Nike Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Wolfe named All-American in Nike Nationals

Aislinn Ryan, Warwick girls’ distance medley relay also earn All-American status

By RICHARD A. ROSS

GREENSBORO, NC — Travis Wolfe of Tri-Valley is an All American. He is the sixth Tri-Valley athlete earning that elite designation.

Placing fifth in the 3000 steeplechase at the Nike Outdoor Track and Field National Championships held at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College on June 18, Wolfe earned All-American status as one of the top six finishers. Wolfe posted a time of 6:04.24, which broke the 6:12.2 school record set by Chip Furman in 1991. Cory Thorne of Portsmouth, NH won this year’s national title with a time of 5:49.11.

Wolfe will compete in the 3000 steeplechase on June 25 at the USATF Junior Nationals in Carson, CA at 3:00 p.m. The race will include the best high school and college freshmen participants with the top two finishers making the Pan Am team.

Warwick’s Aislinn Ryan bested longtime rival Nicole Blood but finished second in the two-mile run at the Nike Nationals. Ryan’s time of 10:20.02, a junior-class state record, bested the old mark by five seconds.

Elizabeth Yeltzer of Lakeville, Minnesota won the race with the nation’s best time of 10:15.26 seconds, improving her Minnesota state record, which she set one week ago. Blood came in seventh with a time of 10:32.72.

Warwick’s distance medley relay also earned All-American status with their fourth place finish. Amanda Robotti, Jaclyn Young, Melissa Mark and Aislinn Ryan turned in a time of 11:55.36 seconds. The Newburgh Elite Track Club, comprised of Sam Stubbs, Ed Jackson, Jarrel Warren and John Bowden, took fifth in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:19.97. The event was won by Maryland’s DeMatha High School with a time of 3:13.53. Saratoga Springs’ Lindsey Ferguson set a national record in the 2000-meter steeplechase with a time of 6:39.60.

Other Tri-Valley athletes earning All-American status through the years include Kate Landau, cross-country, indoor track and outdoor track; Heather Iatauro, indoor track and outdoor track; Kristian Agnew, indoor track; Chip Furman, cross-country and outdoor track; and Joseph Iatauro for indoor track.