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Golden State 08 Olympians
Some Background on the Beijing Crew from California
by Doug Speck - DyeStatCal
A Completed Series on those with a Golden State High School or University Background
heading to the Beijing Games
DyeStatCal 2008 Olympic Games Index Area
Dawn Harper - Allyson Felix - Shannon Rowbury - Kristin Heaston - Jillian Camarena - Jessica Cosby - Sharon Day - Chaunte Howard -
Amy Acuff - Nicole Teter - Grace Upshaw - Stephanie Brown Trafton - Sheena Johnson Tosta - Suzy Powell Roos - Erica McLain -
Torri Edwards - Blake Russell - Deena Kastor Drossin - Magdalena Lewy Boulet - Brian Clay - Michael Robertson - Jesse Williams -
Ian Dobson - Ryan Hall - Billy Nelson - Trevell Quinley - Derek Miles
Dawn Harper (Nike) - This 2006 UCLA grad upset the pre-meet form charts and zoomed past a bunch of California greats to make the US Squad in the 2008 Olympic Trials in the 100 Meter Hurdles. For a variety of reasons folks like Michelle Perry, Joanna Hayes, Ginnie Powell, and Nichole Denby, with Golden State connections of some sort, ended up off of the US Beijing squad that consists of Lolo Jones, Damu Cherry, and Harper, with Dawn just outleaning Denby 12.612-12.619 in the Eugene Finals, with Powell and Hayes also finalists. As an East St. Louis HS, Illinois star, the same school that turned out Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the 2002 prep grad Harper came to the Bruins as one of the nation’s top prep short hurdlers, with a 13.54 eleventh grade best in the event and six individual Illinois state titles along the way. She made the NCAA meet as a UCLA frosh athlete in 2003, and was a Semi-Finalist there in the 100 Meter Hurdles, with 13.33/13.21w bests. She was also the US Junior and Pan American Junior Champ that year in the short hurdles. In 2004 she finished eighth in the NCAA Meet 100 Hurdles, and earned All-American honors there and in the 4x100 relay, which was second for the Bruins, as she improved to 13.16. She did compete at the US Olympic Trials, not making the Finals. Her steady improvement continued in 2005, as she was third in the NCAA Outdoor 100 Meter Hurdles at 12.91. At the Senior US Champonship level in 2005 she was eighth place. 2006 was hindered by a late spring injury in April, but she returned to place fourth at the June NCAA meet at 12.92. Post-grad 2007 had her place eighth in the US Senior Championships, with some good summer running that had her end sixth ranked in the US by Track and Field News, and with the fourth best mark for the year among Americans of 12.67. With Golden Staters Michelle Perry, Ginnie Powell, and Nichole Denby ranked ahead of her and Joanna Hayes dangerous in an Olympic year it was more than a mild upset of the form chart, but yet a sense of steady progression by Harper that had her nab the third and final spot in the Eugene Olympic Trials to earn the trip to Beijing. Her wind-legal seasonal and lifetime best of 12.58 from the semi-finals at Eugene in the Olympic Trials should seem to put her in good position to make the finals, with the 12.58 eighth on the World list for the year of those who should be at the Olympics.
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 photos Kirby Lee - Image of Sport.com | Allyson Felix (adidas) - The California ‘cinderella story’ of the sport in the last decade is this pleasant young lady who emerged from the small school ranks at LA Baptist High School in the greater Los Angeles area around the turn of the millenium to a position where she can leave the Beijing Games as the ‘Golden Lady of the Sport.’ He fact that she is in the speed end of the activity with the potential to make a big difference during her segments in the relay events match up with her relaxed, charming demeanor with the press and public to possibly create a ‘perfect storm’ opportunity for her and the sport in general. We remember her first starting as a ninth grader who impressed with her steady improvement over the season at LA Baptist, with our comment in 2000 when she made the finals of the US Junior Nationals, “frosh Allyson Felix, probably the nation’s most improved sprinter from the spring’s first dual meet until now, won over NCAA placers and State Champs with her 23.91 in second.” She drew lane 1 in the Finals in Denton, Texas, at the Juniors and finished ninth in the Finals at 24.16. She was seventh in the State Meet Finals her frosh year at 24.35, with Monique Henderson 23.19 for the win that season. It was an impressive start for the eventual world-beater, but it really started to take off her soph 2001 season, where she was the State 100 winner over frosh Shalonda Solomon (LB Poly) 11.61-11.63, then was second to Angel Perkins (Gahr) at 200m 22.85w-23.27w. Allyson continued into that summer in fine style once again, winning the 100 meters at the World Youth (Under 18) Championships 11.57, and racing a relay leg on a winning Sprint Medley (100-200-300-400) relay to go ‘World-Wide!’ 2002 continued her steady, impressive improvement, winning State titles at 100m (11.55) and 200m (22.83), then after finishing second to Sanya Richards in the US Juniors, going to the World Junior (under age 20) World Championships where whe was fifth at 200 meters in Jamaica. Her talented brother, a USC frosh at the time, there was a part of the US World Record setting 4x100 team and he was third in the Junior Men’s 200 Final. Allyson’s senior year put her near the top of the National Stage at any level, starting indoors where she set a prep record of 23.14 for 200 meters while winning the US Senior Indoor title, then having her race 22.11 at Mexico City’s Altitude for a World Junior (under age 20) record (that was later not allowed at that level when the meet directors did not have drug testing done). She took down Marion Jones’ prep 22.58 record from 1992 at the Mt. SAC Relays with a 22.51 against open competition that 2003 campaign, with a 22.52 in winning State giving her the National Federation (only HSers in the event) record. She finished third at the US Senior Championships over 200 meters, and was third at the Pan Am Games Senior meet at the same distance. She was ranked #8 in the World over 200 Meters by Track and Field News as a prep!
She signed with adidas professionally out of high school, and attended USC, recently securing her four year degree while also focusing on the pro side of running. In 2004 she won the US Olympic Trials over 200 meters, and was second in the Olympic Games in Athens at 22.18. The rocket to the top was still in ascent! 2005 had her win the World Outdoor Championships in Helsinki over half a lap with bests of 11.05 for 100 meters and 22.13 for 200. 2006 had her win the World Athletics Final over 200m at 22.11 and finish third there in the 100 at 11.07. Her string of #1 rankings in the World over 200m stretched to a couple years now, with a #6 ranking over 100m for the year 2006 by Track and Field News. 2007 had her again dominate with a 21.81 in taking the World Championships at 200 meters, and racing legs on the winning US 4x100 (41.98) and 4x400 (3:18.55, she a 48.0 second leg) realy teams. She hopes to duplicate the three gold medals in Beijing. She had not run a 200 outdoors this year previous to the 2008 Eugene Trials, with her traditional powerful stride carrying her through to a win over the final half of the event over Muna Lee 21.82w-21.99w. She goes into Bejing as the favorite, with the possibility of coming out one of the great overall heroes of the games, and the Track and Field Goddess should she pull the triple off in style! No one is more deserving.
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Shannon Rowbury (Nike) - One of a group with Californian roots (Deena Kastor, Meg Keflezighi, Ryan Hall, etc) who have shown that Americans can compete with the best in the world in the distance events, Rowbury has emerged mightily in 2008 with a very legitimate chance to challenge for an Olympic medal at the classic 1500 meter distance. She has undergone a steady rise over the last year in the company of Shalane Flanagan under Coach John Cook, former George Mason University mentor who also coaches Erin Donahue, second behind Rowbury in the Olympic Trials 1500.
For Sacred Heart Cathedral HS in San Francisco, Shannon was a State Champion in Track her junior 2001 year over 800 meters (2:10.31) and 1600 meters her twelfth grade 2002 season (4:52.77). She headed off to Duke University for her college running and schooling. Quite the student also, she was an eventual graduate there in English and Film Studies. As a first year collegiate runner she improved to 4:42.45 to win the ACC title indoors for a mile and was consistently among the top three on her team in the Fall in Cross-Country. As a soph she was All-American indoors in Track with an eighth place over the mile distance with a 4:39.20 best, and she had a good Fall Cross-Country season. She continued steady improvement during the 2004 and 2005 school year with a fourth in the ACC Cross-Country Championships, and she was All-American as a harrier athlete with a twenty-seventh place at the NCAA meet. She made a nice drop in track competitively in 2005, with an NCAA Indoor runner-up finish at the mile distance, with a 4:14.81 for 1500 meters in winning the ACC outdoor title. She was fourth at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor 1500. She now also had bests of 2:06.58 (800) - 4:38.66 (Mile) and 9:16.86 (30000m). After spending much of the 2005 Fall at the top of the NCAA Cross-Country team rankings, with Clara Horowitz (Head Royce) also on the Blue Devil team, the Duke squad finished third at the NCAA Finals, with Shannon 55th individually. Shannon red-shirted indoor and outdoor track in 2006, and finished sixth in the USATF outdoor 1500 at 4:12.88. In 2007 she represented Duke in the NCAA Indoor Track Championships, winning the mile at 4:42.17 and finishing second later the same day over 3000 meters in 9:02.73. Unfortunately after that time she had a hip injury, which turned out to be a stress fracture. She signed to run with Nike in June 2007, and sought out Coach John Cook, who was working with Shalane Flanagan, but Shannon needed to deal with the hip problem. In one of those circumstances that at the time could have been a career-killer, the recovery from the injury included kind of a reworking of her physical structure and form, as she worked with Dan Pfaff of Tri-Valley Athletics in the Stockton area, while healing from injury near home. Also, time spent on a G-Gravity treadmill allowed a quick, non-stress return to running for Shannon. She appeared fully recovered from her injury with a late 2007 15:54 on the roads for 5k. The training group she was a part of with Coach Cook and Shalane Flanagan went to atltitude in Mexico for a time early in 2008, and she returned to race the USATF Indoor 3k, with the results there a pleasing win at 8:55.19, with a dominant close to the effort that had her some four seconds ahead at the finish of American star Jen Rhines. This was becoming interesting, and it was an Olympic year. Shannon raced a fine 2:02.76 800 personal best in April, then in May she blitzed a fine 1500 meter field in the Payton Jordan Invitational on the way to a 4:07.59 win. World-wide possibilities came from the late May adidas Classic in Carson, where she again blasted a top field on the way to a stunning 4:01.61 1500 win, making her the #5 American ever behind Mary Slaney, Suzy Favor Hamilton, Ruth Wysocki, and Regina Jacobs. From there she added her Olympic Trials win at 4:05.48, and followed that up in July with a 4:00.33 lifetime best 1500, there finishing less than half a second behind World 2007 Champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal.
It is going to be a very amazing Olympic Games for Shannon. The Olympic Finals level races are very rarely a true race for time, with great top end racing experience often times a part of the arsenal of those successful in what can be a helter-skelter affair. Whatever happens, Rowbury has come an amazing distance in a short period of time, with a career we hope goes on for a ton of years as an example to high school age runners as to what possibly can be accomplished.
Link to Interview with Sacred Heart Coach Andy Chan about Shannon's Running
Link to Interview we did with Shannon Rowbury after 2008 Indoor USATF 3k title run
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 | Kristin Heaston (Nike) - Another story of real patience is that of Kristin Heaston, a 1993 prep grad from Ygnacio Valley (Concord). The thirty-two year old was a two-time State Shot Put Champion in 1992 and 1993, with the best toss in the nation by over two feet with her 52-11.5 personal best. She was also second in State in the Discus her senior year, with a 165-10 yearly best that made her the second ranked throw in the nation behind 2008 Olympic team member Suzy Powell, who was 180-08 that eleventh grade season Kristin competed internationally as a high school senior, with a fourth place finish in the Pan American Junior Championships. She spent a year at Diablo Valley College, not competing for the school, and then she headed to the University of Florida. She had a fine career there for three years, improving to 55-07.5 and 182-01 in the weight events with an SEC Discus title in 1998 and runner-up in the Shot Put that season. Sadly, her father, the Men’s Water Polo Coach at Cal Berkeley came down with brain cancer and died in 1999, with Kristin transfering to the UCB Campus to be close to him. In 1999 she was fourth in the NCAA Shot, and did not compete in 2000. Since 2001 she has focused on the Shot Put, and was third in the US Senior Championships in 2001 at 56-04. She improved to 57-08.5 the next 2002 season with another third at the US Senior Meet. In 2003 she cracked the 60 foot barrier at 60-01.75, and won the US Indoor and Outdoor titles on the way to the World Championships, where she was a non-finalist but ranked as the #1 US thrower by Track and Field news for the first time. They had the Shot Put events in the ancient Olympia stadium in Athens, Greece in 2004, and after a second in the 2004 US Olympic Trials Kristin was the first athlete to throw the iron ball in the 2004 Games in the historic setting. She was twelfth in her group at the Games and did not qualify for the Finals, and had a 60-10.75 2004 best. In 2005 she continued her slight improvement, out to 61-03.5 while winning the US title and taking ninth in her group at the World Championships. In 2007 she won the US Senior title at 61-05.75, and was tenth in her qualifying round at the World Champ Meet at 57-01. It took 59-09.75 to make the 2007 World Championship Finals. In the very competitive 2008 Olympic Trials competition she sat in seventh place after the first three throws, moving to second behind Michelle Carter’s 61-10.25 with a 60-02 fourth throw, holding on to that spot to make the team. Off recent World Championship and Olympic prelim results a nice goal would be to move into the Finals at Beijing, a bit of a competitive breakthrough for the international veteran |
Jillian Camarena (NYAC) - Jillian came from Woodland HS in the Sac Joaquin Section, with a great Shot-Discus career back around the turn of the millenium. She was a State Meet Discus champ her prep senior year of 2000 with a 161-00 best, and was third in the Shot Put that year after winning that event in 1999 at that level. She had a prep best of 50-11.25 achieved that eleventh grade season. She was third in the 2000 State Shot Put to Karen Freberg (San Luis Obispo) and 2008 Olympic team member in the Hammer, Jessica Cosby (Cleveland HS/UCLA). Jillian immediately improved a great deal at Stanford, out to 53-09 her first year there in 2001, and taking the Pan American Junior title in the Shot Put. She was third at the NCAA Outdoor meet in 2002 and improved to 56-05.5 while placing ninth at the USA Outdoor Senior meet. In 2003 she repeated her third place NCAA finish with improvement to 57-04.5. In the 2004 Olympic year she finished third at the Olympic Trials with a 59-06.75, but was short of the “A” Olympic Games standard and was not able to move on to the Athens competition. She was second at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor meet that senior 2004 season. After college Camarena continued, improving to 63-02.25 by 2006 and winning the US Indoor and Outdoor title meets. She was the US Senior runner-up in 2007 and competed in the World Outdoor Championships in Osaka, Japan. There she was short of qualifying for the Finals, with 59-09.75 needed for that group, with Jill managing 55-07.5 in the Trials there. The period 2007-2008 was not without its obstacles, with Jill amazingly undergoing surgery for a herniated disc in her back in April of 2008, and still coming back to make the US Olympic squad, her first competition since the surgery. She moved to Tucson, Arizona this past year to train with her coach Craig Carter from BYU, where she was working on a Master’s Degree, when he was hired as an Assistant at the University of Arizona. Oh by the way, she also changed from the spin to the glide for this season with all else that had happened. At the Olympic Trials she led the early with a best of day toss of 59-05.5, then had Michelle Carter of the famous Texas throwing family pass her at the end of Round 1 at 61-10.25. Golden Stater Kirsten Heaston snuck into second with a 60-02 on her fourth throw, with Jillian holding off a group for third place and a team spot, with that trailing crew including Jessica Pressley (ex-Laguna Creek star), who was seventh at 58-09.5.
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 | Jessica Cosby (Nike) - Jessica was a four-time LA City Shot Put Champion, and graduate of Cleveland HS in Reseda in 2000. She had great all-around ability, competing in the Open Division at the Arcadia Invitational I remember one year in the Open 100, with such all-around range. She was second to Karen Ferberg of San Luis Obispo in the State Meet Shot event in her senior 2000 season and was the #3 prep thrower in the nation at 50-03.5 (just ahead of Jill Camarena from Woodland, a 2008 Olympic team competitor in the Shot, who was 49-11.5 that season). Cosby was right into the Hammer in addition to Shot Putting at UCLA as a first year athlete, taking the US Junior Championship in the Shot Put (54-08.75) and Hammer (182-10) in 2001. She focused on the Shot Put in 2002, improving to a fine 57-00.25, winning the NCAA Outdoor title for the Bruins. In 2003 she improved to 200-07 in the Hammer, with gradual better results in the ball and chain event than the Shot. In 2004 she was 219-5 for second in the NCAA Hammer and seventh at the Olympic Trials. 57-10.25 (SP) and 219-02 (HT) marks in 2005 had her third at the NCAA Outdoor meet in both throws, with a fifth at the US Senior Championships in the Hammer. She was #2 ranked in 2006 in the Hammer by Track and Field News in the US with a 232-03 in winning the US Senior title. She was third in the 2007 US Senior Championships in the Hammer at 223-09, and was eighth in her qualifying round at the World Championships in Osaka, missing the field of twelve for the finals by one position overall. She was 222-09 in the 2007 Osaka World Champ competition, with a 232-00 to win the recent US Olympic Trials, so a nice competitive step up in experience would be to earn a Finals spot in Beijing for the 26 year old. She is an Assistant Coach at UCLA and hopefully will continue with the sport after this year.
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Sharon Day (Asics) - Gee, it is kind of like days of old in the Women’s High Jump when up to forty percent of the US Olympic squad had California connections and it would have taken us months to survey the crowd in writing. Along with Chaunte Howard (JW North HS) and Amy Acuff (UCLA), Sharon Day (Costa Mesa HS/Cal Poly SLO) is the third athlete to make up the US squad in the High Jump event for Beijing. In the Eugene Olympic Trials Howard (6-05.5) and Acuff (6-04) had no misses up through their best heights, with Day taking Deidre Mullen on misses at 6-03.25 for the final slot. Day was a two-time California State Champ in the High Jump while at Costa Mesa, where she was a good Volleyball player and a Soccer star also, a sport she continued at CP SLO with real success. At the prep level in Track, Sharon won over Chaunte Howard in the HJ at State in 2002, Day’s junior year, with both clearing 5-11, with the Costa Mesa star leaving high-school the next season as the fourth highest jumper in State history with a 6-02 best. Her sister is a High-Jumper and also plays Soccer at the University of Arizona as a 2006 Costa Mesa HS grad, so the family had quite a string of successful years at the Orange County high school.
Sharon was an instant hit at Cal Poly after High School in 2004, placing second in the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, and placing third in the World Junior Championships in her event at 6-03.25. In 2005 she won the NCAA Championships at 6-04. She lost 2006 to a broken foot that was not caused by soccer, but rather by tripping over a curb on the track. She bounced back in 2007 for second in the US Senior Outdoor Championships in Indianapolis on a wet, windy day at 6-02.25. She was the NCAA second placer this past June prior to her fine third in Eugene at the Trials to make the US squad. At just age 23 she could have a lot of good years left in the sport.
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 | Chaunte Howard (Nike) - Time sure flies, as it seems just a couple of years ago that the 2002 grad of JW North High was jumping and running locally at the prep level for the Riverside County powerhouse. Now she is a mother and off to the Olympics–my how time flies!! Chaunte’s final prep season (2002) she was second in State in the High Jump (with fellow 2008 Olympian Sharon Day the winner), second in the Long Jump to teammate Lena Bettis, and runner-up in the Triple Jump to Michelle Sanford and she left high school as the #5 California prep High Jumper ever with a 6-01.5 best. She helped lead her squad to that 2002 State team title. She headed east to work with Coach Nat Page at Georgia Tech and immediately was into the NCAA/Olympic level mix with a second in the NCAA Meet Outdoors and fourth at the USA Senior Nationals meet as a frosh in 2003 as she improved to 6-02.25. In 2004 she jumped 6-06 and won the NCAA Outdoor Meet and was second at the Olympic Trials to head to the Athens Games. She was a non-finalist there, but at age 20 was racking up the accomplishments. In 2005 she further topped her act with a 6-07 clearance and second at the World Outdoor Championships, which was the first US World Championship medal in the event since Louise Ritter’s in 1983. She was a full-time pro by 2006 and won the US Indoor and Outdoor titles with a 6-07 best. She had married former All-American Triple Jumper Mario Lowe (Florida State University) in 2005. She took the 2007 season off for maternity, but has charged back and was the 2008 Olympic Trials Champ at 6-05.5 in joining fellow Golden Staters Amy Acuff and Sharon Day on the squad to Beijing. She has kind of “been there, done that” with success at the World stage level already, and there is something to that maternity leave that has had many come back the next year or two with amazing results. Beijing could be very interesting, with Chaunte still only 24 years old.
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Amy Acuff (Asics) - If anyone with a California connection to Track and Field should write a book it should be Amy Acuff. A brilliant student, the Calallen HS of Corpus Christi, Texas 1993 grad who came to UCLA has had a dizzying array of experiences associated with the sport in the 15 years since that time that would give her an amazing story to tell. She attracts interesting stories–one in high school we were involved in had her snowed in on the way to National Scholastic Interscholastic Indoor Championships in Syracuse. She hitched a ride with a family in a van in Cleveland, warning us to never tell her mom that, and when she arrived in Syracuse she thought she missed the competition by being too late. It turned out the whole meet was postponed a day due to 54" of snow in one day so she was safe. I believe it was the next year she was attempting some record height at Syracuse again and someone leaned on a fire alarm, and they take those occurrences seriously at the University there, so she had to go outside in 15 degree weather and wait out an inspection, obviously losing her edge and record possibilities. She has battled at the top level of World Championship competition and other times lost periods to serious injury. We most recently watched the wily veteran under wet, windy condtions in 2007 take the US Senior title in Indianapolis in at age 31, relying on the mental aspect every bit as much as the physical that day. She was second in the Olympic Trials and joins the all-California High Jump squad of former JW North star and Trials Champ Chaunte Howard and ex-Costa Mesa HS athlete Sharon Day heading to Beijing here soon.
She left High School in 1993 with the National Record of 6-04, and the summer of her senior year she defeated all three medalist in that year’s World Senior Championships in a competition in Europe. She was an immediate hit at UCLA taking the NCAA Indoor and Pac 10 title as a frosh athlete, and she was a bronze medalist in the World Junior Champs in 1994. She was third in the 1996 Olympic Trials, starting her string of Olympic appearances with a 20th place in the Atlanta Trials. She won the 1997 Senior Championship, and finished first or second there on the way to a third in the 2000 Olympic Trials competition. The good jumping continued until 2004, with a fourth at the Olympic Games at 6-06.25, and a strong international arrival with a #5 ranking in the world by Track & Field News. All the years of jumping took its toll on her ankles, with a couple of serious injuries along the way she recovered from. She is famous for appearing in Playboy magazine, and a Calendar of Champions, where a dozen of the nation’s top female stars filled out the months’ pictures. She married Pole Vaulter Tye Harvey in 2001, and is part of a group that works in the Isleton area of California with Coach Dan Pfaff. The period 2005 thgrough 2007 were steady, and she had a good 2008 with a sixth at the World Indoor Championships before her second at the Olympic Trials. She obviously heads to Beijing as one of the veterans in the field overall. At thirty-three she is certainly an ageless wonder who has been a constant inspiration with her determination and results.
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 | Nicole Teter (Nike Farm Team) - The West Valley HS (Cottonwood) grad from way back in 1991 is another who has stuck with the sport for a long time. She is a real study in patience, with periods of good health showing as much potential at the 800-1500 distance as any in US history, with one wondering how she could really do without about three good years strung together. She has suffered through a real alphabet soup of ailments through the last decade and a half, but the thirty-four year old is another who rose to the occasion at the Trials to make the US squad. She was blessed with having an Olympic standard performance that allowed her to leap-frog over third place finisher from the recent Trials Kamesha Bennett from fourth place in the actual finals race to make the team.
Nicole had a fine prep career out of the Northern Section running for West Valley HS. She was fourth, second, and first in State over 800 meters her final three years leading up to her 1991 2:08.14 senior year State title run. She was the US Junior 800 Champ in 1991 at 2:05.61 her twelfth grade season and easily the top two lap prep in the US with that time. She went to the University of Arkansas and came back and attended Shasta Community College for a time. Between 1992 and 2005 she raced between 2:03.71 and 2:07.35 for yearly bests, with a seventh in the 1996 Olympic Trials making her a factor at the top level of the sport in our country. Between 1996 and 2000 it was more of the up and downs to her career, often due to injury, with a seventh once again in the 2000 US Trials and a yearly best of 2:01.59. In 2001 she was fourth at the US Senior Championships, and cranked it up in 2002 to really show her ability, with a 1:58.71 to win the US Indoor title and 1:58.83 to take the US Outdoor title as sub-2 was coming comfortably, with seeming potential to challenge on the World stage. She competed strongly in Europe that summer and added a fine 4:04.19 for 1500 meters to show the ability to perform there at the international level. She was 1:59.91 in 2003, then was second in the 2004 US Olympic Trials at 800 Meters, and finished fourth in her Olympic Games Semi-Finals to just miss out on the Athens two lap final. She was world-ranked in 2004 by Track and Field News and had a best of 1:58.52. Unfortunately 2005 through 2007 had a reduced schedule including a ten month lay-off in 2006 with a sports hernia operation. She moved to Eugene, Oregon in 2007 to rejoin Coach Frank Gagliano, who she had worked with for a number of years. It was in Eugene last May where she recorded a 1:59.91 800 clocking that allowed her on the 2008 US Olympic team in fourth ahead of Kamesha Bennett, when third placer Bennett had not achieved the Games’ “A” level standard in her racing over the last two years. Teter won the USA Senior Indoor 800 title this past winter, then traveled to the World Indoor meet and was hindered by yet another injury, this time an achilles, something she has had to work around as she heads to China for the Olympics here in a week or two. Though she has had a checkered career due to continual injuries, she has shown sparks of potential equal to any US middle distance runner over the last decade.
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Grace Upshaw (Nike) - If anyone who is a prep athlete with above average talent and results and wants inspiration to perform eventually at an Olympic level, Grace Upshaw is the one to look to. She certainly has some genes, with her father Monte, a former National High School record holder who jumped 25-04.5 in 1954 to break Jesse Owens standard that had stood forever. For her prep years at Acalanes HS in Lafayette, Grace had some fine results, but not nearly at the level of her father. She was the NCS 2A level champ in 1993 at 17-04.75 her senior year, then placed second in the NCS Finals at 17-10 (+0.17) behind Logan’s Jernae Wright, and was a non-qualifer for the State Finals at 17-08.75. Marion Jones went on to win that 1993 State title at 22-00.5. She headed to the University of Oregon as a walk-on and was a Pac-10 Finalist her first three years there before transferring to UC Berkeley and placing second in the 1997 Pac 10 LJ with a best of 20-05.75. She was out of the sport the next two years, working for a company in Los Angeles. In 2000 she had the spark again, and started working with Stanford Coach Edrick Floreal, still her coach, with an impressive ninth in the Olympic Trials that year with a 20-11.25 best. She burst forth in 2001 with a second at the USATF Senior Nationals at 21-08.75, and each year after that has been a huge presence in the event at the US title meets and beyond. She was the US 2002 Indoor Champ, and in 2003 she followed up her US Outdoor title with an eighth place at the World Outdoor Championships. She was ranked fifth in the World by Track and Field News that year and had a best of 22-01.5. In 2004 she was second at the US Olympic Trials and tenth at the Athens Games. In 2005 she was the US Outdoor Champ and seventh at the World Championships. She had good 2006 and 2007 seasons, taking the 2007 US Outdoor title in dramatic fashion at 22-01.5w going from fifth to first on her final effort. In the 2008 US Olympic Trials she took the lead with her best 22-07 (+1.8) jump on her third effort, a position she held until talented Mississippian Brittney Reese leaped 22-09.75 (+1.4) on her final effort for the win. Off her recent fine jumping and positioning on the World list Grace looks like an excellent candidate for a finals position in Beijing, with some nice things possible there, the 22-07 Trials effort a lifetime personal best.
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| Stephanie Brown Trafton (Nike) - One of a ton of great throwers that has come from Arroyo Grande High School, Brown Trafton was a fine high school basketballer, listed on the Cal Poly SLO list of signees in that sport from high school in 1998. At 6-4 in height she obviously has a huge wing-span for the platter event. As a prep she was the California State Champ her senior year (1998) in the Shot Put (48-10.75) and Discus Throw (181-03), the latter still putting her among the top ten in US prep history, though her school record eventually fell to current University of Virginia athlete Billie Jo Grant (183-11 from 2003). Interestingly both Brown Trafton and Grant threw in the recent US Olympic Trials. Brown Trafton placed in the 1997 (2nd 45-04.5) and 1996 (1st 43-00.25) State Meets as a prep in the Shot, but really came around in the Discus her senior year, leaving high school with a fine 49-06.5 Shot Put mark. At SLO she did play basketball for a time, with the length of that season obviously affecting her winter and spring throwing. She was 49-01 and 150-01 in the Shot and Discus as a frosh in 1999, and did not compete in Track in 2000. In 2001 she was seventh at the NCAA meet in the Shot Put at 53-06.25, with a 168-10 in the Discus, her eventual best event lagging behind the round ball to this point. In 2002 she was fourth in the NCAA Discus and fourteenth in the Shot Put, with 52-07.25i and 177-06 bests. Progress continued in 2003 with a fourth at the NCAA meet in the Shot (57-00) and eighth in the Discus at the USATF Senior Nationals in the Discus (189-07). 2004 was a big breakthrough, as she was the US Olympic Trials runner-up at 203-01, and threw 58-07.25 in the Shot. Her Trials Discus effort was a shocking ‘one-throw’ nine foot improvement that put her right in the elite mix of the sport. She was not able to make the Finals of the Athens Games. Since the 2004 Games she married Jerry Grafton, and she works currently in Galt as Information Technology Services at Sycamore Environmental Consulting in that area. 2005 had a best of 181-07 during a reduced season of action, with 2006 a fourth at the USATF Senior Outdoor Meet and 193-08 best. 2007 had Stephanie fifth at the US Outdoor title meet and a best of 201-05. The Olympic years seem to sure bring out the best in Brown Grafton, with a number of meets over 200 feet this 2008 spring and summer topped by a 217-01 at Salinas that is among the top couple of throws in the world this year. In the recent Eugene Trials she popped a 205-06 throw on her fourth effort of the competition, then was passed by Suzy Powell Roos with her 206-05 on her final effort as both trailed Aretha Thurmond 213-11 in the 1-2-3 battle to go to Beijing. The 28 year old heads to China with a wealth of experience and a good 2008 campaign under her belt.
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Sheena Johnson Tosta (Nike) - Sheena was an outstanding prep from Virginia before attending UCLA starting in 2001, with the Gar-Field HS of Woodbridge star a great short and long hurdler and horizontal jumper in High School. She was high on the prep lists in 2000 with 13.73 (100H-40.94 (300H)-56.82 (400H)-20-00 (LJ)-41-07 (TJ) marks and it was obvious the Bruins had a great one on the way! Her 56.82 was the #3 All-Time Prep mark in the long hurdles, and it would be the area where she would specialize. At UCLA she was right to the action, with a fourth in the NCAA Meet in the 100 Hurdles her frosh year (13.52 seasonal best) and 56.02 long hurdles time while winning the Pac 10. In 2002 she was fourth at the NCAA meet in the long hurdles (55.71), and dropped to 13.36 in the 100 barrier event. She won the 2003 NCAA 400 Hurdles (54.24) and was 13.09 in the 100 Hurdles. At the 2004 Trials she made a huge, shocking breakthrough with a 52.95 win, then was fourth at the Olympic Games. She added a 12.75 100 Hurdles clocking along the way that year. The 2005-2006-2007 seasons were good for her, with a 2007 53.29 USATF Senior runner-up effort, but she did not make the finals of the World Championships last year. She married former UCSB Decathlete Joey Tosta this past March and Tosta handled her coaching this year. Her Olympic Trials third place effort (54.62) to make the team (behind Tiffany Ross-Williams 54.03 and Queen Harrison 54.60) was preceded by a bout with the flu, and initial results reporting had her fourth behind Lashinda Demus (former LB Wilson star) for the final team spot. She seems another Golden Stater who rises up in the Olympic year, so she could be a surprise in Beijing.
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 | Suzy Powell Roos (Asics) - Suzy is one of those who wins an award for high quality longevity of a career, with the 2008 Olympic squad her third Olympic team to go along with 1996 and 2000 squad participation. The 1996 squad had her as a second year Collegian at UCLA and just nineteen years old. She was a much-anticipated additon to the prep ranks when she arrived at Downey HS in Modesto in the early 1990's, as she had thrown over 150 feet in Middle School. Our first reaction upon seeing her as a ninth grade high-schooler was how slight she was, looking more like a 3200 meter runner than prep history’s next great discus thrower. She finished second in her first State Meet in 1991 to Celeste McVey, then won the next three Golden State prep titles on the way to a still-standing National Record of 188-04 from 1994 in Modesto that took down the US best of 183-11 from Leslie Deniz (Gridley, CA) that had stood since 1980. Suzy added a great deal to the enjoyment of the sport for all Californians while she was a prep, as there was always the chance of a National Record whenever she stepped into the ring her final couple of years. She headed to UCLA and Coach Art Venegas’s program after high school graduation, and she made the Olympics as a soph in 1996 and won the US Trials with her lifetime best of 198-09. She finished 33rd at the Atlanta Games that year. She took up the Javelin also at UCLA, and placed as high as second in the NCAA, interestingly never winning the Discus in that competition while a Bruin. By her senior 1998 season she had a lifetime best of 213-05. It was not all magic for Suzy, with her mother and her grandmother both dying during that senior 2008 University year. Obviously she struggled a bit, but by the 2000 Trials she was second, and did not make the Olympic Finals though she threw 195-09 there, and had a best of 214-03 for the year. In 2003 she had a 227-10 American record at La Jolla not allowed due to a sloping landing area, but in that year she achieved some success at the World Championship level, placing ninth in the Finals with a 211-06 best. She was injured at the 2004 Trials, and was married around that time to Tim Roos, a Modesto area resident. She has been a part of the group coached by Dan Pfaff in the Rio Vista area the last few years, with a build to an American Record 222-00 throw in 2007 and a US Outoor Championship that June. She had a good 2008 Olympic Trials competition, placing second to Aretha Thurmond (213-11) with her 206-05.
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Erica McLain (Stanford University) - Super Texan as a prep, McLain sits #4 on the All-Time US High School list with her 44-01.25 prep best, and was an Arcadia Invtational champ locally while a high-schooler. She was an immediate hit at Stanford, leaping an American Junior Record 45-11.75 while winning the US Senior Outdoor Champion in 2005. She made the US World Championship squad. In 2006 she was second in the NCAA Long Jump and third in the Triple Jump. She leaped a lifetime best outdoor wind legal best of 46-05.25 while winning the Pac 10 title in 2007, a year in which she was second in the NCAA Triple Jump, and third in the Long Jump. Her consistency carried through to the 2008 Olympic year, with an NCAA title in a lengthy 47-11w, then she was third at the Olympic Trials, moving into that position on her third jump and securing a spot on the team. Her indoors best of 14.20 (46-07.25) from the NCAA Championships this winter just made the “A” Olympic standard and allowed her to compete in Beijing. The 46-07.25 mark sits about 40th on the yearly World List, with her 47-11w best among the world’s top ten for the season when considered.
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 | Torri Edwards (Nike) - A Pomona High School 1995 grad, Torri is heading to Beijing off her second place finish in the Trials 100 at 10.90 after a super 10.78 pr (2008 World Leader) in the semi-finals. Edwards placed in the State Meet 200 her junior (sixth) and senior (fourth) 94-95 years, but was overshadowed as a prep by others. It was pleasing to see her move on to USC, with the Trojans sensing some special potential. She was an immediate hit, taking the Pac 10 100 and 200 her first year with an 11.48 100 clocking, shorter sprint ability she had not shown as a prep. Injured as a soph in 1997, in 1998 she placed in both NCAA sprints and was fourth in the Senior Championships with 11.11 and 22.88 bests. By 1999, off fourth (100) and sixth (200) at the US Senior Championships, she was considered a 2000 Olympic team possibility. She was fourth in both sprints at the 2000 Trials, and was entered in the Games when Inger Miller scratched out with injury, coming home with a bronze medal in the 4x100 relay from Sydney. She continued her fine career, and in 2003 was the World Outdoor 100m Gold Medalist, 200m Silver winner, and picked up silver in the 4x100 (these results get muddled a bit when double sprint gold medalist Kelli White from the Bay area was dq'd for drug usage affecting the 2003 World Champ meet, with Edwards and others moving up in the eventual listings). Unfortunately Torri herself in 2004 was snared in a doping violation for nikethamide, with a claim a trainer mistakently supplying the slight stimulant that the drug governing bodies did not buy as an excuse. She made the 2004 US Olympic squad but was removed after international governing body rulings in the nikethamide case. It also cost her the 2005 season, with her two year penalty (that would have been carried through to 2006) reduced when the substance in question was reduced to a one year penalty overall, with the sense always that if she wished to become involved in drug usage there were far more potent substances out there. Torri returned in 2006 with a quiet determination, placing third in the US Senior 100, and then in 2007 won the US 100 title and finished fourth in the World Champ meet at 100 and 200, and was on the gold medal winning US 4x100 squad. She won the Prefontaine Classic 100 this past June on the way to her Trials success.
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Blake Russell (Reebok) - A North Carolina prep and University of North Carolina 1997 grad, Russell lives in the Monterey area of California currently. She was a part of the Big Sur Distance Project under Coach Bob Sevene which disbanded a couple years ago, but she has continued to train in the area under Sevene. With all the publicity given to the three US Women Marathon team members being California residents we thought we'd make an exception and include a "California club person" who did not attend school here on our Beijing preview.
A walk-on at the University of North Carolina from that area, Russell was a Conference champ in track and NCAA Finalist at 1500 meters by time she graduated in 1997. She moved with husband Jon to Boston to train with Bob Sevene, who prepared Joan Benoit for her 1984 Olympic marathon win, then followed him to California when he helped with the Big Sur Distance Project.
She was seventh in the 2000 US Olympic Trials at 10k on the track at 32:20, and by 2003 had range between 15:43 for 5k and 2:30:41 for a marathon. She led most of the 2004 Olympic Trials marathon before fading to fourth in a personal best 2:30:32, one spot off the team for the Athens Games. She made the US World Championship team in Track in 2005 and had bests of 15:26 for 5k and 31:35 for 10k on the track. In 2006 she improved to 15:10 for 5000 on the track and was eleventh in the World Cross Country Championships, and during 2007 was held back a good part of the year with injury. She charged back and in the Boston Trials for the 2008 team sat back a bit more than usual, ignoring the quick start of Lewey Boulet, then closing strong to hold off the charge of Zoila Gomez by over a minute for the cherished third spot at 2:32:40. Fittingly, the Trials were held in Coach Sevene’s old home town, with his most recent coaching tenure as Head Coach of the Reebok Boston Race Club there before heading west. |  |
 | Deena Kastor Drossin (Asics) Agoura HS/Univ Arkansas - Deena Drossin before her marriage to Andrew Kastor in 2003, she is another Californian who has had a successful career that can be credited to her “stick to it” nature. Her racing to the 2004 Olympic Bronze medal in the Athens Olympics, heading in and around the stadium and racing across the finish line is one of the recent highlights of the sport for all Americans. She ran with a decided lope and lean to one side as a prep and I always wondered why she did not come down with some chronic injury condition but her gait seems more in balance in recent years.
Deena had a great prep career under Coach Bill Duley at Agoura HS. She was a three-time State Cross Country Champ, with a best at Woodward Park of 17:27 in taking the 1989 title, and she won two State 3200m titles in track, with a 10:29.60 in 1990 for her quickest clocking there. She was also a four-time Kinney (today Foot Locker) finalist in Cross-Country, with her highest placing sixth from her senior year.
Deena headed down to the University of Arkansas to run for former Cal Poly/SLO Coach Lance Harter after leaving high school and was an instant NCAA hit, placing second in Cross Country her first Fall and placing as high as fourth outdoors for 10k and second indoors at 5k at that level in track. After graduation was where she really started to shine in Cross-Country, on the Track, and out on the Roads. By 2000 she won the US Olympic Trials at 10k on the oval, racing 31:51.05, and had a 14:51.62 5k. She was 18th in her heat in the 2000 Olympics. In 2002 and 2003 she was second in the World Cross-Country Championships, and had a big marathon breakthrough in London with a 2:21:16 (2003). She won the 2004 US Olympic Trials marathon 2:29:38 and later that year raced to her stunning Bronze Medal performance in Athens (2:27:20). In 2005 she improved to 2:21:25 in the marathon (Chicago) and was 2:19:36 in London in 2006. She won the US 10k Track title in 2007 at 31:57, and won the 2008 Trials in the marathon at 2:29:35. She is trained by former La Habra HS/University of Oregon/Villanova runner Terrence Mahon with headquarters in Mammoth Lakes. She is one of the stars who has shown Americans they can run distances with the rest of the world.
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Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Saucony) - Lakewood HS/Long Beach CC/Cal Berkeley - Truly an amazing story with moves from native Poland to Germany to the United States and Lakewood HS (1992 grad) before college. A swimmer in her early years, she took up running while at Long Beach City College with some success there before transferring to UC Berkeley. At Cal she blossomed and was third at the 1997 NCAA Championships over 5k at 16:04. She has coached at Saint Mary’s College for a year and at UC Berkeley and has worked as the research director for Sports Street Marketing, which manufacturers GU, an energy and electrolyte gel supplement, since 2000. In a continuing part of her ‘real-life’ fairy tale she became an American citizen on September 11th, 2001 (yeah, that date).
She continued her running after leaving college with more of an emphasis on long distance/marathoning, with a top ten US ranking in 2002 with a 2:36:48 effort in winning the Pittsburgh Marathon. She married former Cal (and Drake HS of San Anselmo) miler Richie Boulet, and in 2004 was fifth at the Olympic trials in 2:30:50. She took 2005 off and had a baby boy, and has kind of steadily built up to 2008. She is coached by Jack Daniels from afar, and impressed with her quick early start in the 2008 Trials where she had a lead half-way of nearly two minutes before Deena Drossin reined her in in racing to her victory. Boulet was 2:30:19 for second and on the squad to Beijing as another amazing longevity of career leading to eventual success story in the sport.
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 | Brian Clay (Nike) - Azusa Pacific grad took the Trials Decathlon in a lifetime personal best of 8832, the #2 All-Time US Performance ever behind Dan O’Brien’s 8891 American Record from 1991, making Brian the #6 Performer in World History. He has had an amazing last decade that has included World Championship Outdoor and Indoor Gold Medals (2005 and 2008) and an Olympic Silver Medal (2004). Came to APU from Castle HS in Hawaii (1998 grad) as one of the nation’s fine all-around athletes, with 10.52w (100), 21.41w (200), 13.90w (HH), and 24-06.5w (LJ) bests. Under Coach Kevin Reid took up the Decathlon as a frosh and never looked back, taking US Junior, NAIA, and by 2004 the US title and a Silver Medal that year in the Athens Olympics. Also won the World Championships in 2005, and is coming back from some difficulties in 2006, where he did not finish the US title meet, though he later had some fine marks during the summer. In 2007 he could not finish both the US National and World Championship competitions with more difficulties. Won the 2008 World Indoor Multi-Event title, and heads to Beijing for another clash with Czech World Record Holder (9026) Roman Sebrle, the Athens Champ, who has had his share of woes in the last two years, speared by a javelin in South Africa while training in early 2007 and a hamstring injury in the hurdles that resulted in withdrawal from the 2008 World Indoor meet won by Clay. Clay will be part of two great days of action in Beijing if healthy!
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Michael Robertson (Nike) - Stanford Graduate placed second in the Discus to earn his trip to Beijing for the Olympic Games. Grew up in the South, but his mom’s work for the US government took her to Europe in the late 1990's and Michael attended an International School in Brussels, Belgium during his high school years. He threw the High School Discus 208-10 during his senior 2002 season, and impressed with a 202-01 with the slightly heavier (1.75 kg vs. 1.62 kg) international junior weight implement to win the same year’s US Junior National Championship and compete in the World Junior Champ affair. The 202-01 is the farthest ever thrown by an American prep with the “Junior” weight implement used since around 2000. He threw 181-02, the #3 US prep mark ever with the full International Senior weight Discus (2.0 kg) as a prep. He went to Southern Methodist University for his first two years of College, and stepped right in with fine style, placing third at the NCAA Meet as a both a frosh and soph with a best of 212-11 and a seventh at the 2004 US Olympic Trials. When SMU dropped track in 2004 he came to Stanford and won the NCAA Championship in 2005, with a redshirt year in 2006 followed in 2007 by a second in the NCAA and winning the US Senior Championship last June at 210-01. His Trials runner-up performance continued his string of fine efforts in US title meets and he hopes to crank it up to the next level and be competitive in China.
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Jesse Williams (Nike) - USC grad via Broughton High School in Raleigh North Carolina, Jesse has stayed hot after three NCAA titles at Trojan-ville to impressively win the Trials in his new hometown (he’s been there a year) of Eugene. With eight over 7-04.25 at the Trials the cool Williams started at 7-02.25 and had a clean record with no misses at four heights through 7-06.5 to seal the victory over a strong group. A 7-03 prep at Broughton HS in Raleigh, North Carolina, he was fourth in the World Junior Champs his senior 2002 year to fellow 2008 Olympian Andra Manson,who skied 7-07 in that 2002 meet as a prep. Jesse started College at North Carolina State and described a hankering to head west early on and had a solid career for USC. Best of 7-07.75 and member of 2007 US World Championship team. At 6-0 and 155 we wonder how he wrestled in high school, as he placed in the State Meet in North Carolina in that sport.
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 | Ian Dobson (adidas) - Stanford University grad via Klamath Falls High School in Oregon, Ian outlasted a talented crowd in the 5000 at the Trials to take the third spot on the team behind Bernard Lagat and Matt Tegenkamp. Had a fine career as a prep in Oregon, with an 8:18.16 3000 meter best in track (Oregon does not run 3200m) from 2000 as a senior, and was third in the Foot Locker Cross Country series the prevous fall. Helped the Cardinals to fourth and second place finishes in Cross Country his first two years in Palo Alto before placing ninth individually in 2002 and fifth in 2003 to help lead his team to NCAA Division I Championships. Good NCAA Track career with 28:20.51 fifth D1 for 10,000 meters in 2003, with an 8:32.09 third in Steeple in 2004, and second in 2005 5k. Second in the 2005 US Senior Championships at 13:15.33 5k in big breakthrough at that level. Some injuries in 2006 and worked his way back to 13:18.87 in the 2007 summer to preface his big effort at the Trials. World Level championship competition in Cross-Country (2006) and at World Track and Field Championships (2005).
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Ryan Hall (ASICS) - Big Bear HS star who graduated in 2001 was part of the magical distance class of Alan Webb and Dathan Ritzenhein, that came along with the rising popularity of the internet around the turn of the century and led to some classic contests. Ritz won probably the most anticipated ever Foot Locker National Finals in 2000 over Webb and Hall, with Webb and Hall's 2001 Arcadia Invitational Mile race one of the most anticipated contests in Golden State History, Webb winning in 4:01.91. With 4:02.62 (1600) and 3:42.70 (1500) bests as a prep Hall headed off to Stanford and finished as high as second in the NCAA Cross Country Championships and had improved to 13:16.03 for 5k on the track by his senior year. Ryan branched out to the roads after college and by 2007 surprise quality came very quickly with a 59:43 half-marathon US record and impressive 2:08.24 London Marathon run. Ryan won the US Olympic Trials at the distance at 2:09.02 and heads off to Beijing as one of America's distance hopes. The special aura around the personable Hall was added to with a marriage to one of the state's all-time distance greats, Sara Bei (Montgomery, Santa Rosa), also a professional runner. Ryan had a 2:06.17 marathon at London 2008.
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| Billy Nelson (NIKE) - Taft HS (Central Section) mitey-mite, who all of 5'5" tall thought the steeplechase might be a good diversion partway through college and is heading off to Beijing as a part of the US Olympic Team. Fine prep runner, working his way to a State Championship Division IV in Cross Country and ninth place in the Foot Locker Nationals his senior year, then adding an 8:54 3200 that spring before heading off to the University of Colorado. Twice an individual All-American in Cross Country he helped continue the Buff's great distance tradition. Switched from flat to steeplechase running events in the spring over his last couple years in Boulder and emerged second to Kyle Alcorn (Az State), a prep rival at Buchanan HS, in the 2008 NCAA Final Steeple. Nelson headed to the Olympic Trials with most feeling a Finals spot quite an accomplishment. Billy raced a personal best in the Semi-Finals, then shocked with an Olympic "A" quaifier with 8:21.47 in the Finals to earn his US Jersey. Our nomination for the Olympic spirit 'never give up' award. |
Trevell Quinley (NIKE) - Merrill West HS (Tracy) - California State Champ in 2001 and the top male athlete from Coach John Harvey's Merrill West program when it was rolling as the Sac Joaquin powerhouse at the turn of the millenium. State Champ in the LJ in 2001 with a best of 24-07.5 and also was a State Finalist in the 300 Meter Hurdles. Headed to Arizona State University where he had a solid Collegiate career as a three-time All-American in the Long Jump Indoors and Outdoors, and sits #2 All-Time on the Sun Devil All-Time list at 26-09.75 from 2005. Stepped up to the post-collegiate level in fine style, placing fourth in the 2006 US Outdoor Nationals with a best of 26-09, then in 2007 he was third in the US Senior Championships and was a finalist at the World Championships with a 26-11.75 best. 2008 was capped with his big Olympic Trials win at 27-05.25 on his final jump. Clutch effort as his second best jump the Trials Finals date would have put him in fourth and just off the Beijing squad.
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 | Derek Miles (NIKE) - Bella Vista HS (Fair Oaks) - Derek sits equal #3 on the All-Time Bella Vista High School Pole Vault list at 14-09 from 1991 and never made the state meet as a prep, so his successes certainly speak to dedication over a long period of time. After Bella Vista Derek was an NCAA All-American Division II for the University of South Dakota, and has managed to have great success at the Olympic Trials every four years over the last decade. Miles tied for third in 2000 and ended up just off that year’s squad after losing out in a Trials jump-off with Chad Harting, but in 2004 he made the US squad with his third place finish. Derek was seventh at the Athens Games with a best tha year of 19-00.75. The 35 year old has indicated that this would be his last Olympic attempt, and he survived some of the tricky winds that seemed to plague the vaulters in Eugene with his huge win in the recent Trials at 19-00.25. He has a personal best of 19-02.5 and is an Assistant Coach at his alma mater the University of South Dakota.
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