Anna Willard passed her first Olympic test. Barely.

The Greenwood, Maine, native advanced to the finals of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Willard, a 2002 graduate of Telstar Regional High School, finished sixth in the third of three heats Friday with a time of 9 minutes, 28.52 seconds. Fortunately for Willard, her heat was fast enough to get her into the final.

With the top four finishers automatically advancing to Sunday's final, the next three fastest runners would round out the field of 15 finalists. Willard's time was third fastest of the non-automatic qualifiers.

"I was just trying my hardest," Willard said. "This year I really wanted to go out and compete."

Willard needed to compete just to advance. With the leaders running a quick pace, Willard hung with them and then held on. She claimed the final qualifying slot by .62 seconds.

When Willard finished her heat, she didn't know if it was one of the greatest moments of her career or one of the worst.

She could not find the results anywhere. She left the track and went into the mixed zone, where reporters mingle with athletes to conduct interviews. Willard found a monitor that showed she finished in 9:28.52.

"So close!" she said. "Oh, my God. I really did not mean to do that."

Despite being the final qualifier, Willard recorded the 11th fastest time among the finalists. Teammate Jenifer Barringer also advanced, finishing fourth in her heat with a time of 9:29.20.

In the 20-kilometer racewalk, two-time Olympian Kevin Eastler of Farmington finished 43rd in 1:28:44