MILWAUKEE (AP) — Zach Stoppelmoor won the men's 500 meters at the U.S. trials on Monday to earn his first trip to a Winter Olympics, turning in the best time over two days of racing after star long track speedskating star Jordan Stolz — already assured of a berth at the Milan Cortina Games — opted to sit out his second heat.
Stolz had prequalified for four events next month in Italy before the trials based on World Cup performances this season — the 500, 1,000, 1,500 and mass start — so he only needed to show up at the starting line once at each distance to officially seal his spots. The 21-year-old from Wisconsin will be considered a medal favorite in all four of those races at the Olympics.
In Sunday's initial round of the 500, Stolz turned in the fastest time, 34.761 seconds; Stopplemoor was third-fastest. Since he's been fighting a head cold and feeling tired, Stolz chose to merely start the 1,500 on Sunday before skating off-course and then opted to skip the second chance at the 500 on Monday.
Stolz, who is from about 40 minutes north of Milwaukee, wrapped up the four-day trials by turning in the fastest time in the second run of the mass start, pulling away from the pack easily and taking first place in that event. That goes alongside his second place in the 500 and third place in the 1,000, in which he recovered after an early stumble and fall to the ice.
Ethan Cepuran came in second in the mass start standings and will head to the Feb. 6-22 Olympics in that event and the team pursuit.
Mia Manganello, a 36-year-old from Florida who like Stolz already was prequalified in the event, won the women's mass start. Sarah Warren, a 29-year-old from Chicago, took second place in the women's 500 in 38.66 with Monday's best time; reigning gold medalist Erin Jackson had the best time Sunday, although she was prequalified and only needed to be at the start. Jackson skipped Monday's heat.
Warren let out a scream when she saw her time Monday, and then the tears began flowing. She said she's had a total of nine knee operations, plus another surgery on an ankle.
Stoppelmoor was in Monday's final pairing for the 500, and while his time Sunday already was fast enough to put him on the U.S. team in Milan, he said afterward he wasn't 100% certain of that. Either way, he went out and clocked 34.661 seconds, a 10th of a second faster than Stolz was the day before.
“Right now, he’s one of the most dominant people in our sport. So any time I’m even close to beating him, it always feels good,” said Stoppelmoor, a 26-year-old from Iowa. “The goal is obviously just to win, not to necessarily beat him. But it does feel good.”
After crossing the finish line, Stoppelmoor skated over to the stands for lengthy hugs with his mother, Dawn, and father, Tom.
“My parents just mean the world to me. I wouldn’t be here without them,” Stoppelmoor said. “A surreal moment to take in with them.”
He'll head to Italy with what he called one dream accomplished. Now there's more to do.
“The goal is always make the Olympic team and then, after that, win gold at the Olympics,” Stoppelmoor said on the last day of the trials. “That’s obviously what I’m going there for.”
The full U.S. long track speedskating squad:
Women: Jackson, Manganello, Warren, Brittany Bowe, Greta Myers, Giorgia Birkeland
Men: Stolz, Stoppelmoor, Cepuran, Casey Dawson, Conor McDermott-Mastowy, Cooper McLeod, Emery Lehman
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Brittany Bowe competes in the women's 1,500 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials for long track speed skating at the Pettit National Ice Center Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026 in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Jordan Stolz competes in the men's 500 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials for long track speed skating at the Pettit National Ice Center Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026 in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Families whose loved ones died in the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school massacre sobbed in court while listening to frantic 911 calls during the first day of testimony in the trial of a police officer accused of failing to protect the children by not doing enough to stop the attack.
A prosecutor told jurors Tuesday that former school officer Adrian Gonzales arrived outside the school just before the teenage gunman went inside but didn’t make a move to stop him even when a teacher pointed to where he was firing in a parking lot.
The officer went into Robb Elementary only “after the damage had been done,” special prosecutor Bill Turner said during opening statements.
The judge overseeing the case and attorneys warned jurors that the testimony and images will be emotional and difficult to process. Among those expected to testify will be some of the victims’ families.
Tissue boxes were brought to the families as the testimony began. Some shook their heads as they listened to audio from the first calls for help. Their cries grew louder as the horror unfolded on the recordings.
Defense attorneys disputed that Gonzales — one of two officers charged in the 2022 attack — did nothing, saying he radioed for more help and evacuated children as other police arrived.
“The government makes it want to seem like he just sat there,” said defense attorney Nico LaHood. “He did what he could, with what he knew at the time.”
Prosecutors focused sharply on Gonzales’ steps in the minutes after the shooting began and as the first officers arrived. They did not address the hundreds of other local, state and federal officers who arrived and waited more than an hour to confront the gunman, who was eventually killed by a tactical team of officers.
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to child abandonment or endangerment and could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison if convicted.
Witness testimony will resume Thursday morning.
Defense attorneys said Tuesday that Gonzales was focused on assessing where the gunman was while also thinking he was being fired on without protection against a high-powered rifle.
“This isn’t a man waiting around. This isn’t a man failing to act,” defense attorney Jason Goss said.
Gonzales and former Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo are the only two officers to face criminal charges over the response. Arredondo’s trial has not been scheduled.
Gonzales, a 10-year veteran of the police force, had extensive active shooter training, the special prosecutor said.
“When a child calls 911, we have a right to expect a response,” Turner said, his voice trembling with emotion.
As Gonzales waited outside, children and teachers hid inside darkened classrooms and grabbed scissors “to confront a gunman,” Turner said. “They did as they had been trained.”
It’s rare for an officer to be criminally charged with not doing more to save lives.
“He could have stopped him, but he didn’t want to be the target,” said Velma Lisa Duran, sister of teacher Irma Garcia, who was among the 19 students and two teachers who were killed.
Some families of the victims have voiced anger that more officers were not charged given that nearly 400 federal, state and local officers converged on the school soon after the attack.
An investigation found 77 minutes passed from the time authorities arrived until they breached the classroom and killed Salvador Ramos, who was obsessed with violence and notoriety leading up to the shooting.
State and federal reviews of the shooting cited cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned why officers waited so long.
The officer’s attorneys told jurors that there was plenty of blame to go around — from the lack of security at the school to police policy — and that prosecutors will try to play on their emotions by showing photos from the scene.
“What the prosecution wants you to do is get mad at Adrian. They are going to try to play on your emotions,” Goss said.
“The monster who hurt these children is dead,” he said.
Prosecutors likely will face a high bar to win a conviction. A Florida sheriff’s deputy was acquitted by a jury after being charged with failing to confront the shooter in the Parkland, Florida, school massacre in 2018 — the first such prosecution in the U.S. for an on-campus shooting.
Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press journalists Nicholas Ingram in Corpus Christi, Texas; Juan A. Lozano in Houston; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
Texas Ranger detective Jason Shea looks at photos of a phone as he gives testimony during a trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Texas Ranger detective Jason Shea gives testimony during a trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales, left, stands with his attorney Nico LaHood during a break in his trial at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, Pool)
Family members attend the trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
