July 19, 2004

Eight University of North Carolina track and field athletes will travel to Athens, Greece, for the 2004 Summer Olympics after qualifying at the United States Olympic Team Trials in Sacramento July 9-18. Carolina women won individual crowns in five different events, more than any other school represented at the meet. UCLA had the next highest number of champions with three - Gail Devers (100-meter hurdles), Sheena Johnson (400-meter hurdles) and Shelia Burrell (heptathlon).

Event champions LaTasha Colander (100-meter dash), Monique Hennagan (400-meter dash), Tisha Waller (high jump), Marion Jones (long jump) and Laura Gerraughty (shot put) will be joined by Shalane Flanagan, Allen Johnson and Crystal Cox. Flanagan qualified by finishing third in the 5000-meter run, while Johnson took third in the 110-meter hurdles. Although Cox did not earn an automatic bid by finishing in the top three in the 400-meter dash, she was later added to the 4x400m relay pool.

"I am always so proud and astonished by how our athletes continue to do well over the years," UNC head track and field coach Dennis Craddock said Monday. "Sometimes I wonder what motivates them to stay in it, because there is not much money in track and field. It must just be for the love of the sport. They continue to prove that they are great competitors as well as great people."

Colander, a 1998 graduate and 2000 gold medalist in the 4x400m relay, got things started July 10 by winning the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.97. Her time tied for the fastest run by an American woman in 2004.

Two days later, Waller became the second Tar Heel champion with her triumph in the high jump. Waller, a 1992 graduate and elementary school teacher, took the high jump with a leap of 6'6". She will make her second Olympic appearance, the first coming in the 1996 Atlanta Games. Waller was the first Tar Heel woman to medal in an international competition when she took bronze at the 1991 World University Games.

Jones made it three titles when she scored a victory in the long jump on July 15. Jones' jump of 23'4" was the second longest in the world this year and the longest jump by an American woman in almost six years. By winning the long jump she is now eligible for all of the U.S. relay teams, despite failing to qualify for the team in either the 100 or 200.

Gerraughty, a rising senior at UNC, increased the number to four one day later when she handily defeated the field in the women's shot put. Gerraughty's winning throw traveled 60'8.5", more than a foot beyond than that of runner-up and defending U.S champion Kristin Heaston. Gerraughty now has the opportunity to add an Olympic medal to the indoor and outdoor NCAA titles and the indoor and outdoor U.S. titles she has already won in 2004.

Hennagan became the fifth and final Tar Heel champion of the meet when she triumphed in the women's 400-meter dash on Saturday. Hennagan, a 1998 graduate, won in 49.56, the second-fastest time ever run at the U.S. Trials and the second-fastest time run in the world this year.

Johnson, a 1993 graduate and a 1996 gold medalist in Atlanta, had a chance to become the sixth UNC winner on Sunday in the 110-meter hurdles, but finished third with a time of 13.25. Johnson hit a hurdle early in the race, and was out of the top three until the final meters of the race. Despite the disappointing finish at the trials, Johnson will still be considered a favorite in Athens.

Flanagan, who recently turned pro after one of the most decorated careers in Carolina history, secured her Olympic berth with a third place finish in the 5000-meter run. After leading for most of the race, she held on for third in 15:10.52 after veterans Shayne Culpepper and Marla Runyan took over in the final 200 meters.

"You have these dreams about making the team before you come here, but when it actually happens, you still don't know how to react," Flanagan said after the race. "This is my first Olympic Trials, and to make the team, it reminds you why you ran all those miles."

The Athens Olympic Track and Field competition will begin on August 18 with the men's and women's shot put competition.