SACRAMENTO, CALIF. ? Former Kansas University distance runner Charlie Gruber placed fourth in his heat of the 1,500-meter run Thursday at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.
Gruber, a volunteer assistant on the Jayhawks’ track team last season, was timed in 3 minutes, 42.59 seconds, 11th-best overall. The top six runners in each heat and the next six fastest advanced into today’s 9:40 p.m. CDT semifinals.
Former Jayhawk Lester Smith didn’t have a result in the triple-jump qualifying, finishing with three fouls.
Baldwin High product Eric Brown, now at Arkansas, didn’t qualify in the javelin throw. His best throw of 218 feet, 7 inches left him in 19th place. The top 12 throwers advanced.
Also Thursday, Marion Jones won the long jump with a distance of 23-4, the second-longest jump in the world this year. She surpassed 22 feet six times while qualifying for the Athens Games.