University of Tennessee Athletics
SLINDEN FINISHES 13TH IN DISCUS AT USATF OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
June 23, 2002 | Women's Track
June 23, 2002
PALO ALTO, Calif.
Diane Slinden closed out her career at the University of Tennessee with a 13th-place finish in the discus late Saturday night at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Competing at Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field, Slinden landed a fair throw of 160 feet even on her first attempt. That measurement would wind up being her mark of record, as the Menomonie, Wis., native fouled her next two tries and was unable to make the finals.
UT Volunteer Assistant Coach Aretha Hill, however, did move on to the money round and grabbed third place with a best fling of 204-9. Competing for Nike, Hill's best throw came on her second attempt. Kris Kuehl of Nike took top honors, upsetting world leader Suzy Powell of Asics, 211-5 to 205-3.
In action involving a former Lady Vol, 14-time All-American Kelli White secured a third-place finish in the 100-meter dash and advanced to the finals in the 200m. In the shorter race, she checked in at 11.22, finishing behind Marion Jones (11.01) and training partner Chryste Gaines (11.05). In the half-lapper, White posted a 23.19 in the semifinals Saturday night and will enter Sunday's championship race with the third-fastest qualifying time behind Jones (22.46) and LSU sophomore Muna Lee (23.01).
New Tennessee Head Coach J.J. Clark had several of his post-collegiate troops in action. His wife, Jearl Miles-Clark, who runs for New Balance, faired well in the semifinals of the 400m dash, advancing to Sunday's finals with a 51.32 reading behind only a 50.97 from Michelle Collins of Nike. Miles-Clark is a three-time U.S. outdoor champion in the 400 meters and a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 4x400m relay.
In the 800 meters, Clark's sister, Hazel Clark, moved on to the finals with the fifth-best qualifying pace at 2:05.24. She was second in the meet last year and first at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, going on to place seventh at the Sydney Olympiad. Former Florida standout Tamieka Grizzle was unable to join the qualifiers, winding up 13th at 2:06.71.
Though this is a non-Olympic, non-World Championship year, event winners will qualify for a spot on the American squad that will travel to the IAAF World Cup in Madrid, Spain, on Sept. 21-22. The team is also slated to compete in a dual meet against Great Britain this summer.
ESPN2 will televise a 1 1/2-hour highlight package of the 2002 USATF meet, airing on June 23 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. ET. To obtain more information on the meet, such as a schedule of events, names of entrants or results, please access http://www.usatf.org/events/2002/USAOutdoorChampionships.
