July 20, 2000

Sacramento, Calif. - University of Missouri all-American Derrick Peterson advanced to tomorrow's semi-finals in the men's 800 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif., as he easily won his opening-round heat tonight with a time of 1:48.90. He defeated Lubert Lewis of the Syracuse Chargers by nearly a half-second. Lewis came across the line second in 1:49.33.

Peterson's winning effort placed him fifth overall of the 16 athletes who advanced to Friday's semi-finals. He is seeded number three in the first of two heats tomorrow, and is scheduled to run at 10:35 p.m. central time. The top four in each of the two heats will advance to Sunday's finals, which are set for 7:00 p.m. central. Sunday's finals are scheduled to be carried live on NBC, and the top three finishers will qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games, to be held in Sydney, Australia.

Senior-to-be Ashley Wysong finished third in the first of five heats of the women's 800 meters tonight, with a time of 2:04.97. She finished just one-tenth of a second behind heat winner Priscilla Hein (1st -- 2:04.87) and just seven-hundredths behind Nicole Teeter of the Sacramento Track Club (2nd -- 2:04.90).

Wysong did not advance to tomorrow's semi-finals despite her close finish, as the top two in each heat, plus the next six fastest overall times advanced. Wysong's time left her 22nd overall in the field of 36 competitors, and only the top 16 advanced. The final qualifer was Alisa Harvey, who was 16th with a time of 2:04.62.