Bridget Franek and Shalaya Kipp would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Sara Hall was unsuccessful in her much-discussed attempt to join her marathoning husband Ryan in London. Hall ran much of the race in fourth or fifth position, in striking distance, but faded on the last lap, placing eighth.
Women's Steeplechase Team: Coburn, Franek, Kipp
1. Emma Coburn, 9:32.78 Q 2. Bridget Franek, 9:35.62 Q 3. Shalaya Kipp, 9:35.73 Q 4. Ashley Higginson, 9:38.06 5. Lisa Aguilera, 9:41.95 6. Carrie Dimoff, 9:45.01 7. Delilah DiCrescenzo, 9:46.30 8. Sara Hall, 9:47.63 9. Stephanie Garcia, 9:50.74 10. Sarah Pease, 9:53.62 11. Mason Cathey, 9:54.07 12. Jamie Cheever, 9:56.51 13. Rebeka Stowe, 10:02.82 14. Rebecca Wade, 10:10.50
Emma Coburn: “I’ve had this goal since Bridget and I ran in the World Championships in Daegu last year. I redshirted my track season at the University of Colorado to pursue this. I was hungry to achieve it. I’ve had several discussions about going pro, but believe I owe it to the University and the Boulder running community to represent the school in track in 2013.”
Bridget Franek: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet that I’ve made the Olympic Team. It’s been a big goal of mine for a really long time. It was warmer than I expected out there. I was exhausted at the end. I gave more than I have in any other race this season. It was a big turnaround for me from Pre, which was a rough one. Pretty much all my success is due to the support system I’ve had around me at each stage of my career. They believed in me before I believed in myself. I’ve been around long enough to know anything can happen in a race. My coach and I came up with a simple mantra: Run smooth, and bring it home strong.”
Shalaya Kipp: “I was lucky enough to be able to watch Emma and Bridget compete in Daegu last summer, and that motivated me. My coach told me last December that it was not unrealistic for me to go to the Olympics. I feel so fortunate that I’m able to train with Emma. I wasn’t really expecting this. I’m actually enrolled in a summer session class that begin next week. The NCAA season helped me because it gave me all the steps I needed to get here. When I saw Emma hit the line in about 9:32, I thought that I was probably going to get an A time, and it worked out.”
Delilah DiCrescenzo: “I dunno, I don’t have a good excuse. I should have been able to go with it. There was a lot of yo-yoing back and forth. Some of the girls were going past me looking smooth. I couldn’t find my rhythm. I tried to draw inspiration from my teammate Julie Culley, who ran so well last night. We’ve done a lot of workouts together. Her race gave me confidence. But I just couldn’t find the reserve strength tonight.”
Sara Hall: “I didn’t feel good. The pace felt harder than it should have. I’m definitely disappointed. I had a really good feeling about this one. When I was in fourth place, I was giving myself all the positive self-talk I could: ‘You’re up there! You can go for it!’ But my legs started feeling the lactic acid.
“Ryan and I have been talking about walking into the Opening Ceremonies since last November. He said, ‘Okay, I gotta get my job done first,’ and he did. Then it was my time. We felt it was really going to happen. The tactics are hard in the steeple. You lose a lot of energy when you have to move out at a jump because someone cuts out in front of you. I wanted to be up closer to the front from the beginning, but there were a lot of women gunning for it.
“Ryan’s doing really well. He’s getting over his foot problem, and it didn’t hurt his training much.”
-----------------------------------------
Colorado redshirt senior Emma Coburn will lead a group of 14 women to Friday's steeplechase final after an uncontested 9:43.19 victory in heat one of Monday's steeplechase semi-finals. Coburn owns the fastest time by an American this year at 9:25.28, nearly 18 seconds under the Olympic A standard of 9:43. Post race, Coburn said a reduced competition schedule has produced the most consistent training of her career. "I worked harder this spring than I ever have before," she said.
Coburn's Colorado teammate Shalaya Kipp, the 2012 NCAA champion, closed well to finish second in 9:46.17. Kipp looks like a strong contender for an Olympic berth but will need to hit the A standard on Friday to qualify.
2010 NCAA steeple champion Bridget Franek ran clear of the field in heat two with a decisive move with three laps remaining. Early leader Sara Hall kicked by Ashley Higginson to finish second. If Coburn and Franek choose to run hard and stay clear of trouble early in Friday's final, it is likely that as many as six women will run under the A standard, raising the chances for Mason Cathey and Higginson, both of whom lack an A standard but looked comfortable while finishing third in their respective heats.
Qualifiers from the women's steeplechase semi-final
1 Emma Coburn Colorado 9:43.19 Q 1 (1) 2 Bridget Franek Nike / Oregon TC Elite 9:44.05 Q 2 (1) 3 Sara Hall Asics 9:44.55 Q 2 (2) 4 Ashley Higginson Saucony 9:45.21 Q 2 (3) 5 Shalaya Kipp Colorado 9:46.17 Q 1 (2) 6 Mason Cathey Saucony 9:47.32 Q 1 (3) 7 Stephanie Garcia New Balance 9:48.17 Q 2 (4) 8 Carrie Dimoff Bowerman Athletic Club 9:49.03 Q 2 (5) 9 Delilah DiCrescenzo Puma / New Jersey New York T C 9:49.15 Q 1 (4) 10 Rebecca Wade Rice University 9:50.66 Q 1 (5) 11 Lisa Aguilera Nike 9:51.02 q 1 (6) 12 Jamie Cheever Oiselle / Team USA Minnesota 9:51.42 q 2 (6) 13 Sarah Pease Unattached 9:52.43 q 2 (7) 14 Rebeka Stowe Kansas 9:53.67 q 1 (7)
Preview: Emma Coburn is the most clear-cut Trials favorite among any of the women's distance events. An NCAA and U.S. champion in 2011, she's raced lightly in 2012 but her 9:25.28 makes her the fastest American woman of the year in steeple by more than 14 seconds. She's fresh and ready to run faster in Eugene. Even if she stumbles, literally, she should win, and steady Bridget Franek is the most likely to step up if Coburn somehow falters. The third spot on the team could be contested between Sara Hall, The Best 1 Mile Races to Add to Your Calendar Shalaya Kipp, the 2012 NCAA champ who is, like Coburn, a product of the University of Colorado steeplechase factory.
Coverage of the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase will begin on June 25.
American Record: 9:12.50, Jenny Simpson, 2009
Published: Jun 29, 2012 12:00 AM EDT: 9:27.59, What You Need to Know About the Sydney Marathon
Results, 2008 Trials:
1. Anna Willard, 9:27.59 2. Lindsey Anderson, 9:30.75 3. Jennifer Barringer, 9:33.11 4. Nicole Bush, 9:40.27 5. Lisa Galaviz, 9:48.27 6. Kara June, 9:49.56 7. Amanda Lorenzen, 9:49.74 8. Carrie Messner-Vickers, 9:49.93
