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INVADERS' DAY TWO RESULTS AT USA OUTDOOR NATIONALS
June 21, 2003
(INDIANAPOLIS) The Invaders started day two of the 2003 USA Outdoor
Track & Field Championships with a good start in the heptathlon, but
lost their momentum in the end.
After the first event, the long jump, Olympian DeDee Nathan moved
closer to the lead by one spot from fourth to third with a 6.15 meter
leap (896 points). Linise Gordon followed on Nathan's advance also moving
up one spot, from 14th to 13th, with a jump of 5.51 (703 points).
Defending champion Shelia Burrell's jump of 6.17 (902 points) took the
lead with a total point score of 4462 versus Nathan's 4372 after
five events.
The Invaders' duo, of Nathan and Gordon, lost their second day
momentum in the next to last event, the javelin. Nathan's 38.73
(643 points) and Gordon's 34.07 (554 points) meter throws pushed
each back to their original day one standing of fourth and 14th,
respectively. Nathan finished the day in fourth place (5829 points)
after a 2:20.70 in the 800. Gordon finished 14th (4991 points),
four spots ahead of her pre-meet ranking with a 2:29.46 (700 points).
Burrell the defending champion, won the heptathlon with a score
of 6159 points.
Nathan still retains an opportunity to select herself to the USA
World Championship team if she posts a World Championship "A" Standard
qualifying mark assuming that 3rd place finisher, Tiffany Lott does
not post a similar mark prior to the final qualifying date later this
summer. Nathan will officially announce plans to compete in an other
heptathlon before the conclussion of the weekend.
Additionally, Hope Sanders narrowly missed advancing to the finals of
the 800 by one position after finishing fifth in her semi-final section
with a time of 2:04.83. Sanders, with a season best performance, had
the seventh fastest time in the semi-finals.
Team Director Greg Harger said, "Nathan has an additional opportunity
to extend her 2003 schedule if she is able to post a world qualifying
mark next month. Gordon will recognize that this weekend was a great
leap forward in learning if not in actual points. The learning and
the follow-up will make next year's Olympic Trials focus a beter
effort. Sanders has returned to her outdoor form from 2000 with her
time and more importantly she ran her best tactical races ever at
USATF Outdoor Nationals. The next couple of weeks could see several
more strong outings for Sanders as she plans to race several more
times against top national class talent. Her time today was a
Olympic Trials qualifying mark and that returns some solid
confidence going into next season."
2003 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
http://www.usatf.org/events/2003/USAOutdoorTFChampionships/
For further information on the Indiana Invaders, please contact Greg
Harger at 317 289-4018 or online at: (email)
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