Cheseret wins 5,000- meter championship

With a national championship in the 5,000 meters, sophomore Robert Cheseret led the Arizona men's track and field team to its best finish in four years.

The Wildcat men finished 12th with 21 points while the women finished 65th with two points at the NCAA track and field outdoor championships.

Cheseret won the 5 K with a time of 13:49.85, beating Colorado sophomore Dathan Ritzenhein by just under three seconds. Cheseret also finished second in the 10,000 meters, earning 18 of the UA's points.

The other three points were won by senior Kyle Goklish, finishing sixth in the 5,000 meters in a time of 14:20.73, making him an All-American.

The meet comes as sort of a redemption for Cheseret, who fell in the cross country NCAA national championships this year and ended up 69th. Last year Cheseret finished third in the 5,000 meters.

UCLA won the women's national championship and Arkansas won the men's.

Senior Connie Jerz scored the Wildcat women's points and finished seventh in the pole vault, clearing 13 feet, 5 1¼4 inches. Last year Jerz finished second in the pole vault.

Jerz earned Academic All-America honors before the meet.

Sophomore Rachel Varner finished 12th in the discus and senior Matt Wagner finished ninth in the javelin.

The finish for the men is the highest since 2000, when they finished sixth thanks to Patrick Nduwimana's two national titles.

Coming up next for the track and field team is the USA Junior National Championships, June 25 - 27 at Texas A & M.

Blasberg's USA team takes win in Curtis Cup

UA sophomore golfer Erica Blasberg helped the United States win the Curtis Cup this weekend.

Blasberg won her singles match on Saturday, defeating Danielle Masters of England, one-up. Blasberg's win proved very important, as the U.S. beat the team of Great Britain and Ireland 10-8.

"I had a few problems at the beginning. Then I hit the flagstick on 10 and I hit the flagstick on 11 and got to 15 and really struggled for a few holes," said Blasberg to the Ladies Golf Union after the match. "Luckily, I closed it on 18 with that birdie putt."

Blasberg teamed with California senior Sarah Huarte in the foursome portion on Sunday, but lost to Great Britain's Emma Duggleby and Ireland's Shelley McKevitt 2 and 1. Though the Americans dropped two of the three foursomes on Sunday and all on Saturday, they won the match thanks to wins in four of the six individual matches on Sunday.

14-year-old sensation Michelle Wie won her match on Sunday.

The Curtis Cup is a biennial match for women's amateur golfers between the U.S. and a team of Great Britain and Ireland, in which a victory in a match earns a point. The Cup was held in Merseyside, England, at the Formby Golf Club on a par 72 course.

UA divers come up short at diving trials

Arizona divers Josh Anderson and Mary Yarrison did not qualify for the USA Olympic diving team.

Anderson, who is a senior, advanced to the finals on the platform, where he finished in 11th place. Yarrison, a freshman, finished 19th out of 19 in the prelims and missed the cut.

Senior Claire Febvav, who redshirted this year to prepare for the Olympics, won a spot on the French team. Angelique Rodriguez, who graduated from the UA in 2000, will compete for Puerto Rico in Athens.