July 18, 2005

Former University of North Carolina distance standout Alice Schmidt won the 800 meters at the Athletic Leggera meet in Italy on July 17 and did so in a time of 1:59.29, which qualifies her for the 2005 World Track and Field Championships.

Schmidt finished third in the 800 at the 2005 USA Nationals on June 26, but had not reached the IAAF standard to compete in the World Championships until Sunday. The cutoff was 2:00.00; Schmidt's third-place finish at the USA Nationals came in 2:02.09.

Schmidt won the NCAA title in the 800 as a Tar Heel in 2002 and 2003 and is the alltime ACC recordholder in the event.

Schmidt joins Hazel Clark and Kameisha Bennett on Team USA in the 800. The World Championships are scheduled for August 6-14, in Helsinki, Finland.