June 22, 2012
EUGENE, Ore. - The storied NCAA career of Chris Derrick has come to an end, but Friday night he looked to make his first Olympic Team. Derrick battled seasoned professionals, but in the end fell just short, placing fourth, when only the top three advanced to London.
Derrick ran a patient race, moving up through the field and joining the leaders as the race began to take form. Galen Rupp and Dathan Ritzenheih, teammates for Nike, traded pacing duties to keep the tempo honest. Ritzenheim needed the `A' Standard of 27:45.00 so the teammates made sure the pace was under that time.
Derrick continued his push as the lead pack became just five, but could not hang with the top three over the final mile. The 2012 Stanford graduate instead settled for fourth in 27:40.23, just nine seconds off his personal best and America Collegiate Record.
Derrick finished one spot out of the 10,000-meter team, but still has a shot at advancing to the Olympics as he will also run the 5,000 meters next week.
Jake Riley also competed in the 10,000, finishing 13th with a time of 28:08.36. Riley who trains with Derrick now runs for Hansons-Brooks Distance Project. He was a three-time All-American in the 10,000 at Stanford and like Derrick has a bright professional career ahead of him.
The other Stanford competitor on Friday was Kori Carter in the 100-meter hurdles. Carter placed sixth in her heat with a time of 13.47 and will not advance to the next round. Carter is coming off her sophomore year at Stanford and was one of the youngest athletes in the event. She should be back in four years as a force to be reckoned with.
The Olympic Trials will continue from Hayward Field on Saturday as Erica McLain will compete in the triple jump. The 2008 Olympian will look to get through the qualifying rounds and earn a spot in the final on Monday.