Whitney Ashley, who was a two-time All-American on the Cerritos College women's track and field team from 2008-09, earned a spot to compete in the US Olympic Trials in the discus after winning the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 6 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa as a senior at San Diego State University. Ashley will compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon on June 22 at 2:20 p.m. as one of 24 entries. If she records one of the top 12 distances, she will advance to the finals, which will take place at 3:05 p.m. on June 24. At the NCAA Championships, Ashley defeated 23 other entrants in the discus with a toss of 196 feet, 10 inches (59.99 meters). The mark, which came on her fifth of six throws, was a school record, a Mountain West record and a U.S. Olympic Trials "B" standard mark. The automatic standard is 60.00 meters, meaning she missed the "A" standard by one centimeter. The "A" standard has huge significance for two reasons: A country can only enter its maximum allotment of three athletes in an Olympic event if all have met the "A" standard — and an athlete who finishes in the top three at the U.S. Trials who does not have the "A" mark can be bypassed for one who does. Meeting the "A" standard would also have meant an automatic invitation to the trials, while those with the "B" standard have no such guarantee. However, with Ashley's mark currently the fifth best in the U.S. this year, and 24 athletes invited to compete, she is safely in the field at Eugene, and will compete on June 22.

As a sophomore with the Falcons in 2009, Ashley, who set the school record in the discus her freshman year, placed second at the state championships in the hammer, while she came in third in the shot put and fourth in the discus. Cerritos, who won the state championship both of her seasons, saw Ashley win the state title in the discus as a freshman, along with a second place finish in the shot put and came in fifth place in the hammer. For her efforts, she was named the Co-Field Athlete of the Meet after being named the South Coast Conference Athlete of the Year.

"We are extremely proud of Whitney (Ashley)," San Diego State head coach Shelia Burrell said. "It was an amazing competition to watch. She's worked so hard this year with (assistant coach) Dorian (Scott) and it all paid off. She was focused, determined and stayed cool under pressure."

For her efforts, Ashley was named All-Americans by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Honors are awarded for performances at the final site of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which were held in Des Moines, Iowa. In addition to her 1st Team honors in the discus, she was named 2nd Team All-American in the shot put. Honors for 1st Team USTFCCCA All-American are awarded to those who earn any portion of a team point at the national championships or reach an eight-entrant final. To earn 2nd Team All-America honors, they are handed out to those whose final placing in the national meet range from ninth to 16th place. It is the second consecutive season that Ashley earned 1st Team USTFCCCA All-American accolades after finishing seventh in 2011 (179-07). Ashley also got 2nd Team recognition in the shot put by finishing 13th with a mark of 53-09.25 (16.39m). At the indoor NCAA Championships in March, Ashley took eighth with a throw of 53-07.00 to garner 1st Team USTFCCCA accolades.

"It was unbelievable," Ashley said. "Once I made finals (after three throws), I just went for it. I was nervous, but I calmed myself down and just let it go. When the throw finally registered (on the scoreboard), I was ecstatic. I cried almost immediately. I know it's a cliché, but I've never really believed that dreams come true until today."

Ashley, who finished seventh at the NCAA Championships in 2010 with a mark of 179-07, set a personal record on her first throw of 184-05, which ranked second at the time. The 184-05 had her fourth after four rounds, as she followed with throws of 183-11, 169-01 and 175-00. On her fifth attempt, Ashley exploded past Arizona State's Anna Jelmini (192-10) with her record-setting throw of 196-10. For good measure, she finished with a toss of 185-01. Heading into the weekend, Ashley was ranked sixth of the 24 entrants. She bettered her previous PR of 183-01 an impressive four times on the day.

A few days later, returning to school, she happened to glance at the university's giant message board along Interstate 8. "It said, 'Congratulations NCAA discus champion Whitney Ashley,' " she recalled in an interview with the Riverside Press Enterprise. "And I screamed as if I had just won. That's actually when it hit me. I was like, 'Oh, my gosh. This is huge.' I couldn't really understand what was happening. And my coach (Scott) kept saying, 'Be patient, it's all going to come when it's supposed to.' And lo and behold, my first throw was the best one and it just kept getting better and better."

"I just missed it (the "A" standard), I know," she said. "But I'm going to get it at Trials. I'm not defeated yet. What does it mean?" she said of the chance to go to the Trials. "That all my hard work didn't go to waste. I know that sounds terrible, but I worked so hard. … I've had a hard time this year. I had a rough start to the year (because of injuries and inconsistency). My numbers were not anywhere I wanted them to be. So for me to get to the point where I'm actually consistent … it puts me in a good place and really boosts my confidence level to an all-time high. On any given day, anybody can beat anybody, and I'm going into his meet believing that I'm going to get that third spot."