Cordes, Festa Advance in Steeplechase
July 13, 2004 | Men's Track & Field
Former Badgers Jared Cordes and Isaiah Festa advanced to the finals of the 3000-meter steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials on Monday.
Both runners finished third in their respective heats to automatically advance. Cordes finished third in the second heat in a personal best of 8 minutes, 30.01 seconds. His heat was won by Nike's Daniel Lincoln in 8:26.57. Festa was the third-place finisher in the first heat in 8:30.89. Festa's heat was won by Anthony Famiglietti, running for adidas, in 8:26.51.
Cordes and Festa, who compete with Wisconsin Runner Racing Team, have the fifth and sixth fastest qualifying times, respectively, heading into Thursday 's final at 8:45 PDT.
Cordes, a native of Roann, Ind., was a four-time All-American and two-time All-Big Ten selection in track and cross country for the Badgers.
Festa, from Los Osos, Calif., was a four-time All-American in track and cross country at Wisconsin. He was a four-time Big Ten champion including two titles in the steeplechase.
