Lehmkuhle 5th in Olympic Trials Marathon

While the state's top high school cross country runners made their way to St. Olaf for today's State Championships, the top elite marathoners in the country competed for the three spots on the 2008 United States Olympic marathon team in New York City.

With an impressive showing and a PR of 2:12:54, Team USA Minnesota's Jason Lehmkuhle (pictured) finished 5th.

Ryan Hall of Big Bear Lake, California won the race in 2:09:02, a remarkable time considering the rolling hills of Central Park. Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell followed, rounding out the Olympic qualifiers. Khalid Khannouchi was fourth, and will be the team's alternate. He will run in Beijing if Ritzenhein qualifies in the 10,000 meters in June and decides to stay on the track for the Olympics.

Photo by Victor Sailer http://www.photorun.net/.