Jul 6, 2008

Local Briefs: St. Francis grad Chisam 15th in trials decathlon

FROM DAILY NEWS DISPATCHES

Matt Chisam, a 2000 graduate of St. Francis High School in Mountain View, finished 15th in the decathlon at the U.S. Olympic Team's track and field trials Monday in Eugene, Ore. He entered the competition ranked 19th of 20 competitors.

Chisam, who had not been in a championship-type meet since his freshman year at UC Davis, found himself competing in front of more than 20,000 on Day 2 of the decathlon. He placed second in the pole vault (16-8), won a heat race in the hurdles and was among the top seven the shot put, discus and 1,500 meters. He beat one of the top decathlon athletes in the nation, Bryan Clay, in the pole vault and 1,500.

Chisam will return to Harvard, where he is an assistant track coach.



Rowers fall in Royal Regatta semis

The Stanford freshman eight's thrilling run through the Henley Royal Regatta's Temple Cup draw came to an end Saturday as the Cardinal was defeated by two lengths in its semifinal race against Trinity College at Henley-on-Thames, England.

Despite the setback, the frosh eight completed a successful debut run at the Henley Royal Regatta, getting a taste of competing internationally and rowing in front of crowds of more than 20,000.

"It was a tough way to end the regatta, but the guys showed tremendous growth here in England," Stanford frosh coach Pete Giese said. "To make it to the semifinals of such a great international race is really an honor and a testament to the hard work these young men put in all year."

Trinity, of Hartford, Conn., clocked a winning time of 7:25 to advance to today's final against the University of Western Ontario. Times were slowed all day as the boats had to battle strong headwinds up to 40 mph.

Seventy-five boats boats entered the Temple Cup and Stanford made it to the final four of the draw, defeating boats from South Africa and England in the first two rounds, then scoring a memorable quarterfinal victory over previously unbeaten Cornell, the defending varsity lightweight national champion, on Independence Day.

The Stanford frosh eight lineup: Miguel Sugay (cox), Tommy Mina (stroke), 7. Tyler Scott, 6. Sebastian Peterlin, 5. Alex Syverson, 4. David Evans, 3. Dane McFadden, 2. Dixon Bross and 1. Austin Keely.