Ellsworth’s Luchini set to take major stride to Olympic berth

SACRAMENTO – Former Maine high school stars Louie Luchini and Matt Lane can take a few more strides toward realizing their Olympic dreams in the semifinals of the men’s 5-kilometer run tonight at the U.S. Olympic team trials at the Spanos Sports Complex at California State University.

The semifinals start at 11:45 p.m.

Luchini and Lane will be bidding for spots in Friday’s final. The top four finishers in each semifinal, and the next six fastest finishers from both heats, qualify for the final. Heat assignments were to be finalized late Sunday night.

Ellsworth’s Luchini just completed his senior year at Stanford University, where he was an 11-time All-American and the NCAA runner-up in the 5K in 2003. Yarmouth’s Lane, who lives in Palo Alto, Calif., and runs for Nike, is competing in his second Olympic trials. He was fourth in the 5K in the 2000 trials.

It will be a pressure-packed environment, as years of hard work on the part of all the competitors is condensed into 12 laps around the track. But conditions should be fine for distance running, with the late evening start allowing for cooler temperatures. About 20,000 spectators are expected at the event.

With the fifth and sixth fastest times heading into the heats, Luchini (13.25.19) and Lane (13:27.06) are among the favorites to advance. The semi-final rounds are usually tactical, with runners keeping some energy in reserve for the all-important final. The top three finishers in the final (if they have achieved the Olympic A standard of 13:21.50) will be named to the Olympic team.

Only two Americans – Meb Keflezighi (13:20.50) and Jonathon Riley (13:21.11) – have achieved the A standard. Keflezighi is unlikely to contest the 5K, having won the 10K run on Friday. Keflezighi has also qualified for the Olympic Marathon team and is most likely to compete in that event in Athens.

Besides Riley, only Abdi Abdiraham (13:23.25) and Jorge Torres (13:24.17) have faster qualifying times than Luchini and Lane. Abdiraham finished second in Friday’s 10K run so has already made the Olympic team in that event.

Lane is relatively confident of his form heading into the race, having run 13:31.14 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., on June 19. Luchini, who has been nursing a sore Achilles over most of the year, has taken a low-key approach to training and racing after a disappointing fourth-place finish (14:16.44) at the NCAA championships on June 12.