Friday, July 4, 2008

Friday: Ritz 8th in 10,000m final

Rockford alum Dathan Ritzenhein, in the midst of his training for the Olympic marathon, struggled to finish 8th in the Trials 10,000. His 1600 splits: 4:27.4, 4:25.1, 4:27.3, 4:28.8, 4:32.9, 4:35.8. For the first part of the race, Ritz stayed in the mix, but after Abdirahman, Rupp and Torres broke off, he ran with the trail pack. For a while he ran in 4th, then it was clear that he ran out of steam. His final time, 28:05.31.

Saline's Steve Sherer looked very strong as he hit his last lap in 54.9 to qualify for the finals of the 1500m. Sherer's 3:44.20 was just 0.03 ahead of Alan Webb, who controlled the pace of the semi and made it into a kickers' race. Times didn't matter, as the top six advanced to the final with no time qualifiers. The top six in the first semi clearly separated from the rest.

Gwen Wentland finished seventh in the high jump with her 6-0.5 leap.

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