Posted: March 10, 2005

Athletics: USATF News & Notes, Volume 6, Number 18

Dryer to contend for USA 15 km title

2002 U.S. 15 km runner-up Olympian Elva Dryer will take on fellow 2004 Olympians Colleen De Reuck and Jen Rhines at the USA 15 km Championships hosted by the Gate River Run this Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.

Dryer, who was runner-up in 10,000 meters at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, will make her second appearance at the Gate River Run. In the 2002 edition of the event, she finished second to course record holder Deena Kastor.

The presence of U.S. Olympians in the men's race will include 2000 Olympian Nick Rogers, who was fourth at this race in 2003, and the legendary Bill Rodgers, winner of the inaugural Gate River Run in 1978.

The Gate River Run is the second stop on the men's 2005 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and the first of the year for the women. The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from 5 km. The eleventh edition for the men and tenth for the women, the 2005 circuit has nine events for men and eight events for women.

NCAA Indoor Championships Preview

The 2005 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships begin Friday in all three divisions, headlined by the NCAA Division I Championships March 11-12 at the University of Arkansas' Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center in Fayetteville.

The host Razorbacks qualified the most athletes for this year's event with 19 followed by Stanford (18), Florida (17) and Nebraska (16).

LSU's track and field program made history in 2004 by becoming the first school ever to sweep both the men's and women's indoor national titles at the same event. It marked the third time that LSU has won the men's and women's titles at the same NCAA Championship, accomplishing the feat in both 1989 and 1990 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The Lady Tigers won their third straight indoor crown, and their 11th overall, sliding past runner-up Florida in the final event of the evening, the 4x400-meter relay. LSU entered the race three points behind the Gators and needed a strong showing in the final event to take the lead. The foursome of Hazelann Regis, Neisha Bernard-Thomas, Monique Hall and Nadia Davy posted a school record 3 minutes, 30.14 seconds to finish second, while Florida followed in fifth as the Lady Tigers squeaked out the 52-51 team victory.

The LSU men's squad also used the 4x400 to clinch its second indoor national title. Entering the final event with a seven and a half point lead over Florida, the Tigers needed to simply finish the race and have the Gators place second or lower. The quartet of Robert Parham, Pete Coley, Bennie Brazell and Kelly Willie clocked a solid 3:04.69 to finish in fifth, while Florida placed fourth (3:04.49), securing the national title for the Tigers.

For the sixth consecutive year the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships will take place at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston. With the addition of the distance medley relay and the 200-meters to the schedule, a total of 400 participants are expected to compete this weekend.

Abilene Christian University won its third straight championship in 2004, while Lincoln University took home the women's crown. ACU won the men's title with 55 points, with Lincoln winning the women's championship with 64 points.

Abilene Christian's men scored 55 points to capture first place while St. Augustine's finished second with 50 points. On the women's side, Lincoln secured first place in the overall championship in the final event of the day by finishing second in the 4x400 relay. Lincoln tallied 64 points to capture its first NCAA Indoor Championship. Adams State was second with 50 points.

Four hundred participants are expected to compete at the 2005 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships March 11-12 at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.

Last year the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh women won the team titles held in Whitewater, Wisconsin.

On the men's side, Wisconsin-La Crosse scored the second highest point total in championship history to win its fourth consecutive crown and 11th overall. UW-La Crosse amassed 70 points, with Lincoln University (Pa.) and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater tied for second place with 29 points apiece. Nebraska Wesleyan University (28) and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (25) rounded out the top five.

In women's competition, Wisconsin-Oshkosh earned its fourth title and ended Wheaton College's five-year run as champions. Oshkosh tallied 56.5 points to outdistance Wheaton College (28), Bates College (Maine) and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (23), and the University of Wisconsin-Stout (21).

For more information on the 2005 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, visit .

Olympians Rhines, Tollefson, & Rudolph enter USA Women's 8 km Championships

Olympians Jen Rhines, Carrie Tollefson, and Amy Rudolph are joining the field of top Americans set to run the 2005 USA Women's 8 km Championship hosted by New York Road Runners on Saturday, March 26.

Like the USA Men's 8 km Championship being hosted by NYRR on the same day, the race features a $20,000 prize purse and will start and finish in the new Icahn Track and Field Stadium on Manhattan's Randall's Island. Rhines, Tollefson, and Rudolph will toe the line with Deena Kastor, the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon, whose entry was announced in February. Tollefson's Team USA Minnesota teammate and 2005 U.S. World Cross Country team member, Katie McGregor, also will compete.

Rhines, 30, of Ardmore, Pa., was a 2004 Olympian in the marathon after running an 11-minute personal best to finish third at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Women's Marathon Trials (2:29:57). She was runner-up at the 2005 USA Cross Country Championships women's 8 km last month.

Tollefson, 28, of Minneapolis, Minn., was the winner at 1500 meters at the 2004 Olympic Trials, claiming her first national title as well as a place on the 2004 Olympic team. A five-time NCAA champion at Villanova University, Tollefson has continued to reign as one of America's best track runners.

Rudolph, 31, of Providence, Rhode Island, has competed on two Olympic teams (1996 and 2000), twice won both the U.S. Indoor Championships 3,000 meters and USA Cross Country Championships, and was the 1998 and 1999 USA Women's 8 km champion. Rudolph was the runner-up in the 3,000m (8:57.42) at the 2005 U.S. Indoor Championships last month in Boston.

For more information on the 2005 USA 8 km Championships, visit USATF.org.