University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols' Slinden 13th In Discus Throw At USATF Championships
July 26, 2001 | Women's Track
June 21, 2001
EUGENE, Ore. -- Tennessee junior Diane Slinden, competing in the 2001 GMC Envoy USA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, placed 13th Thursday evening in the discus throw at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
Slinden, from Menomonie, Wis., was unable to make the finals after charting a pair of fouls and then a measurement of 155-6 in her three attempts. The UT tri-captain had placed seventh and earned All-America honors in her signature event just three weeks ago with a toss of 170-8 at the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Eugene. Slinden qualified for the USATF meet with a personal best toss of 182 feet, three inches at the UC San Diego Spring Break Invitational back on March 31.
Another athlete with UT connections also threw the discus in Eugene. Tennessee volunteer assistant coach Aretha Hill managed a heave of 196-9 to finish fourth. It matched her placing last season in Sacramento, Calif., when the former University of Washington star was fourth at the U.S. Olympic Trials, just missing a berth on the team that went to Sydney.
Maureen Ferris, a former Lady Vol All-American and current volunteer assistant coach for the Big Orange women's program, competed in the 3000m steeplechase. The Cleveland, Ohio, native checked in with a time of 10:37.98 to cross the line 17th out of 44 runners. She narrowly missed being among the group of 14 who advanced to the finals.
In the first round of the 100m dash, their were two former UT All-Americans competing and both moved on to the semifinals. Kelli White posted the eighth fastest reading at 11.36, while Michelle Bookman was 15th out of 16 qualifiers for the next round. They will run at 8:23 p.m. ET on Friday.
