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Pair
of Near Misses for Lady'Back Track
By Phil Pierce, UA WOMEN'S COMMUNICATIONS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The University of Arkansas
Lady Razorback track team had a pair of near misses at the U.S. Olympic
Trials on the final day of competition as junior LaShaunte'a Moore finished
fourth in the 200 and former Lady Razorback April Steiner fifth in the
pole vault.
The conclusion of the Olympic trials solidifies
the participants for the Lady Razorbacks at the Athens games with Arkansas
sending four Lady Razorbacks to the competition. Running for the United
States are Moore, former Lady Razorbacks Deena (Drossin) Kastor and Nicole
Teter. Qualifying for the games for her native Jamaica is the NCAA indoor
200-meter champion Veronica Campbell in both the 100 and 200 meters.
The NCAA Champion at 200 meters during the
2004 outdoor track season, Moore went into Sunday's final with the second
fastest time during semifinals. Unfortunately, she failed to radically
improve her mark from the second round running 22.64 to finish in fourth
place behind Allyson Felix, Muna Lee and Torri Edwards. Working on her
start and first 50 meters, Moore had used a strong final 150 to advance,
but Sunday's final proved that the budding star needed to run a complete
race to make the stacked U.S. Olympic team.
"I am so proud of everything that LaShaunte'a
has accomplished this season," Arkansas associate head coach Rolando Greene
said. "She has come a long way this year and to make it to the finals
of the U.S. Trials is quite an accomplishment. Most sprinters dream of
making it to the trials and LaShaunte'a was not only there but had a legitimate
chance to go to the Games as an individual."
Although she did not advance in the open 200-meters,
Moore still gets to make the trip to Athens, Greece, as a member of the
U.S. 4x100-meter pool. Moore is one of six names submitted by U.S.A. Track
and Field to the U.S. Olympic Committee for inclusion in its master roster.
Moore joins LaTasha Colander, Edwards, Lauryn Williams, Angela Williams
and Consuella More as the potential participants on the U.S. sprint relay
team.
Steiner was also a near miss for the Lady
Razorbacks in the pole vault where her clearance of 14 feet, 7 ¼ inches
was good for fifth overall. One of several to clear the height, Steiner's
impressive jumps went without a miss until 14-9 giving her the edge over
the competition. Starting at 13-9 ¼, Steiner soared over heights through
14-7 ¼, skipping 14-3 ¼. Missing once at 14-9, Steiner then passed on
the next two bars and made two excellent attempts at 15-1 before being
eliminated from the competition. Should Steiner have cleared 15-1, she
would have made the Olympic team as the second and third-place finishers
only cleared 14-11.
Rounding out Arkansas' participation at the
U.S. Olympic Trials was former Lady Razorback Sarah Schwald in the 1,500-meter
finals. Needing a time of 4:08.00 to achieve the Olympic 'A' standard
and have an opportunity to run at the games, Schwald stayed with the lead
pack through 800 meters before the group thinned and she began to fall
behind. Down the home stretch, the leaders continued to push the tempo
to hit the magical 4:08 standard, crossing the line just behind the time
as Schwald finished in 4:13.12 for eighth overall.
For more information about University of Arkansas
women's athletics or about Lady Razorback track, go to www.ladybacks.com.
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