Recent Penn graduate Sam Burley advanced to the finals of the 800 meters at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif., while Penn junior Brian Chaput placed first in the preliminary round of the javelin, thereby advancing to the finals.
Burley's time in the preliminaries on Wednesday was 1:46.94, which placed fifth. In the semifinals on Thursday, Burley's 1:47.46 placed fourth. The 800m finals will be on Saturday.
Chaput's javelin throw of 75.74 meters was 2.74 meters further than that of the second place finisher, Boise State senior Rob Minnitti. His 75.74m throw set a new Penn and Ivy League record in the event. He is the top seed entering the javelin final, which is scheduled for Friday.
Recent Penn graduate Julie Siebert-Johnson did not qualify for the semifinals of javelin. In the preliminary round, her throw of 44.83m placed 18th.
The lowest throw of those who qualified was 47.32m, by Georgia freshman Krista Woodward. Her career at Penn included two Heptagonal javelin titles and an ECAC title.
Last year, All-American Burley placed second overall in the 800m and in 2001 he placed third overall.
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