EUGENE, Ore. — The U.S. Olympic track trials resume tonight, but former Saratoga Springs star Nicole Blood will not be occupying her spot in the first heat of the

1,500-meter run quarterfinals.

The University of Oregon soph­omore scratched from the event Wednesday, due to an ailment which popped up Monday, when she did not finish her semifinal heat in the 5,000.

“She had tightness in her back when she came off the track,” said Greg Walker of the Oregon sports information office. He said the plan was for Blood to remain in the 1,500 if her back improved, or to scratch if it didn’t.

This is the second time that Blood, a three-time college All-American, has been hindered by a problem with her back.

Just prior to starting her freshman cross country season with the Ducks, Blood suffered a stress fracture in the sacrum, a small, triangular bone at the base of the spine behind the pelvis. She missed more than seven weeks of training.

But Blood bounced back later in the school year and also excelled as a sophomore, placing eighth in the NCAA cross country championships and third in the NCAA outdoor 5,000.

Blood had only qualified in the two races. Aside from discus thrower Summer Pierson, who finished sixth Sunday, no other athletes with Capital Region ties made the field.