11 Current or Former Wildcats to Take Part in U.S. Olympic Trials
Jul 08, 2004 | Track & Field
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- This weekend could be the start of Olympic gold dreams for numerous track and field athletes from across the nation. The 2004 United States Track and Field Olympic Trials begin on Friday in Sacramento, California with 11 current or former Wildcats competing for a spot on the 2004 Olympic team. K-State will send four current Wildcats to the U.S. Olympic Trials. The representing athletes are 2004 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor All-Americans Kyle Lancaster (high jump), Chaytan Hill (triple jump) and JaNelle Wright (heptathlon) and 2004 NCAA Indoor All-American Christian Smith (800-meter run).
Lancaster earned a runner-up finish at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championship, leaping to a height of 7-06, a new personal best. Lancaster is a two-time All-American who ranks third on the K-State performance list in the event, just a half-inch from the top spot. Entering the Trials Lancaster is seeded seventh, just two inches from event leaders Charles Clinger and Matt Hemingway.
Hill enters the Trials seeded 10th in the triple jump with a qualifying distance of 44-10.75. The Kirby, Texas, native finished in fifth at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships, while she was the runner-up in the event at the Indoor Championships. The performances gave Hill her second and third All-American citations in her K-State career.
Smith finished first in the 800-meter run at the USATF Club Championships at the Harsh Track & Field Complex in Bloomington, Indiana. The Garfield, Kansas, native notched a new personal best, crossing the tape in 1:46.74. His previous personal outdoor record was 1:48.80 at the Miami Twilight on April 10. Smith, who was a 2004 NCAA Indoor All-American, raced to a runner-up finish at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships, recording a new personal indoor record of 1:48.18.
Wright enters the week as a provisional qualifier in the heptathlon, with a point total of 5,615 points. Wright earned All-American honors with an eighth place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The Wildcats will also be represented by seven former athletes or current coaches which include: Sheila Burrell (heptathlon), Vanitta Kinard (triple jump), Morgan High (high jump), Nathan Leeper (high jump), Amy Mortimer (1,500 meters), Karol Rovelto (high jump) and Gwen Wentland (high jump).
Leeper was a 2000 Olympian who is seeded fifth in the high jump. Leeper holds the outdoor school mark in the high jump at a height of 7-06.50. Mortimer was an 11-time NCAA All-American and holds five records from her Wildcat career. High was a 2004 NCAA Outdoor All-American in the high jump with a 10th place finish. Rovelto is a veteran to international competition, representing the U.S. at the 2000 Olympics with the top American finish in the high jump. The director of track operations, Rovelto has not competed since October, but has a career best leap of 6-05.50.
Also of note, K-State has two former athletes, Jared MacLeod and Josef Karas, attempting to qualify for the Canadian Olympic team.
