EUGENE, Ore. — Former Georgia track and field standout Reese Hoffa finished third in the shot put during the final day of the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Sunday.

In addition, Justin Gaymon, a senior for the Bulldogs in 2009, finished sixth in the 400-meter hurdle finals.

The meet began on Thursday and ran through Sunday. 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.

These finishes come just days after Georgia’s Chris Hill won his first javelin title at the USA Outdoor Championships. 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.

Hoffa, who is the reigning World Outdoor champion and therefore was automatically qualified for this year’s World Championships, reached a distance of 69-2.75 on his sixth and final throw to edge Adam Nelson, who also trains occasionally in Athens. Hoffa had a top mark of 67-5.25 going into his final attempt while Nelson had already registered a throw of 68-5.75. Hoffa’s sixth attempt outdistanced Nelson’s by 3 � inches to clinch the third spot.

Christian Cantwell (71-7.25) cruised to a victory in the event with the second-best throw in the world this year and Dan Taylor (69-7) was the runner-up. Hoffa assured himself an invitation to the World Championships by winning last year, which gave Nelson, who is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, a spot at the Berlin meet for taking fourth place.

Gaymon clocked a 49.31 in the 400 hurdle finals to take sixth. He completes his Bulldog career as a three-time SEC champion, two-time NCAA East Regional champion and a six-time All-American and holds the school record in the 400 hurdles after recording a time of 48.46 at last year’s Olympic Trials on this same University of Oregon track.

Also of note, former Lady Bulldog NCAA champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist Hyleas Fountain was forced to withdraw from the heptathlon with two events remaining because of a neck injury. Fountain, who had a 472-point lead in the competition before withdrawing, injured her neck during the first day of competition on Saturday and then aggravated the injury again on Sunday.

- Georgia Sports Communications