Contact: Fred Baer
650-345-4114
[email protected]
Athletes with region (Pacific Association of USA Track & Field) ties account for more than one-fifth of the individual spots on the U.S. team for the Beijing Olympic Games, announced this week. Twenty-five of those 114 USA team members (not including the 12 added relay pool participants) have solid PA connections. The PA list contains American record holders, 2008 world leaders, and U.S. champions.
The Pacific Association has the largest membership of USATF’s 56 associations and covers Northern California (from the Oregon border to San Luis Obispo) and Northern Nevada.
Athletes from all extremes of the region are on the team: women’s 1,500 meter champion Shannon Rowbury, who lives near the beach in the Sunset District of San Francisco, on the west; 800 meter runner Nicole Teeter from Cottonwood (near Redding), in the north; triple jump champion Aarik Wilson from Fallon (Nev.), which is 50 miles east of Reno; discus thrower Stephanie Brown Trafton from San Luis Obispo, in the south (along with her Cal Poly compatriot Sharon Day in the high jump). Both Rowbury and Brown Trafton (who now lives in Galt and trains at Sacramento City College) were world leaders in May.
All three women shot putters are Northern California natives. They include high school record holder Michele Carter, who was born in San Jose in October, 1985, while her father Michael (still the boy’s prep shot put record holder and the 1984 Olympic silver medalist) was playing football for the San Francisco 49ers (who then trained in Redwood City). A fourth shot putter on the U.S. team, two-time men’s Olympic silver medalist Adam Nelson, resided in San Carlos and Menlo Park while training at Stanford after his graduation from Dartmouth in 1997. The 2008 world leader is currently completing MBA degree work at the University of Virginia.
Tri-Valley Athletics in Stockton provided the final Olympic training launch pad for American record breakers Brad Walker (pole vault) and Suzy Powell-Roos (discus), plus heptathlon world leader Hyleas Fountain, women’s high jumper Amy Acuff (now a four-time Olympian), men’s high jumper Andra Manson. So the PA had the top 3 men’s high jump finishers.
Acuff is the most experienced Olympian on the U.S. roster. Nelson is the most experienced male USA Olympian, making his third USA team after winning silver in 2000 and 2004.
Members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field team with strong Pacific Association roots and ties (essentially born in, attended school in, currently live in/have membership in…see notations in parentheses):
Women:
Marathon:Blake Russell <profile> – 2nd (Pacific Grove resident)Magdalena Lewy-Boulet <profile> – 3rd (Cal’97 / Oakland resident).
800 meters: Nicole Teter <profile> - 4th, but the 3rd finisher with Olympic A standard of 2:00.00 (West Valley HS, Cottonwood / Shasta College’94 / Redwood City / Palo Alto).
1500 meters: Shannon Rowbury <profile> – 1st (San Francisco native / Sacred Heart Cathedral HS‘02) former world leader, currently No. 5.
High jump: Amy Acuff <bio> - 2nd (Iselton resident / Tri-Valley Athletics-Asics);
Sharon Day <bio> - 3rd (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’07).
Long jump: Grace Upshaw <profile> - <bio> 2nd (Berkeley native / Acalanes HS’93 / Cal’97 / Redwood City / Menlo Park / Los Altos Hills) currently No. 7 in world.
Triple jump: Erica McLain <profile> – 3rd (Stanford’08).
Shot put (All 3 members of team were born in Northern California): Michele Carter - 1st (San Jose native); <story>
Kristin Heaston <story> – 2nd (Walnut Creek native / Ygnacio Valley HS ‘93 / Diablo Valley College ’94 / Cal’99 / Stanford strength coach);
Jillian Camarena <story> – 3rd (Woodland native / Woodland HS’00 / Stanford’04).
Discus throw: Suzy Powell-Roos <profile> – 2nd (Modesto native and resident / Downey HS’94 / Tri-Valley Athletics-Asics) American record holder;
Stephanie Brown-Trafton <bio> – 3rd (San Luis Obispo native / Arroyo Grande HS / Cal Poly SLO’03 / Galt resident) former world leader, currently No. 3.
Javelin throw: Kim Kreiner – 4th, but one of only two Americans with Olympic A standard (recent Pacific Association member; trains in Central California at Fresno State) American record holder.
Heptathlon: Hyleas Fountain – 1st (lives and trains with Tri-Valley Athletics in Stockton) current world leader.
Men
Marathon: Ryan Hall – 1st (Stanford’06).5,000 meters: Ian Dobson – 3rd (Stanford’05).
Pole vault: Derek Miles <bio> – 1st (Sacramento native / Bella Vista HS, Fair Oaks);
Brad Walker <profile> – 3rd (trains with Tri-Valley Athletics in Stockton) American record holder, current world leader, world champion.
High Jump: Jesse Williams – 1st (Modesto native);
Andra Manson – 2nd (tie) (Tri-Valley Athletics / Stockton).
Long jump: Trevell Quinley <bio> – 1st (San Jose native; Merrill West HS’01, Tracy) currently No. 5 in world.
Triple Jump: Aarik Wilson <bio> – 1st (Fallon, Nev. / Churchill County HS’01, Fallon) currently No. 5 in world.
Shot put: Adam Nelson – 2nd (former San Carlos & Menlo Park resident while training at Stanford)(current world leader.
Discus throw: Michael Robertson – 2nd (Stanford ’08)
Pacific Association Athletes who placed in top 3 at U.S. Olympic Trials but did not have the Olympic “A” standard and therefore were not named to the team (one currently under appeal):
Men’s High Jump: Jamie Nieto – 2nd (tie) but did not achieve standard until a week after the trials -- still within IAAF’s July 31 entry deadline -- and is appealing USATF’s decision to move the sixth place finisher onto the team ahead of him. (Valley HS’94, Sacramento / Sacramento CC’96) won 2004 Olympic Trials and placed fourth at Athens Olympics. The PA had the top three finishers at this year’s Trials.
Men’s Hammer Throw: Kevin McMahon <story> – 2nd
Women’s Hammer Throw: Sarah Veress – 3rd
Women’s Race Walk: Susan Armenta – 3rd
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Note: Muna Lee was incorrectly listed as a resident of Santa Rosa on the initial release by USATF, which was also carried by Associated Press. The LSU grad is a resident of College Station, Texas. She is NOT on our list of Pacific Association affiliated athletes.
For more information, see www.pausatf.org <http://www.pausatf.org/
