By Mike Berardino
Staff Writer
Article dated June 18, 1996

No, she didn't reach her goal. No, she didn't run her best race. No, she didn't get much sleep the night before.

But Donna Howard found it hard to be too upset with herself Monday evening at the Olympic Stadium.

That's because the former Glenn Hills High School star figures to draw nothing but positives from her first experience at the U.S. Track and Field Trials.

``I'm disappointed I didn't get to the finals, but I'm just thankful I made it this far,'' Howard said after finishing seventh in the second semifinal heat of the women's 400 meters at the Olympic Stadium. ``Not many people even get this close to the Olympics. This has to help me down the road.''

Howard, a rising senior at the University of Texas, posted a time of 52.37 seconds to finish well off the pace of Maicel Malone.cq The top four finishers in each semifinal advanced to Wednesday's 400-meter final.

Running from Lane 1, Howard broke slowly and ran sluggishly for the first 300 meters. She got a second wind at the head of the stretch and almost caught Toya Brown, her Texas teammate, for sixth place.

``I waited too late to surge again,'' Howard said after spending 35 minutes in a side room, following a slight asthmatic reaction. ``I've been doing that a lot lately. Today was strange. I went out and I felt tired, and then the next minute I still had lots of energy. The last 50 meters I had a boost of energy, but then the race was over.''

Howard refused to blame Sunday night insomnia for her disappointing semifinal. But she still admitted tossing and turning for close to three hours before getting to sleep in her Hyatt Hotel room.

``It was just nervousness about this race,'' said Howard, who was seeking to match her sister Anita's feat of making the U.S. Olympic team in 1992. ``I didn't feel that much pressure the first two days, but I felt pressure today. I really wanted to make the final.''

At 21, Howard realized she probably wasn't ready to break into the upper echelon in the 400. But she also thought she needed to take advantage of a less-than-exemplary field.

``The 400 is a little weak this year,'' she said. ``I thought this would be my best chance. Who knows what the future holds for me? I wanted to get there this year, but since I didn't, I hope to in four years.''

In the interim, she will return to Augusta for the rest of the summer. This August, it's back to Austin, Texas for her senior season with the Longhorns. Howard predicted her 4x400-meter relay team would improve on the NCAA record it set this season. Brown, her teammate and relay partner, agreed.

``We work together, we laugh together, we pray together,'' said Brown, a rising junior. ``We don't let the others slack off. We're a relay team. We have that unity that allows us to go out there and compete. We all go through the same emotional roller coaster. We understand each other.''

Brown, a Philadelphia product, has witnessed Howard's development first hand these past two years.

``She's definitely matured in her running,'' Brown said. ``And she has a beautiful personality about her. She's very generous, very caring. She has a quiet strength about her. She looks soft and sweet on the outside, but she's a monster on the track.''