May 05, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

These A's were for effort only

by Keith Peters

They were handing out A's last weekend as many of the world's top track and field athletes made the grade at the annual Cardinal Invitational.

A total of 16 competitors achieved "A" qualifying standards for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, on a cool and windless night at Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field that saw four world-leading times established.

Stanford senior Jill Camarena and sophomore Alicia Craig, plus Cardinal grad Lauren Fleshman, were not among that select group. Yet, all three received A's for their efforts as they achieved milestone performances while enhancing their chances for a summer trip to Greece.

Camarena surpassed her previous lifetime best in the women's shot put with a mammoth throw of 59-feet-6 3/4 inches. She not only broke her own school record four times, but became the No. 2 performer in Pac-10 history and the No. 5 collegian all-time.

Craig finished eighth in the women's 10,000 meters, but ran a lifetime best and school-record time of 32:19.97 that broke the previous collegiate record of 32:22.97 by Villanova's Carole Zajac in 1992.

Fleshman, who graduated last spring after winning her third consecutive NCAA title in the 5,000, missed the Olympic standard by a mere 1.28 seconds but ran a lifetime best of 15:09.98 while taking fourth in an elite 5K field that saw the top three finishers achieve the Olympic qualifying mark.

Despite their near misses, all three were excited with the efforts and with what lies ahead.

"I was excited already, to hit the 18-meter mark (59-0 3/4), but now I'm in shock," said Camarena, who wound up with the same winning mark as Palo Alto's Kristin Heaston, who was ranked No. 1 in America in 2003 by Track & Field News. Camarena and Heaston are now tied for the U.S. lead this season.

"We knew a big jump was coming, but just not when," Camarena said. "Things were going really well, training wise."

Camarena actually lifted heavily the day before Friday's meet, and equaled her best-ever clean (lifting from the ground to her shoulders) of 270 pounds.

"You don't expect to come off a lifting day and throw well," she said. "But, it worked out well."

Camarena's series included a school-record 58-6 before her 59-6 3/4 on her final throw. She still needs to throw 60-10 1/2 to achieve the Olympic "A" standard and, of course, finish among the top three at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in July to become an Olympian.

"It makes you nervous; you throw this big PR and then are so many expectations," said Camarena, certainly among the favorites now to make the Olympic team. "All my expectations lead me to tighten up. I just need to stay relaxed . . . It's exciting, but there's still work to be done."

Craig would agree. She still has the Pac-10 Championships coming up this month and then the NCAA regionals (May 28-29) and championships (June 9-12) before shifting her focus to the Olympic Trials at Sacramento State in July.

Craig went into last Friday night's race aiming at 76-second splits for the 25-lap race. That would have produced the Olympic qualifying standard of 31:45.00.

"We figured we'd start there and go on from there," said Craig, the defending NCAA 10K champion. "Workouts have been going real well and I'm running faster in practice. It felt really, physically comfortable.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity and to have this atmosphere. I wasn't really thinking about it (the record). I just wanted to get out and compete."

The top three finishers achieved the "A" standard, but only one - Kate O'Neill - is American. Three other U.S. runners not in the field Friday have achieved the Olympic mark.

In the women's 5,000, three Americans now have the Olympic standard. Two achieved it at Stanford while chasing Ireland's Sonia O'Sullivan to a world-leading time of 14:58.43. Shayne Culpepper (15:01.36) and Carrie Tollefson (15:04.07) need only to finish among the top three in Sacramento to earn a trip to Greece.

Fleshman hopes to join that group. Her fourth-place time of 15:09.98 ranks her No. 4 in the U.S. this season and No. 8 in the world. Not bad for her first 5K of the season.

"I'm very encouraged," Fleshman said. "It's like cake without the frosting. But, I baked the cake."

Fleshman moved on March 23 from Palo Alto to Oberlin College in Ohio to train with former Stanford head coach Vin Lananna, who was on hand Friday to watch her run.

"The weather is challenging," Fleshman said of her new temporary home. "I've been a California girl all my life. But, like the saying goes, you leave the dance with who brought you."

Despite her near miss, Fleshman was very upbeat.

"I will not look at this race in any negative way," she said.

Fleshman hopes to return to Palo Alto at the end of the month and take another shot at the Olympic standard, if a special 5K can be set up in conjuction with the Payton Jordan U.S. Open on May 31.

They won't need a men's 10K for the annual IAAF Grand Prix meet at Stanford on Memorial Day. The goal of getting qualified for the Summer Games was achieved in the Cardinal Invitational as nine runners surpassed the standard of 27:49.00. American recordholder Meb Keflezighi led the way in 27:24.10, second-fastest in the world this year. Among those joining him were Americans Abdi Abdirahman (27:34.24), Bob Kennedy (27:37.45) and Dathan Ritzenhein, who set an American collegiate record of 27:38.60 while taking sixth. That broke the previous mark of 27:40.69 by the legendary Alberto Salazar.

Elsewhere in the meet:

Alistair Cragg of Arkansas (and Ireland) won the men's 5,000 in 13:16.98 to achieve the Olympic standard and take the world lead from Stanford grad Jonathon Riley (13:21.11); ex-BYU star Kassi Anderson won the women's 3,000 steeplechase in a world-leading 9:48.75; Stanford grad Jason Lunn led three current or former Cardinal runners to the finish line in the men's 1,500 with a 3:38.96 winning time; Cardinal grad Malindi Elmore ran to victory in the women's 1,500 in 4:09.85; and Great Britain's Juston Chaston won the men's 3,000 steeplechase in a world-leading 8:24.88.

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