Contributed
(June 26, 2010)

Huntingdon sophomore cross country runner Rachael Phillips has qualified for the 10 kilometer Racewalk event at the United States Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held at the home of the Drake Relays, historic Drake Stadium, from June 23-27.

Phillips, who qualified earlier this week in Webster-Thomas, N.Y., will compete with 11 other qualifiers on Saturday at 9 a.m. Phillips will be competing to be selected to the U.S. Junior National Racewalk team, which will face the Canadian Junior team in a dual meet next month in Ottawa, Canada, and coached by Huntingdon cross country head coach Nate Rucker.

During the past two weeks, Phillips competed in three events, one in Albany, N.Y. and another in Toronto, in an effort to meet the qualifying time to compete at the USATF Championships. The Lyndonville, N.Y. native, was able to race a 3K qualifying time of 16:11.7 in the final meet to qualify, despite having won the previous events.

Race walking is an event contested in all levels of the sport of track and field, from youth athletics up to and including the Olympic Games. A technically demanding event, race walking is continuing to grow in popularity across all age groups for its fitness and competitive aspects.

Race walking differs from running in that it requires the competitor to maintain contact with the ground and straighten their front knee when the foot makes contact with the ground, keeping it straightened until the knee passes under the body. Judges evaluate the technique of race walkers and report fouls which may lead to disqualification. All judging is done by the eye of the judge and no outside technology is used in making judging decisions.