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The opening day of the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships was a successful one for many of the Minnesota athletes competing at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.In women's competition, Burnsville native Laura Hermanson and the Gophers' Heather Dorniden both achieved "Big Q" qualifiers for Friday's 800 meter semi-final. Hermanson ran 2:04.68 while Dorniden ran 2:05.97 to move on to the next round on place. Former Minnetonka star Molly Lehman grabbed the last qualifying spot in Saturday's 1500 meter final with her 4:16.54 in prelims.
McGregor Makes World Team ... In one of the evening's only finals, Team USA Minnesota's Katie McGregor (pictured, follwoing Shalane Flanagn, above) ran 32:08 for third place in the 10,000 meters, behind Amy Begley and Shalane Flanagan. Begley's winning time of 31:22 established a new Hayward Field record for the event and is the ninth fastest time ever run by an American. By finishing in the top-3, McGregor earned the right to represent the USA at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin.
You can watch McGregor's race HERE.
McGregor's post-race interview is HERE.
There's video of all the action on the track HERE, thanks to Flotrack.
On the men's side, Andrew Rock ran 47.10 in his 400 meter prelim, but failed to qualify for the next round. Continuing the solid day for 1500 runners formerly from Minnetonka, Will Leer picked up a "Big Q" qualifier, running 3:42.18 to win his heat and move on to Sunday's final. Former Winona star Garrett Heath ran 3:41.83 in a faster heat of the 1500, yet missed qualifying for the final by two tenths of a second.
Another former Minnesota high school star, Stillwater's Luke Watson ran 8:45.23 to grab the last qualifying spot for Saturday's steeplechase final. Team USA Minnesota's Josh Moen finished 13th in the 10,000 meter final with his time of 28:57, while Hopkins alum Mike Kirsch was a DNF in the event.
Complete results of all of Thursday's action can be found HERE.
Photo by Becky Miller.
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