One and a half seconds.

It's an instant, a facet of time that, on its own, doesn't allow for much to be accomplished. But in the world of national-level track, one and a half seconds is the difference between going to the Olympics and going home.

Monique Henderson, a senior-to-be at Morse High in San Diego, Calif., turned in a stellar performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials this past weekend in Sacramento, Calif. Competing in the 400-meter dash, the teen finished fourth in her semifinals qualifying heat to claim the last spot in yesterday's (July 16) final.

	Monique Henderson from Morse High in San Diego.

There, for the first time at the Trials, Henderson looked overmatched. Running against the greatest female 400-meter track athletes in the U.S. , many of whom were more than 10 years her elder, Henderson came in last with a time of 51.79. The top three finishers from the eight-woman field qualified for the U.S. team. Michele Collins, the third-place finisher, crossed the line in 50.29 , one and a half seconds ahead of the national scholastic record-holder in the 400 (50.74).

Be sure to log on to SchoolSports.com's San Diego page this week, as Monique Henderson shares her experiences from the Olympic Trials.

News and Notes

One other high school athlete fared equally well yesterday. Kate Polansky of Oregon finished fourth in the preliminary round of the women's javelin throw with a heave of 173 feet, 6 inches. The women's javelin finals will be held today (July 17) at 6:45 p.m. (Pacific Time).

Sheena Johnson of Virginia failed to get out of the first-round heat of the 400-meter hurdles. It was the same story for Erica Whipple of Florida, who competed in the 100-meter dash. Others who competed included Missouri's Muna Lee (100), Texas' Ychlindria Spears (long jump), California's Angel Perkins (400), New Jersey's Paul Klemic (high jump), North Dakota's Briona Reynolds (discus), Minnesota's Stacie Manuel and Massachusetts' Samantha Shepard (pole vault), and Kansas' Kendra Wecker, Oregon's Sarah Malone and Washington's Leslie Erickson (javelin).

Teens Goin' to Sydney

Eleven teenage athletes have already qualified to represent the United States in the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, to be held in Sydney, Australia. They are: * Sport: Name, Hometown, Date of Birth
* Men's Soccer: DaMarcus Beasley, Fort Wayne (Ind.), May 24, 1982
* Men's Soccer: Conor Casey, Gilpin (Colo.), July 25, 1981
* Men's Soccer: Landon Donovan, Redlands (Calif.), March 4, 1982
* Women's Water Polo: Ericka Lorenz, San Diego (Calif.), Feb. 18, 1981
* Women's Judo: Lauren Meele, Pembrook Pines (Fla.), Feb. 6, 1983
* Boxing: Jose Navarro, Los Angeles (Calif.), June 7, 1981
* Gymnastics: Jennifer Parilla, Lake Forest (Calif.), Jan. 9, 1981
* Tae Kwon Do: Kay Poe, Houston (Texas), May 15, 1982
* Archery: Karen Scavotta, Enfield (Conn.), April 17, 1982
* Boxing: Ricardo Williams, Cincinnati (Ohio), June 25, 1981
* Boxing: Brian Viloria, Honolulu (Hawaii), Nov. 24, 1980

Upcoming Trials
Weightlifting
July 22
New Orleans, La.

Gymnastics
Aug. 15-20
Boston, Mass.
Jennifer Parilla is the only gymnast already on the U.S. team, as she'll be competing in the trampoline event.

Swimming
Aug. 9-16
Indianapolis, Ind.