May 26, 2008

Aiming for the Olympics

Javelin, discus record holders use San Mateo event as tuneup for Beijing trials

By Vytas Mazeika / Daily News Staff Writer

For a select few, College of San Mateo served as a pit stop Sunday on the long journey to China.

"For me, it feels like an Olympic year," said Stephanie Brown Trafton, who owns the world's best discus throw this year. "It's another opportunity to make the Olympic team and wear the USA uniform."

At the USA Track and Field/Pacific Association Championship hosted by CSM, Brown Trafton tossed the discus 203 feet 6 inches, outdistancing herself from the field by more than 30 feet. Her best effort on Sunday afternoon was shy of the 217-1 mark that leads the world.

"This meet, I was glad to come out and just come here and see the beautiful view," Brown Trafton said. "It's a great place to throw. It's laid-back for me, and I like to just go with the flow."

The 28-year-old made a breakthrough during the last Olympic year, finishing as the runner-up at the 2004 U.S. Olympic trials. A Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo product, Brown Trafton was a three-time Big West champion after winning both the shot put and discus CIF titles as a senior in high school.

At 6 foot 4, she chose Cal Poly to pursue an engineering degree while playing basketball and competing in track and field. After her freshman year, the athletic focus shifted entirely to track and field.

Today, the focus is on the upcoming U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., June 27-July 6. Brown Trafton will compete later this week at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York, then again June 8 at the Nike Prefontaine Classic at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.

After that it's two weeks off in preparation for the Olympic trials.

"Right now it's a mental game with me and my competitors," Brown Trafton said. "We have the physical strength and the ability to throw far. We just need to come mentally prepared to the track meet."

Women's javelin

Two years ago, Kim Kreiner set an American record in the women's javelin throw in the first major meet at CSM's modernized track and field facility.

There was no such feat Sunday, as Kreiner is still recovering from Tommy John surgery she underwent about 10 months ago on her right elbow. Not that the 31-year-old uses her throwing elbow, which is at about 75 percent, as an excuse.

"I'm always my hardest critic," said Kreiner, whose screams of frustration carried farther than her javelin. "I set really high goals for myself, and I'm pretty upset when I don't get them. I have to push myself as hard as I can."

An Ohio native who now trains in Fresno, Kreiner's best effort of 183 feet topped the three female competitors, which included second-place finisher Kelly Young (129-6), a freshman at CSM who went to Capuchino High.

At the Mondo runway, the same kind recently installed in Eugene for the Olympic trials, Kreiner first set the American record with a throw of 203-10 two years ago. The marks still ranks as the second longest ever by an American on U.S. soil. Kreiner improved that mark to 210-7 last year in Fortaleza, Brazil.

She hopes to be at 90 percent by the trials, and she has one more small tune-up meet in Los Angeles to get her timing down. There will also be plenty of training on her own, which is why she left Ohio for California.

"This bright yellow thing in the sky works way more often," Kreiner said.



In other events

The men's 110-meter high hurdles took place twice, though only once officially. The first attempt was disastrous, with only two competitors crossing the finish line - former Cal star Tim Bogdanof won with a time of 14.15.

The second race was much more competitive, with Arend Watkins of San Jose, who was ranked No. 2 in the world earlier this year at 13.41, unofficially beating out Bogdanof, 13.94 to 14.24.

Another ex-Cal standout, Giliat Ghebray, came in second in the 1,500 run. Ben Muller, a Scotts Valley product who runs for West Valley College in Saratoga, won both the 400 dash (48.44) and 400 hurdles (55.09).



E-mail Vytas Mazeika at mazeika@dailynewsgroup.com.