Midwest Collegiate Conference

St. Ambrose Freshman John Darmody Places 3rd at USATF Junior Olympics National Championships

Posted by Brian Thiessen - Mon, Jul 28, 2008 - [ Men's Track & Field ] - Viewed 435 times

St. Ambrose University incoming freshman John Darmody finished third in the 1500-meter run at the USATF Junior Olympics National Championships recently. He ran a lifetime best time of 4:03.17 in the event. It was one of two top-10 finishes for Darmody.

"We knew John would be somebody that could come in and have an immediate impact," SAU track and field coach Dan Tomlin said. "Now he's shown he can run with the top athletes in the country. It's the kind of experience that is invaluable, and will raise expectations for not only him but the rest of the team as well."

Darmody, from Seattle, Wash., also took ninth place at the Junior Olympics National Championships in the 5000-meter run with a time of 16:08.32. He will compete for both the Fighting Bees track and cross country teams.

"It's a good springboard for John into the cross country season," Tomlin said. "He's been improving by leaps and bounds over the past few months."

Darmody was named to the Seattle Post All-Metro first team and the Seattle Times All-Metro first team while at O'Dea High School.

This past season, SAU sophomore Cliff Miles set the Midwest Collegiate Conference record in the 1500-meter run with 4:07.10 as the Bees won their seventh Midwest Collegiate Conference Outdoor Championship.