Former SFU Cross Country Star Heading to 2008 Summer Olympics

LORETTO, Pa. (Nov. 5, 2007) – Former Saint Francis University standout cross country runner Brian Sell produced the sixth fastest time in U.S. men’s Marathon Olympic Trials history to finish third and grab the final marathon spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held August 8-24, 2008, in Beijing, China.

Sell, who graduated from Saint Francis in 2001, finished the race in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 40 seconds. He beat out 131 other runners who qualified for the trials.

Sell was the first of five Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project runners to finish in the top 20 at the marathon. Hansons-Brooks qualified 13 runners for the event. To compete in the Olympic Team Trials, runners had to qualify with a marathon time of 2:22 or better. Sell qualified with a personal-best time of 2:10:47 at the Chicago Marathon, where he finished sixth overall.

He will join fellow Olympic teammates Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenhein in Beijing in August 2008.