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Akbar and O’Brien Ranked in Trackwire’s Dandy Dozen
AU seniors prepare for NCAA Outdoor Championships

June 5, 2003

Samia Akbar will run the 10,000m at the NCAA Championships.	Sean O'Brien will compete for his fourth All-American honor.

WASHINGTON — For the first time this outdoor track and field season, American University seniors Samia Akbar (Herndon, Va./Oakton) and Sean O’Brien (Tewksbury, Mass./Winnisquam Regional) are ranked in the Trackwire Men’s and Women’s Dandy Dozen. Akbar is ranked eighth in the 10,000-meters while O’Brien is 10th in the 1500m.

The Dandy Dozen ranks the top 12 athletes in each NCAA track and field event. The factors Trackwire uses to build the Dandy Dozen includes quantitative values that measure performances in past major competitions (such as conference championships, national championships and Olympic competition), durability and freedom from injuries, demonstrated ability to compete well in multiple rounds of competition, ability in other events, head-to-head competition with other athletes, and personal or seasonal bests.

Akbar heads to the outdoor championships in the 10,000m with the 16th fastest time, having run a school record 34:17.48 at the Penn Relays in April. She finished eighth at the NCAA East Regional this past weekend in the 5000m, shattering her own school record by running 16:20.62.

O’Brien will be making his third appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1500m. He is in search of his fourth All-American honor, a feat never accomplished by an AU athlete. O’Brien placed fourth at the NCAA East Regional in the 1500m, running the third fastest time of his career (3:43.41). O’Brien is seeded 19th in the event heading into nationals.

Akbar and O’Brien both compete on the second day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. On Thursday, June 12, O’Brien will run in the 1500m preliminaries at 7:25 p.m. while Akbar will compete in the 10,000m final at 9 p.m. The meet is held in Sacramento, Calif. and all times are Pacific Daylight Time.

American University, which fields a 19-sport NCAA Division I athletics program featuring 10 women’s sports and nine for men, is in its second year of membership in the Patriot League. Since joining the Patriot League, the University has captured league championships in men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball, and a regular-season title in men’s basketball.

American became a full member of the Patriot League on July 1, 2001. Chartered by an Act of Congress in 1893, the University features students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 160 nations worldwide.