Two recent UD alumni, Caltha Seymour, CHEP ’00, and Mike DiGennaro, AS ’00, competed in trials for the American and Canadian Olympic teams. Both turned in strong performances although neither traveled to the 2004 games in Athens.

Seymour qualified for the final Canadian Olympic trials. She finished eighth in a field of 15 competitors in the women’s hammer throw at the Canadian Track and Field Championships and Olympic semifinal trials held July 9-11 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“They took eight people for the finals, and I was in the eighth spot,” Seymour said.

A native of Ontario, Canada, Seymour lived in Hockessin and attended A.I. du Pont High School before coming to UD. She graduated with a degree in education from UD.

“I wasn’t a track athlete in high school. Actually, I was a soccer player,” Seymour said. “Somebody suggested that I talk to UD track and field coaches Jim Fischer and Larry Pratt, and they convinced me that I could do it.”

After graduating from UD, Seymour temporarily abandoned her track and field career, but after moving to San Francisco and meeting members of the Elite American Hammer Throwers, she began throwing again.

“In the spring of 2003, I began full-time training and surpassed what I had achieved at UD,” Seymour said. “I qualified for the 2003 Canadian Track and Field championships, where I placed 15th. Now, a year later, after full-time training, I qualified for the Olympic trials.”

The first half of 2004 was a busy time for Seymour, as she placed fifth in the Cardinal Qualifier on April 30 and took first place in both the Sacramento State Open on May 8 and the Moffet Field Invitational on May 16. Other achievements include second place in the Victoria International Track Classic, third place in the Jamaica Nationals on June 26, first place at the Kelowna Track and Field Championships on July 4 and eighth place at the Canadian Track and Field Championships and Olympic Trials on July 9.

Seymour currently works as an academic coach for the National Football Foundation’s “Play It Smart” program in San Francisco.

Mike DiGennaro placed 15th among a 24-contestant field in the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinals competition on July 12 at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Track and Field Competition in Sacramento, Calif. The top 14 qualified for the finals.

While at UD, DiGennaro lettered four years on the cross country team (1997-2000), and three years each in indoor and outdoor track (1998-2000). He holds the best cross country time ever by a UD runner and third-best time overall at UD’s White Clay Creek State Park cross country course, with a time of 25:19:24 in 2000.