Galen Rupp of Oregon :
Oregon freshman Galen Rupp broke the U.S. junior record en route to winning in the 10,000 meters in 28:15.52 at the Oregon Twilight on Saturday, May 7. The Portland, Oregon native broke the mark formerly held by Duck alum Rudy Chapa who sped to a still-standing high school record of 28:32.7 at the Drake Relays in 1976. Rupp's time met the NCAA automatic qualifying standard of 29:00.00 and is currently ranked as the top freshman and fifth overall in the nation at 10,000 meters. Rupp and the Ducks will next compete at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships, May 14-15 at Drake Stadium hosted by UCLA.
Caroline Bierbaum of Columbia :
Columbia junior Caroline Bierbaum won the 10,000, 5,000 and placed sixth in the 3,000 meters to help lead the Lions to a second-place finish at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. Bierbaum started her heroic triple on Friday, May 6 while recording the fastest time ever by an Ivy League runner to win the 10,000 meters in 32:44.51. The time also met the NCAA automatic qualifying standard of 34:10.00 and is the top mark in the nation. Less than 18 hours after winning the 10,000 meters, Bierbaum earned her second league title in the 5,000 meters on Saturday, May 7 while clocking 16:31.70. Bierbaum then took sixth place in the 3,000 meters at 9:59.57 to score a total of 23 points over the two days of competition. Bierbaum and Columbia will next compete at the IC4A Championships, May 13-14 at Princeton, New Jersey.
For more information on the United States Track Coaches Association, visit their website at www.ustrackcoaches.org.
------------------------------ Tom Borish Webmaster - www.trackshark.com USTCA Publicist - www.ustrackcoaches.org Email - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone - 508-981-2864
