Tweet
For Immediate Release For more information:
May 1, 2003 James Raybould, (650) 888-1780
Nike Farm Team Gearing Up for Oracle U.S. Open,
U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Palo Alto, CA -- Members of the Stanford-based Nike Farm Team are looking forward to this Friday’s Cardinal Invitational (May 2, 6 p.m.) as an important fitness marker in the build-up to the Oracle U.S. Open (June 7, 1 p.m.) and the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships (June 19-22). The Cardinal Invitational offers the Farm Team another excellent opportunity to continue to meet the season-long goal of qualifying as many male and female athletes as possible for the Outdoor Championships at distances ranging from the 800 meters to the 10,000 meters.
With the 2003 season well underway, the Nike Farm Team has already enjoyed considerable success indoors and out, on roads, trails and the track. After a third-place team finish in the men’s 12k at the USA Cross Country Championships in Houston in February, the Farm Team achieved several victories at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Boston in early March. Having recovered from a stress fracture, American indoor record holder and defending outdoor champion Nicole Teter (2:00.08) retained her 800-meter title with teammate Chantee Earl (2:05.13) finishing third. On the men’s side, Jonathon Reilly (7:49.86) collected his first national title in the 3000 meters, while defending champion Jason Lunn (3:42.22) retained his 1500-meter title, followed closely by Olympian teammate Michael Stember (3:42.76).
The Nike Farm Team has made a bright start to the 2003 season on the roads, with five athletes having already qualified for the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials, and Chris Graff (47:09) having emerged victorious at the USATF men’s 10-mile National Championships, breaking the previous Championships record by 35 seconds.
The outdoor track season has begun equally well, with the Nike Farm Team well represented in the fastest U.S. times registered this year (as of April 30, 2003). On the men’s front, in addition to having posted three of the top ten times in the 800 meters (Michael Stember, 1:47.37, #3; Bryan Woodward, 1:47.67, #6; and Andrew Neugebauer, 1:47.93, #9), the Farm Team also holds the best time in the mile (Stember, 3:59.69) and two of the top times in the 5,000 meters (Chris Graff, 13:41.36, #6; and Eric Savoth, 13:43.45, #9). In the women’s events, Farm Team members Tamika Williams (2:04.33, #3) and Chantee Earl (2:04.48, #4) in the 800 meters, and Sally Hauser (4:16.28, #4) in the 1,500 meters have already posted leading times, while Magdalena Levy (32:41.76) is currently the top-ranked U.S. 10,000-meter runner.
Founded in 1994 by Jeff Johnson, Nike’s first ever employee, and Vin Lananna, Stanford University’s head track and field coach, the Nike Farm Team offers elite post-collegiate distance runners an ideal competitive opportunity to pursue their athletic ambitions. Through partnering with Sports Medicine Institute International and its physical therapy services and human performance lab, and with medical expertise from a group of Stanford University physicians and surgeons, the Nike Farm Team provides athletes with an extensive support system.
Originally coached by Johnson, and then on an interim basis by Lananna, the Nike Farm Team has been training for the past eighteen months under the guidance of Frank “Gags” Gagliano. With more than forty years of coaching under his belt, Gagliano has been named NCAA coach of the year in 1991 and 1999 and has produced more than 100 All-Americans while coaching at Manhattan College, Rutgers University and Georgetown University.
“Our team’s focus is on track success outdoors, which means qualifying as many members as we can for the 2003 National Championships on our home track in June,” said Gagliano. “From there, we’re looking to get several members on the team for Paris, with the longer-term goal of placing athletes on the medal stand next summer at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.”
In addition to developing athletes to compete at the highest levels, the Nike Farm Team is also committed to expanding track and field in the Bay Area community. As part of The Track & Field Foundation Community Youth Series, Farm Team athletes lead clinics at local schools and community organizations to increase appreciation of and participation in track and field. Farm team members have already worked with hundreds of students at Menlo-Atherton High School and Palo Alto High School and will mentor groups of children at several additional locations in the lead-up to the final clinic immediately following the 2003 Oracle U.S. Open.
The Road to Paris Runs Through Palo Alto
In June 2003, Stanford University’s Cobb Track and Angell Field is hosting two of track and field’s most prestigious events: the Oracle U.S. Open (June 7), and the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships (June 19-22). With only three spots available in each event to represent the United States at the 2003 World Track and Field Championships in Paris, France (August 22-31), the Outdoor Championships is the highlight of the domestic track and field calendar. For more information about the 2003 Oracle U.S. Open and the 2003 U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships, visit http://www.trackandfieldusa.org.
About The Track & Field Foundation
The Track & Field Foundation is a non-profit corporation established to promote and foster track and field, educate the public regarding track and field, and encourage participation in the sport at all levels through its sponsorship of local, national, and international track and field competitions.
May 1, 2003 James Raybould, (650) 888-1780
Nike Farm Team Gearing Up for Oracle U.S. Open,
U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Palo Alto, CA -- Members of the Stanford-based Nike Farm Team are looking forward to this Friday’s Cardinal Invitational (May 2, 6 p.m.) as an important fitness marker in the build-up to the Oracle U.S. Open (June 7, 1 p.m.) and the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships (June 19-22). The Cardinal Invitational offers the Farm Team another excellent opportunity to continue to meet the season-long goal of qualifying as many male and female athletes as possible for the Outdoor Championships at distances ranging from the 800 meters to the 10,000 meters.
With the 2003 season well underway, the Nike Farm Team has already enjoyed considerable success indoors and out, on roads, trails and the track. After a third-place team finish in the men’s 12k at the USA Cross Country Championships in Houston in February, the Farm Team achieved several victories at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Boston in early March. Having recovered from a stress fracture, American indoor record holder and defending outdoor champion Nicole Teter (2:00.08) retained her 800-meter title with teammate Chantee Earl (2:05.13) finishing third. On the men’s side, Jonathon Reilly (7:49.86) collected his first national title in the 3000 meters, while defending champion Jason Lunn (3:42.22) retained his 1500-meter title, followed closely by Olympian teammate Michael Stember (3:42.76).
The Nike Farm Team has made a bright start to the 2003 season on the roads, with five athletes having already qualified for the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials, and Chris Graff (47:09) having emerged victorious at the USATF men’s 10-mile National Championships, breaking the previous Championships record by 35 seconds.
The outdoor track season has begun equally well, with the Nike Farm Team well represented in the fastest U.S. times registered this year (as of April 30, 2003). On the men’s front, in addition to having posted three of the top ten times in the 800 meters (Michael Stember, 1:47.37, #3; Bryan Woodward, 1:47.67, #6; and Andrew Neugebauer, 1:47.93, #9), the Farm Team also holds the best time in the mile (Stember, 3:59.69) and two of the top times in the 5,000 meters (Chris Graff, 13:41.36, #6; and Eric Savoth, 13:43.45, #9). In the women’s events, Farm Team members Tamika Williams (2:04.33, #3) and Chantee Earl (2:04.48, #4) in the 800 meters, and Sally Hauser (4:16.28, #4) in the 1,500 meters have already posted leading times, while Magdalena Levy (32:41.76) is currently the top-ranked U.S. 10,000-meter runner.
Founded in 1994 by Jeff Johnson, Nike’s first ever employee, and Vin Lananna, Stanford University’s head track and field coach, the Nike Farm Team offers elite post-collegiate distance runners an ideal competitive opportunity to pursue their athletic ambitions. Through partnering with Sports Medicine Institute International and its physical therapy services and human performance lab, and with medical expertise from a group of Stanford University physicians and surgeons, the Nike Farm Team provides athletes with an extensive support system.
Originally coached by Johnson, and then on an interim basis by Lananna, the Nike Farm Team has been training for the past eighteen months under the guidance of Frank “Gags” Gagliano. With more than forty years of coaching under his belt, Gagliano has been named NCAA coach of the year in 1991 and 1999 and has produced more than 100 All-Americans while coaching at Manhattan College, Rutgers University and Georgetown University.
“Our team’s focus is on track success outdoors, which means qualifying as many members as we can for the 2003 National Championships on our home track in June,” said Gagliano. “From there, we’re looking to get several members on the team for Paris, with the longer-term goal of placing athletes on the medal stand next summer at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.”
In addition to developing athletes to compete at the highest levels, the Nike Farm Team is also committed to expanding track and field in the Bay Area community. As part of The Track & Field Foundation Community Youth Series, Farm Team athletes lead clinics at local schools and community organizations to increase appreciation of and participation in track and field. Farm team members have already worked with hundreds of students at Menlo-Atherton High School and Palo Alto High School and will mentor groups of children at several additional locations in the lead-up to the final clinic immediately following the 2003 Oracle U.S. Open.
The Road to Paris Runs Through Palo Alto
In June 2003, Stanford University’s Cobb Track and Angell Field is hosting two of track and field’s most prestigious events: the Oracle U.S. Open (June 7), and the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships (June 19-22). With only three spots available in each event to represent the United States at the 2003 World Track and Field Championships in Paris, France (August 22-31), the Outdoor Championships is the highlight of the domestic track and field calendar. For more information about the 2003 Oracle U.S. Open and the 2003 U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships, visit http://www.trackandfieldusa.org.
About The Track & Field Foundation
The Track & Field Foundation is a non-profit corporation established to promote and foster track and field, educate the public regarding track and field, and encourage participation in the sport at all levels through its sponsorship of local, national, and international track and field competitions.
Comment