University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
USA Outdoor Championships
Llano Finishes Third In 10,000 At USA Junior Championships: Young Takes 15th In 400M
06/23/2007 | Women's Track & Field
June 22, 2007
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Freshman Matt Llano ran the 10,000 meters for the first time on the track and finished third at the USA Junior National Championships on Friday in 31:19.03.
After his performance, Llano was processed for the USA Pan American Junior Team, which will compete in Rio de Jeniero, July 6-8. He will find out if he makes the Pan Am team on Sunday.
Richmond sophomore Jessica Young competed in the semifinals of the senior 400-meter dash at the USA Outdoor National Track & Field Championships on Friday. Running alongside the top senior sprinters in the country, Young finished 15th out of 16 semifinal runners in a time of 52.95 seconds.
"Jessica ran a tremendous race, but obviously it was a loaded field," Richmond women's coach Lori Taylor said. "She was the youngest in the 400 and they're announcing the names of world champions and Olympic medalists in her heat. Her goal coming her was to get to the semifinals and that's what she did."
Llano ran splits of 5:00.1 for 1,600, 9:55.8 for 3,200, 14:51.6 for three miles, 15:34.1 for 5K, 19:55.2 for four miles, 25:02.2 for five miles and 30:07.5 for six miles.
"Llano was outstanding tonight," Richmond men's coach Steve Taylor said. "He ran every well in a competitive national championship race to place third. It was very exciting to watch the race develop over the 6.2 mile distance. This was Matt's first 10K race on the track, but he executed the race plan perfectly and was very consistent throughout."
Young had set the school record in the first round Thursday, running a 52.47 to have the 10th fastest time entering the semifinals. She will wait to hear on the opportunity to compete on either the World Championship Team, Pan American Team or North America/Central America Championships.
"She wanted to make the semis and make a good go of it, and that's what she did," Lori Taylor said. "She's put herself in a good position to be on one of the USA teams, we hope she gets the chance to represent her country again."
Young represented the United States last year at the World Junior Championships in Beijing, China where she won a gold medal in the 4x400-meter dash. She was an indoor (55m) and outdoor (400m) All-American this year and is the Spider outdoor school record holder in the 100, 200, 300 and 400 dashes.
