With her second place finish in the discus at the USA Outdoor Championships on June 27, former Cerritos College state champion Whitney Ashley has qualified for the IAAF World Championships. Ashley, who set a school record of 151' 8" (since broken) as a sophomore in 2009, won the 2008 CCCAA State Championship, earned a scholarship to San Diego State University, where she won the 2012 NCAA Championship in the discus.

Ashley (pictured, left) qualified for the World Championships by finishing second at the USA Outdoor Championships June 27 in Eugene, Ore., with a toss of 204 feet, 1 inch (62.21 meters). It was her second runner-up finish at the meet in three years (also 2013). She will be competing in Beijing on August 23 in the Qualification Group, with the finals taking place on August 25.

The qualification groups of the discus throw will be contested on Sunday, Aug. 23 (Aug. 24 in Beijing), with Group A slated for 6:35 p.m. PDT (9:35 a.m. CDT) and Group B set for 7:55 p.m. PDT (10:55 a.m. CDT). The final, meanwhile, will be contested on Monday, Aug. 24 (Aug. 25 in Beijing) at 4 a.m. PDT (7 p.m. CDT). To advance to the finals in the discus at the last IAAF World Championships in 2013, the competitor had to hit 63.00 meters (206-08) or at least finish among the top 12 in the qualifying rounds. Ashley came in 24th in the 2013 meet.

"I would like to think I have an incredibly high chance of making the (U.S.) Olympic team next year," Ashley told the San Diego State University website www.goaztecs.com. "I have always maintained a top-2 finish at USA's, while still learning the event, but next year I will be extremely polished, a lot stronger, a lot more mature and a lot more experienced as a thrower. I don't think this it too far-fetched to say, but I think I have a chance to win the (U.S.) Olympic Trials next year, and have everyone chase me and me not be the chaser for once."