Adams State well represented at USA Championships
June 28, 2010DES MOINES, Iowa— Three current and recent members of the Adams State College track and field program competed in the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships here at Drake Stadium over the weekend.
On Thursday night, Brian Medigovich (San Luis Opisbo, Calif.) finished 15th in the men’s 10,000 meters with a time of 29 minutes, 53.78 seconds. He is now representing the Hansons-Brooks Distance Running Project, a Rochester, Mich. Based residential Olympic Development program that also includes former Grizzly great Emily Mortensen. Medigovich, who won the citizen’s race at the Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day, completed his eligibility with the Grizzlies after the 2009-10 indoor season winning the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Division II National Championships. He earned a total of 12 U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association certificates during his career and helped the Grizzlies to three total NCAA Division II National team titles in cross country and track and field.
2008 Olympian Galen Rupp, formerly of Oregon and now running for Nike, took the win in 28:59.29.
On Friday, Aaron Braun (Fort Collins, Colo.) took to the track in the men’s 5,000 meters finishing fourth in 13:57.82. He ran with the lead pack throughout the race and took the lead over eventual winner and 2007 double World Champion Bernard Lagat. Leading Lagat and the rest of the field until the 150 meters to go, Braun faded a bit but still finished just 3.74 seconds behind Lagat, who kicked his way to the win in 13:54.08.
Braun also completed his collegiate portion of his career at the 2010 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships winning both the mile and the distance medley relay while finishing second behind Medigovich in the 5,000 meters. He earned 16 all-America honors and six national championships in his time as a Grizzly and is now starting a flourishing professional career highlighted by a Puma Battle Royale win and a 10th place finish in the professional portion of the Bolder Boulder.
The early portions of the race were shown live on ESPN before the network cut away to show the ninth inning of Arizona Diamondback pitcher Edwin Jackson’s successful no-hitter bid against the Tampa Bay Rays. The network then showed tape-delayed coverage of the end of the race during its Saturday broadcast.
On Sunday, current Grizzly Alicia Nelson (Craig, Colo.) took 11th in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, a race that was also shown live on ESPN. She had also run Thursday in the semifinals of the event posting a time of 10:18.37 earning the last of 14 spots in the final. Nelson won the NCAA Division II title in the event on May 29 in Charlotte, N.C. with a school and championship-record time of 10:11.48. That mark had qualified her for the USA Championships and was the second fastest ever by an NCAA Division II athlete.
Nelson, who wore her Adams State jersey, earned four all-America certificates in her first year as a Grizzly and was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in Cross Country.
Related Item: Thursday's Results
Related Item: Friday's Results
Related Item: Sunday's Results
Related Item: USATF Championship Website
Related Item: Live Results (includes lap splits)
