Competition starts Friday in Eugene, Ore.
The Sacramento Running Association salutes the local middle-distance and long-distance runners who are entered in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials beginning Friday in Eugene, Ore.
Headlining the local contingent is U.S Olympian Kim Conley. The 30-year-old former UC Davis standout has her eyes on the women’s 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters.
Conley grabbed the third and final Olympic berth in the women’s 5,000 meters at the 2012 Trials and attained the required Olympic ‘A’ standard in dramatic fashion, edging Julia Lucas and Abbey D’Agostino in a photo finish by four hundredths of a second. Conley is hoping to contend for another top-three spot in the Trials and a ticket to Rio for the Olympic Games.
Seven of the nine SRA Olympic Hopeful grant recipients are also entered in the Olympic Track and Field Trials.
The grant awardees received financial support ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to help cover specialized training, competition, medical or auxiliary expenses as they pursued their Olympic dream.
Grant recipients that are entered in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials include 2015 USATF national champion Lauren Wallace, sibling standouts Brendan Gregg and Kaitlin Gregg Goodman, NCAA All-Americans Kate Grace, Lianne Farber and Lea Wallace, and UC Davis record-holder Alycia Cridebring.
Grant recipients Shadrack Biwott and Rolanda Bell will not be competing as Biwott previously competed in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and Bell is vying for a spot on the Panamanian Olympic Team.
Other local distance runners or distance runners with local ties that are entered include former UC Davis standouts Racquel Lambdin and Jonathan Sees, Sacramento Running Association Elite athletes Richard Jones and Dominique Jackson, and former Davis High School prep standout Chelsea Sodaro.
Several other local athletes or athletes with local ties are also entered into non-distance running events. Headlining that group is U.S. Olympic gold medalist Stephanie Brown-Trafton (discus). Other athletes include Chris Kirkwood (javelin), Ronald Brookins (100m hurdles), Diondre Baston (100m), Paul Lyons (100m hurdles), Brysun Stately (pole vault) and Jill Camerena-Williams (shot put).
Running events begin on Friday at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. Competition ends on July 10.
The Sacramento Running Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding new ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. The SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.
A look at the entered distance athletes:
Kim Conley
Team/Sponsor: New Balance, NorCal Distance Project
College: UC Davis
Event(s): 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters
OT Mark(s): 15:09.31, 31:58.54
Stats:
- 2012 U.S. Olympian (5,000 meters)
- 2014 USATF Outdoor National Champion (10,000 meters)
- 2015 U.S. Half Marathon Champion
Alycia Cridebring
Team/Sponsor: SRA Elite
College: UC Davis
Event(s): 5,000 meters
OT Mark(s): 15:35.34
Stats:
- Finished 14th at 2015 USATF National Championship (5,000 meters)
- UC Davis school record-holder in 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters
Lianne Farber
Team/Sponsor: New Balance, NorCal Distance Project
College: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Event(s): 1,500 meters
OT Mark(s): 4:12.35
Stats:
- Three-time NCAA All-American
- NCAA qualifier in cross country, indoor and outdoor track
- 2015 USATF Outdoor Championships qualifier
Kate Grace
Team/Sponsor: Oiselle, NorCal Distance Project
College: Yale
Event(s): 800 meters, 1,500 meters
OT Mark(s): 2:00.05, 4:05.65
Stats:
- Finalist at 2014 U.S. Championships (1,500 meters)
- Member of World Relay 4x1,500-meter team, silver medalist
Brendan Gregg
Team/Sponsor: Hansons Brooks Distance Project
College: Stanford
Event(s): 10,000 meters
OT Mark(s): 28:03.27
Stats:
- Achieved Olympic standard times in marathon and 10,000 meters
- Finished 13th at the 2015 USATF Outdoor Championships (10,000 meters)
- USATF National Team representative at 2014 BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Race
Kaitlin Gregg Goodman
Team/Sponsor: Strava Track Club
College: UC Davis
Event(s): 10,000 meters
OT Mark(s): 32:09.82
Stats:
- Achieved Olympic standard times in marathon and 10,000 meters
- Ranked 13th in U.S. in 10,000 meters in 2015
- USATF National Team representative at 2014 BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Race
Dominique Jackson
Team/Sponsor: Oiselle, SRA Elite
College: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Event(s): 800 meters
OT Mark(s): 2:02.39
Stats:
- Sac-Joaquin Section high school 800-meter record-holder – ahead of SRA Hall of Famers Lindsay Hyatt and Alex Kosinski
- Sac-Joaquin Section high school 4x400-meter record-holder
Richard Jones
Team/Sponsor: SRA Elite
College: Louisiana State University
Event(s): 800 meters
OT Mark(s): 1:47.37
Stats:
- Four-time NCAA All-American
- Current world record-holder, 4x800-meter indoor relay
Racquel Lambdin
Team/Sponsor: Unattached
College: UC Davis
Event(s): 800 meters
OT Mark(s): 2:02.85
Stats:
- NCAA All-American
- UC Davis school record-holder in 1,500 meters
- Second all-time at UC Davis in 800 meters
Jonathan Sees
Team/Sponsor: SRA Elite
College: UC Davis
Event(s): 3,000-meter steeplechase
OT Mark(s): 8:42.95
Stats:
- UC Davis school record-holder in 3,000 meters
Chelsea Sodaro
Team/Sponsor: Saucony
College: Cal
Event(s): 10,000 meters
OT Mark(s): 32:05.84
Stats:
- NCAA All-American
- Second at 2015 Pacific Pursuit 10,000 meters behind Kim Conley
Lauren Wallace
Team/Sponsor: Oiselle, NorCal Distance Project
College: UC Davis
Event(s): 800 meters
OT Mark(s): 2:00.48
Stats:
- 2015 USATF indoor 1,000-meter national champion
- 2015 USATF outdoor 800-meter semifinalist
Lea Wallace
Team/Sponsor: SRA Elite
College: Sacramento State
Event(s): 800 meters
OT Mark(s): 2:03.90
Stats:
- NCAA All-American
- Former American record-holder, 4x800-meter relay
- Named 11th best athlete to compete in history of Big Sky Conference
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