Day Four of U.S. Olympic Trials Eventful for Trio of Buckeyes – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
July 12, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Following an off day for athletes with Ohio State ties at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials – Track and Field in Sacramento, Calif., three Buckeyes saw action Monday evening at Alex G. Spanos Track Stadium. Buckeye cross country head coach Robert Gary advanced to the finals in the men’s 3,000-meter steeple Monday evening. Also representing Ohio State was a pair of All-American throwers from the 2004 season in Keturah Lofton, who advanced to the finals of the women’s hammer, and Amarachi Ukabam, who threw in the final of the women’s discus.
Gary (1993-96), a former Buckeye All-American and 1996 Olympian in the steeple, posted a time of 8:27.00 to claim runner-up in his heat and the No. 3 position in the final. Gary, competing for adidas, placed just behind Heat No. 2 winner Daniel Lincoln of Nike and his time of 8:26.57. Gary’s teammate on the adidas squad, Anthony Famigletti, timed the top mark in the qualifier at 8:26.51. The steeple final is set for 11:45 p.m. (EDT) Thursday evening with the Top 3 finishers gaining a spot on the U. S. Team.
Lofton (Zanesville, Ohio/ Zanesville) competed in the opening event of Day No. 4 as she once again improved upon her career best to advance through the qualifying round of the women’s hammer throw. Her personal-record launch of 205 feet, 1 inch (205-1, 62.51m) served as the 10th best measure in the qualifier, which earned a spot in the final Thursday at 10:45 p.m. (EDT). Lofton, who is the 2004 Big Ten champion and record holder in the hammer, entered the trials with a career mark of 204-7. She has equaled or bettered her personal best in each of her last five hammer events. Erin Gilreath of the New York Athletics Club won the hammer trial at a length of 222-10.
Ukabam (Creve Couer, Mo./ Marquette), the discus winner at the 2003 Pan American Junior Games, used a heave of 180-10 (55.11m) Saturday to tie for the 12th and final qualifying spot in the prelims. She again topped the 180-foot mark to place 12th in the final at a distance of 180-4 (54.98m). Aretha Hill of Team Nike walked away from the throws area with the No. 1 position on the U.S. team after a winning effort of 208-06 (63.55m).
Tuesday and Wednesday are scheduled off days for the trials. Gary and Lofton will resume competition in the finals of their respective events Thursday. Joining them will be former OSU distance runners Ian Connor and Rob Myers, an All-American in 2004, in the quarterfinal of the men’s 1,500-meter run.
USA Network will broadcast live and taped events Thursday evening at 10 p.m. (EDT). For complete U.S. Olympic Trials – Track and Field coverage and results visit www.usatf.org.
Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase – Preliminaries 1. Anthoney Famiglietti adidas 8:26.51Q 2. Daniel Lincoln Nike 8:26.57Q 3. Robert Gary adidas 8:27.00Q 4. Steve Slattery Nike 8:28.85Q 5. Jared Cordes Wisconsin Ru 8:30.01Q 6. Isaiah Festa Wisconsin Ru 8:30.89Q 7. Sandu Rebenciuc U.S. Army 8:30.45Q 8. Jordan Desilets Eastern Michigan 8:31.25Q 9. Darin Shearer Unattached 8:32.20q 10. John Mortimer Boston AA 8:32.50q 11. Raymond Hughes Nike 8:33.33q 12. David Cullum Nike Farm Team 8:33.43q 13. Kevin Barra Unattached 8:35.19q 14. Jacques Sallberg Unattached 8:35.27q
Women’s Hammer – Preliminaries 1. Erin Gilreath Nyac 67.93mq 222-10 67.93m x x 2. Anna Mahon Nike 67.58mq 221-09 67.58m x x 3. Amber Campbell Coastal Carolina 66.46mq 218-00 66.46m PASS PASS 4. Leslie Coons Unattached 66.33mq 217-07 64.90m FOUL 66.33m 5. Loree Smith Unattached 65.94mq 216-04 64.87m 62.31m 65.94m 6. Jamine Moton Unattached 65.26mq 214-01 61.97m 63.31m 65.26m 7. Jaclyn Jeschelnig Ashland Elite 65.18mq 213-10 63.44m 65.18m 62.84m 8. Bethany Hart New Haven Ag 64.96mq 213-01 64.96m 61.71m 59.26m 9. Jessica Cosby U C L A 62.80mq 206-00 62.80m 57.50m FOUL 10. Keturah Lofton Unattached 62.51mq 205-01 62.51m 61.50m 61.72m
Women’s Discus – Finals 1. Aretha Hill Nike 63.55m 208-06 63.55m FOUL FOUL FOUL 58.35m FOUL 2. Stephanie Brown Moreno Trenching 61.90m 203-01 61.90m FOUL FOUL FOUL FOUL FOUL 3. Seilala Sua Nike 61.60m 202-01 61.60m FOUL 55.95m FOUL FOUL 61.13m 4. Rebecca Breisch Nebraska 59.28m 194-06 59.28m FOUL 56.09m 46.46m 52.49m 51.27m 5. Kris Kuehl Nike 58.81m 192-11 56.28m 58.81m 57.50m 57.12m 58.54m 56.11m 6. Suzy Powell Asics 58.19m 190-11 FOUL 57.95m 56.79m 54.20m FOUL 58.19m 7. Gina LoMonaco Unattached 57.89m 189-11 FOUL 55.01m 57.44m 57.47m FOUL 57.89m 8. Deshaya Williams Unattached 57.83m 189-09 FOUL 55.88m 57.83m 57.25m 56.51m 56.45m 9. Summer Pierson Unattached 56.69m 186-00 56.34m 56.60m 56.69m 10. Gia Lewis Unattached 56.28m 184-08 56.28m 54.45m FOUL 11. Rachel Varner Unattached 55.83m 183-02 51.79m 55.83m FOUL 12. Amarachi Ukabam Ohio State 54.98m 180-04 48.77m 54.98m 47.86m
