Gilbert's Vance Nilsson finishes 11th at Olympic Trials, misses final by 2 spots

Like many sports, track and field is defined by the smallest of margins. And in Gilbert senior Vance Nilsson’s case, it was a mere .06 seconds that separated him from earning a spot in the men’s 400-meter hurdle final at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.

Nilsson ran 49.77 Friday night in Eugene, Oregon, a personal best, to finish 11th overall in the second heat. Only the top nine made it to the final on Sunday. The 18-year-old came in just behind Nike’s Khallifah Rosser in the second heat, almost chasing down the professional runner at the finish line to advance.

"Bittersweet," Nilsson The Arizona Republic in a message following his race. "Really wanted to make that final because I knew I could, but at the same time I’m happy with how well I did."

It was a valiant effort for Nilsson, who drew the praise of NBC broadcasters Leigh Diffey, Ato Boldon and Sanya Richards-Ross for his race. With his time of 49.77, Nilsson — who already owns the national record in the 300-meter hurdles — moves up to No. 4 on the all-time list for the 400-meter hurdles in U.S. high school history.

“We talk about it — you have the big names, you have the big stars and then you have the youngsters, high schoolers, like this who do incredible things, who run out of their skin to be able to run personal bests like that,” Richards-Ross said after the race.

Even social media was abuzz with the performance of the high schooler.

The season isn’t over for Nilsson. With his win at the United States Track and Field Under-20 championships earlier this month, Nilsson has qualified for the U-20 World Athletics Championships in August. The championships will be held in Peru.

There, Nilsson will run in the 400-meter hurdles before heading off to begin his college career at Florida.

While Nilsson barely missed the final, his club teammate — 2018 Mesa Westwood alum James Smith II — ran 49.43 to finish eighth and punch his ticket into the final.

Smith II, one of the top prep hurdlers in state history, first competed at Arizona before transferring to Texas A&M. This past year, Smith II moved back home to be coached by his dad and enrolled at GCU as a graduate student. He was an All-American in the 400-meter hurdles with Arizona and Texas A&M.

On Sunday, Smith II will race against nine other competitors with a spot to Paris on the line. Smith II will have to wait until the very end — the men’s 400-meter hurdles final, at 5:20 p.m., is the second to last race of the entire meet.

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe .

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gilbert's Vance Nilsson finishes 11th at Olympic Trials, misses final by 2 spots