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Fourth Place Finish Earns Fourth All-American Honor for O'Brien
Senior becomes first ever at AU to earn four All-American awards

June 14, 2003

Sean O'Brien became the first four-time All-American in AU history.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Finishing his spectacular career, American University senior Sean O'Brien (Tewksbury, Mass./Winnisquam Regional) became the first athlete in school history to earn four All-American honors as he placed fourth in the 1500m final at the NCAA Track and Field Championships. Running the second fastest time of his career, O'Brien crossed the line in 3:41.89.

O'Brien, running in his third consecutive 1500m final at the NCAA Championships, posted the best finish of his career in his final race in an AU uniform. O'Brien was 10th in 2001 and 11th in 2002 before his fourth place finish this year. His time was only .60 off his own school record set last year. O'Brien was the top finisher from the NCAA East Region at the meet in the 1500m. In addition to his three All-American honors in the 1500m, O'Brien earned an All-American award at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships as the anchor leg of the distance medley relay.

This concludes an impressive year for the American University cross country/track and field program under the direction of three-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Matt Centrowitz. The men's and women's cross country teams won Patriot League titles in the fall as Samia Akbar was named Patriot League Runner of the Meet. Akbar then became the first AU woman to run at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, posting the highest finish ever by a Patriot League woman. In the indoor season, Akbar was named Patriot League Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet and the distance medley relay squad of O'Brien, Sean Duffy, Andy Ellerhorst and Phil Gaeta finished eighth at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to earn All-American honors. Akbar added an All-American honor of her own on Thursday night, placing ninth in the 10,000m and O'Brien added his fourth All-American award tonight.

Men's 1500m Finals
1 Grant Robison JR Stanford 3:40.39 10
2 Chris Mulvaney JR Arkansas 3:40.44 8
3 Joel Atwater SR Weber State 3:41.11 6
4 Sean O'Brien SR American 3:41.89 5
5 Said Ahmed SO Arkansas 3:42.83 4
6 James Bowler SR Nebraska 3:43.07 3
7 Richard Kiplagat SO Iona 3:43.32 2
8 Martin Robeck JR Minnesota 3:44.04 1
9 Jorge Torres SR Colorado 3:44.24
10 Chris Lukezic FR Georgetown 3:46.17
11 Mike Taylor SO Arkansas 3:50.01
12 Nick Willis FR Michigan 3:57.51