2014 Outdoor Season--High School

Time to wrap up the 2014 Outdoor High School season.
(The 2014 Indoor season was wrapped up in my post from March 19th!)
Before I do, I've adopted a new rule.
I'll call it my "Pro-Am Rule", for want of a better name!

From now on, I've decided to go along with the general consensus about High Schoolers who turn Professional before graduation.
Mary Cain was the first to do so, but now Alexa Efraimson has followed suit.
There could be more in the future!

The only records, either overall HSR's or Class Records, affected thus far were/are held by Cain.
And most of these were from the 2014 Indoor season.
Here's the list:

Indoors
1000--Cain's 2:35.80 is now the Pro HSR, as well as the Pro Senior Class record!  Sarah Bowman's 2:43.40 from 2005 is back as the official HSR, as well as the official Senior Class record!
1500. Cain's 4:11.72 from 2013 is still the overall HSR.  But her 4:06.63 from 2014 is now just the Pro Senior Class record.  The Senior Class record reverts back to Lynn Jennings's 4:18.9 from 1978.
1 Mile--The overall HSR is now Cain's 4:28.25 from 2013.  (The Pro HSR is Cain's 4:24.11 from 2014.) The Senior Class mark is now owned by Jennings, with her 4:39.0 from 1978.

Outdoors:
The only record affected was the 3000.
The Pro HSR is held by Cain, with her 8:58.48.
The official HSR reverts back to Lynn Bjorklund's 9:08.6 from 1975.
Also, Bjorklund again owns the Senior Class record.

This all means that Ms Efraimson, now a Pro, can chase ONLY Cain's Pro HSR's and Pro Senior Class records, NOT the "amateur" records!!

Now, onto the 2014 Outdoor season!

Men

There were two HSR's set.
Trentavis Friday ran the 100 in 10.00.
Bailey Roth ran the 3000SC in 8:47.04.

Six Class Records were set:
Darryl Haraway ran 10.20 as a Soph.
Friday's 10.00 was as a Senior.
Noah Lyles ran 20.71 as a Soph.
Andrew Hunter ran the 3000 in 8:16.31 as a Soph.
Bailey Roth ran the 3000SC in 8:47.04 as a Senior.
And Brandon Bray PVed 17-8.50 as a Junior.

Twenty six marks from 2014 are on my HS DDD list from Outdoors.

The HS Athlete of the Year is Trentavis Friday.
He broke the HS 100 record, and ran the 2 fastest 200's, but both of them were wind-aided!

Bailey Roth is runner-up, breaking the 3000SC record...twice!!

Friday's 10.00 gets the Performance of the Year.
(He beat Trayvon Bromell in that race, while Roth's SC records were in races where he finished far back!)

Now on to the.....

Women

Women set 7 HSR's!
Cain set a Pro HSR.  (See new rule above!)
Kaylin Whitney ran 11.10.
Cain's 8:58.48 3000 is the new Pro HSR.
(The "amateur" HSR belongs to Lynn Bjorklund's 9:08.6 from 1975.)
Bethan Knights ran the 2 Mile in 9:53.54.
Dior Hall got the 100H HSR with her 12.92.
Desiree Freier PV'ed 14-7.25.
Raven Saunders threw the SP 56-8.
The 4X200 Relay team from St Thomas Aquinas ran 1:33.43.
Columbia TC set the Sprint Medley HSR with their 3:50.82.

Fifteen Class Records were set!
Whitney got the Soph Class 100 & 200 records with her 11.10 and 22.49.
Elise Cranny got the HS Senior Class 1500 mark with her 4:10.95.
Cain, as noted, set the new Pro HS Senior Class 3000 mark with her 8:58.48.
Knights's 9:53.54 2 Mile was as a Senior.
Rylee Bowen ran the 3000SC in 10:50.92 as a Frosh.
Alexis Duncan ran the 100H in 13.33 as a Soph.
Dior Hall's 12.92 was as a Senior.
Sydney McLaughlin's 55.63 400H was as a Frosh.
Vashti Cunningham HJ'ed 6-3 as a Soph.
Lexi Weeks PVed 14-0 as a Junior.
Freier's 14-7.25 was as a Senior.
Saunders's SP of 56-8 was as a Senior.
Kiana Phelps threw the Discus 179-7 as a Soph.
And Hannah DeBalsi ran 2 Miles in 9:55.05 as a Soph.

There were 48 marks made in 2014 that are on my DDD list!

The HS Athlete of the Year award goes to Kaylin Whitney.
She broke the 100 HSR, and ran the fastest non-altitude 200 ever!

This was such a spectacular year for Women's HSR's, that I've selected 3 women to share the Runner-up position.

Raven Saunders destroyed Michelle Carter's SP record.
Dior Hall broke the 35 year old 100H record.
And Desiree Freier continued her outstanding year outdoors with yet another HSR.

As for the Performance of the Year?

I'm giving that, by a VERY slim margin, to.....
Dior Hall's 12.92 in the 100H.
It was the AGE of the old record (35 years) that tilted it in her favor!

Right behind were the 56-8 SP of Raven Saunders, as well as the 11.10 100 of Kaylin Whitney.
Although now relegated to the new Pro HS Record division, I must also honor Mary Cain's 8:58.48!

Looking back, I must say this was one of the best-ever years for High Schoolers that I can remember!
The girls, in particular, were just phenomenal.
How many other years do you remember SEVEN (8, if you include Cain's 3000!) HSR's broken by one gender?
(Add the 2 Men's HSR's, and you've got 9 (10, with Cain's!) altogether!
Plus all those Class Records!!

The best event was probably the PV, with Indoor HSR holders Devin King and Desiree Freier continuing their fabulous year outdoors!

But not far behind was the Women's SP and 2 Mile.
The sprints, for both genders, were dominant outdoors too, with BOTH HSR's in the 100 going down, plus some spectacular 200 times (windy and legal) being run.

The other big change came with the decision by Alexa Efraimson to turn Professional, following Mary Cain, who did so about 1 year earlier.
(Will others follow in 2015??)

Before I end this post, a bit of news from the Road Racing and Cross Country fronts!

41 year old Deena Kastor broke the Masters (Age 40 or over!) WORLD Record for the Half-Marathon, with her 1:09:35 in the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half earlier today.
Also finishing well were comebacking Kara Goucher, who ran 1:11:40.
And Laura Thweatt, whose first-ever Half was run in 1:11:02.

In the USATF 5000 race today, Molly Huddle won easily in 15:10.
But surprisingly, it was Birthday Girl (She turned 23 today!) Jordan Hasay who finished second, in 15:25.
Mary Cain was a far back 6th, in 15:53, slower than her track HSR of 15:45, from 2013!

Also noted was Natosha Rogers return to the racing wars, though she finished FAR back, with a time closer to 17 minutes than to 16!

Next week will be the attempt by Shalane Flanagan to get Kastor's AR in the Marathon, in Berlin.

In XC, Erin Finn won the Big 10 Preview meet by 40 seconds, with her team easily winning!
As noted in my September 5th post, A big return to the top happened recently, with Finn's old HS rival Wesley Frazier winning her first CC race this year!

And several HS'ers are running well early over hill and dale.
More on all of that next time, and in other future posts.

Next post will wrap up the 2014 Outdoor Collegiate season.

(BTW, I'm doing the HS and Collegiate wrap-ups now because their Outdoor seasons have officially ended, HSers on August 31, and Collegians with the NCAA meet!
The US and World wrap-ups won't be until late December, as their "seasons" continue!

CORRECTION:
When I listed the HSR's (and Class Records) that Mary Cain now holds in the new "Pro HS" division, I didn't list all of them!
Add the following (all Pro HS or Pro HS Senior Class):

Indoors:
800--She ran 2:04.26, which is now the Indoor Pro HSR, as well as the Senior Class Pro HSR.

Outdoors
800--She now is the Pro HSR holder, with her 2:01.67.  It's also the Pro Senior Class record outdoors.
1500--Her 4:06.34 is the Pro HS Outdoor record, as well as the Pro Senior Class record.
(As noted above, she also has both records in the 3000.)

I felt it important to list these, as they are the Pro HSR's and Senior Class records that Alexa Efraimson will be chasing, both indoors and outdoors, in HER Senior year as a HS Pro!