Olympian Paul McMullen (center), Erik Schmidt (right)
(left to right) Schmidt, Strong, Wilson, Conner, Savage, McMullen, Wild Bill
MVP Zack Riley, Indiana Invaders
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BIG BLUE NATIONAL INVITATIONAL: 13 OLYMPIC TRIALS QUALIFIERS
June 13, 2004
(INDIANAPOLIS) Fans at the Big Blue National Invitational saw 12
athletes hit 13 Olympic Trials Qualifying Standards with six coming
from Wild Bill's Magical Metric Mile. The Big Blue National
Invitational was held on the campus of Hillsdale College, in
Hillsdale Michigan on June 11th & 12th, 2004.
Wild Bill's Magical Metric Mile (1500 meters) was led by Olympian Paul
McMullen, a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and representing
the US Coast Guard, with a winning time of 3:40.92. McMullen led five
other competitors under the Olympic Trials qualifying standard of
3:43.00. Fans experienced one of the fastest metric mile races in
the US with Dan Wilson (Asics) in 3:41.10, Erik Schmidt representing
the US Marine Corps (3:41.29), Brandon Strong representing Asics
(3:41.38), Ian Conner representing NIKE (3:42.03), and Karl Savage
of Zap Fitness (3:42.15) cruising under the Olympic Qualifying
standard of 3:43.00. Syracuse Chargers' Matt LoPiccolo, finishing
in seventh, just missed the Olympic Trials qualifying standard
with his career best time of 3:43.56, an improvement of nearly
three seconds. Schmidt in third also had a big career best of
nearly three seconds.
Indiana Invaders' Zack Riley had a winning throw of 68.55 meters
in the hammer throw which easily exceeded the Olympic Qualifying
standard of 64.00 meters. Riley's performance earned him MVP
honors at Big Blue National Invitational.
Olympic Gold Medalist Darnell Hall, representing the Hansons-Brooks
ODP, equaled the Olympic Qualifying Standard of 45.85 to win the
400 meters. Hall won the Olympic Gold at the 1992 Olympic Games
in Barcelona, Spain as part of the US 4x400 relay team. Hall also
won the 1995 World Indoor Championships in the 400.
Greg Richardson won the 110 hurdles with a time of 13.68 and
Syracuse Chargers' Ron Andrews was second with a time of 13.71.
Andrews improved on his mark of 13.84 from the first day of
competition. The Olympic qualifying standard in the 110 hurdles
is 14.00.
Joe Allen, representing Holyfield International, qualified for
the US Olympic Trials with his winning leap of 7.83 meters in
the long jump.
Henry Patterson hit the Olympic Trials qualifying standard of 2.20
to win the high jump over Ryan Fitzpatric, a graduate of Purdue
University, who cleared 2.15 meters.
BIG BLUE NATIONAL INVITATIONAL TOP PERFORMERS:
MVP Points
8.5 Zack Riley Indiana Invaders Hammer 68.55
8.4 Greg Richardson Unattached 110H 13.68
8.3 Ron Andrews Syracuse Chargers 110H 13.71
8.3 Shomari Wilson Nike 200 20.75
8.3 Darnell Hall Hansons-Brooks 400 45.85
8.2 Joe Mendel Nike 400 46.01
8.1 Paul McMullen US Coast Guard 1500 3:40.92
8.1 Dan Wilson Asics 1500 3:41.10
8.1 Erik Schmidt US Marine Corps 1500 3:41.29
8.1 Brandon Strong Asics 1500 3:41.38
8.1 Eric Dudley Unattached 400H 50.53
8.1 Henry Patterson Unattached HJ 2.20
Indiana Invaders' Greg Yeldell won the triple jump (15.88),
Adrian Swanson was second in the 400 hurdles (50.66), Jacob
Koczman was second in the 800 (1:48.85), Francesca Green was
second in the long jump (6.12), Pristina Jones took third
in the long jump (6.11), and Hope Sanders was third in the
800 (2:07.33). Yeldell, Koczman, and Sanders are three of 13
Indiana Invaders currently qualified for the US Olympic
Team Trials in July.
High Performance Meet Series Director Greg Harger said, "This was a
very solid weekend of performances. The excitement of Wild Bill's
Magical Metric Mile as the finale of the event was a great way to
end this weekend's inaugural high performance competition." Harger
added, "This was a great early summer Olympic season tune up for the
team as we head toward the Olympic Trials in July. We look forward
to the prospect of growing the event and working with Hillsdale
College to make this an annual fixture on the domestic calendar."
The next scheduled stop on the Indiana Invaders High Performance
Meet Series will be in Bloomington, Indiana for the Big RED National
Invitational on June 26th and 29th. Athletes will likely be seeking the
Olympic A Qualifying standard and the Olympic Trials A standard in
several events. The Big RED National Invitational leads into the
USATF National Club Track & Field Championships in Bloomington,
Indiana on July 2nd and 3rd. The Club Championship is the final
qualifying opportunity for the US Olympic Trials as it has an
exemption beyond the July 1st qualifying window.
Big Blue National Invitational Results:
http://www.nftl.net/events/2004/04_big_blue_schedule.asp
Big RED National Invitational:
http://www.nftl.net/events/2004/big_red.asp
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