Carson, Calif. – Olympic silver medalist Matt Hemingway claimed his first U.S. outdoor title in the high jump and Carbondale’s Carrie Messner earned a chance to make history in the steeplechase Sunday at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Hemingway, a longtime Colorado resident and Buena Vista High School graduate who moved to Manhattan, Kan., last winter to be near coach Cliff Rovelto, jumped 7 feet, 5 1/4 inches to make his second U.S. world championships team. Hemingway finished 12th at the 2003 world championships.
Messner, a graduate of Mullen High School and the University of Colorado, finished third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9 minutes, 41.37 seconds. Women’s steeplechase will make its world championships debut this summer.
“We want to show up and establish ourselves as one of the top countries in the world and put steeplechase on the map,” said Messner, 28. “It’s still not even assured in the next Olympics. We’re not going to get this event on the map if we don’t get out and prove we’re the best at it.”
Hemingway, 32, was one of four men who leaped 7-5 1/4, but he won on fewest misses. He passed on his last attempt at the next height (7-6 1/2) because he tweaked an ankle earlier.
“I felt pretty good,” said Hemingway, who leaped 7-8 to win his Olympic medal in Athens. “I felt like I was ready to jump really high, but on my second jump at (7-3 1/4), I put my foot down a little sideways. I didn’t twist it, but it just felt a little like I wanted to back off – just get it done, be smart.
“I knew I’d won, and that’s all I needed to do. Even old guys like me can learn now and then.”
Hemingway, who won a U.S. indoor title in 2000, said he felt a “healthy nervousness” before the meet for the first time this season.
“We made a lot of adjustments in the last week and a half,” Hemingway said. “I was slowing down so much in the last three steps that I just couldn’t make it happen. I was having to slow down and almost stop.”
Jamie Nieto of San Diego, who won the past two outdoor titles and finished fourth in Athens, finished fifth at 7-3 1/4. He has a chance of making the world championships team because two men who finished ahead of him – Jesse Williams and Keith Moffatt – have not achieved the world championships “A” standard (7-6 1/2). They have until July 25 to get it.
“I’ve been feeling like I needed more quality competitions and more opportunities to get my approach down,” Nieto said. “This year in the U.S they didn’t have a lot of competitions for high jump, so I had to go to Europe. I got a couple quality ones in, but I didn’t feel like I got enough.”
Messner is the second athlete with local ties to make the world championships team in the steeplechase. Former CU runner Steve Slattery of Boulder made the team Saturday.
Messner ran the 1,500 in an injury-plagued career at CU and took a year off after graduating in 2000. She was qualified to run the 5,000 meters here but wanted to focus on the steeplechase, an event that intrigues her with its barriers and water jumps.
“I really wanted to try a new event,” Messner said. “I’ve always been very athletic, and my coach, Bobby McGee, always felt I had the build for it. It’s been a great change from the 1,500 in college. It’s been great, a lot of fun.”
Sometimes it’s been ugly, too. Messner’s technique over the barriers needs a little work.
“I was going to be happy even if I fell down today, just to have this finally be a world event,” Messner said. “I still have a lot of technique work to put in.”
Justin Gatlin won the men’s 200 in 20.04 seconds, becoming the first man to win the 100 and 200 at the outdoor championships since Kirk Baptiste in 1985. Kerron Clement, who turned pro last month after completing his sophomore season at the University of Florida, ran the fastest 400-meter hurdles time (47.24 seconds) since 1998.
John Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com.
