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ROCK WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, June 24th, 2006 -- 9:13 pm
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
Stratford-native and former UW-La Crosse star Andrew Rock added more hardware to his already amazing collection Saturday.
Running in front of 8,000 fans at Michael A. Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, Andrew Rock, 24, tracked down LaShawn Merritt in the 400-meter finals to win the title of U.S. Outdoor Champion.
"The U.S. 400 is pretty strong, 10 or 12 people are capable of running below 45. It was kind of my goal coming in. I had to run some good, consistent times," Rock said. "It feels good to be a U.S. champion."
Rock is known as a strong closer, but he knew he had to improve on his starts. On Saturday, he put together a complete race, turning in a time of 44.4-seconds -- the second fastest quarter-mile of his career.
"I felt like I had to be in it at the start in order to finish strong with 100 to go. I knew with five meters to go we were right next to each other, and I was going to have to push it to pull it off," Rock said.
"When I crossed the line, I thought I had won, but I had to look up at the score board. It is never easy, the quality of the field is amazing."
Rock is the reigning World silver medalist in the event and won Olympic Gold in 2004 as a member of the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team.
Rock moves to fourth in the Visa Championship Standings with 1,216 points.
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