Thank You!

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Mom & Dad
Coach Steve McGill
Assistant Coach Byron Gibson
Coach Dave Simpson
Coach Nicholas Sparks
Slade C. Trabucco
TEC Officers & Admin Staff
Teammates, Friends and Family


We simply want to say thank you to all of you for your love, support, prayers and encouragement! May God Bless and continue to keep you!

Track Eastern Carolina 2008 Junior Olympic Medalist

400 Meter Dash Bantam Girls 3rd place Sydney Jenkins of (Charlotte/Track Eastern Carolina) at 1:03.40.

200 Meters 1st place Fuquawn Greene of New Bern (N.C./Track Eastern Carolina), running in lane six, did not miss a step leading from the start and running 21.52 into a 1.5 meter per second wind for the win. Greene had set a personal best of 21.08 in the preliminaries. Track Eastern also had another finalist Chris Herring in 5th at 21.88.

800 Meters 1st place Anthony Hendrix of New Bern (N.C./Track Eastern Carolina), took over the race in the final stretch to go on and win at a time of 1:52.69.

110-Meter High Hurdles 1st place Booker Nunley of Garner (N.C./Track Eastern Carolina) had the best start and was clear of the field by the second hurdle and on his way to a 13.41. The USATF Junior Olympic Young Mens record is listed at 13.40, set in 1978 by Rodney Wilson (Bartrum, Philadelphia, Pa.), but that is actually a hand time. Nunley will get credit for breaking the meet record of 13.42, set by Terrance Trammell of Southwest Dekalb (Decatur, Ga.) in 1997. The race was run with a legal aiding wind of 1.4 meters per second. Nunley whose personal best is 13.40, was second in the World Junior championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles 4th place Malcolm Nunley of (Garner, N.C./Track Eastern Carolina) at 55.14.

100 Meters 4th place Darryl Williams of White Oak (Jacksonville, N.C./Track Eastern Carolina) at 10.58.

4x100 Meter Relay Young Men

3rd place 13 Track Eastern Carolina 40.76

1) Christopher Herring 89 2) Darryl Williams 89

3) Demetrius David 90 4) Fuquan Greene 91

4x800 Meter Relay Young Women

7th place 13 Track Eastern Carolina 9:48.29

1) Brandy Swann 90 2) Allie Johnson 91

3) Ashley Ferrell 90 4) Ryanna Henderson 91

4x400 Meter Relay Young Men

13 Track Eastern Carolina

1) Christopher Herring 89 2) Fuquan Greene 91

3) Anthony Hendrix 90 4) Robett Horton 90

Congratulations to these and all of the Track Eastern Athletes for doing an Awesome Job all year long!

Hurdler doesn't sweat it

Published Monday July 28, 2008
BY JONATHON BRADENWORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Booker Nunley was strolling to the water cooler with a smile wider than his 6-foot-2, 160-pound frame.His fan club of Track Eastern Carolina teammates, stationed near the finish line in the northwest corner of Burke Stadium, was still showering him with praise.Still walking, Nunley turned to his fan base, removed his sunglasses with his right hand, then used his left hand to ceremoniously wipe imaginary sweat off his forehead.The 18-year-old had earned every clap and cheer after setting a meet record of 13.41 seconds in winning the Young Men's (ages 17 and 18) National Junior Olympics 110-meter high hurdles. The mark also will be considered for listing as the national youth record because the current mark of 13.4 was a hand-held time run in 1978 before electronic timing was used.But Nunley had hardly perspired in the less than 14 seconds it took him to get from his starting blocks to the finish line despite temperatures in the high 80s and a cloudless sky.His fellow hurdlers didn't provide much opposition for the South Carolina recruit, who's only run the hurdles for two years. Since February, Nunley has been competing against collegiate athletes after being declared ineligible from North Carolina high school competition."If I would have known, I would have taken the right amount of courses," Nunley said. "I mean, I'm a smart kid. I've taken advanced classes ever since high school."It was just two days before the North Carolina high school indoor championships in February when Booker's mother, Jacqueline, received word that Booker couldn't compete in the spring season of high school track and field."It was kind of devastating," she said Sunday from their North Carolina home.In the fall, Booker dropped two of his four high school classes. Only needing English to graduate, he thought everything was fine.But athletes have to pass at least three classes to be eligible the following semester, according to North Carolina High School Athletic Association rules.Nunley, who has a GPA of 3.5, said he had no clue about the rule, and his counselor, who was also his high school track coach, also hadn't informed him of the regulation.Just like that, his high school track career was over.But his hurdling career was about to hit new strides.Local universities, such as Wake Forest, North Carolina State and South Carolina, where he'll run both the 110 and 400 hurdles next year, let him compete in meets unattached."I actually ran a lot more than the school season would have allowed me to," he said. "I probably ran more than any hurdler this year."Nunley got used to competing in big meets every few weeks."Right now there's nobody around him that affects anything about his psyche," Track Eastern Carolina coach Dave Simpson said.He also had more time to focus on his technique rather than try to win high school contests, and that helped him become a stronger hurdler.At the collegiate level, the hurdles go up to 42 inches, three inches higher than high school hurdles. The 39-inch hurdles had become easy for Nunley, but the 42-inchers presented a challenge."Forty-twos actually helped me become a better hurdler," Nunley said. "You had to get stronger. You had to do things a different way. You had to be technically sound."Nunley's dedication was on display Sunday for the finals crowd at Burke Stadium."That's the best high school race I've ever seen," Simpson said.But, Nunley said, Sunday's record-breaking time wasn't even his best."Actually, I probably could have gone a lot faster," Nunley said. "I haven't really been practicing lately."About three weeks ago, before he won silver at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Poland with a time of 13.41, he was bothered by some knee tendinitis.Since he returned from Poland, Nunley had only practiced hurdles a couple times before the Junior Olympics in Omaha.With his win Sunday, Nunley has replaced the North Carolina state championship he likely would have won this past spring with an even more prestigious prize. Simpson teased him about it after the race."I guess you'll trade in a state championship for this championship anytime, won't you?" • Contact the writer: 444-1138, jonathon.braden@owh.com

A Season To Remember!

12th IAAF World Junior Championships Highlights

Women

1500
US Medal history
No US Medalists
Gutsy races by Jordan Hasay and Alex Kosinski in what began as a painfully slow pace (74 seconds for the first lap). Hasay finished 4th and Kosinski 6th, the best performance ever for American athletes.

Women 4x400 gold
4x400 gold
US Medal history
1986 - gold
1988 - silver
1994 - gold
1998 - bronze
2002 - gold
2004 - gold
2006 - gold
It's 4 in a row for the US, with Lanie Whitaker, Jessica Beard, Erica Alexander and Takecia Jameson. The splits on the IAAF web site are incorrect. The should be (approximately) 53.1, 51.0, 52.6, 53.4.

Erica Alexander 4x400 DT
US Medal history
1994 - Suzy Powell - bronze
1996 - Seilala Sua - silver
Anna Jelmini made the 8 person final but could only manage 7th (162-3). Erin Pendleton was 11th at 158-11.

Men

5000
US Medal history
No US medalists
How do you compete against 13:08.57! That was what Abraham Cherkos of Ethiopia ran to win. Then two others followed at 13:11! This was a race with an African pack and a non-African pack which developed early. When you see the complete results, you'll see what I mean. Matt Centrowitz finished 11th in 13:58.31, a PR for him. Ryan Collins was 16th in 14:30.16.

Booker Nunley - 110h - silver110m Hurdles
US Medal history
1988 - Stephen Brown silver
1988 - Elbert Ellis - bronze
1994 - Dudley Dorival - silver
1994 - Darius Pemberton - bronze
1998 - Sharif Paxton - silver
2002 - Antwon Hicks - gold
2004 - Aries Merritt - gold
2004 - Kevin Craddock - bronze
Booker Nunley, though having the worst start of the field (as he did in the semis) finished second in 13.45 to a very strong Russian hurdler. He now owns the 3 fastest US times for high schoolers. He is the leader of 3 North Carolina hurdlers who are the top 3 hurdlers in the US (Spencer Adams and Wayne Davis are the other two).

3000 Steeple
US Medal history
No US medalists
(On Ethiopia or Kenya have won gold medals – no other country has). The Kenyans took 1-3, with a Ugandan with the Kenyan name of Kiplagat taking second. Curtis Carr got a PR of 8:53.79 for 10th, and Dylan Knight finished just ahead of him in 9th at 8:52.90, just off his PR.

Men 4x400 gold
4x400
US Medal history
1986 - gold
1988 - gold
1990 - gold
1992 - gold
1994 - gold
1996 - gold
1998 - silver
2000 - no US team
2002 - gold
2004 - gold
2006 - gold
(In 2000, when the meet was in Chile, it was held in October. The US sent a skeleton Team. That year the winning time was the slowest winning time ever).
Another gold (4 in a row). The splits on the IAAF web site are incorrect. It was Boyd 46.0, Miller 46.4, Wilder 45.3 and Anderson 46.1, approximately).

HJ
US Medal history
1986 - Hollis Conway silver
2002 - Andra Manson gold

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This has been another enjoyable meet. I've been to all of the World Junior Championships except the first (1986) and this was on a par "presentation-wise" with any I've been to. Of course the music was a bit loud, but I think it's just me getting older. The English language announcer, Marton Gyulai, was terrific. He was informative, "loose" and sometimes funny. He would say things like " … he ran a helluva turn", or "give it up for so and so". He was just fun to listen to.

Some other observations:

No US flags: apparently someone forgot to bring them. Virtually every gold medalist or gold medal team took a victory lap with their country's flag. But no one from the US, the team that won the most golds, had the opportunity to do that.

This was one of the greatest performances by a US team, garnering 17 medals, 11 of them gold. Apparently the conflict with NON did not hurt the team. Of course, two-thirds of the team were collegians, so that helped.

A scary thought: Kirani James of Grenada who finished second in the 400m at 45.70, will be eligible for the IAAF World Youth Championships (17-18) next year.

A guy no one had really ever heard of, Josephat Bett of Kenya, who had a previous best of 28:10, set a meet record in the 10000 of 27:30.85.

The US has made marked improvement in many events. The most obvious is the incredible 1-2 finish in the men's hammer. But some of the other unprecedented performances were Laurynne Chetelat in the 3000 finished 6th and Jordan Hasay and Alex Kosinski in the 1500, finishing 4th and 6th.

It's always enjoyable meeting the parents of some of the athletes. We seemed to run into the Taylors (Christian's parents and his sister Kaitlyn) and Amber Purvis' mom on a daily basis. They are terrific, supportive people. We also met Luke Laird's (javelin) parents who had come from Kansas to see their son compete.

12th IAAF World Junior Championships: USA Day Four Highlights

Heptahlon 100m Hurdles Erin Sampley looked very good, running 13.89. Ryann Krais ran faster than her Great Southwest time into a slighly negative wind. Here are her projections after this event based on what she had done in the past and what would be her most optimistic performances, after one event:

Men 110m Hurdles, Round 1 – Booker Nunley looked to be the class of the field as he and Ronald Brookins both qualified to the semis.

Women's Discus Qualifying – Anna Jelmini finished fourth in her group and will p19-19robably qualify for the final.(164-5). Erin Pendleton came through in a big way in Group B, throwing 164-5 , qualifying for the final 11th overall. After the other throws in Group B, Jelmini wound up 10th overall, as both Americans advanced to the finals.

Women's Long Jump Qualifying – neither Shakia Forbes (19-7) nor Jameisha Youngblood (19-1.25) advanced to the final.

Women's 1500m Qualifying – Alex Kosinski looked superb in winning (!) her heat. Those things are not supposed to happen in a World Junior championships (meaning, an American winning one's heat). In fact, she got a PR of 4:19.14 and looked relaxed doing so. Of course, running close to 4:10 in the final will probably be a requirement for getting a medal. In another qualifying heat, Jordan Hasay ran an intelligent race, but last week's Olympic Trials activities and the long travel (she arrived 3 days ago) seemed to take its toll. She got bumped around quite a bit and could not respond when the leading trio (she was fourth at the time) made their sprint move with 280 meters to go. She hung on for fifth, being passed down the stretch. The look on her face showed that she was hurting. However, she did qualify on time. I can't recall when two Americans have made the 1500m final (and, since there was no Junior annual this year from the IAAF, I can't easily find out).

Heptahlon High Jump - Erin Sampley no-heighted (4-11.5), so we'll see if she continues the competition. Ryann Krais jumped close to her PR of 5-8, clearing 5-7.75. If she equals or betters all of her Great Southwest marks, she projects to get the high school record by 6 points.

Ryann Krais Heptathlon Projection after High Jump

12th IAAF World Junior Championships: USA Day Two Highlights

Men 800m – Elijah Greer, the only American in the semis, got an introduction to big time running in this race, running against the World Junior leader Khaki, from Sudan (1:42.). He just couldn't keep up with the pace, and finished 6th in 1:50., well "out of the money".

Women 400m semis – Both Americans advanced. Jessica Beard easily in winning her heat and Lanie Whitaker on time. The top 2 of each of the 3 semis automatically qualified and then those 2 with the next fastest times. Lanie Whitaker was fourth in semi 1 and had to wait until all three heats were completed to find out if she qualified. She did.

Women shot put qualifying – Chinwe Oworo managed 10th overall (50-6.75) to qualify for the final. Becky O'Brien (48-5.5) did not advance.

Men 10000m final – Kenyans (of course) dominated, with both having 48 second PR's, running close to 27:30. Don Cabral got a PR finishing 17th in 30:47.55. Daniel Dunbar was 19th in 30:51.67.

Men Long Jump final – Marquise Goodwin got the first US gold, getting the US High School lead of 25-4.75 on his first jump. Christian Taylor has had better days, managing only 7th.

Women 100m – the smooth Janeba Tarmoh won a close race. Shayla Mahan was 6th.

Men 100m – Dexter Lee of Jamaica wins this meet after winning the World Youth Championships last year. Terrell Wilks was third

Men 400h - Jeshua Anderson had an easy time qualifying, winning his heat in 51.12. Johnny Dutch ran equally relaxed and won his heat easily. Both athletes are the only ones entered in the meet who have bettered 50 seconds.

Women 400h - Kori Carter did not advance, but Tekecia Jameson did.

Pole Vault - Both Rachel Laurent and Leslie Brost advanced to the final, with Laurent clearing 13-1.5 and Brost clearing about 12-9.

12th IAAF World Junior Championships: USA Day One Highlights

Marcus Boyd of USA in action during the Men's 400m heats

Brian Bishop of USA in action during the Discus Throw qualifications

Jeneba Tarmoh of USA in the Semi-Final of the Women's 100m

American junior champion Terrell Wilks was the quickest to advance to Wednesday’s 100m final, but there was heartbreak for his compatriot, Antonio Sales, who was disqualified for causing the second false start in his semi-final.

Wilks was timed at 10.37 into a headwind, whereas the winner of the second semi, South Africa’s Wilhelm van der Vyver ran 10.38 with a much kinder wind gauge reading.

Wilks was far from impressed though. He admitted afterwards: “I am not happy at all with my semi-final race. I had a bad start, but I got into the final – that’s what really counts. I am still expecting to win.”

Jamaica’s Yohan Blake won the third semi with 10.42 to set up what could be a close final.

American Jeneba Tarmoh goes into the women’s 100m final as favourite, backing up her 11.21 from earlier this year by becoming the quickest in the semi-finals.

She won the third heat with 11.38 into a wind of 0.5m/s. However, Britain’s World Youth bronze medallist Ashlee Nelson suggested she could challenge with her semi-final win in 11.43 (-0.7m/s). Bahamas’ Sheniqua Ferguson took the other semi in 11.56 with a neutral wind reading.

New apparel line for Team USA designed for speed!

One of the most joyful moments of the 2008 Olympic Trials has been the public unveiling of the new Nike USA Track and Field uniforms last Monday, June 30, to be worn by all Team USA members in Beijing. The unveiling took the form of the 23 Nike athletes who had qualified for the team to date doing a flag-waving victory lap before 20,000 fans gathered at Hayward Field for that evening’s events.

And with that teddy bear of a shot putter, Reese Hoffa, leading the charge, the event couldn’t help but be a lot of fun.

“We debuted The Swoosh at the 1972 Olympic Trials,” noted Nike Media Relations Manager Jacie Prieto. “But traditionally the Nike way is a larger-than-life debut or unveiling. We wanted something organic for this, though, for the track and field fans, and we thought this was perfect.”

The full "We The People" graphic
The Nike uniforms were on display most of last week for select media members to preview. The Nike Swift System of Dress is designed to be lightweight and give athletes plenty of choices.

Featuring the Nike Swift materials the company has just introduced, the uniforms are intended to reduce weight to achieve less drag and lead to faster times. Prieto said the uniform has seven percent less drag than the Athens version, and that wearing the new Nike Swift Suit translates to a benefit of about two-hundredths of a second in the 100 meters.

Continue reading at http://www.dyestat.com//?pg=us-2008-Outdoor-Track-US-Olympic-Trials-Nike-Innovations

Olympic Trials: 110 Hurdle finals

The 110 hurdles finals at the Olympic Trials, was loaded with America's top talent in the hurdles. The top three will advance to take on the best in the world like, China's Liu Xiang and Cuban world record holder Daron Robles. The race was clean from the start. The top three runners all broke away from the pack by the fifth hurdle. David Oliver, Terrence Trammell and Anwar Moore all established an early presence. In the end; David Oliver took first, Trammell ran in to take a close second place and David Payne earned the last ticket to Beijing after Anwar moore took a spill on the last hurdle. Moore would have easily taken third place if he hadn't hit that last hurdle. As for the top three finishers, its off to Beijing to compete and bring home the gold. Congratulations to David Oliver on the Olympic berth and good luck!

Olympic Trials: Track & Field Wrap-up!

EUGENE, Ore. - Another American record and some dramatic close calls highlighted the final day of competition Sunday at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field, where a Hayward Field record crowd of 21,176 fans brought the eight-day attendance total to 167,123.

The top three finishers in each event at these Olympic Trials, who have met Olympic performance standards, will earn the ultimate prize of a spot on the Team USA roster for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Stuczynski delivers

American record holder and World Indoor silver medalist Jenn Stuczynski kept the track world on the edge of its collective seat in the women's pole vault, contested in swirling winds. Far and away the top American vaulter, with a best mark this season that is 8.5 inches better than her next-best compatriot, Stuczynski spent the first 90 minutes of competition sitting on the sidelines as other vaulters took attempts at lower heights. When she entered, at 4.60m/15-1.25, only two other vaulters were still jumping: April Steiner Bennett and Erica Bartolina.

But something happened on the way to the bar for Stuczynski: she missed her first two attempts at 4.60m. Were she to miss her third and final attempt, she would have made no height and would fail to make the Olympic Team. With a huge sigh of relief, the two-time USA outdoor champion cleared the bar by nearly a foot, setting Olympic spots for her, Steiner Bennett (4.60m/15-1), and Bartolina (4.55m/14-11).

Stuczynski was the only vaulter of the three to clear 4.65m/15-3.75, and she immediately had the bar raised to 4.76m/15-7.5 in an attempt to break Stacy Dragila's 2004 Olympic Trials record of 4.75m/15-7. She easily soared over it on her first attempt, then raised the bar to 4.92m/16-1.75, 1 cm better than her own American record of 4.91m/16-1.5. After a close miss on her first attempt and a less-close miss on her second, she easily made it on her third try. With all other competition concluded, the full house of 21,000-plus remained in their seats and Stuczynski took two unsuccessful tries at a world-record height of 5.02m/16-5.75.

Jones astonishes in hurdles; Oliver wins first title

The men's and women's hurdles races delivered impressive performances and two new national champions.

In 2004, Lolo Jones had just completed her senior year at LSU and had been fourth at the NCAA Championships. At the Olympic Trials in Sacramento, she crashed a hurdle, dashing her Olympic dreams. Four years later in Eugene, she was dominant in all rounds and left no doubt that the 2008 Word Indoor gold medalist must be considered a contender for gold in Beijing. Jones was astounding in Sunday's final, executing flawlessly and winning in 12.29 seconds (+3.8mps), tying the #2 time ever run under any conditions (windy or not). Damu Cherry was a distant second in 12.58, with Dawn Harper third in 12.62 as all three made their first Olympic Teams. Nichole Denby was fourth in the same time, missing out on Beijing by .007 seconds. Defending Olympic gold medalist Joanna Hayes, visibly limping, was seventh in 12.96.

In the semifinals, Jones posted a 2008 world-leading mark by winning the second heat in 12.45 (+1.45). A favorite not advancing to the final was two-time world champion Michelle Perry, who has been struggling with a thigh injury and has competed with her left thigh taped. She was sixth in the first semifinal in 12.79 and did not advance.

Like Jones, David Oliver completed a sweep of the 2008 U.S. indoor and outdoor titles in the men's hurdles. Though slow out of the blocks, Oliver rallied past two-time Olympic silver medalist, defending Olympic Trials champion and 2007 World Outdoor silver medalist Terrence Trammell to win the 100H in 12.95 (+2.5). Trammell was second in 13.00 and World Outdoor bronze medalist David Payne third in 13.25, a beneficiary of an untimely fall by Anwar Moore, who was in third but fell over the final hurdle and finished eighth in 16.64.

Oliver also ran an outstanding semifinal race, crossing the line .01 under the American record, in 12.89, but aided by an illegal 3.2mps wind. It was the fourth-fastest time ever run under any conditions. Trammell won the second semi in 13.08 (+2.0mps).


Lagat completes double

In perhaps the most tactical race of these Olympic Trials, world champion Bernard Lagat withstood a relaxed pace, pushing and shoving to win his second title of the Olympic Trials. The two-time Olympic 1,500m medalist for Kenya and the 2007 world champion at 1,500 and 5,000 for Team USA, Lagat will compete in both events in Beijing.

Lagat went to the lead at the gun, but 2000 Olympic Trials champion Gabe Jennings sprinted to the lead after 200m. Running 60-second laps, the tightly packed field came through 800m in 2:00.70 with Jennings, Lagat, Said Ahmed, Leonel Manzano and Lopez Lomong at the front. Approximately 1,000m into the race, Ahmed literally pushed his way between Jennings and Lagat to take the lead, and the race was on.

With 300 to go, it was Ahmed, Lagat and Manzano, and 100m later Lomong had moved up to third. That finishing order remained the same as the three men, all of whom are naturalized U.S. citizens, will represent the United States for the first time at the Olympics. Lagat won in 3:40.37, with Manzano second in 3:r0.90 and Lomong third in 3:41.00. William Leer was fourth in 3:41.54 and Alan Webb fifth in 3:41.62.

A graduate of Washington State University, Lagat has lived in the United States for 12 years and became a citizen in 2004. The 2005 and 2008 NCAA champion, Manzano was born in Mexico but raised in Texas. A Lost Boy of Sudan, Lomong fled the country in 1991 and spent 10 years in a refugee camp in Kenya. He was relocated to Tully, N.Y., where he graduated high school in 2004 before attending Northern Arizona University, for whom he was the 2007 NCAA 1,500m champion.


Terrific 200s

Walter Dix once again made good on the tremendous promise he has shown as a collegiate athlete at Florida State. The 22-year-old won his first national title in the 200 on Sunday, coming from behind to overtake the defending Olympic gold medalist by the smallest of margins.

Gold medalist Shawn Crawford came off the turn running powerfully, with Dix and Rodney Martin trailing him slightly. Roughly 70 meters from the finish line, two-time World Outdoor medalist Wallace Spearmon launched his late-race push as Dix gained incrementally on Crawford. At the finish, Dix and Crawford both were timed in 19.86, a Hayward Field record, as Crawford leaned so severely he nearly fell. Dix was given the win by .005 seconds in the photo finish, with Spearmon third in 19.90. The 2007 NCAA 100 and 200 champion, Dix was runner-up in the 100 meters at the Olympic Trials and will compete in both events in Beijing.

The women's 200 had drama of its own. The world's dominant 200m runner, two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist Allyson Felix was a heavy favorite to win her specialty event entering the Olympic Trials, even though she had yet to run a 200m in 2008. But coming off the curve in Sunday's final, it was 100m champion Muna Lee, running in lane 6 to Felix's lane 5, who held the lead. A composed Felix pulled even with Lee, then kept pushing to win in 21.82 (+5.6mps). Lee finished in 21.99 as Marshevet Hooker lost her balance one stride before the finish and fell across the line third in 22.20, just .01 ahead of Lauryn Williams in fourth.

Dominant Rowbury

Shannon Rowbury likewise entered the Olympic Trials as the prohibitive favorite in the women's 1,500 meters, and she delivered in convincing fashion. Strong and swirling winds kept the field packed tightly through the first two laps as Treniere Clement handled leading duties through 400m in 68.17 and Lindsey Gallo paced 800m in 2:15.73. Just past 1,000m, Rowbury took off and put on an impressive display of confident running as only Christin Wurth-Thomas and Erin Donohue attempted to move as well. Rowbury crossed the finish line in 4:05.48 - a very fast time in unfavorable winds - as Donohue (4:08.20) passed Wurth (4:08.48) in the final straight for second and third, respectively. Beijing will be the first Olympic Team for all three women.

Men's TJ raises pulses

The men's triple jump saw multiple lead changes and a final-round bomb that shook up the Olympic Team roster and left a world champion without a spot in Beijing. 2004 Olympian Kenta Bell, 2005 world champion Walter Davis, 2007 USA indoor and outdoor champion and '08 indoor champ Aarik Wilson, 2006 NCAA champion Rafeeq Curry, Allen Simms, and Brandon Roulhac traded the first six positions throughout the competition as Bell opened the jumping with a big mark of 17.23m/56-6.5, a jump that kept him in first for most of the competition.

That is, until Wilson took to the runway for his final attempt. The Indiana University grad exploded with a mark of 17.43m/57-02.25 (+2.0) to move from sixth to first, setting a Hayward Field record and knocking Davis from third to fourth. Bell was displaced from first to second with his 17.23, and Curry ended third with a best mark of 17.21m/56-5.75, just 1cm - or .5 inch - ahead of Davis in fourth (17.20m/56-5.25).

Waltz, Smith win throws titles

Ian Waltz won his third national title, and made his second Olympic Team, in the men's discus, as four of his five measured throws were farther than his next-best competitor. Waltz' best mark of 65.87m/216-1 put him well ahead of Michael Robertson in second (63.73m/209-1) and Casey Malone third (62.67m/205-7).

The men's javelin featured an upset as Bobby Smith won his first national title with a throw of 76.06m/249-6. Mike Hazle was second with 75.76m/248-7, with Brian Chaput third with 75.63m/248-1. Hazle and fifth-place finisher Leigh Smith (74.24m/243-07) are the only men's javelin finalists to have met the Olympic A standard, and they will be on the team for Beijing.

Fourth time the charm for Dow

2003 Pan Am Games bronze medalist Joanne Dow won her fourth career U.S. women's 20 km title and earned her first Olympic roster spot in four tries, over a 1 kilometer loop course adjacent to Autzen Stadium. In cool and blustery conditions, the 44-year-old Dow jointly held the lead with 2004 Olympian Teresa Vaill, 45, through three kilometers before breaking away and winning convincingly in 1:35:10, with Vaill second in 1:36:34. Vaill also placed second in the women's 10 km Olympic Trials in 1984 and 1988. Both competitors entered the competition holding the Olympic "B" standard, with Dow qualifying for the Olympic Team roster spot with her victory. Susan Armenta, 34, was third in 1:42:11.

In youth exhibition races, Jordon Berstrom won the boys' 400m dash in 51.62, and BryAnne Wochnick won the girls' 400 in 57.62.

Gay, Stuczynski crowned Visa Champions

The Olympic Trials also was the final event of USATF's Visa Championship Series. At the conclusion of the meet, Tyson Gay and Jenn Stuczynski were crowned Visa Champions as the athletes with the top individual performances of the Visa Championship Series. Gay's wind-aided time of 9.68 in the men's 100m final on June 29 was worth 1,311 points using IAAF scoring tables, comfortably ahead of Brad Walker's score of 1,279 for his American record pole vault of 6.04m/19-9.75 at the Nike Prefontaine Classic.

Stuczynski's AR in the vault Sunday afternoon was worth 1,232 points and the win, while Hyleas Fountain's personal-best score of 6,667 in the heptathlon was worth 1,226 points, good for second place. She had led Stuczynski by 1 point in the standings up until the moment Stuczynski cleared her American record.

World Juniors 110 Hurdles Preview

Booker Nunley of Garner High in North Carolina was the National Junior champion in 13.40 despite have to run as an unattached athlete when a mix-up of the number of units he was taking resulted in his ineligibility. Running over the 42 inch international height hurdles, where he had a personal best of 13.91 might have helped him work on his technique. Last year his personal best over the high school 39 inch hurdles was 13.88.

Joining Nunley on the U.S. team is Oscar Spurlock of Southern California, who just edged Ronald Brookins of Sacramento St., 13.801 to 13.807. Spurlock set a personal best of 14.01 over the 42-inch hurdles in finishing fourth in the USC-UCLA dual meet and later placed sixth in the Pacific 10 at 14.04. Spurlock set a seasonal best of 13.72 over the 39-inch hurdles in the semifinals of the Junior championships. Last year as a high schooler he had a best of 13.72 and win the Texas State 5A title with a 13.73.

Nunley’s time ranks behind just Yohany Portilla of Cuba at 13.30 and Konstantin Shabanov of Russia at 13.32 on the yearly world Junior list. Portilla has just two FAT times this year but has seven hand times between 13.1 and 13.3, all in Havana. It is good to keep in mind that money is very valued commodity in Cuba and the federation only sends athletes to Youth and Junior championship the feel have an excellent chance of winning a medal.

Shabanov, whose best of 13.40, set a national junior record and came in the Russian Junior championships, has a genetic advantage. His father, Georgiy, who was a 13.71 hurdler in the 1980s. Aleksey Dryomin, was second to Shabanov in the their trials, with a personal bet of 13.50. Jamaican Kieron Stewart set a national record of 13.49 over the 39-inch hurdles in finishing second in the 2007 Carifta Games and then won this years Island Games in New York City with a wind-aided 13.39.