Steeplechaser Mason Ferlic shoots for the stars on the track and in his field as aerospace engineer

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Steeplechase runner Mason Ferlic is taking aim at the stars both on the track and in his field. He will try to earn a spot for the Paris Games with a top-three performance at Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Down the road, the 30-year-old with a master’s degree in aerospace engineering has his sights set on possibly becoming an astronaut. Ferlic’s immediate focus is strictly on those 28 unforgiving jumps and seven leaps over a water pit that stand in his way in the steeplechase. Because falling happens. Each time, though, he’s picked himself up and gotten better.