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2007
AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Web Site
(June 22, 2007) - Freshman
Allison Wilder's 39' 8" effort in the triple jump was
good enough for an eighth place finish at the Finish Line
USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships Friday
at the IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium in
Indianapolis, IN.
Jumping in the first flight,
Wilder nailed the 39' 8" (12.09M) mark on her first attempt.
After fouling her second attempt, she jumped 11.71 on her
third attempt. Moving to the finals, she fouled her fourth
attempt, then posted an 11.36 jump on her fifth before fouling
again on her sixth and final jump.
"It was a tremendous
effort for her to come to the US Nationals, to compete against
the best in the nation at the junior level and finish in the
top eight," UCR Head Coach Irv Ray said. "It is
a great step for her as she moves into the senior level of
competition in the years ahead."
On
Thursday, freshmen Brenda Martinez and Jackie Lewis each failed
to meet the qualifying standard and move on in their events,
as Martinez finished 23rd in the AT&T USA Outdoor Track
& Field Championships 800 meters and Lewis placed15th
in the long jump at the Junior Outdoor Championships, held
concurrently in Indianapolis.
Running with the elite competition
in the US National 800, redshirt freshman Martinez placed
ninth in her heat and 23rd overall in 2:10.77in the 800, finishing
over six-and-a-half seconds behind her qualifying time of
2:04.22. Hazel Clark won the event in a time of 2:04.16.
"There was a big crowd
and Brenda got jostled a little bit. She moved to the outside
and tried to pass, and while that might work at the collegiate
level, it is a lot harder at this level," Ray said. "It
was a great learning experience about tactics at this level.
For being 19-years-old, it was a great honor and a fine effort.
Brenda can and will run at this level successfully."
Martinez is the first-ever
woman to compete at the US Nationals and the first UCR track
athlete since 1983 to run the event. She has qualified for
the US Olympic Trials next year.
In the junior national long
jump, in which athletes 19 and under may compete, true freshman
Lewis fouled her first two attempts before finishing at 17'
6.25" (5.34 M), finishing 15th. The event was won by
Jamesha Youngblood, who jumped 20' 8.5".
"Jackie had good speed
down the runway, but had a couple of fouls and had to settle
for a 'safe' jump," Ray said.
Ray was thrilled about the
Highlanders' appearance at the meet and what it means for
his program.
"When you consider
that just a few years ago we hardly had anybody who could
score in the conference meet, it is exciting to have athletes
competing at the highest level," Ray said. "It is
an important step forward for the program, and is very exciting."
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