 | | |
|  |  | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Hyper's Dane Lewis lapped the field in the 10K points race today at Outdoor Nationals to cement his spot on the U.S. inline speed skating team. Luigino's Joey Mantia finished second. He did not need to race today, having already won the top spot on the U.S. men's team.
But his presence probably helped his Luigino teammate, Chris Creveling. Creveling finished third and, as a result, is also expected to make the team. Later in the day, Simmons' Jonathan Garcia won the 500 meters. The win kept him in second place in the overall standings at the championships in Colorado Springs. Among the World Class women, the Wolverine's Kelly Gunther secured her spot on the women's team with two strong performances. She won the 10K points race and finished third in the 500 meters. Milpitas Speed's Sara Sayasane also appeared to win a spot on the team. She finished third in the 10K and fourth in the 500 sprint. Luigino's Brittany Bowe won the 500 meters to cap a remarkable performace in her first appeance in the women's division at Outdoor Nationals. The 18-year-old former junior world champion won six events at distances ranging from 200 to 15,000 meters. She also set a new national record in the 300-meter track sprint. (See story.) The win, which came on the first day of the championships, automatically earned her a spot on the team that will represent the United States at this summer's World Championships in South Korea. Winning the No. 2 slot on the team was Hyper's Jessica Smith, who won two events during the championships (the 500-track sprint and yesterday's 20K). With Bowe and Smith leading the team, the U.S. women are expected to be one of the best in the world this year — a big change from last year when they were unable to win a single medal. Today was the final day of the the U.S. Outdoor Banked Track and Road Championships. But with most of the team positions already decided, the day was, for the most part, anti-climactic. Most of the top skaters skipped the final event: the marathon, which was skated in a parking lot. Ashley Mann of Asheboro, N.C., won the women's event; Erin DiJulio was second; Elizabeth Drenkhahn, third. By finishing in the top three, the women won the last remaining spots on the U.S. women's team. The men's marathon featured some high drama with the injured Josh Wood choosing to race, against his doctors' advice. Wood of Triad Racing dislocated his left shoulder when he was grabbed by another skater Sunday. His doctors told him that another strain could lead to permanent nerve damage. But Wood, 23, was determined to race, having concentrated all year on winning a spot on the U.S. team. Wood had been in contention for one of the regular (non-marathon) team positions before his injury. But after he was hurt, he had to sit out the remaining races, while his competitors continued to collect points. That left today's marathon as his only chance to win a spot on the team. Four spots were left open on the men's team, which meant that Wood had to finish in the top four in the marathon to win a place on the team. He finished fourth, earning a ticket to South Korea, even though he lacked full range of motion in his left arm. Sebastian Cano won the race; Jono Gorman was second; Michael Cheek, third. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Latest headlines: • USOC: Icing an Inline Link • Growing Skating One Kid at a Time | |||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||
