Lexi Weeks is 19 and headed to the Olympics in Rio de Janiero to compete for the United States.
The Arkansas freshman from Cabot made the team by clearing a personal-best 15 feet, 5 inches to take third in the pole vault at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
“Coming in, I just wanted to come and get some experience and just have fun," Weeks told reporters in Eugene. "I’m dreaming right now."
Joining Weeks in making the U.S team Sunday were Sandi Weeks and Michael Tinsley.
Morris, an NCAA indoor champion at Arkansas in 2015, took second in the pole vault at 15-7.
Tinsley, the 2012 Olympics silver medalist in the 400-meter hurdles from Little Rock, took third in 48.82.
Morris, the U.S. indoor champion and runner-up at the World Championships, has been Weeks' training partner this year. The two embraced when Weeks cleared her final height.
"Just to have Sandi, she’s just been such an inspiration to me," Weeks said. "It’s just been her and I training together over the past few weeks since NCAAs and having her there pushing me.
"She did tell me the other day that, 'You know that you have a shot,' and I didn’t believe it. She’s been so encouraging and supportive of me throughout this whole thing. It’s just been incredible and to get to do it with her is just so amazing.”
Weeks, the first freshman to win NCAA indoor and outdoor titles in the pole vault, cleared her first attempts Sunday at 14-5 1/4, 14-9, 15-1 and 15-3. She missed her first attempt at 15-5, then made it on her second.
“Lexi was spot on,” said Arkansas assistant Bryan Compton, who coaches the pole vaulters. “She made almost everything."
Compton said that when Weeks realized after clearing 15-3 she had made the Olympic team, she became emotional.
“She started crying, but she did a great job of holding it together,” Compton said. “Then she made the next bar, but started crying again.
“I said, ‘OK, let’s shut it down and quit jumping. That’s enough.’ She was running out of energy.
“Lexi’s had an incredible freshman year. She’s taken it all stride by stride, and it’s helped her to train with Sandi.”
Morris, who turned 24 Friday during the pole vault qualifying, said she's proud of Weeks.
“A few days ago we were talking about it and I said, ‘Do you realize how good of a shot you have of making this team?’" Morris said. "And she said, ‘No, not really.’ I guess she probably believes me now that she had a really good shot of making this team because she knows how to jump and she knows how to handle weather and she’s a tough competitor.
"So for both of us to make this team together representing Arkansas and the USA together under Coach Compton, I’m just so happy that we could accomplish all this and make our coach proud because he puts everything into us.”
Morris made her first Olympic team seven weeks after fracturing a bone in her left wrist May 20 when her pole broke during a meet in the Czech Republic.
The Olympic Trials were Morris’ first meet since the injury. She cleared 14-5 1/4 on her second attempt, then made 14-9, 15-1, 15-3 and 15-5 on her first attempts. She missed her first attempt at 15-9 — the winning height cleared Sunday by 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jenn Suhr — then passed on her final two attempts.
“Sandi was very, very off in warmups,” Compton said. “It was due to a little nerves and not being in competition for so long. But she fought her way through it and started putting some good jumps together.”
April Steiner Bennett, Arkansas’ first All-American female vaulter in 2001 who finished eighth at the 2008 Olympics, cleared 14-9 Sunday on her second attempt, then missed three attempts at 15-1.
Stephanie Brown, an All-American runner for the Razorbacks, ran 4:11.13 in the 1,500 final to take 10th.
Alex Gochenour, a senior at Arkansas this year, finished 13th in the heptathlon with 5,794 points. Taliyah Brooks, a Razorbacks sophomore, wasn’t able to finish the heptatlon. She dropped out before the final of seven events, the 800, with 4,154 points.