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Chaplin qualifies for Olympic Trials in 10,000m

When the UA men's and women's track team divided up to compete in the Mt. Sac Relays and the Sierra Providence Health Network/UTEP Invitational last week, Wildcat runners were provided a backdrop for this summer's Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

The majority of the distance runners from the Arizona track team traveled to Walnut, Calif., to participate in the Mt. Sac Relays, one of the most prestigious distance relays in the country.

UA sophomore Tara Chaplin proved to be a dominant force at the relays, as she was the top collegiate competitor in the 10,000-meters, running a personal best time of 33 minutes 17.39 seconds - a time that was 30 seconds better than her previous best.

Her finish in the 10,000m was fourth all-time in Pacific 10 Conference history and trailed only former UA runner Amy Skieresz's time of 32:31.65, as the school's best.

The time is also an Olympic Trials qualifier, which allows Chaplin to compete in Olympic Trials this summer in Sacramento, Calif. on July 14-23.

"I was just glad to qualify for the Olympics," Chaplin said. "Now I can concentrate on running a (NCAA) qualifying time for the 5000."

Sophomores Steve Smith and Mike Cramer also had strong showings at the relays as they both set personal records in their respective events.

In the 3000m steeplechase, Smith ran 8:57.20 to finish in fifth place, only three seconds off an NCAA provisional mark, and Cramer ran a 14:22.76 in the 5000m coming in third place, which qualifies him for the Pac-10 Track and Field Championships on May 20-21.

While Chaplin led the way at the Mt. Sac Relays, sophomore Brianna Glenn had another strong showing in Texas, this time at the UTEP Invitational in El Paso.

Glenn, taking a break from the 100m dash, put in an outstanding performance in the 200m, finishing second with a time of 22.97.

The only athlete to defeat Glenn in the 200m was Nigerian Olympian Faliat Ogunkoya, who ran the fastest 200m in the world last year.

"It was a real confidence booster," Glenn said of her finish behind Ogunkoya. "The wind was acting up, sometimes it jumped to nine meters over the limit and then dropped back down to two."

Glenn's time would have been a school record, but for the second week in a row the sprinter was aided by wind that was gusting faster than the legal limit of 2.0 meters per second.

Senior Carolyn Jackson and sophomore Mike Kenyon were also dominate, as each won the 400m with times of 52.58 and 46.79, respectively.

In winning the 400m, Kenyon said his confidence has increased and is gaining momentum for the rest of the season.

"I'm ready to roll," he said. "Running with the competition this weekend, I feel I have a chance to become number one in the Pac-10 standings."

Arizona also had an addition to its lineup with the return of junior Esko Mikkola.

Mikkola automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the javelin with his throw of 238 feet 2 inches.

The UTEP Invitational was Mikkola's first meet of the season due to injuries to his ankle and teeth.

"It felt pretty nice that the ankle wasn't a big problem," Mikkola said. "I took every throw very carefully, so I was happy I didn't hurt myself."