Jimmy O'Brien earns All-America honors in 800-meter dash for third consecutive time
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Jimmy O'Brien
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By Zach Stipe
ADA — Junior Jimmy O'Brien finished third, earning All-America honors for the third time in his career, in the 800-meter dash finals of the NCAA Division IIi Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday afternoon at the ONU Sports Center.
O'Brien finished in 1:52.84, his second-fastest time of the season.
Peter Kosgei of Hamilton (N.Y.) won the race in a NCAA season-best time of 1:51.97. He also won the 1-mile run earlier Saturday afternoon.
Matt Kramer of Wisconsin-Superior was second in 1:52.70 and Nick Stenuf of Nazareth (Pa.) was fourth in 1:52.85.
O'Brien was gunning for his third consecutive national championship in the event, as he swept the indoor and outdoor titles as a sophomore in 2007.
"I'm disappointed that I didn't win, but I am happy with my run," O'Brien said. "It was a fast race and I think that took my kick away a bit. I ran as hard as I could, but it just wasn't quite good enough today. It was anice having the home fans cheering for me - that was special."
O'Brien won his preliminary heat on Friday in 1:56.06 to reach the finals.
Also on Friday, ONU senior Ryan Robertson earned All-America honors with a third place finish in the long jump with a leap of 23 feet, four inches.