good last year, and really I have felt better than last year," Slattery said. "I feel like this is a lost opportunity."

Nelson meanwhile continued to power around the track and sprinted to the line ahead of third-place Josh McAdams. He crossed in a Nike jersey he earned as part of a sponsorship deal he agreed to earlier this week.

This week has been the culmination of a long outdoor season that included a Big 12 title and a second-place finish at the NCAA championships. He finished behind Arizona State's Kyle Alcorn at that meet but was 26 seconds faster than Alcorn on Saturday. That's partially because this meet was the most important of the season for Nelson.

"With each race I've been pleasantly surprised with Billy since the middle of the season," CU coach Mark Wetmore said. "It's hard enough for a collegiate to maintain fitness over the length of a season, no less continue to improve. Billy was excited for this race, but I was cautiously optimistic and taking each race one at a time."

Nelson caught up with Barringer during a victory lap he'll likely remember the rest of his life. His former teammate was in the stands watching and made a change of plans after she saw him stand atop the same podium she did a few days earlier.

"She said she was going to leave after the race because her team had a training camp, but she's going to stay so we can hang out together," Nelson said. "We can stay and enjoy it that way."

U.S. track trials

At Hayward Field

Eugene, Ore.

All race distances in meters

x-qualified for Olympics

Men

200 Quarterfinals

(Top three from each heat plus next four best times advance)

1, q-Rodney Martin, Nike, 20.52. 2, q-Rubin Williams, Tennessee, 20.58. 3, q-Mickey Grimes, Nike, 21.18. 4, Jody Johnson, Sacramento State, 21.30. 5, Damein White, Cal. St., LA, 27.96. Tyson Gay, adidas, DNF.

Heat 2--1, q-Bernard Williams, adidas, 20.61. 2, q-Xavier Carter, Nike, 20.61. 3, q-John Capel, unattached, 20.70. 4, Jeremy Dodson, Colorado, 20.97. 5, Brent Gray, VS Athletics, 21.14. 6, Marcus Pugh, Oklahoma, 21.28.

Heat 3--1, q-Walter Dix, Florida State, 20.56. 2, q-Wallace Spearmon, Nike, 20.59. 3, q-Jordan Vaden, adidas, 20.73. 4, q-Evander Wells, Tennessee, 20.73.. 5, q-Michael Ray Garvin, unattached, 20.95. 6, Arman Dixon, Sacred Heart, 21.14.

Heat 4--1, q-Shawn Crawford, Nike, 20.33. 2, q-Charles Clark, Florida State, 20.55. 3, q-Michael Lawrence, unattached, 20.64. 4, q-Chris Dykes, Texas A&M, 20.85. 5. q-J-Mee Samuels, Arkansas, 20.86. Chris Berrian, unattached, DNS.

3,000 steeplechase Final

1, x-Anthony Famiglietti, adidas, 8:20.24. 2, x-William Nelson, 8:21.47. 3, x-Joshua McAdams, New Balance, 8:21.99. 4, Jacob Morse, Texas, 8:34.48. 5, Daniel Huling, Reebok, 8:35.30. 6, Michael Spence, IBR/Asics, 8:35.48. 7, Brian Olinger, Reebok, 8:36.09. 8, Jordan Desilets, unattached, 8:38.84. 9, Jacques Sallberg, Run With Us, 8:40.49. 10, Corey Nowitzke, unattached, 8:47.10. 11, Kyle Alcorn, Arizona State, 8:47.30. 12, Benjamin Bruce, unattached, 8:52.40. Steve Slattery, Nike, DNF. Anderson Smith, Reebok, DNS.

20,000 Walk Final

1, x-Kevin Eastler, U.S. Air Force, 1:27:07.1 2, Matthew Boyles, Miami Valley TC, 1:28:19.1. 3, Patrick Stroupe, unattached, 1:29:17.0. 4, John Nunn, U.S. Army, 1:30:34.9. 5, Tim Seaman, New York AC, 1:31:34.5. 6, Allen James, Bond Lake AC. 7, Benjamin Shorey, Wisconsin-Parkside, 1:33:15.3. 8, Philip Dunn, New Balance, 1:33:51.4. 9, Charles Collier, Athletics East, 1:34.59.3. 10, Steven Quirke, Parkside AC, 1:35:44.9. 11, Michael Tarantino, World Class Walk, 1:38:01.7. 12, Jared Swehosky, unattached, 1:39:13.1. 13, Theron Kissinger, CRW/N Balance, 1:40:34.6. Christopher Tegtmeier, Concordia/Neb., DQ.

High jump Final

1, x-Jesse Williams, Nike, 7 feet, 6 1/2 inches. 2 (tie), Jamie Nieto, Nike, and x-Andra Manson, Nike, 7-5 1/4. 4, Cedric Norman, unattached, 7-5 1/4. 5, Keith Moffatt, unattached, 7-5 1/4. 6 (tie), Adam Shunk, Nike; Scott Sellers, Kansas State; and x-Dustin Jonas, Nike, 7-4 1/4. 9, Tora Harris, 7-2 1/4. 10, William Littleton, unattached, 7-2 1/4. 11, Jim Dilling, unattached, 7-2 1/4. 12, Grant Lindsey, Kentucky, 7-1/4. 13, Jerome Miller, unattached, 7-1/4. Kyley Johnson, Team XO, NH.

Women

Hammer Final

1, x-Jessica Cosby, Nike, 232-0. 2, x-Amber Campbell, Mjolnir Throws, 227-2. 3, Sarah Veress, unattached, 225-1. 4, x-Loree Smith, New York AC, 220-02. 5, Kristal Yush, unattached, 215-6. 6, Keturah Lofton, unattached, 215-02. 7, Kelly Godsey, unattached, 215-01. 8, Melissa Myerscough, unattached, 214-05. 9, Cari Soong, Team XO, 213-0. 10, Brittany Hinchcliffe, Team XO, 213-0. 11, Brittany Riley, unattached, 211-05. 12, Erin Galreath, New York AC, 208-04.

Shot put Final

1, x-Michelle Carter, unattached, 61-10 1/4. 2, x-Kristin Heaston, Nike, 60-2. 3, x-Jillian Camarena, New York AC, 59-5 1/2/ 4. Chandra Brewer, unattached, 59-2. 5, Elizabeth Wanless, New York AC, 58-11 1/2. 6, Susan King, unattached, 58-10. 7, Jessica Pressley, Arizona State, 58-9 1/2. 8. Abigail Rushton, unattached, 57-1 1/2. 9, Gail Lee, unattached, 54-5 1/2. 10, Adriane Blewitt, unattached, 54-1 3/4. 11, Sarah Stevens, Arizona State, 53-1/4. 12, Patience Knight, Texas Tech, 52-9 1/2.