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UD alumni compete in Olympic trials

Caltha Seymour throws the hammer during training for the Olympic trials.
10:14 a.m., July 16, 2004--Two recent UD alumni, Caltha Seymour, CHEP ’00, and Mike DiGennaro, AS ’00, recently competed in trials for the American and Canadian Olympic teams. Both turned in strong performances.

Seymour has qualified for the final Canadian Olympic trials. She finished eighth in a field of 15 competitors in the women’s hammer throw at the Canadian Track and Field Championships and Olympic semifinal trials held July 9-11 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“They took eight people for the finals, and I was in the eighth spot,” Seymour said.

A native of Ontario, Canada, Seymour lived in Hockessin and attended A.I. du Pont High School before coming to UD. She was graduated with a degree in education from UD.

“I wasn’t a track athlete in high school. Actually, I was a soccer player,” Seymour said. “Somebody suggested that I talk to UD track and field coaches Jim Fischer and Larry Pratt, and they convinced me that I could do it.”

After graduating from UD, Seymour temporarily abandoned her track and field career, but after moving to San Francisco and meeting members of the Elite American Hammer Throwers, she began throwing again.

“In the spring of 2003, I began full-time training and surpassed what I had achieved at UD,” Seymour said. “I qualified for the 2003 Canadian Track and Field championships, where I placed 15th. Now, a year later, after full-time training, I qualified for the Olympic trials.”

The first half of 2004 has been a busy time for Seymour, as she placed fifth in the Cardinal Qualifier on April 30 and took first place in both the Sacramento State Open on May 8 and the Moffet Field Invitational on May 16. Other achievements include second place in the Victoria International Track Classic, third place in the Jamaica Nationals on June 26, first place at the Kelowna Track and Field Championships on July 4 and eighth place at the Canadian Track and Field Championships and Olympic Trials on July 9.

Seymour currently works as an academic coach for the National Football Foundation’s “Play It Smart” program in San Francisco.

Mike DiGennaro placed 15th among a 24-contestant field in the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinals competition on July 12 at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Track and Field Competition in Sacramento, Cal. The top fourteen qualified for the finals.

While at UD, DiGennaro lettered four years on the cross country team (1997-2000), and three years each in indoor and outdoor track (1998-2000). He holds the best cross country time ever by a UD runner and third-best time overall at UD’s White Clay Creek State Park cross country course, with a time of 25:19:24 in 2000.

DiGennaro also holds UD records in the indoor 3,000-meters (8:21:54) and the outdoors 3,000 (9:00:42), as well as the distance-medley relay. As a member of the indoor track and field team, DiGennaro won the America East Conference 5,000-meter title and was second in the 3,000-meters in 2000, leading UD to a second-place team finish.

“I really didn’t develop as a runner until my later years,” DiGennaro said. “Getting to the trials was a big thing for me. I trained for three or four years to get there.

On Sept. 23, 2000, DiGennaro set a new UD men’s cross record in the five-mile run with a time of 24:57 to finish 22nd overall at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis.

Athletic honors at UD for DiGennaro included the Alumni Association Team MVP Award, Lehigh Invitational Champion and the Wilmington Trust Best of the Blue Hens Athlete of the Week (Sept. 9, 2000), Delaware Invitational No. 2 Champion, Top 10 America East Championship Finisher (third overall) and Top NCAA District II Finisher (20th). In 2000, he was the first UD runner ever to win the IC4A Championship.

“He started out as being an average high school athlete. He worked hard and developed into an outstanding athlete,” Fischer said. “By competing in the Olympic trials, he has made a huge jump and has put himself in the national spotlight. This represents a lot of hard work on his part. I’m sure you will be hearing from him in the future.”

Article by Jerry Rhodes

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