Kim Conley Finishes 4th in the 5,000 Meters at USA Nationals
Kim Conley at the SacTown 10 (Photo by Sean Dulany/Freeplay Magazine)
By John Schumacher
Olympian Kim Conley, a former UC Davis standout who competes for the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, finished fourth Sunday in the women’s 5,000 meters at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines.
Conley’s 15 minute, 37.80-second effort left her just behind winner Jenny Simpson (15:33.77), runner-up Molly Huddle (15:35.45) and third-place finisher Shannon Rowbury (15:37.27). Former Davis High School standout Chelsea Reilly finished fifth in 15:38.50.
A top-three finish would have earned Conley an automatic berth in the World Championships on Aug. 10-18 in Moscow. But Conley, who owns a 15:09.57 best, would still make the World team if Simpson sticks to her plan of skipping the 5,000 and defending her world title in the 1,500.
Simpson also does not have a World qualifying time in the 5,000.
Conley delivered a dramatic kick in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials to finish third and earn a trip to the Olympics, where she recorded a then personal-best 15:14.48 to finish 12th in her heat.
She followed up her Olympic effort by finishing second in the U.S. Cross Country Championships and competing in the World Cross Country Championships in Poland.
Lea Wallace, a former Sacramento State star and Conley’s teammate on the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, reached the semifinals of the women’s 800 meters on Friday but did not reach the final after a 2:01.28 effort.