Roehrig 5th in Olympic Trials Heptathlon; Hermanson, Radocaj Advance to Finals

Gopher Golden Multi-Event Star Liz Roehrig finished 5th in the Olympic Trials heptathlon, scoring 5819 points in the two-day competition.

Hyleas Fountain won the competition with 6667 points; Jacquelyn Johnson, who defeated Roehrig at the NCAA meet earlier this month, was 2nd with 6347; Diana Pickler was 3rd with 6257.

Roehrig got her second day of competition off on the right foot with a wind-aided, 19-9, 6th place mark in the long jump. She followed the strong jump with a 122-3 javelin throw, taking 6th place in that event as well.

Roehrig culminated two hot, sticky days of competition with a 2:25.51, 11th place run in the 800m.

The 5819 mark is the second-best of her career, bettered only by her 5855 Big Ten title-winning performance earlier this year.

(Yesterday we incorrectly said her 5811 at NCAAs was her career-best.)

"I was happy with my long jump, but it took me until my third jump to jump it,” Roehrig said. “Javelin throw was the last throw. My 800 should have been faster, but I felt like I stiffened up."

Despite her complaints about the day, she moved up a place from her first day position and exceeded her goal coming into the meet.

“I came in ranked 8th and coach and I hoped for a top-10, top-8 finish,” Roehrig said. “It’s exciting. It’s just something to look forward to as the years go on, which I’m definitely going to do."

Roehrig will return for a final outdoor season with the Gophers next year.

Heptathlon results are HERE.

Pile-Up Puts Hermanson in Final ... Burnsville High School grad Laura Hermanson avoided a wipe-out in the first 800m semi-final and now finds herself an Olympic Trials finalist. The North Dakota State University junior finished in the 4th and final qualifying spot in her heat in 2:05.78.

Just past the 200m mark, four athletes crashed to the Hayward Field track, including 2004 Olympian Nicole Teter and NCAA indoor champion Latavia Thomas of LSU. Hermanson, running in the back of the field at the time, barely avoided the pile-up.

“I just actually heard everybody hit the ground,” she said. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, they just fell.’ So I had to jump over them. I got out and I realized I was third. I just tried to hold on."

It was a surreal final 600 meters. Eventual heat-winner Alice Schmidt ran alone in the lead. Hermanson and two others left on their feet cruised in a tight pack. The challenge from the fallen never came.

“I wasn’t sure how long people were down for,” Hermanson said. “I kind of looked at the [stadium video] screen the last 100, but I couldn’t tell even. It was just holding on for dear life."

“It’s crazy. I don’t know what to say,” the unlikely finalist said. “It was definitely lucky – good lucky. It’s a dream come true."

The Gopher’s Heather Dorniden, running in the second semi-final, wasn’t so lucky. The former NCAA indoor champion finished 7th in 2:05.76. The Rosemount High School alum was losing contact with the field going into the final turn and looked as if her season had lasted at one race too long.

“Maybe three or four too many,” Dorniden allowed afterward. “It’s time. In four years, hopefully I’ll come back here with different pre-Olympic Trials training, and the experience."

800m results are HERE.

Javelin Throwers Qualify, and Just Miss … Ruby Radocaj, the University of Minnesota record-holder in the javelin, qualified for Monday’s final with a 175-9 throw in Saturday’s prelims. After a distracted opening throw, the 2006 Big Ten champion marked a strong second toss that advanced her as the #5 qualifier from the prelim.

“The first throw, the camera was right in front of us and I kind of watched myself throw and it wasn’t very good,” Radocaj admitted. “It threw me off. The second one I looked above it and that worked out well for me."

Radocaj, who is no stranger to USA Championship competition – she’s been a finalist three years in a row now -- has a clear idea of what she needs to do to succeed in the finals.

“I just have to stay focused; get rid of external distractions,” she said, “that are my main priority … and don’t look at the camera."

Two-time NCAA Division III champion Lisa Brown of Gustavus Adolphus College missed qualifying for the finals by one place. Her 13th place throw of 157-9 landed 16 inches short of qualifying territory.

Javelin results are HERE.

Photo of Liz Roehrig by Sean Hartnett.