Nearly 11,000 fans took in the final day of competition at the USA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field. 

In one of the most anticipated races, local favorite Nick Symmonds held off a late push by Khadevis Robinson to take the victory in the 800 meters.

The Springfield resident earned a spot in the World Championships later this summer in Berlin.

While Symmonds continues to excel here at home, he’s yet to find much success on the world stage.  After his victory Sunday, he said he thinks his experience will start to pay off.

 “When you first start running on the national scene, those split-second decisions take a full second to make.  Once you start seeing everything, running different races, you learn to make those decisions a little quicker,” Symmonds said.  “A quarter of a second can be the difference between winning a race and losing it.” 

Symmonds’ Oregon Track Club Elite teammate Christian Smith finished in a disappointing fourth place, failing to qualify for the World Championships. 

University of Oregon Junior Andrew Wheating, who finished second at last year’s Olympic Trials, had to pull out of this year’s competition after injuring his calf earlier this month.