ST. PAUL, Minn.--(June 7)--With the 2000 Olympic Trials their focus,
runners from across the country will compete in the first annual Minnesota
Distance Classic under the lights at Macalester College on Saturday, June 10.
The seeded events start at 7:30 p.m. with the men's 800 meter run.
"This meet is part of USA Track & Field Minnesota's continuing
efforts to provide competitive opportunities for post-collegiate athletes.
We're delighted at the strength of the fields in many of the events, given
that it's our first year. We hope that it develops into an attractive event
for spectators as well as athletes, and that it may contribute to
reinvigorating interest in high-performance distance running in
Minnesota," stated Jack Moran, meet director.
In the 800 meters, five entrants come in with recent bests under 1 minute
50 seconds, the University of Kansas's Charlie Gruber leading the list with
1:48.3, just 7/10th of a second off the Olympic Trials qualifying standard.
Also in the hunt will be Gopher stars Jason Owen and Andrew McKessock, along
with former Minnesota Gopher Paul Michalek.
The women's 1500 meter run, to be run at 8:00 p.m., is also packed with
talent. Fran ten Bensel, Lincoln, Neb., has already qualified for the Trials
with her time of 4:12.24. Carrie Tollefson, Dawson, Minn., newly graduated
from Villanova, is also in the 1500. The five-time NCAA champion (and 12-time
Minnesota champion) is sharpening for the Olympic Trials 5000 this July.
Three runners from the Washington, D.C., based Reebok Enclave track club
head the men's 1500 meter run list. Andre Williams, Bryan Spoonire and Chris
Fogorazzo are also 5000 meter specialists looking for some speed work.
Williams was the seventh-best American at the longer distance in 1999
according to Track & Field News. They will compete against Stillwater
grads Luke Watson, a sophomore at Notre Dame who ran the steeplechase at last
week's NCAA Championships and Sean Graham, a miler for William & Mary.
Kris Ihle Helledy, a native of Eau Claire, Wis., who now lives and trains
in Eugene, Ore., will run the women's 5000 meter run, scheduled for 8:20 p.m.
She is already qualified for the Olympic Trials in that event with a time of
15:38.44, and in fact has also qualified in the 1500 and 10,000 meter runs.
Ihle Helledy was ranked eighth American in the 5000m by Track & Field News
in 1999.
The talent on the track is expected to be matched by that in the stands at
Macalester on Saturday night. Steve Holman, the Richfield native who has been
ranked either first or second American in the 1500 since 1992, when he
competed in the Olympics, had been slated to compete in the 800 but is
recovering from a stress fracture. Kara Wheeler, the former Duluth East star,
is resting after winning both the 3000 and 5000 meter runs at the NCAA
Championships last week, a feat previously accomplished only by Tollefson.
The Minnesota Distance Classic, presented by USATF Minnesota for the
purpose of helping area athletes qualify and/or prepare for the Olympic
Trials, gets under way at 6:00 p.m. with a Meet of Miles open to all comers.
Admission for spectators is $5.00.
Special thanks to
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Coordinator for providing us this press
release.
USATF Road Running Information Center
5522 Camino Cerralvo, Santa Barbara, CA 93111
(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 696-6252
http://www.usaldr.org
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