Sports briefs for August 8, 2005

Monday, Aug. 8, 2005 | 8:57 a.m.

Ziegler dominant in 1,500-meter free

Kate Ziegler led all the way in winning the 1,500-meter freestyle by 10 1/2 seconds Sunday on the last night of the U.S. Summer Nationals.

Ziegler finished off the mile in 16 minutes, 14.52 seconds for her second title of the week. She won the 800 free and was second in the 400 free, earning the women's high-point trophy.

"I'm not the most versatile swimmer, so that was very nice," she said.

Kelsey Ditto of Austin, Texas, chased Ziegler throughout the grueling race and settled for second in 16:24.84.

Michael Phelps turned up in an unusual spot -- swimming the leadoff backstroke leg for Club Wolverine's "B" team in the 400 medley relay.

Phelps had the fastest opening 100 split of 55.14, but he, Grant Burtch, Davis Tarwater and Klete Keller finished fourth.

Roman Ruler wins $1 million race

At Oceanport, N.J., Roman Ruler won the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Sunday, taking the lead from Sun King in the stretch and running off to a 1 1/4-length victory.

Roman Ruler, sent off as the even-money favorite, won in 1:49.88, well off the stakes record of 1:47. The 3-year-old colt returned $4.20, $3 and $2.40.

U.S. team handles Puerto Rico

At Mar Del Plata, Argentina, Allan Ray of Villanova went 5-for-5 from 3-point range and scored 20 points to lead the United States to a 94-79 victory against Puerto Rico on Sunday night in the preliminary round of the men's Under 21 World Championships.

Terrence Roberts of Syracuse had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the United States (3-0), which finished 11-for-23 from behind the 3-point arc.

Weber State changes symbol

A new symbol, depicting a railroad spike against a mountain range, will be on the back of Weber State football players' helmets this year.

The symbol, unveiled Saturday, was created from some of the more than 100 entries in a contest sponsored by the university and the Standard-Examiner. Karen Hall, a graphic artist at the newspaper, combined the two most common themes that were submitted.

-- Sun wire services