MADISON, Wis. — Rankin is a relative newcomer to retriever trials, but the 3-year-old yellow Labrador retriever played the part of a cagey veteran in Tuesday's retriever trials preliminary round of the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

Rankin and handler Stacey West of Louisburg, N.C., posted the lowest score in the preliminary round, 38 points, to take the top seed for Wednesday's semifinal round at Milford Hills Hunt Club near Madison, Wis.

"She's still a young dog with a lot ahead of her," West said. "She lined up on every bird, and all I had to do was make fine adjustments." In the retriever trials competition at the Great Outdoor Games, dog-handler teams are awarded points based on imperfections during the dog's run over the course. As with golf, a lower score is better.

"We had a couple of spots where I had to trust her on that blind [retrieve]," West said. "But she did what she was supposed to do." Rankin, owned by Dave and Beverly Garcia of Duluth, Ga., was asked to retrieve a decoy without having seen it fall and marking its location. In blind retrieves, the dogs rely entirely on handlers' hand gestures and whistled signals.

Chris Akin of Jonesboro, Ark., and Boomer, last year's gold medal team at the Great Outdoor Games retriever trials, narrowly made it into Wednesday's semifinal, finishing in the eighth and final qualifying spot.

"We get to play, and that's the main thing," Akin said. "But I don't have much confidence after what I saw today. He didn't handle nearly as well as he usually does." Akin said Boomer's nerves may have contributed to the team's showing on Tuesday.

"He was just all jacked up and excited," Akin said. "After winning the gold medal last year, we've had a little pressure on us. But we're going to go and have a little discussion and see what we can come back and do tomorrow." A Great Outdoor Games legacy was in action Tuesday, when Jerry Day of College Park, Ga., a two-time medalist with Super Sue, put Super Sue's daughter, 6-year-old Nike, through the Milford Hills course and ended up in third place heading into round two.

Super Sue, who will turn 13 years old on Wednesday, took the Great Outdoor Games gold medal in 2001 and the silver in 2002. Nike, whose registered name is "Sue Says Just Do It," is following in her mother's footsteps after qualifying in the Super Retriever Series.

"We've already asked for a birthday present," Day said. "A gold medal."

Competition resumes at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, when both the semifinal and final rounds will be held.

Admission to the Great Outdoor Games is free. The Games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC from July 14 through July 19.

Retriever Trials - Quarterfinal Results

1. Rankin/Stacey West, Louisburg, N.C., 38
2. Abby/Keith Allison, Pea Ridge, Ark., 49
3. Nike/Jerry Day, College Park, Ga., 61
4. Achilles/J. Paul Jackson, Dyersburg, Tenn., 71
5. Stella/Derek Randle, Prairie Grove, Ark., 73
6. Liza/Scott Greer, Friendship, Tenn., 76
7. Boomer/Chris Akin, Jonesboro, Ark., 86
8. Ready/Alex Washburn, Oxford, Miss., 88
9. Marley/Mike Shanahan, Madison, Wis., 89
10. Windy/David Opseth, Culpepper, Va., 109
11. Abby/Chris Akin, Jonesboro, Ark., 111
12. Cody/Bill Autrey, Bemidji, Minn., 174