El Pasoan & Olympic hopeful Brian Barraza qualifies for final in 3000m steeplechase

EUGENE, Oregon - The Olympic dream for El Pasoan Brian Barraza is alive and well.

Monday, at the USA Track & Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, Barraza qualified for the final race in the 3000 meter steeplechase.

In the second heat of the competition, Barraza finished in 4th place with a time of 8:31.96.

The top five finishers in each heat automatically qualify for Friday's final.

Barraza graduated from Franklin High School in 2013, and then went on to join the track and field team at the University of Houston.

Barraza won't be the only one with ties to the Sun City headed to the final in event.

Anthony Rotich is a former member of the UTEP track and field team.

Since graduating from UTEP in 2015, Rotich, a native of Kenya, became a U.S. citizen in 2019 and the joined the U.S. Army Reserve.

In the first heat of the 3000 meter steeplechase, Rotich finished in 8th place, but still was able to qualify for the final because of a top finish time of 8:25.74.

The final race of the 3000 meter steeplechase will be Friday.