(Seattle, WA 12 January)--In a very tight and exciting battle, Club Ballard sprinter Lorenzo Hill's bid to win the 60-meter dash at the University of Washington's Indoor Preview Track & Field meet today at the Dempsey Center just fell short, as he was denied the victory in a photo finish.

Hill, who had run strongly through his quarter-final and semi-final heats, spotted the field an early lead, as he was the last one out of the blocks.

A strong surge fifteen meters into the race put Hill back in contention in a tight battle with Western Oregon University's Mike Hinshaw and the University of Washington's Jelani Harrison.

As Hill and Hinshaw lunged for the finish, it was unclear who the winner was. After deliberation and an examination of the finish photo, Hinshaw was given the victory over Hill. Both runners were credited with the same time of 6.88 seconds.

Despite the loss, Hill and Club Ballard team manager Paul Merca were upbeat about his performance today.

"We both noticed some technical flaws in his start," Merca said. "We have some time to work on this aspect of his race. From what he showed today, I believe that if we can get his start down, he has a realistic shot at qualifying for the US national championships in New York in March."

The qualifying mark needed to compete in the USA Indoor Championships is 6.70 seconds.

In what basically amounted to a training run, Hill finished eighth in the 200 meter dash today in a time of 23.14.

Club Ballard athletes return to competition on Sunday January 20th at the Dempsey Center on the UW campus for the UW Open indoor meet.

Men's 60m Dash -- Finals

1. Mike Hinshaw (WOR) 6.88
2. Lorenzo Hill (CB) 6.88
3. Jelani Harrison (UW) 6.94
4. Greg Forni (UW) 7.06
5. Omari Gildon (HTC) 7.07
6. Steve Larson (MTC) 7.17

Men's 60m Dash -- Semifinals
Provisional: 6.72/Automatic: 6.62

1. Mike Hinshaw (WOR) 6.91
2. Lorenzo Hill (CB) 6.94
3. Jelani Harrison (UW) 6.99
T4. Steve Larson (MTC) 7.00
T4. Greg Forni (UW) 7.00
6. Dewyane Gill (Unatt.) 7.05

Men's 60m Dash -- Preliminaries
Provisional: 6.72/Automatic: 6.62

1. Lorenzo Hill (CB) 6.93
2. Mike Hinshaw (WOR) 7.01
3. Jelani Harrison (UW) 7.03
4. Greg Forni (UW) 7.05
5. Steve Larsen (MTC) 7.06
6. Omari Gildon (HTC) 7.11

Men's 200m Dash
Provisional: 21.25/Automatic: 20.85*
(* -- 300-meter track)

1. Sean Williams (UW) 22.06
2. Greg Forni (UW) 22.19
3. Ian McLean (SETA) 22.33
4. Darren Woods (SETA) 22.36
5. Brandon Sutton (HTC) 22.65
6. Mike Walker (SOG) 22.70
7. Andrew Cook (UBC) 23.08
8. Lorenzo Hill (CB) 23.14