Will Conwell, a 2001 Kentwood High School graduate, will compete in the discus at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials next week at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
Conwell is one of 24 competitors who will throw in the qualifying round on Monday, June 25. The top 12 will advance to the finals Thursday, June 28 to contend for the three Olympic berths.
Conwell, 29, has the fifth-best throw in 2012 among U.S. athletes with a mark of 207 feet, 11 inches. He placed sixth with a throw of 202-7 at the 2008 Olympic Trials, just 3 feet shy of third place and an Olympic roster spot.
At Kentwood, Conwell won the state high school shot put title in 2000 and was a standout football player. He played two years of football at the University of Washington before deciding to focus on throwing for the Huskies. He was a three-time Pacific-10 Conference medalist and competed in the 2006 NCAA nationals.
Conwell has trained for the past two years at Auburn University in Alabama in preparation to make the Summer Olympics in London. The discus competition is Aug. 6-7.
He is married to Kate Soma, a former UW track athlete who was the 2005 NCAA champion in the pole vault.
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