SACRAMENTO “”mdash; He may have been competing with the
nation’s best, but UCLA sprinter Craig Everhart’s
400-meter quarterfinal performance on Sunday at the U.S. Olympic
Trials was just another road stop on the pursuit to fulfill a goal.
“I came here on a mission to make the Olympic Team,”
Everhart said after his race. “I”˜m going to have to run
faster next round, but I’m ready to. “I’ve been
training really hard and I’m ready.” By winning his
heat, Everhart qualified for the today’s semifinals. He ran
45.46 seconds, fifth overall out of 28 competitors. But for
Everhart, the competition in front of 22,107 fans and millions of
television viewers has not offered the type of pressure he
expected. “It feels like another track meet,” he said.
“But it’s not just another track meet.” Everhart
will proceed to the semifinals today and should he be in the top
nine, he will go on to Thursday’s final.
HEARTBREAK FOR ARMON: After qualifying for the 12-man finals in
the long jump, former UCLA track and field athlete Juaune Armon
failed to make it into the top three. As a result he will now be
unable to earn a trip to the upcoming Olympics. “I’m
disappointed because the third person had a mark I could have
gotten,” Armon said. While his personal best rests at
26-feet, three inches, Armon best’s outing on Sunday stood at
25-3.25, almost a foot shorter than his best, thus putting him
eighth overall. Though he didn’t want to make excuses, Armon
cited problems with an extended waiting and warm-up period. Also a
possible contributing factor was an injured left hamstring which
prevented him from practicing the last week and a half. But for
Armon, the majority of the season has been burdened with minor
injuries. After having an All-American performance at the NCAA
Indoor Championships, Armon was never able to fully recover from
back and leg injuries and was unable to fulfill the potential
tapped in 2003. For now, he will return to Los Angeles, where he
will continue to train and pursue track and field. There may be
even a possibility that he will continue at UCLA as a graduate
assistant. “It’s an honor to be here at the
finals,” Armon said. “Standing next to some of the guys
is amazing. “But I don’t want to be only barely making
the finals. I’ll keep working and hopefully be back here next
year.”