July 9, 2004
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Former San Diego State standout Marla Runyan ran the fastest preliminary time in the 5,000 meters of 15:36.75 Friday evening at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials in Sacramento, Calif. Runyan now advances to the finals next Mon., July 12, in an attempt to qualify for her second consecutive Olympics.
Runyan, who entered the meet with the top qualifying effort of 14:59.20, edged out Nike teammate Shalane Flanagan (15:37.42) for the day's fastest time by less than a second. The pair will be joined by 12 others in Monday's finals.
Other former Aztecs competing in day one action at the trials were Leslie Miller-Russell and Melinda Smedley.
Miller-Russell, a former All-American heptathlete, earned the last spot in Sunday's javelin final by recording the 12th-best throw of the day of 159-10 on her first attempt. She beat out Karyn McCready (153-00) by more than six feet for the final spot. Nike's Kim Kreiner had the best performance of the day with a mark of 177-03, followed by Serene Ross at 177-00.
A six-time Mountain West Conference champion, Smedley was unable to advance out of the 100-meter quarterfinals, logging the 23rd-fastest time of 11.91.
The next Aztec to compete at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials will be Miller-Russell on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. (PDT) in the finals of the javelin at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex. A day later, four-time All-American Tonette Dyer makes her debut in the 400-meter quarterfinals and Runyan competes in the 5,000 meters.
2004 U.S. Olympic Team Track & Field Trials
Sacramento, Calif. - Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex
Friday, July 9
Women's 5,000 Meters - Prelims (Top 5) 1 Marla Runyan Nike 15:36.75 2 Jennifer Rhines adidas 15:50.08 3 Shalane Flanagan Nike 15:37.42 4 Amy Rudolph adidas 15:50.63 5 Carrie Tollefson adidas 15:38.64
Women's 100 Meters - Quarterfinals (Top 5) 1 Lauryn Williams Miami 11.13 2 Inger Miller Nike 11.28 3 LaTasha Colander Nike 11.35 4 Torri Edwards adidas 11.36 5 Gail Devers Nike 11.36 23 Melinda SmedleyUnattached 11.91
Women's Javelin - Qualifying Round (Top 12 qualify for finals) 1 Kim Kreiner Nike 54.02mq 177-03 2 Serene Ross Nike 53.95mq 177-00 3 Dana Pounds Air Force 52.68mq 172-10 4 Erica Wheeler Unattached 52.64mq 172-08 5 Emily Carlsten Unattached 52.00mq 170-07 6 Sarah Malone Oregon 51.86mq 170-02 7 Inge Jorgensen Unattached 51.80mq 169-11 8 Denise O'Connell Unattached 51.78mq 169-10 9 Katy Doyle Unattached 51.38mq 168-07 10 Megan Spriesterbach Unattached 50.85mq 166-10 11 Nicole Carroll Unattached 50.19mq 164-08 12 Leslie Miller-Russell Sheffield Elite 48.72mq 159-10
Remaining Aztec meet schedule Sunday, July 11 2:45 p.m. - Javelin throw final (Leslie Miller-Russell) Monday, July 12 7:20 p.m. - 400-meter quarterfinal (Tonette Dyer) 9:25 p.m. - 5,000-meter final (*Marla Runyan) Thursday, July 15 7:35 p.m. - 400-meter semifinal (*Tonette Dyer) Friday, July 16 6:40 p.m. - 200-meter quarterfinal (Tonette Dyer) 8:00 p.m. - 1,500-meter semifinal (Marla Runyan) 9:20 p.m. - 10,000-meter final (Marla Runyan) Saturday, July 17 1:10 p.m. - 100-meter hurdles quarterfinal (Miesha McKelvy-Jones) 2:02 p.m. - 200-meter semifinal (*Tonette Dyer) 2:52 p.m. - 400-meter final (*Tonette Dyer) Sunday, July 18 3:15 p.m. - 100-meter hurdles semifinal (*Miesha McKelvy-Jones) 5:00 p.m. - 1,500-meter final (*Marla Runyan) 5:25 p.m. - 100-meter hurdles final (*Miesha McKelvy-Jones) 5:50 p.m. - 200-meter final (*Tonette Dyer)
*If athlete qualifies from the heat before