Track star from Fallon heading to Beijing

FALLON " Triple jumper Aarik Wilson of Fallon has earned an Olympic spot in the Beijing Games.

Wilson, the 2007 indoor and outdoor U.S. champion, won the U.S. Olympic track and field trials with a leap of 57 feet, 2 1/4 inches Sunday in Eugene, Ore.

The 2001 Churchill County High School graduate reached a personal best last year when he leaped 57-8 1/4. He finished the season with a No. 4 world ranking.

Triple jumpers Kenta Bell and Rafeeq Curry also are heading to Beijing. Bell was second at 56-6 1/2 and Rafeeq Curry recorded 56-5 3/4.

Wilson spent the last four years trying to improve after his failed attempt to make the Olympics in 2004.

An all-American at Indiana University, he finished 14th at the Olympic trials that year with a jump of 52-9 1/2.

In 2001, Wilson won his second Class 4A state high school title in the triple jump in record-setting fashion.

Fallon is a small farming and military town located 60 miles east of Reno.