OxfordPress.com

EUGENE, Ore. — Jeff See's bid for the 2008 Olympics is over.

The Middletown native finished seventh Friday, July 4, in the first of two heats in the 1,500-meter run at the Olympic Track and Field Trials. The top six finishers in each heat moved on to Sunday finals at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.

See, a sophomore at Ohio State University, was in fourth place with about 200 meters to go but faded a bit down the stretch to cross the line in 3 minutes, 44.73 seconds. U.S. record holder Bernard Lagat won the race in 3:43.83.

See's training partner, Rob Myers, was second in 3:43.98, followed by William Leer (3:44.19), Steve Sherer (3:44.20), Alan Webb (3:44.23) and Andrew McClary (3:44.29).

See, a 2005 Middletown High School graduate, is a two-time All-American for the Buckeyes.

He earned his first All-American honor in the 1,500 during the indoor track season. The second honor came on June 14 when See placed fifth (3:43.13) in the 1,500 at the NCAA Championships.

See ran an Olympic B-standard time of 3:40.86 — the second-fastest time in Ohio State history — May 2 at the Jesse Owens Track Classic in Columbus. He is a three-time Big Ten champion, including back-to-back conference titles in the indoor mile. See holds the Ohio State record in the outdoor mile and holds the second-best time in Ohio State history in the indoor mile and the outdoor 1,500-meter run.

While at Middletown, See won a combined six individual state championships in track and cross country. He was also part of the Middies' 3,200 relay state championship team in 2004.