Sunday, July 18

Not many collegians competed on the final day of the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, California. Headlining the day was NCAA Champion and college record holder Chelsea Johnson of UCLA finished fourth in the women's pole vault with her clearance of 14-09. Kira Sims of Akron tied for 11th at 13-09.25.

Johnson placed 4th in the vault (Kirby Lee/The Sporting Image)

No one could catch Alan Webb in the men's 1500 meter final which saw Ohio State graduate Rob Myers take third in 3:38.93 and Christopher Lukezic of Georgetown place fourth in 3:40.05. Nathan Robison of BYU take sixth in 3:40.99, Donald Sage of Stanford take seventh in 3:41.26 and Said Ahmed of Arkansas eighth in 3:42.77.

Over in the women's 1500 meter final, Lindsey Gallo of Michigan clocked 4:14.70 to earn 11th overall. Shalane Flanagan of Nike, who announced she turned professional last month and formerly of North Carolina, placed sixth with her time of 4:11.05.

It was an exciting men's discus final as Michael Robertson of SMU took home seventh with his throw of 194-05. It was the last time a male would ever compete in a SMU uniform as the men's program will be eliminated next season. Jason Young of Texas Tech threw 189-03 for ninth and Joshua Ralston of Texas A&M hit a mark of 180-06 for 11th place.

Jesse Williams of USC and NCAA Champion Andra Manson of Texas tied for eighth in the men's high jump finals with their clearance of 7-04.25. Teak Wilburn of California also jumped 7-04.25, but had more misses and earned 10th place.

Muna Lee of Nike, who recently turned pro and formerly of LSU, ran a great race in the women's 200 meter final out of lane one with her time of 22.36 to finish second overall.

Other collegians who competed on the final day included Ebony Foster of North Carolina State taking eighth in the 100 meter hurdles (13.04), Stephanie Durst of LSU also taking eighth in the women's 200 meters (22.99) and Tyson Gay of Arkansas who pulled up with a slight injury in the men's 200 meter final.

Saturday, July 17

DeeDee Trotter of Tennessee proved she was among the elite once again as the junior took third in the women's 400 meter final with a time of 50.28. Sanya Richards of Nike, who turned pro last month and formerly of Texas, lowered her own American Junior record once again with a time of 49.89 to earn second place.

Trotter placed third in the 400 (Kirby Lee/The Sporting Image)

The running events on Saturday started with the men's 200 meter quarter-finals as several collegians moved on to the semi-finals later today. The finals for the 200 will take place on Sunday. Those headed to the semi-finals include Tyson Gay (20.22) and Wallace Spearmon (20.60) of Arkansas, Stanford Routt of Houston (20.62) and Domenik Peterson (20.63) of Arizona State.

In the men's 200 meter semi-finals, Tyson Gay of Arkansas was the only collegian to advance to Sunday's final with his time of 20.17. Wallace Spearmon of Arkansas, the NCAA Champion at 200, couldn't shake off a false start in his heat as the freshman did not advance.

The women's 200 meter semi-finals saw Stephanie Durst of LSU as the only collegian to advance to the finals on Sunday with her time of 22.66. NCAA Champion LaShaunte'a Moore, who recently turned pro and formerly of Arkansas, clocked 22.63 to advance as well. Monique Hall of LSU (23.44) and Lakadron Ivery of Baylor (24.01) failed to advance.

Several collegians will take their shot in the men's 110 meter hurdle semi-finals on Sunday as David Payne of Cincinnati (13.48), Joel Brown of Ohio State (13.57), Eric Mitchum of Oregon (13.67), Antwon Hicks of Ole Miss (13.77) and NCAA Champion Josh Walker of Florida (13.68) all advanced. The finals will also take place on Sunday, just over 2 hours after the semi-finals.

It was a 2-3 finish for a pair of collegians in the men's javelin final with Brian Chaput of Penn (261-10, 79.81m) and Leigh Smith of Tennessee (250-07, 76.38m). Although they finished within the top three, Chaput and Smith must still meet the Olympic "A" standard of 81.80m.

The decathlon concluded on Saturday night as Dartmouth's Mustafa Abdur-Rahim finished sixth with a score of 7844. NCAA Champion Ryan Harlan of Rice managed to compile 7330 points which was good enough for 14th overall. Travis Brandstatter of Minnesota placed 16th with a score of 7260.

Friday, July 16

Laura Gerraughty took charge in the women's shot put as the junior from North Carolina claimed the title with her throw of 60-08.50 (18.50m). Gerraughty met the Olympic "A" standard earlier this season, so she will lead the U.S. in the shot put at Athens. Jillian Camarena of Stanford finished third with her throw of 58-02 (17.73m), but has yet to meet the "A" standard of 18.55m. Other collegiate results from the finals included L'Orangerie Crawford of USC placing fifth at 54-01.75, Aubrey Martin of Western Illinois seventh in 52-02.75, Amarachi Ukabam of Ohio State eighth in 51-11, Karen Freberg of Florida ninth in 51-10.50, Tiffany Bunton of Texas State San Marcos 10th in 50-04.50 and Nebraska teammates Rebecca Breisch (48-06) and Leann Boerema (48-03.25).

Gerraughty claimed the shot put title with a throw of 60-08.50

The running events started off Friday with the men's 200 meter qualifying. Headlining the collegians was Tyson Gay of Arkansas who blazed to a time of 20.07 into a slight headwind (-0.3). Others who have qualified to the quarter-finals on Saturday included Wallace Spearmon of Arkansas, Stanford Routt of Houston, Jordan Vaden of Livingstone College, Jerome Mathis of Hampton, David Neville of Indiana, Domenik Peterson of Arizona State and Wes Felix of USC.

All but one moved on to the women's 200 meter semi-finals which will take place on Saturday. The top collegiate time of the quarter-finals went to Stephanie Durst of LSU who clocked 22.75. Monique Hall of LSU, Antonette Carter of California and Lakadron Ivery of Baylor also moved on to the semi-finals.

Matthew Gonzales of New Mexico was the top collegian during the men's 5,000 meter final as he crossed the line taking sixth overall in 13:41.25. Seth Hejny of Stanford recorded a time of 13:51.11 which placed him 13th overall.

It was a grueling women's 10,000 meter final as Alicia Craig of Stanford, the collegiate record holder, finished fifth with a time of 32:47.86. Melissa Gulli of Texas A&M placed right behind Craig in a time of 33:03.03. Other collegiate athletes included Jamie Krzyminski of Michigan State taking eighth in 33:09.80 and Kristin Price of North Carolina State finishing 13th in 33:51.53.

The women's pole vault qualifying got underway as two collegians will compete in the finals on Sunday. It took a clearance of 13-09.25 to move on, which will see Kira Sims of Akron and the 2004 NCAA Champion, Chelsea Johnson of UCLA.

Over in the men's discus qualifying, SMU's Michael Robertson earned the fourth-best mark of the day with his throw of 196-06. The finals on Sunday will also include Jason Young of Texas Tech and Joshua Ralston of Texas A&M.

Thursday, July 15

It was a classic 400 meter final as Baylor sophomore Jeremy Wariner captured the title with his world-leading time of 44.37. Wariner, who was the 2004 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Champion, took out the first 200 strong and held on in front of mentor and former Baylor Bear, Michael Johnson who was in the stands. Otis Harris of Nike, who turned pro after his redshirt year at South Carolina, finished second in 44.67. Derrick Brew of Nike just edged out Baylor's Darold Williamson for the third and final spot, 44.69 to 44.70. Andrew Rock of adidas, formerly of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, finished sixth in 44.95, while LSU's Kelly Willie placed seventh in 44.97 and Jerry Harris of adidas, formerly of TCU took eighth in 45.06.

Wariner clocked the fastest time in the world this year (Kirby Lee/The Sporting Image)

The finals of the women's long jump was contested which saw Tianna Madison of Tennessee, the 2004 SEC Freshman of the Year, took eighth with a leap of 21-00.50. Madison won the long jump title at the USATF Junior Championships in College Station, Texas, on June 26 with a career-best mark of 21-8. Sharifa Jones of Arizona earned 11th with her mark of 19-11.75.

A costly mistake caused the aparant winner of the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase to be awarded to the second place finisher. Briana Shook of Toledo crossed the finish line first, but missed the first water jump during the race and was then decarled as disqualified. The winner of the race, therefore, went to Ann Gaffigan of Nebraska who set an American and out-of-season collegiate record time of 9:39.35. Kathryn Andersen of BYU took home second place with her time of 9:45.52. The women's steeplechase is not an Olympic event in 2004, but will be in 2008.

The women's 400 meter semi-finals set up a showdown on Friday night that could see several women under 50 seconds. DeeDee Trotter of Tennessee, the 2004 NCAA Champion, clocked 50.53 as the top collegian in the field. Although she just turned pro with Nike, former Texas Longhorn Sanya Richards posted the top time of the day at 50.34. Monique Henderson of UCLA also made the final posting a time of 50.53.

Action kicked off on Thursday with the preliminaries of the men's javelin throw. Brian Chaput of Pennsylvania, the 2003 NCAA Champion, was the top collegiate qualifier with his throw of 250-03. The other collegians who will compete in the final on Saturday include Leigh Smith of Tennessee and Paul Pisano of Connecticut.

Over in the women's shot put qualifying, several collegians moved on to Friday's final. North Carolina's Laura Gerraughty, the 2004 NCAA Champion, took the second-best overall mark of the day with her throw of 58-03. Jillian Camarena of Stanford, L'Orangerie Crawford of USC, Karen Freberg of Florida, Rebecca Breisch of Nebraska, Amarachi Ukabam of Ohio State, Aubrey Martin of Western Illinois and Leann Boerema of Nebraska also advanced to the finals.

The men's high jump qualifying also sent a number of collegian's to the finals which will be contested on Sunday. Andra Manson of Texas, the 2004 NCAA Champion, cleared 7-02.50 along with Teak Wilburn of California, Michael Morrison of Florida and Jesse Williams of USC.

Monday, July 12

Talk about pure domination. Texas Tech junior and NCAA Champion Jonathan Johnson claimed the 800 meter title at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Monday in a personal-best time of 1:44.77. Already hitting the Olympic "A" standard earlier in the season as well, Johnson will look for Athens glory later this summer.

On her second attempt at 6'4.75", sophomore Chaunte Howard of Georgia Tech cleared the bar to punch her ticket to the Athens Olympics with a runner-up finish in the women's high jump. Tisha Waller captured the event with a mark of 6'6" and Amy Acuff finished third, clearing the bar at 6'4.75" on her third attempt. Kaylene Wagner of Cal-Poly SLO tied for fifth with a height of 6-00.50 while Sheena Gordon of UCLA finished eighth with a clearance of 6-00.50 as well.

Johnson won the 800 meter title in 1:44.77 (Kirby Lee/The Sporting Image)

The collegiates proved who are the strongest in the men's 400 meter semi-finals lead by Baylor's Jeremy Wariner. The 2004 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Champion cruised to a time of to 44.81 win his heat and move on to Thursday's final. Other collegiates moving on include Wariner's teammate, Darold Williamson, Kelly Willie of LSU, along with a pair of adidas pro's who just finished college, Andrew Rock of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and Jerry Harris of TCU.

It was just as strong in the women's 400 meter prelims as former Texas Longhorn turned-pro Sanya Richards lowered her own American junior record with a run of 50.22 to end up with the fastest time of the day. DeeDee Trotter of Tennessee, the 2004 NCAA Champion, also captured her heat with a time of 50.52. Other collegians advancing to Thursday's semi-final include Monique Henderson of UCLA, Angel Perkins of Arizona, Charlette Greggs of Miami and Jerrika Chapple of Texas.

Day four started off with the women's hammer throw qualifying as several collegiates advanced to Thursday's final. Amber Campbell of Coastal Carolina, who did not advance out of the NCAA prelims, was the top collegian and third best overall throw of the day at 218-00. Others who will compete in the final include Loree Smith of Colorado State, Jessica Cosby of UCLA and LaQuanda Cotten of Florida.

The men's 5,000 meter qualifying saw Matthew Gonzales of New Mexico record the second-fastest time of the day at 13:44.19 to advance to Friday night's final. Seth Hejny of Stanford also moved on with the final qualifying time of 13:49.62.

Shalane Flanagan of Nike, who recently turned pro from North Carolina, finished third in the women's 5,000 meter final while crossing the line in 15:10.52. Molly Huddle of Notre Dame placed seventh in 15:37.92, Melissa Buttry of Wartburg College placed eighth in 15:46.21, Melissa Gulli of Texas A&M placed 10th in 15:52.30 and Stanford's Sara Bei took 11th in 15:52.43.

Over in the men's hammer throw, NCAA Champion Thomas Freeman of Manhattan took sixth with a mark of 226-08.

It was a fast women's 800 meter final which saw Nicole Cook of Tennessee clock 2:03.66 which was good enough for seventh place.

Nebraska's Rebecca Breisch just missed on making the team after placing fourth in the women's discus throw with a mark of 194-06.

Competition will resume on Thursday as all the athletes take a few days off to prepare for the homestretch.

Sunday, July 11

It was perfect weather again on Sunday for the third day of action at the U.S. Olympic Trials. The 400 meter hurdle finals was the event of the day for the collegians as two head to Athens to compete for a medal.

The men's final featured a great finish as Bennie Brazell of LSU just edged out Bershawn Jackson of Nike for the third and final automatic qualifying spot, 48.05 to 48.11. Jackson was the defending U.S. Champion and claimed the NCAA Division II title for St. Augustine's College this past season. LaRon Bennett of Georgia placed seventh with his time of 49.82 while Florida's Rickey Harris did not finish the race.

Lashinda Demus placed third in the 400 hurdles (Kirby Lee/The Sporting Image)

The women's final also saw a collegian take the third spot as Lashinda Demus of South Carolina punched her ticket to Athens with her time of 53.43. The time also set the collegiate record for marks made outside the collegiate regular season. Sheena Johnson of Nike, who was the 2004 NCAA Champion for UCLA, won the event in 52.95. Raasin McIntosh of Texas placed fifth in 54.16 and Shauna Smith of Wyoming finished sixth in 54.42.

Sarah Malone of Oregon placed second in the women's javelin final with her throw of 177-11 (54.22m). Malone must still meet the Olympic "A" standard of 60.50m in order to represent the U.S. in Athens. Dana Pounds of Air Force finished sixth with a throw of 173-03 while Katy Doyle placed eighth in 166-02.

The women's triple jump final saw Chaytan Hill of Kansas take fifth with a mark of 44-02.50 (2.4w). Chi-Chi Aduba of Penn State placed eighth with a jump of 43-03.25 while Nicole Toney of LSU took 10th at 42-04.

It was a classic match-up in the men's long jump as the former South Carolina and NCAA runner-up Tony Allmond placed second with a leap of 26-07. Allmond must still meet the Olympic "A" standard in order to compete in Athens. John Moffitt of Nike, who completed his season with LSU this past year, took home third with a mark of 26-05.75. Juaune Armon of UCLA finished eighth with a leap of 25-03.25.

Plenty of collegians advanced in the men's 400 meter heats as LSU's Kelly Willie recorded the top time of the day in 44.63 seconds. Others who advanced to Monday's semi-finals included Jeremy Wariner of Baylor, Craig Everhart of UCLA, Mitch Potter of Minnesota, Darold Williamson of Baylor and Jason Barton of Arizona State. Andrew Rock of adidas, who was the NCAA Division III Champion at Wisconsin-LaCrosse and Otis Harris of Nike, who went pro early after his 2003 NCAA runner-up from South Carolina, also advanced.

Saturday, July 10

On the second day of the U.S. Olympic Trials, Miami's Lauryn Williams placed third in the 100 meter final in 11.10 seconds and earned an automatic bid to compete in the Olympic Games. The NCAA Champion is currently tied with the second-fastest time in the world at 10.97 seconds with the winner, LaTasha Colander of Nike. Marion Jones will not be able to defend her Olympic Gold medal after placing fifth in 11.14.

Miami's Lauryn Williams placed third in the 100 meter final

Over in the men's shot put final, Jeff Chakouian of Kentucky placed seventh with his throw of 64-09.25 while Steve Manz of Michigan State took 12th with a mark of 60-08.50. Ohio State graduate Dan Taylor, who now competes for Nike, took home sixth with a toss of 65-11.50.

NCAA 100 meter champion Tyson Gay of Arkansas moved on to the semi-finals in the sprint with his time of 10.17 seconds. Tyree Gailes of Texas Tech was able advance to the quarter-finals, but did not make the semi-finals. Anthony Buchanan of Washington State and DaBryan Blanton of Oklahoma both failed to advance out of the quarter-finals.

There were some fast times in the men's 400 meter hurdle semi-finals as new pro Bershawn Jackson of Nike, formerly of St. Augustine's College, clocked 48.28 with the fastest time heading into Sunday's final. SEC standouts Bennie Brazell of LSU, Rickey Harris of Florida and LaRon Bennett of Georgia all advanced to the final as well.

South Carolina's Lashinda Demus blazed to record a time of 53.70 to win her heat of the women's 400 meter hurdle semi-final in which she will enter Sunday's final with the fastest time in the field. Raasin McIntosh of Texas, Shauna Smith of Wyoming and Sheena Johnson of Nike, the 2004 NCAA Champion from UCLA, also advanced to the final.

The men's 800 meter semi-finals saw NCAA Champion Jonathan Johnson of Texas Tech advance to Monday's final with a time of 1:47.19. Georgetown grad Jesse O'Connell also earned a trip to the final with his time of 1:47.88 in the other heat. Although they had great times in the second heat, Michael Inge of Kent State and Marc Sylvester of Tennessee did not advance with their times of 1:47.40 and 1:47.63 since they did not finish in the top 4.

It only took her one throw, but Rebecca Breisch of Nebraska was able to advance to the final in the women's discus with her mark of 195-05. Rachel Longfors of Florida, who redshirted the 2004 outdoor season, also advanced along with Amarachi Ukabam of Ohio State and Rachel Varner of Arizona.

Other field event prelims included the women's high jump which saw NCAA Champion Chaunte Howard of Georgia Tech advance along with Morgan High of Kansas State and Kaylene Wagner of Cal Poly-SLO. The men's hammer throw prelims sent NCAA Champion Thomas Freeman of Manhattan. Both finals will be competed on Monday.

The heptathlon concluded on Saturday as the two-day affair nearly sent former Georgia star and NCAA runner-up Hyleas Fountain of Nike to Athens. The Bulldog grad took home fourth place with a score of 6035. Still only a freshman, NCAA Champion Jacquelyn Johnson of Arizona State managed to score 5548 for 12th place. Other collegiates included Ashley Selig of Nebraska (14th, 5400), Brooke Meredith of California (17th, 5346), Josie Hahn of Vanderbilt (20th, 5292) and JaNelle Wright of Kansas State (21st, 5257).

Friday, July 9

The U.S. Olympic Trials started off with the men's pole vault qualifying. NCAA Outdoor Champion and freshman Tommy Skipper of Oregon was the top collegian, but did not advance to the final with his clearance of 17-08.50. Jeremy Scott of Arkansas and Eric Eshbach of Nebraska came away with no heights. 2004 NCAA Indoor Champion from Washington Brad Walker, who is now a professional, was one of 11 athletes to clear 18-00.50 to advance to the final set for Sunday.

The women's 400 meter hurdles qualifying saw South Carolina's Lashinda Demus clock 55.14 which will advance to Sunday's final. Raasin McIntosh of Texas recorded 55.25 while Dominique Darden of Miami grabbed the last qualifying spot with her time of 58.05. Sheena Johnson, the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Champion from UCLA, is now representing Nike as the Mondo Outdoor Female Athlete of the Year ran 55.64 to also advance.

Perhaps one of the deepest events at the trials will be the men's shot put. Leading the way for the current collegians in the prelims was Michigan State's Steve Manz who came away with a mark of 62-08.75 to advance to Saturday's final. Jeff Chakouian of Kentucky was the last athlete to qualify with his throw of 60-10.50. Dan Taylor, who recently graduated from Ohio State and now represents Nike, also advanced to the final with his toss of 64-08.

Over in the women's triple jump qualifying, LSU's Nicole Toney earned the top mark among all collegians at 44-01.25 to advance to Sunday's final. Chaytan Hill of Kansas State also earned a spot in the final with her mark of 43-01.

Colorado's Dathan Ritzenhein couldn't shake off his injury in the 10,000 meters

LaRon Bennett of Georgia clocked the fastest time in the men's 400 meter hurdle prelims at 49.09. Two-sport student-athlete Bennie Brazell of LSU, who was also a part of the Tigers national championship football team, ran 49.53 to also advance to Saturday's semi-final. Ricky Harris of Florida clocked 50.03 as well. Bershawn Jackson of Nike, the defending U.S. Champion, recently completed his only collegiate season at St. Augustine's College he announced he would turn professional. The NCAA Division II Champion recorded a time of 49.14.

Three collegians earned spots to the women's 800 meter semi-finals after their performances in the prelims on Friday. Nakiya Johnson of USC, Nicole Cook of Tennessee and Alice Schmidt of North Carolina all will compete in the semi-finals on Saturday evening.

The men's 800 meter prelims saw several collegiates advance to Saturday's semi-final as Marc Sylvester of Tennessee earned the top collegiate time of 1:46.87. Kent State's Michael Inge clocked 1:47.23 in the same heat to also advance. Others who advanced to the sem-final included Georgetown graduate Jesse O'Connell, Christian Smith of Kansas State, James Hatch of Arkansas and NCAA Champion Jonathan Johnson of Texas Tech.

It was a close field in the women's javelin prelims as Dana Pounds of Air Force, Katy Doyle of Texas A&M, Inge Jorgensen of Virginia and Sara Malone of Oregon all advanced to Saturday's final.

There was not much drama in the women's 5000 meter prelim as only three athletes did not advance to Monday's final. Of the collegians, Melissa Buttry of Wartburg College, Melissa Gulli of Texas A&M, Molly Huddle of Notre Dame and Sara Bei of Stanford all advanced.

One of the final events of the day was the men's long jump prelims. Tony Allmond of South Carolina and Juaune Armon of UCLA both advanced to Sunday's final.

Plenty of speed was on hand during the women's 100 meter prelims as NCAA Champion Lauryn Williams of Miami clocked the fastest time of 11.13 into a slight headwind as well (-0.8). Marshevet Hooker of Texas and Tremedia Brice of Texas Southern also advanced to Saturday's semi-final. The final also takes place on the same day later that night.

The final event of the night was the men's 10,000 meter final. Heading into the event, Colorado's Dathan Ritzenhein already earned the Olympic "A" standard, but due to a nagging injury that could be a stress fracture, the sophomore finished last in 31:13.91. Jason Sandfort of Arkansas ran 29:06.79.