EUGENE, Ore. – Headlined by Justin Gaymon’s advancement to the finals, a host of Bulldogs continued their competition at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday night.

Gaymon was one of eight hurdlers to advance to the 400-meter hurdle finals. In addition, junior thrower Michelle Thompson finished ninth in the javelin and junior John Freeman was 22nd in the hammer.

The USA Championships will be broadcast to a national television on NBC Sunday from 4-6 p.m. EDT.

The meet began on Thursday and runs through today. Those individuals who finish in the top three in their respective events automatically advance to the IAAF World Outdoor Track & Field Championships (Aug. 15-23) in Berlin, Germany, if they have hit the “A” standard in their event and have met other qualifications.

Gaymon had the fifth-fastest finish during the semifinal round with a time of 49.39, just behind 2008 Olympic Gold medalist Angelo Taylor (49.28). Gaymon, who had the second third-place finish of his career at the NCAA Championships in 2009, will join Washington State’s Jeshua Anderson and South Carolina’s Johnny Dutch, who were first and second, respectively, at the NCAA meet, and a host of professionals during the finals at 4:05 p.m. today.

Former Bulldog hurdler LaRon Bennett missed qualifying for the finals by one spot after clocking a 49.86 in the semifinals.

After opening with a foul, Thompson completed her three throws with a top mark of 162 feet, 11 inches for ninth place. The runner-up at this year’s SEC meet, Thompson will be returning for her senior season in 2010 after recording the third-longest throw in school history (177-10) earlier this year.

Also of note, former Georgia All-American sprinter David Dickens was 30th in the first round of the 200 with a time of 20.93.

On Thursday, Hill jumpstarted the meet for the Bulldogs by exploding for a school-record mark of 275 feet, 2 inches to win the men’s javelin. This completed Hill’s undefeated junior season for the Bulldogs as he broke his own school record in the event twice. He also finished as the SEC, NCAA East Regional and NCAA champion (his second in a row) in 2009.

Defending USA champion Reese Hoffa competes in the shot put today at 3:35 p.m. EDT as heptathlete Hyleas Fountain continues her pursuit of another national championship throughout the day.

- Georgia Sports Communications