FAIRFAX, Va. – Last summer, David Verburg left Hayward Field with a gold medal around his neck.

This year, he hopes to step off the track with a ticket to the Olympics in hand.

Verburg, one of the most decorated track athletes in George Mason history, will get his chance this weekend to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. The former 11-time NCAA All-American will compete in the 400-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

His qualifying time of 44.41 is the second-fastest among entrants, behind only two-time Olympic gold medalist LaShawn Merritt. The top three finishers in the 400-meter final with the Olympic qualifying standard, which Verburg already has met, will earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.

Verburg, a 2013 Mason grad, opens the first day of the trials on Friday with the first round at 8:15 p.m. (EST). The top two in each of the five heats, along with the next six fastest times (for a total of 16) advance to the semifinals at 4:46 p.m. (EST) on Saturday. The top eight reach the finals, which will be held at 7:48 p.m. (EST) on Sunday. The finals will be broadcast live on NBC and streamed on NBCOlympics.com.

The big stage is nothing new for Verburg, who finished seventh in the 400 at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. Just last year, he won the 400 at the 2015 USATF Championships in Eugene. He set a personal best with a time of 44.41 in the semifinals and then defeated Merritt in the finals by three hundredths of a second for the gold medal.

“It wasn't the prettiest finish. My head was thrashing. My teeth were gritting. I was fighting but I was able to come away with the win,” Verburg said last June after the race. “I'm not the tallest guy out there by any means. I've probably one of the shortest (at 5-foot-7). But I've always run with heart, even through college.”

His finish at USATF qualified him for the 15th IAAF World Championships last August and he reached the semifinals in Beijing. A year before, in Poland, he took fourth in the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He has also been a member of two gold-medal winning 4x400-meter relay teams – at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow and the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.

Verburg, who hails from Lynchburg, Va., but now trains in Florida, compiled an impressive resume in his four years at Mason.

He was a seven-time All-American in indoor track and four-time All-American in outdoor track. In 2012 and 2013, he finished fourth in the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships to earn USTFCCCA First-Team All-American honors both times. He was also a member of the 2012 4x400-meter relay team that earned First Team All-American honors for finishing seventh.

He was twice named the Colonial Athletic Association Male Athlete of the Year and was tabbed the 2010 CAA Rookie of the Year. He was a four-time CAA champion in the 400-meter dash, never losing the conference title during his career. He also won conference championships in the 200-meter dash and the 4x400-meter relay (twice). He was also a seven-time IC4A champion in the 400 and 4x400.