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O'Connell Earns Spot on USA National Team
Harrelson, Sallins fail to qualify
June 21, 2003

PALO ALTO, CA - Virginia Tech assistant coach Dee O'Connell finished third in Friday night's javelin final at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships to qualify for the U.S. National Team which will participate in the World Championships later this summer in Paris, France. Two other members of the Tech coaching staff, Melinda Sallins and Mary Jayne Harrelson, came up short in the finals of their respective events Saturday afternoon and failed to qualify for the national team.

The event was held at Cobb Track and Angell Field on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The competition featured the top track & field athletes in the nation. The top three finishers in each event qualify for the USA Team which will participate in the World Championships, Aug. 23-31 in Paris, France.

O'Connell, a 2002 All-American, had a throw of 53.38m on her first attempt Friday which proved good enough for third in the event. The Tech standout broke her own school record five times during the 2002 season and set the BIG EAST standard with a career-best 174'02.00 performance at the 2002 BIG EAST Track & Field Championships. O'Connell won the Atlantic 10 championship in the javelin as both a freshman and sophomore and has the top six all-time performances in the event at Virginia Tech. She was fifth in the javelin at the 2002 USA Championships.

Melinda Sallins, a Tech assistant coach, placed third in her 400m hurdles heat on Friday with a time of 56.40 to advance to Saturday afternoon's final. However, despite running her best time in the event, she finished fifth in the final in 56.24. Sallins was third in her 400m hurdles preliminary on Thursday afternoon in 57.37. She was a three-time Missouri Valley Conference champion and a two-time All-American. She finished fifth in the event at the 2002 USA Championships.

Tech assistant coach Mary Jayne Harrelson placed second in Thursday's 1500 Meter event with a time of 4:13.97 to advance to the Saturday afternoon final. In the final, she finished sixth in 4:14.15. Harrelson, was a six-time All-American and won two NCAA 1,500m titles while attending Appalachian State. She recorded the fastest time of any collegian in the 800m in 2001 and finished sixth in the event at the 2000 Olympic Trials. Harrelson finished fifth in the 800m at the 2002 USA Championships.

USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships results may be obtained at .www.usatf.org.