Monday, February 23, 2015

Now it's HS's turn!

You just can't even take a brief nap, or microwave your latest delicacy, before yet one MORE Pole Vault record is broken!!
Yes, here we go again!
And now it's a High Schoolers turn!

Lexi Weeks, she of the "Double Trouble" Weeks twins unit (the other being sister Tori), broke Desiree Freier's year-old HSR with a Vault of 14-3.25 at an Arkansas vaulters meet!

Sister Tori went out after clearing just 12-9.50--This might be the first time they haven't vaulted the same height in the same meet!!

Then Lexi cleared 13-3, 13-9 and the record height on first tries!
(There's a fantastic video showing ALL her jumps---from the 12-9 to the HSR--in real speed and slow-mo sequence!!)
Besides the HSR, she also gets the Senior Class record.
She moves from 4th A-T HS, where she was tied with sister Tori, to 1st.
She would be just 0.50 inches shy of making the A-T Collegiate list, if this were next year!

Another PV record went down---or should I say UP??
Mondo Duplantis is at it again!
He raised his own 9th Grade Class Record with a Vault of 16-9.50.
I believe this is his FOURTH raising of the Frosh mark this season!
Oh, and it's better than the TENTH Grade record too!!

Liguelin Santos made an attempt on the 600 meter WR in Canada.
He went out fast on the flat track, hitting approximate splits of 23+ and 48+, before finishing in 1:16.01.
Not the WR, but it's the National Record of the Dominican Republic.
And it makes him 18th A-T World.

Three more National Records were broken recently.
Abdulrahman Baala of Qatar ran his NR 800 in 1:45.48.
Greg Rutherford LJ'ed an NR for Great Britain with his 26-9.75.
And Suguru Osako, enroute to the 2 Mile at the January 31st Armory Invitational, passed 3000 meters in a Japan NR of 7:45.62.

In that same Armory race, Ben Blankenship passed 3000 meters in 7:45.44.
That made him 23rd A-T US.
Removed FROM my DDD was the iconic Sydney Maree, whose 7:45.90 from 1990 is GONE!

Three more HS marks had some impact on my lists...or almost did!
Ryan Clark sprinted 200 meters in 21.22, making him 11th A-T HS, tied with 3 others.
James Asselmeyer ran 1000 meters in 2:26.53, making him 23rd A-T HS.
But Chinne Okoronkwo's 2015-leading TJ of 41-4 just misses my DDD--by one-half inch!

The Tokyo Marathon was won by Endeshaw Negesse for the Men, time of 2:06:00.
And for the Women, it was Birhane (no relation!) Dibaba, who ran 2:23:15.
Lauren Kleppin hit the wall, running just 2:37 and change.

And now I have some mea culpas to perform!!

As I've mentioned more than once, I look at the lists and results that TFRSS puts out to see what obscure Collegiate marks I might have missed.
I also noted that this website has HUGE flaws.

One of those is that they print NON-EXISTENT marks!!
(Nice way to run a business whose credo SHOULD be accuracy of facts!)

In my last post, I told the "funny" story of Devin Stanford, whose 66-7 "SP" turned out to be a Weight Throw mark!!
A tiny bit of difference, yes?!

Well, this time, they got the EVENT right---but not the mark!!

Another female SP'er, whom I also made note of in my previous post, name of Vivian Brandhoff, did NOT make a "Raven Saunders-style" leap forward in her PR!
No, her 58-1.25 mark, which is 17.71 metric, turns out to have been THREE METERS less!!
It was 14.71, not 17.71 metric!
And that's in the 48+ foot range!
Sorry, Vivian, but keep trying!!

Hello, REAL world!
Goodbye, TFRSS!!!

Then there's that 7.21 in the 60 I reported by Ewa Swoboda.
I said it tied the Age 17 World Record.
Well, I think it may have been mis-reported
The only mark I see for her (in the latest eTN!) is a 7.24.
I'll check further, and will report next time anything I find!

ADDED MINUTES AFTER POSTING!!
Looks like I'm right about Swoboda!!
And not only that, I BEAT the eTN to the punch!!
Their latest issue has marks through yesterday, the 22nd!
Swoboda ran the 7.21---confirmed by the IAAF!!--on the 21st!
So unless the IAAF is wrong---Don't say a word!!  LOL---Ms Swoboda is the co-holder of the Age 17 record for the 60!

And I have one more mea culpa to make, but this one is MY fault!!
I mistakenly translated Katerina Johnson-Thompson's LJ as 22-8.75.
It's actually 22-9!!
(See, sometimes mistakes can be for the GOOD!!)

As a reminder, here's the PROBABLE schedule of posts I'll be doing through the next 5 weeks.

March 1--Records and Marks from the USATF meet.
March 7--Records and Marks from the European Championships.
March 11 or 12--Predictions of possible Meet Records for the NCAA and NBIN meets, done in separate posts.
March 14--Records and Marks from the NCAA meet.
March 15--Records and Marks from the NBIN meet.
March 16-20--My 2015 INdoor season wrap-up, including AOY picks, etc.  (Not sure of exact date, but most likely in that 5 day range!)
March 21-25--My 2015 OUTdoor preview posts, including Age and Class Record predictions.
March 26-31--My first 2015 OUTdoor season report of (I HOPE!!) great Records and Marks!

See you in a few days--unless something truly spectacular happens!!
LOL

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Two WR's (and TONS more)!

Don't you just LOVE a week in which you're forced to choose WHICH World Record to lead with?
Well, hang on to your hats, friends!
We have HAD such a week!

Genzebe Dibaba, already holder of THREE INdoor WR's, added a fourth!
Her 14:18.86 over 5000 meters in the XL Galan meet in Stockholm was simply magnificent.
Not just for the time, but for the powerful way she ran the race.

Her pacers stayed with her only through the first mile or so.
Then she had to soldier on all by herself--except for all the runners she lapped!
Second place was over a full minute behind!

She reached 3200 meters in 9:12, meaning she beat the time (over 2 Miles) Jenny Simpson ran in her AR!!
Her final 1600 was in about 4:32.
Her last 800 was a 2:12.
And her last 400 was 64, with a last 200 in 31.

It's the Ethiopia National Record, and the Age 24 record as well.

Mo Farah is the owner of the second World Record of the week!
He ran 8:03.40 over Two Miles, breaking the record set by Ken Bekele in 2008.
He also did it with NO competition over the last half of the race!

After a 4:03.9 first mile, with PK Koech and Bernard Lagat following, Mo decided to GO!
Sprinting into the lead, then building steadily on it, he covered the final mile in 3:59.5!
His final 218 meters was in 30.3!!

He broke his own National Record for Great Britain.
He also is the Age 31 record holder.
He moved from 7th A-T World into 1st!
And enroute, he was timed in 7:33.1 at 3000 meters, so that's also a British National Record and an Age 31 record!
He moves from 24th A-T World in the 3000 to 19th.

Koech finished 2nd, but didn't PR.

But Lagat's 8:17.05 (and 7:41.3 at 3000 enroute) are new Age 40 records, the 3000 breaking his own mark from earlier this season.

A mark that came in a few days ago is a new INdoor PR for Mutaz Barshim!
He HJ'ed 7-10.75 , moving him from 5th A-T World (tied with 2 others) into 4th (tied with 1 other).
It's also breaks his own Qatar National Record, as well as his own Age 23 record!

The Stockholm meet produced some other great marks.

Maybe the most unexpected came in the 400 "B" race!
Abdullelah Haroun, a new Qataran resident from the Sudan, ran 400 in 45.39.
Why is that special?
According to reports from Twitter, he's just 17 years old!
However, he doesn't break the Age 17 record, as that's 45.24 by Kirani James in 2009.
It's the Qatar National Record, however.
And it makes him 24th A-T World, tied with 5 others!

Sifan Hassan won the 1500 in 4:00.46.
It's the National Record of Holland, breaking her own mark.
And it moves her up 3 notches on the A-T World list, from 11th to 8th.

The Men's 1500 was fast.
Homiyu Tesfaye ran 3:34.13.
It's the Age 21 record.
And he broke his own National Record of Germany.
He's now 13th A-T World, tied with 1 other.

Bethwell Birgen's 3:34.62 moves him from 18th to 17th on the A-T World list!

Cristobel Nettey destroyed her own Canadian National Record in the Long Jump.
Her 22-11.25 makes her 19th A-T World, tied with 3 others.

The Women's National PV record of Greece has been getting a working over this year.
From TWO different women!!

At the XL Galan meet, it was Nickoleta Kiriakopoulou's turn, with her vault of 15-7.25.
Besides the NR, it made her 10th A-T World, tied with 1 other.

But then, at a meet in New Mexico, Ekaterina Stefanidi raised the record by half an inch, to 15-7.75.
So SHE now holds the NR of Greece!
And she's now 9th A-T World, tied with 1 other!!

But wait a minute!!
The bouncing ball (pole??) is still bouncing!!

Because guess what?
Ms Kiriakopoulou took BACK the NR of Greece from Ms Stefanidi!
She jumped 15-9, and so moves from 10th A-T World (tied with 2 others) back into 8th!!

Next?

That meet where Mr Mo got the Two Mile record wasn't JUST a "Mo Show"!!
It was the Sainsbury meet in Birmingham, England, and there were several other great marks!

Possibly the best was by the young British Heptathlete, Katerina Johnson-Thompson, aka KJT.
She LJ'ed a long (sic!) 22-8.75.
It's the Age 22 record.
And it's the National Record of Great Britain!
And BTW, that's her SECOND National Record in just 7 days!!
She got that 6-5.50 HJ record also!
Imagine what score she could rack up in the Multi's if she were to match those marks then!!

The Men's 1500 produced some notable marks, but NOT by the winner!

Vincent Kibet's 3:34.91 didn't win, but his PR misses my DDD list by just 0.06 seconds!

Much more notable was the PR laid down by American Ben Blankenship!
His 3:35.28 makes him 3rd A-T on the US list!
But even better (at least for ME!) is that his entrance ON the list bounced two legends of INdoor track OFF the US list!
Gone are Dick Buerkle and Tony Waldrop!
Buerkle's 3:39.8 is from 1978.
And Waldrop's 3:39.8 is from 1974!!

Back a bit further was Pieter-Jan Hannes, who ran 3:37.30.
But he's now the NR holder of Belgium!

Remember Miyinga Kambundji from the World Juniors last summer?
She made all kinds of improvements in her 200 there.
Well, here, in Birmingham, her 60 meters time of 7.18 set a National Record for Switzerland!

Jordan Hasay didn't win the 3000, but she did PR for INdoors with her 8:50.21.
It moves her up 9 spots on the A-T US list, from 24th to 15th!

Sharika Nelvis ran the fastest 60H of 2015, a 7.87.
It moves her from 21st A-T US, tied with 1 other, into 17th.

One of the featured races in Birmingham was the Women's Mile.
Shannon Rowbury was again seeking the AR, or so the pre-meet hype said!
Well, she ran a decent 4:24.12, but she didn't get the AR, nor a PR, nor the victory!

That went to Axumawit Embaye's 4:23.50.
Which is the National Record of Ethiopia!
And it's the Age 20 record too!
It breaks Vicki Huber's mark from 1988!
(Genzebe Dibaba had said--back in November!--that she would seek the 5000 AND Mile WR's, in Stockholm and England!  Well, she produced on the former, but didn't even show for the latter.  Haven't seen any explanation for her no-show!)

A few who did NOT do as good as expected in Birmingham included:
Carmelita Jeter, who finished 7th in the 60.
Matthew Centrowitz, who finished in 10th (!!) place in the 1500.
Francena McCorory, who finished second behind an unknown Welsh girl!
However, to be fair to McCorory, she tweeted later that she was happy with her time of 52.09.

Michael Lihrman got a Collegiate Record in the WT!
He threw the ball and chain out to 81-8.75.
(Kibwe Johnson threw further---82-3.50--but he competed in Division II, so the mark doesn't count for the CR under NCAA rules.)
Lihrman's throw is also the Collegiate Senior Class record.
And the Age 23 record.
It moves him from 5th A-T US into 4th.
And on the A-T World list, he moves from 6th to 5th.

Kearsten Peoples also got a long toss in the WT.
Her 74-11.25 moves her from 22nd A-T Collegiate all the way to 8th!
On the US list, she jumps from 22nd into 9th!!
And it moves her onto the World list too, into 12th!

While she doesn't make any lists, Vivian Brandhoff made a HUGE (Raven Saunders-style!) leap forward in her Shot Put PR.
She seemingly went from 52-1.25 all the way to 58-1.25!
(I said "seemingly" because I'm not sure at this point if she got any smaller PR's earlier this season!  I'll do some checking, and if I find anything, I'll report it in my next post!)
BTW, she's a Junior at the University of Memphis!

Kamila Licwinko is having quite the season in the HJ.
She raised her bar another centimeter, this time jumping over 6-7.50.
It breaks her own National Record of Poland.
And it moves her from 17th A-T World (tied with 7 others!!) to 14th (tied with 3 others).

That "High Noon" showdown between Demi Payne and Sandi Morris turned into a fierce duel, but it had a FAR different ending---and maybe even more fascinating!--than  if another CR had happened!

Adding Pro April Steiner-Bennett to the mix (Was she the "High Noon"  Special Deputy??  LOL) made it a 3-way instead of 2-way.

Not entering until late in the day, they each cleared 14-8.50, but Payne had one miss, so when they all missed their 3 tries at 15-0.75, it came down to a Jump-Off between Morris and Bennett!
Morris made it over 15-0.75 in the J-O, then Bennett missed.
Morris wins!

In other PV news, HS'er Pauli Benavides jumped in a low-key OUTdoor meet in California.
His 17-6.50 puts him on the OUTdoor HS list in 18th place, tied with 3 others.
He tried 3 times at 18-0.50, but missed.

And Stephanie Richartz PV'ed 14-4.50.
This makes her 22nd A-T Collegiate, with no one tied!

There were a couple of fast Collegiate 600's.

Brannon Kidder ran 1:16.98.
He's now 9th A-T Collegiate.
And he made the A-T US list too, into 16th place!

Hanna Green ran 600 in 1:28.78.
She's now 12th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other.
And while I'm not 100% certain of this, I believe she got the Collegiate Soph Class record too!!

Ewa Swoboda ran 60 meters in 7.21.
Not so special, you say?
Well, how about if I tell you she tied the Age 17 World Record?
Yes, it ties the mark first set by Jodie Williams in 2011.
And it IS the actual Age 17 mark, not just my "0-17" standard!

Jasmine Stowers PR'ed in the 60H, her 7.90 moving her from 22nd A-T US, tied with 1 other, into 19th, also tied with 1 other.

Some good HS marks happened this week.

She's NOT a HS'er now, but that girl who ran that spectacular 800 of 2:03.59 at the 2013 NBIN might be returning to her HS form!
Sabrina Southerland, now a Soph at Georgetown--She just turned 19 on December 18th!--ran the 800 in 2:03.89!
I believe that's the fastest she's run since HS!
And it misses my Collegiate DDD by just 0.42 seconds!

HS PHENOM Sydney McLaughlin ran a FLAT track 400 in 53.72!
This puts her 14th A-T HS!!
And remember, she's just a 15 year old 10th Grader!
Be willing to bet she turns Pro before her Senior year?

Tonea Marshall ran the 60H in 8.39, making her 24th A-T HS, tied with 2 others!

I reported in my last post that Kelly Ann-Baptiste had returned to the sprint wars with a 7.24 in the 60.
Well, she's upping her game a bit.
She ran 7.20 in a heat, then 7.19 in the final!

As always, Notre Dame's HUMONGOUS Oversize Track produced another slough of NCAA Q's in the distance events!
(And you KNOW how I feel about that!  It's UNfair to teams (and individuals) who can't, or won't, or don't travel to ND or other OT venues, for whatever reason or reasons!!  Thus the Q list is skewed!!  It's NOT a TRUE representation of who's best Collegiately!!)
Anyway---breathing SOMEWHAT back to normal!---here's a few marks run on Notre Dame's 352 yard (!) track!

Not Collegians, but Becca Addison outran Canadian Nicole Sifuentes in the Mile, 4:30.70 to 4:32.36.
And in the DMR's, the following teams got good marks:
Baylor's Women ran 10:58.52.
New Mexico ran 11:01.44.
Notre Dame (sic!) ran 11:01.59.
Michigan ran 11:03.23.
For the Men, Arkansas ran 9:28.37.
Stanford ran 9:29.34, getting a 3:56+ anchor 1600 from Sean McGorty.
And Alabama ran 9:29.93.

You all know who Chuk Enechwechi is, right?
He's now number 2 on the A-T Collegiate WT list, and 1 of 2 who have thrown at least 80 feet!
Well, maybe he's a Shot Putter too!
I don't know what his previous PR was, but he threw the ball out 62-10.75!
Not bad for a Hammer/Weight Thrower!!

Speaking of the SP and WT, I'll close with a funny story!
(Well, maybe NOT funny, if you seek ACCURACY in what you report!)

As I've noted in a previous post, I go to the website called TFRSS to find Collegiate marks I might have missed.
But I also found flaws in their reportage!
Well, they made a WHOPPER today!!

On Twitter, they post links to all the major and minor Collegiate meets happening each week.
So today, they linked the results from an All-Women's meet in Minneapolis called the Parents Day Open!
Curious, as I'd never heard of the meet, I clicked the link!

And there, leading the Shot Put results was a Senior at the University of Minnesota, name of Devin Stanford!
(Why didn't she become a Cardinal?  LOL)
But it was her winning mark that---for a moment---blew my mind!!
There it was---this total unknown had thrown the ball out into Valerie Adams territory!!
TFRSS reported she had thrown a massive 66-7 (20.29 metric)!!
In fact, her entire 6-throw series was GREAT.
In metric, it was 19.22, 19.40, 19.34, the 20.29, 19.24, and 19.79.

Well, it turns out it was the Weight Throw, not the Shot Put!!
But an hour or more later, it was STILL listed under SP.
In fact, it was also listed in TFRSS's year-by-year progression chart for Ms Stanford as her SP PR!!
Later still, after they'd corrected the error in the meet results, they still had it as the SP in her PR chart!!

On that note, I'll close this post!
Before I do, let me give you a heads up for what's coming.
March is going to be a BUSY month on my blog!!

We'll have individual posts for the 4 BIG meets--the USATF (which ends March 1st), the NCAA, NBIN, and the European Championships!
I'll probably have Meet Record Prediction posts---as I did last year!---for the NCAA and NBIN meets.
Then I'll do my INdoor wrap-ups, with my selection of the INdoor Athletes of the Year!
Following that will be some previews of the OUTdoor season!
I plan to do Class and Age Record predictions, as I did before the INdoor season!
And there will probably be some good marks (and records??) to report from the early part of the OUTdoor season!

Oh yeah, almost forgot!
Besides Pauli Benavides's OUTdoor 17-6.50 PV (See earlier in this post!), Vashti Cunningham also opened her OUTdoor season with a bang!
She HJ'ed 6-2, which not only is the leading OUTdoor mark so far, but tops the INdoor best too!!

See you after the USATF meet, if not before!!















Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Some new, Some old

So much great stuff last weekend, a back-up post is needed.
Want to clear the decks before the results come in from Stockholm (tomorrow) and Birmingham (Saturday).

First, I got some 1500 splits from the Wanamaker Miles at Millrose.

Bernard Lagat added to his rising total of Age 40 records.
He split 3:40.20 at 1500 in his Mile race, giving him his 3rd Age 40 record of the year.

Matthew Centrowitz's 1500 split was 3:36.73, but it's not an Age record.
His 3:51.35 winning time does become the Age 25 Mile record!

According to T&FN's eTN, Nick Willis got the same exact split as Centro.
Hus 3:36.73 is the New Zealand National Record, as was his 3:51.46 Mile!
It's also the Age 31 record for both the 1500 and Mile.
 However, I don't have his 1500 split from his previous Mile best, the 3:51.61.

Both Willis and Centro now own the Millrose Meet Record for 1500.
Centro, of course, has the MR for the Mile!

Pat Casey's enroute 1500 time was 3:38.28.
He's now 11th A-T US

Ed Cheserek's 1500 split was 3:41.19.
He's now 13th A-T Collegiate.

Johnny Gregorek's 1500 split was 3:41.76.
This makes him 18th A-T Collegiate.

It should be noted that my Collegiate INdoor 1500 list is not the full 24, as 1500 splits are rarely taken in Collegiate Miles, or run as separate races.

In the Women's Mile, I also have some 1500 splits.

Shannon Rowbury hit 1500 in 4:05.08.
This moves her from 7th A-T US to 3rd.

Jordan Hasay PR'ed at 1500, hitting 4:07.83.
She moves up 2 spots on the A-T US list, from 11th to 9th.

Stephanie Charnigo timed 4:10.68 at 1500.
She's now 24th A-T US.

Shelby Houlihan split 4:11.90 at 1500.
She's 4th A-T Collegiate.

And Rosie Clarke split 4:12.18 at 1500.
She's now 5th A-T Collegiate.

The same applies to the Women as to the Men.
Few 1500 splits are taken in Mile races, and Collegians rarely run just a 1500.

One more thing about the Women's Millrose Mile.
Most everyone faded BADLY in the final 109 meters of the race, as the fast early pace affected most everybody.
They ran those closing 109 meters in the 18 to 20 second range, instead of what would normally be 16 to 18 second splits!
Thus, for example, Rowbury's 4:22.66 Mile at the JDL meet probably gave her a 4:04 to 4:06 split at 1500.
That COULD have been her PR, but it wasn't timed enroute!

I made a grievous error in my last post.

It was NOT Jason Richardson who ran 7.51 in  the Millrose 60H race.
It was David Oliver.
So remove Richardson's time from the US list!
Oliver is already on the list with a faster time!

I found out Will Georghegan is an American!
So his 7:45.71 in the Millrose 3000 makes him 22nd A-T US!

Now for some NEW news!
Or at least "new" info I've discovered since my last post!

Florence Kiplagat set THREE World Records during the Barcelona Half-Marathon!
Her 1:05:09 breaks her own WR by 3 seconds!
(That's approximately 4:58 per mile pace!!)

After a "slow" first 5000 in 15:38, she zipped a 15:24 2nd 5K, for a 10K split of 31:02.
Then she picked it up even more, to a 15:12, or about 4:52 per mile!!

Her 15000 time of 46:14 is a WR!

She then slowed to 15:40 for her 4th 5K.
Her 1:01:54 at 20K is another World Record!
(Consider that Molly Huddle's track PR at 10K is 30:47.  Kiplagat averaged 30:57 for her first two non-stop consecutive 10K's!!)

Venelina Veneva Mateeva HJ'ed 6-4.25 to raise her own Age 40 record!

Kim Collins PR'ed AGAIN!!
His 6.47 60 breaks his own record---for the FIFTH time this INdoor season!!
Oh yes, it also moves him from 21st A-T World (tied with 7 others) up to 16th (tied with 5 others).
And he breaks his own St Kitts National Record!

Anzhelika Sidorova matched Demi Payne's PR of 15-7 in the PV.
This moves her from 13th A-T World, tied with 2 others, into 11th, also tied with 2 others---including Payne!

Speaking of whom, Demi had a relatively quiet day at her team's Southland Conference meet.
She vaulted just 14-0.25 in winning easily.
She missed her 3 attempts at 14-9.
(She'd tweeted earlier that day about bringing only big poles with her.  So I assume one reason for her "poor" day was not having a variety of poles with her!)
"Poor" is relative!
How many Collegiate Women would KILL to jump 14-0.25??!!

Homiyu Tesfaye ran 1500 meters in 3:35.71 for the National Record of Germany.

Orlando Ortego ran the fastest 60H of the year, 7.45.
It's his PR, but misses my World DDD by 0.01 seconds!!

The two remaining HS Pro's had good and bad results, in 2 entirely different circumstances!

Alexa Efraimson ran the 1000 in Sunday's Husky Invitational on Seattle's OT.
Her time of 2:43.39 won the race by 6 seconds!!
Mary Cain's 2:35.80 from last year is the HS Pro record for the 1000.
Of course, ANY time Efraimson runs on an Oversize Track would NOT be eligible to break the record, or make the A-T list!

Alana Hadley was running the "26.2 for Donna" Marathon in Florida Sunday.
But she strained her achilles coming off the sand onto the road at the 8 mile point, and had to drop out.
It's not a bad injury, according to Hadley, and doesn't require surgery.

Alysia Montano returned to the track, following her giving birth to her daughter Linnea last summer!
She'd run a 5000 meter road race last fall (December?)
She ran the 400 in Seattle, time of 53.86, finishing 2nd.
(She apparently also ran on a pick-up team in the 4X400 Relay there!  Two of her teammates were Geena Gara and Phoebe Wright!!  Don't have their splits!)

I'll close with 2 spectacular HS times.

Kamryn McIntosh broke the HSR in the 600 meter run!
Her time was 1:28.87.
She also gets the 10th Grade Class Record!
That's correct---she's just a sophomore!!
In 2014, as a Frosh, her best 600 was just 1:35.10!!
I don't have any faster times for my "0-17" Age category, so I'm listing this as my Age 0-17 record, until and if I find a better time!
If she were in college, she would be 16th A-T Collegiate!!
But she DOES make the A-T US list--she's now 19th A-T US, tied with---Hazel Clark!!

And Katelyn Tuohy is one remarkable young lady!
She's in the SEVENTH Grade!
She ran the 1000 meters in her State Meet in 2:56.36.
I don't have records for 7th Graders, but this MUST be the A-T Record!!
And what, she's 12 or 13 years old?
Must be an Age record too!

Coming in the next post will be whatever great records and marks happen at tomorrow's Stockholm DN Galan meet, and at Saturday's Sainsbury meet in Birmingham.
As well as whatever else happens in our great sport!!

BTW, Mary Cain was said to be racing the 1500 in Birmingham, but she's NOT listed as entered!!
Is she through for INdoors, or will she run at USATF.
Stay tuned.

One WR that MIGHT happen in Stockholm will be by Genzebe Dibaba in the 5000 meters.
She says she's making the attempt!

See you soon!













Saturday, February 14, 2015

Collegiates & Pro's Rule Busy Weekend

This post was PLANNED to be all Millrose, with all the other marks set aside for a second post.
But the "Pre" meet of US INdoor T&F, while an excellent meet, has to share this space with a startling amount of equally amazing material from---well, from all over the World!!

And what better place to begin than with ANOTHER Collegiate Record in the Pole Vault!

Shawn Barber upped his own CR of 19-3.50 with a jump of 19-4.25 at the Tyson Invitational.
This of course also breaks his own Canadian National Record, his own Age 20 Record, and his own Collegiate Junior Class Record!
It's also a Tyson Meet Record.
And he is now 18th A-T World, tied with 10 (!) others!!
He didn't try any higher heights!

He had a bit of competition.
Andrew Irwin topped his 2013 PR by 2 inches, reaching 18-10.25.
This moves him from 10th A-T Collegiate (tied with 2 others) up to 7th.

Sandi Morris went after the Women's CR at Tyson, but missed her 3 tries at 4.76 (15-7.25).
(Demi Payne is set to Vault on Tuesday!)

I'll have a bit more on this Event of the Year later, but let's return to The Armory.

Bernard Lagat got his Age 40 Record in the Mile.
His 3:54.91 broke Eamonn Coghlan's 3:58.15 mark by 3.24 seconds!
(1500 splits haven't been released yet, but IF and when they are, I'll report them, whether in this post, or in a separate post later this week!)

But it was Matthew Centrowitz who won the Wanamaker Mile.
His time of 3:51.35 missed his INdoor PR by just 0.01 seconds!!
(He beat Nick Willis by about 3 tenths of a second!)

Pat Casey makes the US DDD with his 3:54.36.
He's now 12th A-T US.

So does Evan Jager!
His 3:55.25 makes him 22nd A-T US.

Knocked OFF my DDD list is Jim Spivey, whose 3:55.71 dated from 1987!

Ed Cheserek ran a good 3:56.45 as 1st Collegian in the race.
He's now 20th A-T Collegiate!
(And he eliminated Joe Falcon's 1987 mark from my list!)

The Women's Wanamaker Mile didn't quite live up to expectations---but was still quite good!---so I'll report next on a WORLD Record!

The Millrose Men's 500 produced not just a WR, but a deep rewriting of the All-Time World (and American) Top 10 lists!

Brycen Spratling improved his PR by 0.57 seconds, timing out at an amazing 1:00.06!!
This breaks Ken Lowery's old mark of 1:00.17 from 1987.
That's approximately a 12.01 100---run 5 times consecutively non-stop!

Michael Berry was next with his 1:00.43.
He's now 4th A-T US, and 5th A-T World!

Bershawn Jackson ran 1:00.70, so he's 5th A-T US and 7th A-T World!

And Belgium's Jonathon Borlee ran 1:00.76, making him 9th A-T World.

My T&F Record Book doesn't have 500 meter lists, nor Age records.
But I KNOW Spratling's mark is the US National Record, as well as the Age 22 Record.
And I'm sure Borlee now has the Belgium National Record!
(Other Age Records were almost certainly also broken, and I apologize for not having them for you!)

The Women's Mile was interesting.
Not because Shannon Rowbury won easily in 4:24.32, not getting her aimed for American Record.
Nor because Treniere Moser took 2nd.
Well, let's look at the race.

They were paced to 880 in 2:11, which was good, but a bit slower than the 2:10 (or even 2:09) they wanted.
The NOP crew of Moser, Jordan Hasay, and Mary Cain followed in tow.
However, that fast first half proved too tough for them.

Rowbury lost it in the last 50 meters.
Moser hung best, her 4:27.49 a PR, and moving her all the way from 21st to 9th on the A-T US list!
Hasay also PR'ed---barely.
Her improvement by 0.10 seconds--to 4:28.27, makes her 12th A-T US.
And Mary Cain?

Well, she had a crappy day!
On the tail of her NOP-mates halfway through, and even through 1200, she faded to a 71.54 final 400, ending her run at 4:31.31.

But non-NOP'ers ran good.

Stephanie Charnigo--who is having a good year--finished between Moser and Hasay, running 4:28.02.
This moves her into the 11th spot on the US list!

Morgan Uceny ran her fastest INdoor Mile, time of 4:29.39--her first at sub-4:30.
She's now 19th A-T US.

Heather Kampf also got a PR, running 4:30.07.
But there's a somewhat sad ending to her story!
You see, while she ran her fastest INdoor mile, so did others!
This left her OFF the US list (in 25th place!), whereas if she'd run that time about 5 minutes earlier, she'd be ON the list---for about 5 minutes!!

One woman who WAS kicked off my US list--permanantly!--was Darlene Beckford, whose 4:30.12  dated from 1983!!

Two Collegiate Women ran well in the race.
Shelby Houlihan WANTED the CR, as she stated quite emphatically in a pre-meet interview!
But the fast early pace--which she bravely followed--was too much, as she faded to a 4:30.77.
Nonetheless, this makes her 10th A-T Collegiate.

And surprising Rosie Clarke (from Iona College, where Kate Avery goes) ran 4:31.78, which makes her 13th A-T Collegiate.

Moved OFF my Collegiate DDD is the iconic Sonia O'Sullivan, whose 4:33.91 dated from 1991.

The Millrose 5000 was supposed to be Cam Levins's to lose.
And lose he did!!

Lopez Lomong won, but didn't PR.
Ryan Hill did, in 13:27.80--less than a second behind Lomong.
Hill is now 9th A-T US INdoors.

Donn Cabral also made the US list, running 13:28.64 for 10th A-T US.

A familiar name (to ME, at least!  LOL) was 86'ed FROM the 5000 US list!
A guy by the name of Bill KROHN!!
He's no relation, but his mark was from 1985!

Georgeanne Moline seems to like intermediates!
And I'm NOT speaking of those size hurdles, which is her specialty OUTdoors!
First, she ran that 1:08.84 in the 500 a bit ago.
And now she's added 100 meters to that distance, running a speedy 600 in New Mexico (Don Kirby's meet).
Her 1:27.15 rates her 5th A-T US.
She missed the World Top 24 by just 0.23 seconds!
Oh, and she ran this with NO competition, as 2nd place was 5.75 seconds back!

Back to the Vault!

Mondo Duplantis, the 9th Grade phenom, broke his own Frosh Class record of 16-8, adding 0.75 inches to his mark.
It was supposed to be a major battle between 3 sons of A-T greats (Tommy Dial, Joe's son, and Pauli Benavides couldn't get past 16-5!), but it turned into a Winner for young Mr Duplantis.

In an OUTdoor meet in Perth, Australia, 17 year old Nina Kennedy--She jumped 14-5.25 at the WJC last year in Eugene!--got the Age 17 OUTdoor record, getting over 15-0.75
If she were a US HS'er, she'd be the first over 15 feet!

Renaud Lavillenie broke his own Age 28 record, jumping 19-9.
His 3 tries at 6.17 failed!

Piotr Lisek of Poland set a National INdoor Record with his 19-3 Vault.

Kristen Denk is yet another HS girl to make the A-T INdoor list!
Her 13-4.50 makes her 15th A-T HS, tied with 4 others!

Before I leave the PV (for this post!), I must make a correction!
I mis-calculated the English to Metric conversion for Fabiana Murer's 4.83 from a few days ago.
It's 15-10---NOT 15-9.75, as I'd stated!
So ALL of those records (and places) she set should all be changed to 15-10.

The sprints gave us some good marks.

Ryan Bailey improved to 6.50 in the Seattle 60---in a heat, no less---making him 20th A-T US, tied with 3 others!

John Teeters ran 6.52 at the Tyson meet---also in a heat!--giving him the Meet Record.
It also moves him from 15th A-T Collegiate (tied with 11 others!!) up to 11th, tied with 3 others!
He's just 0.01 from the US Top 24!

The Oregon speedsters--Jasmine Todd and Jenna Prandini--had a good race at Don Kirby.
Todd tied her PR of 7.15 in winning.
And Prandini ran 7.17 in 2nd, making her 18th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others!

The 60H for Men at Millrose was a good race.
Aleec Harris won it with 7.50.
This makes him 21st A-T US, tied with 1 other.

Then came 2 guys at 7.51.
Jason Richardson's time just makes the Top 24---in 24th place, tied with 2 others!
One of those he's tied with is Decathlete Ashton Eaton, whose 7.51 also makes him 24th, tied with Richardson and 1 other!

Leaving the list are two MAJOR names!
Gone are Tonie Campbell (from 1987) and---Renaldo Nehemiah!!
His mark dates from 1984.

Sharika Nelvis beat Jasmin Stowers at Millrose, both PR'ing.
Nelvis's 7.91 won the race, and makes her 20th A-T US, tied with 1 other!
Stowers's mark makes her 22nd A-T US, tied with 1 other.

The 400 produced some good marks--and a mystery!

Bralon Taplin finished just 0.01 behind Deon Lendore at Tyson (in separate heats, however!), but his 45.39 makes him 13th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others.

Taylor Ellis-Watson ran 51.72, making her 19th A-T Collegiate.

Knocked OFF the Collegiate DDD was Natasha Kaiser's 51.92 from 1989!!

On the HS side, I have 2 fast sprint times.

Ryan Clark's 6.68 60 makes him 16th A-T HS, tied with 1 other.

And Chad Zallow ran the 60H in 7.71, making him 8th A-T HS, tied with 2 others!

Kelly Ann-Baptiste ran only 7.24 for 60 meters in a heat (7.28 in the final), but I haven't seen her name in awhile, so I thought I'd make note of her race.

And the mystery?
Well, SRR (aka Sanya Richards-Ross) was entered in the Millrose 400--and even spoke of going for a PR.
But her name failed to show up in the results.
When (and if) I find out why the no-show, I'll let you know!
(ADDED a few minutes after 1st posting!)
Mystery is solved!
When I first saw the 400 results, SRR was NOT listed!!
Now, hours later, she IS!
She finished 2nd to Phyllis Francis in a slow 53.71.

Raven Saunders.
What more to say about this incredible young lady?
She has a habit of leaping past barriers FEET at a time, not inches.
Her first EXPLOSION (that 53-8 in December of 2013) passed all the FOOT marks between the mid-40's and 53.
Then, about 3 months later, at the 2014 NBIN, she went past the 54 and 55 foot barriers, all the way to 56-7.50.
A couple of weeks or so ago, she jumped another FOOT-plus forward, hitting 57-10.50.
And this weekend?
Well, you can forget 58 feet!
She's now thrown the SP out to 59-0.25!!

This moves her from 24th A-T Collegiate all the way to 14th.
But, based on my records, she's still 2.75 inches short of the Collegiate Frosh Class Record, held by Laura Gerraughty, her 59-3 dating from 2003.
More importantly, she misses the A-T US list by just ONE inch!!

Sophie Rivera improved her SP best to 50-6.25, becoming the first 50 footer in the HS ranks this year!
She moves from 21st to 17th, A-T HS.

The Millrose HS Weight Throw saw 2 improvements.
Adam Kelly extended his PR out to 83-3.25.
He remains 6th A-T HS.

And Bobby Colantino hit 76-7.25, making him 16th A-T HS

Chuk Enekwechi became the 2nd Collegiate 80 footer in the WT!
His mark of 80-0.25 leaves him in 2nd on the A-T Collegiate list.
It's also the Age 22 record!
And it's the Collegiate Junior Class Record!
It moves him from 10th A-T US up to 7th, where he's tied with 1 other.
On the World list, he moves from 12th to 8th, where he's also tied with 1 other!

Kaylee Antill's 58-2 WT makes her 21st A-T HS.

In the 3000 at Millrose, two Ducks moved onto the Collegiate list.
Eric Jenkins won the race in 7:44.91.
He's 5th A-T Collegiate.
And he's 20th A-T US.

His Duck-mate, Will Georghegan, ran 7:45.71, for 7th A-T Collegian.

In the Women's 3000, Sally Kipyego won in a Meet Record time of 8:41.72.
Here too, 2 Collegians ran well behind her.

Emily Sisson hit 8:52.60.
She's now 5th A-T Collegiate, moving up 13 places, from 18th.

Kate Avery timed out in 8:53.12, moving her up 1 spot, from 7th to 6th, on the A-T Collegiate list!

The Men's 1000 race at Millrose was supposed to be well under 2:20, but wasn't!
That might have helped HS'er Myles Marshall stay in the game.
His 2:24.43 makes him 8th A-T HS!

Colleen Quigley ran a fast Mile.
Her 4:29.67 at the David Hemery meet at BU makes her 5th A-T Collegiate.
And 19th A-T US!

Rachel Schneider's 4:30.62 in 2nd misses the A-T US list by just 0.48 seconds!

We're ALMOST done, so hang in there!
(Or go get your dinner, then come back for more!)

Marquis Dendy TJ'ed out to 55-11.75 (where he would've been 11th A-T Collegiate and 17th A-T US) at Tyson.
Then he improved to 56-6.50.
This leaves him 8th A-T Collegiate, and 11th A-T US.

Akela Jones LJ'ed 21-9.50, making her 16th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others!

Keturah Orji had another big series in the TJ.
She didn't PR, but she nabbed 3 more 45 footers, finally reaching a winning 45-7.25 at Tyson.

Dior Hall is slowly moving into Top 24 list range!
Her PR at 60H timed out at 8.07.
She's just 0.08 seconds from the Frosh Class Record!

In the Relays, Alabama Men's 4X400 team ran 3:06.05.
They're now 21st School on the Collegiate list!

The Clemson Women's 4X400 squad timed 3:33.04.
They move from 18th to 14th School on the A-T Collegiate list!

Kansas State's Women join the list in 21st place.
They ran 3:34.27.

At the BU meet, Villanova's Men's DMR team ran 9:27.04.
They move from 4th to 3rd School on the A-T Collegiate list!

My watchdog role for the Bronxville Girls team found out they ran the 4X800 Relay at Millrose, finishing 2nd in the race, but running their fastest time of 2015, a 9:10.16, getting a 2:12+ anchor from Laura Holland!

In the British Championships, two Heptathletes battled it out in the HJ.
Katerina Johnson-Thompson prevailed over 17 year old Morgan Lake, 6-5.50 to 6-4.25.

For KJT, it's the National INdoor Record for Great Britain!
And for Lake, it's the British Age 17 Record!

Speaking of young ladies, newbie Professional Alexa Efraimson ran 800 meters in 2:05.18.
This ranks as the HS Pro record, as well as the HS Pro 12th Grade record!

In a Half-Marathon in the United Arab Emirates, Mary Keitany prevailed over Mamitu Daska, 1:06:02 to 1:06:27.
Keitany hit her first 10K in a swift 31:07, then held pace throughout!
Daska's time is the National Record of Ethiopia!!

Finally (!!!!), here's a list of some good times (and races) run on OT's.

In Seattle, Cristian Soratos (from Montana State) ran the Mile in 3:55.27.
Brandon Kidder followed in 3:57.13.
There were 6 guys under 4:00.

A race in Iowa saw 8 dip under 4:00.

Also in Iowa, Edward Kemboi ran 800 meters in 1:46.09.
In Seattle, it was Caz Loxsom's 1:47.8 winning over Andrew Wheating, who finished in 3rd.

Pierce Murphy won the Seattle 5000 in 13:39.29.
Eight guys were faster than 13:50.

Jessica Tonn won a 5000 in 15:47.65.

Dominique Scott and Brie Felnagle ran good times in Seattle's 3000, Scott running 8:52.57, with Felnagle running 8:54.77.

Fourth in that race was Stanford Frosh phenom Elise Cranny, who ran 9:02.36.

In Iowa, North Dakota State's Erin Teschuk ran 3000 meters in 9:02.49.

And my favorite Blogger (other than myself!!  LOL) and Tweeter (?), Phoebe Wright, finished 2nd in the Seattle 800 in 2:04.70.

I just wish all of the above had run those times on 200 meter tracks!!

Had enough, my friends??
Because that's a WRAP!!

(Until we meet again, that is!!  LOL)
























Monday, February 9, 2015

Polling My Readers

This will probably be the shortest post I've done.
I just want to find out what you think about my blog.
So here's a few questions for you, my dear readers.
Hope you'll take a moment to comment (in comments section below).

1. Overall, is this blog covering Records, Marks, and List Places...
A-Better than anyone else.
B-Good, but not so special.
C-Lots of room for improvement.

2. Are my results posts (meaning, non-editorial posts!)....
A--Way too long
B--Correct length, considering amount of material
C--Wish there was more

3. Regarding my editorials, do you...
A--Like them, because you agree with my opinions
B--Like them, because you think this blog should cover the entire sport, not just Records & Marks
C--Hate them, for whatever reason(s)

4. Do you look to my blog...
A--Before any other source, to find out what happened at XYZ meet
B--As back-up source, after you've checked T&FN, House of Run, MileSplit, etc
C--for a good giggle

The next question is more an "essay" question

5.  What part(s) of my blog would you like to see...
A--More of
B--Less of
C--Remain the same

Finally, some informational questions about YOU!

1. How many of the 115 posts (before this one) have you read?

2. Do you read every word, or just scan it for specific races or events?

3. Do you like that I cover the 4 groups (World, US, Collegiate, HS) about equally?

4. Are you Male or Female, and how old are you?

5. Is your interest mainly....
A--Track (which event?)
B--Field (which event?)
C--Road Racing
D--Cross Country
E--All of the above!

Thank you for reading my blog, and for answering this poll!

See you immediately after Millrose!!

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Boston Strongest, but so much more!

The New Balance USA Women's DMR team shattered the only WR set at the (Sic!) New Balance Boston Indoor meet!
And they almost got beat!

But while the Boston affair--as it always is--was heavily star-powered up front, with top-end marks to match, there was a whole lot more going on this day--in the US, and around the world!
Would you believe TWO more PV records (and a few near misses of even more!)?
Also a bundle of Age, Meet, National (other than the US), and Class Records!
And a ton of DDD list-making marks too!

The NB-USA team was book-ended by Sarah Brown (1200) and Brenda Martinez (1600).
They destroyed the old mark of 10:50.98, set in 2005 by the University of Tennessee.
Interestingly, Sarah Brown (then Bowman) ran on the college team, AND on the NB team!

She led off with a blazing 3:15:54, but she was behind a team called the NY All-Stars, who started with a 3:14.32 leg from Stephanie Charnigo.
But the race was seemingly put away when the NB team got a strong 400 of 53.61 off Mahogany Jones!
But the NY women got the faster 800 leg, 2:04.18 to NB's 2:05.68.
So it came down to the anchors, Nicole Tully for NY and Brenda Martinez for NB.
And Tully shocked by running 4:28.14!
However, Martinez, racing for the 1st time this year, kicked like the 1:57+ 800 person she is over the final 200, sprinting past Tully near the tape, ending her leg in 4:27.77.
I don't have her final 200 time, but it had to be very close to 30 seconds! (Or under!)

The new WR, and AR, and Meet Record,  is 10:42.57.
The NY team ran an excellent 10:42.79.

Third was a team from Ireland, who ran a National Record of 11:03.07.

Jenny Simpson counted her laps accurately this year!
The result was her smashing the American Record in the 2 Mile, time of 9:18.35!
The Miles were run in about 4:42 and 4:36, and her final 400 was around 64.
(If I get better split times, I'll put them in my next post!)

So we can finally say Bye-Bye to Regina Jacobs's 9:23.38!

For Jenny, she got the AR and the Age 28 record.
But the Meet Record (9:10.50 by Meseret Defar in 2008) eluded her.
(I have no doubt she's capable of that time, but she chose to run negative splits.)
She moves from 11th A-T World up to 7th.
And she rises from 2nd to 1st on the US list!

Three others ran good times, but all were left in the dust when Simpson made her move.

Sentayehu Ejigu ran a solid 9:27.05, but it wasn't a PR.
However, she got the Age 29 record!

Buze Diriba was next, running 9:29.03.
She got the Age 20 record, but only by 2.38 seconds!
(I'll explain in a minute!)
This makes her 14th A-T World.

Gotytom Gebreslase ran 9:31.41.
She's the one who missed getting the Age 20 record because she finished 2.38 seconds behind Diriba, whose 21st birthday will be 2 days from now!
She ranks 15th A-T World!

Speaking of Age Records, Bernard Lagat got his first INdoor Age 40 mark.
His 2nd place 3000 meter time of 7:48.33 smashed the old mark by 13 seconds!
Lagat now owns a total of 18 INdoor Age Records!
And 9 of them--from Age 32 to 40--are from the 3000!!

Another Age Record was set by 18 year old Dawit Seyaum in the 2000 meters.
Her time of 5:35.46 rates her 5th A-T World in the seldom-run distance.
(She doesn't get the Ethiopian record, however!)

Sally Kipyego outsprinted Emma Coburn for 2nd, running 5:40.35.
It's the Kenya National Record.
And she's now 14th A-T World.

Coburn's time of 5:41.11 just missed Kim Conley's winning time from last year's race, missing it by just 0.01 seconds!
It was a 6 second PR, but she remains 3rd A-T US.
She's also 20th A-T World!

The Men's 1000 saw Matthew Centrowitz coming within 0.24 of the American Record!
His 2:17.00 moves him from 16th A-T US up to 2nd!
He's now 13th A-T World!
It's the new Boston Meet Record.

Pat Casey ran 2:18.30 to make him 9th A-T US

Moved OFF my Top 24 list was the venerable James Robinson, his mark dating from 1982!

The Women's 1000 saw an upset of sorts, as Treniere Moser outkicked the kicker, Mary Cain!
She ran a PR by just 0.02 seconds, but a PR's a PR!
Moser's 2:37.86 leaves her in 8th A-T US.

Cain ran a good time of 2:38.25, but it's only her 2nd best time.
It did, however, gain her the Age 18 record!

Stephanie Brown, who had run 2:41.31 to open her season, improved to 2:39.64.
She moves from 21st A-T US up to 14th!

New Zealand's Nick Willis won the Mile in 3:51.61.
It breaks John Walker's NZ record of 3:52.8, set in 1981.
(I don't yet have his 1500 split---if one was taken!---but it too certainly would break the NZ National Record!)
It is the Boston Meet Record.
And it moves him from 24th A-T World all the way to 10th!
He also nabbed the Age 31 record!

Ben Blankenship got a good PR, time of 3:53.13.
This makes him 8th A-T US!

Ryen Frazier won the HS Mile at Boston, but her 4:44.02 is not a PR.

In the Boys HS Mile, Logan Wetzel and Jack Salisbury had a thrilling last lap duel, with Wetzel edging Salisbury, 4:08.75 to 4:08.76!
They missed the INdoor HS DDD by 0.08 and 0.09 seconds, respectively!

Finally (from Boston!!), there was a good Women's 300 race.

Tiffany Townsend outran Natasha Hastings, 36.74 to 36.80.
Third was Jessica Beard in 37.32.

I don't have their places on the US A-T list right now, but I'll put them in my next post---if I can find a reliable up-to-date list!

The "Year of the Pole Vault" continues unabated!
(And then some!!)
Where do I begin??

How about with a new Collegiate Record by the current CR holder?

Shawn Barber upped his CR, and Canadian National, and the Collegiate Junior Class, AND the Age 20 records, all with his Vault of 19-3.50!
He then made 3 attempts at the Worldly 6 meter height of 19-8.25!!

The Men's High School Record also fell!!
Devin King lost his record from last year by a quarter inch!

Deakin Volz--son of the "Volzing" inventor, Dave Volz--cleared the bar at the new HSR height of 17-10.50!
It also breaks King's 12th Grade Class record!

Fabiana Murer got a new INdoor PR, reaching 15-9.75.
It's the Age 33 record, breaking her own mark by over 9 inches!
It also ups her National Record of Brazil.
And it moves her up one spot on the A-T World list, from 7th to 6th!

He missed his 3 tries at it, but WR holder Renaud Lavillenie did try to top his WR from 2014.
His 3 tries at 6.17 (20-2.75) failed.
But his make of 19-8.50 does make him sole holder of the Age 28 record, breaking the marks held by himself and Sergey Bubka (both 19-8.25)

His brother, Valentin, got a PR, however, reaching 19-0.25, or 5.80.
Their combined height is now 39-2.75!!

The showdown between all 3 of the latest Women's CR holders--Kairlin Petrillose, Sandi Morris, and Demi Payne--took place in New Mexico.
And while Payne's CR of 15-7 survived, they made quite a battle of it!

Petrillose went out first, followed by Tori Pena of Ireland.
Then the bar went to 15-3.25, which would have been a PR for Morris.
But she missed her 3 tries.
Payne went over.

Then she made 3 jumps at a new CR height of 15-7.25, but missed all 3.
(One was said to be THIS close!!)

Another good battle took place at the Boston meet.
New Oiselle member, Mary Saxer, edged Jenn Suhr and Melissa Gergel, all 3 making 14-9, with Saxer getting the win on fewest misses!

And I'm not finished yet!!
Hang in there!

It's slightly old news---a few days--but Mutaz Barshim HJ'ed 7-10.50 (2.40).
It's the Age 23 record, the old mark being Dietmer Mogenburg's 7-10 from 1985!
It's also the Qatar National Record, breaking his own!
And it moves him from 10th A-T World (tied with 6 others) to 5th (tied with 3 others).

Rodney Brown threw the Shot Put 69-3.25, making him 13th A-T Collegiate.

Stipe Zunic got a SP mark of 67-7.50, making him 22nd A-T Collegiate.
Pushed OFF my Top 24 Collegiate list was none other than John Godina, whose 67-4.75 dated from 1995!

Cameron Brown threw the WT out to 76-8.50.
This puts him in 12th place on the A-T Collegiate list!

And Raven Saunders finally heaved a solid PR in the SP, reaching 57-10.25!!
This ups her previous best, INdoors or OUTdoors, by more than a foot!!
AND...it makes her Number One on the 2015 Collegiate list!!
Remember, she's just a Freshman!!

Lauren Rain Williams (Yes, the "Rain" is part of her name!) sprinted a great 200 in 23.39.
This makes her suddenly 6th A-T HS!!
And it's the 10th Grade record!

Remember me mentioning a girl by the name of Amaris Tyynismaa, a distance runner from Alabama?
She's an 8th Grader.
(I believe I mentioned her during XC!)
Anyway, she ran what MIGHT be the 8th Grade record for 2 Miles INdoors!
She ran a great time of 10:32.94.
If it's not a NATIONAL 8th Grade mark, it's the Alabama State record---for all of HS!!
(The 9th Grade record is 10:23.46, held by Michelle dela Vina from 1998!)

Bethany Praska improved her 600 meter time by 0.02 seconds, to 1:28.66.
She remains 15th A-T US.

Shaquille Walker ran a 600 in 1:17.82, making him 22nd A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other.

Courtney Okolo ran the 400 in 51.35, making her 13th A-T Collegiate!

A couple of studs opened their 2015 seasons in winning fashion.

Carmelita Jeter sped 60 meters in 7.31.
And Aries Merritt won his 60H heat (7.62) and final (7.57).

Remember the "Dancing Girl" of the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona?
Michelle Jenneke became a You Tube sensation with her charming warm-up routine at the starting line before her 100H race!
Well, Ms Jenneke can now start being thought of as a fairly serious hurdler--at least in Australia, where she's from.
She ran a PR (by 0.19 seconds!) of 13.04, becoming Australia's 5th fastest High Hurdler, behind Sally Pearson and a few other illustrious names!
(Speaking of Sally, she had a good double (OUTdoors, as was Jenneke's run!).  She did 100 in 11.16 and got a 200 PR of 22.97!)

The USATF XC meet took place in Boulder CO.
This was the Trials for the World XC, to be held a few weeks from now in Beijing!

Chris Derrick took the Senior Men's race.
Laura Thweatt took the Senior Women's race.

Connor Mantz took the Junior Men's race, while University of Colorado Freshman Kaitlyn Benner took the Junior Women's race.
(HS'ers Katie Rainsberger and 10th Grader Lauren Gregory took 3rd and 4th in the latter race!)

Galen Rupp is suffering from a virus, and withdrew from Millrose, and the rest of his INdoor season!!

And there was an announcement of a brand new MAJOR OUTdoor meet coming up in Boston!
It will be June 6th, and is called the Boston Track Classic.
One of its sponsors is Hoka One One.
Leo Manzano is the first athlete to sign on!

Tell me, do you need anything more to make your day?
(Not to worry, as noted earlier, I'll do a post mid-week if I find anything else that can't wait until my Millrose opus!!)

BULLETIN!!  BULLETIN!!  STOP THE PRESSES!!

The total insanity of the "Year of the Vault" continues!!
WTF is going on, folks??

Just minutes after I posted this, I discover ANOTHER record has been broken!!

Earlier, I said that Deakin Volz had broken Devin King's year-old HSR with a jump of 17-10.50.
Well, hold on to your hats!

Now I learn that Pauli Benavides, already a 17-6.50 Vaulter this year, has broken Volz's brand new record!!
He went over 17-11, breaking Volz's mark by half an inch!!
He also claims the 12th Grade record.

TWO HSR's in ONE DAY!!!
(Deja Vu all over again?  Remember when Sandi Morris, then Demi Payne, got the Women's CR in the space of about 15 hours?  Except these HSR's seem to have happened in the space of MINUTES, not hours!!)

Wow.







Friday, February 6, 2015

What Is Isn't, or Is It?

Gabrielle Grunewald
Andy Bumbalough
Bob Hersh
Emma Coburn

What do those 4 people have in common?
They have all been shafted, in one way or another, by the organization known as USATF.

Briefly, here's their tales of woe.

Gabe, as she is called by most, won the 3000 race at the INdoor version of the USATF meet in 2014.
But Alberto Salazar filed a protest, and she was handed a DQ.
After a weekend of sheer insanity, Jordan Hasay's humanity and decency ruled the day, and Gabe was reinstated, allowing her to compete in the WIC in Sopot.

Andy's story is somewhat similar.
He also was DQ'ed by a Salazar protest at that USATF meet, based on the charge that a contact he had with another runner during his 3000 race caused that runner to lose.
Except that there was no contact!
It took over 9 months--the time it takes to conceive and give birth to a baby--for USATF to rule that there had indeed been no contact!

At their Annual meeting last November, a vote was taken to determine who from USATF would represent them before the IAAF.
A vote was taken among all the members, and Mr Hersh beat Stephanie Hightower, the vote being something like 350 to 70.  (Can't remember the actual numbers, but these are close!)
But the CEO's of USATF didn't like that democratic vote's outcome.
So THEY voted, with the tally being something like 13 to 1 in Hightower's favor!

And now Emma has suffered a similar fate.
In a DL meet last summer (Glasgow), she broke Jenny Simpson's AR in the 3000SC, running 9:11.42.
But she wasn't tested for drugs after the race, as USATF rules state she must, as do all who break AR's.
This rule was installed 4 years ago.
The meet's organizers did not ask for a drug test.
No one did.
Not her agent, nor her coach.
Because she is her own agent.

And that is where---and why---my anger emerged.

Coburn had the greatest season by an American female Steepler-- EVER!
She was tested many times in 2014.
The World rules call for only the winner, and one other chosen at random, to be tested at DL meets.
Coburn finished 2nd in that race, and wasn't selected for testing.
She didn't know about USATF's rule.
So in the excitement of setting the American Record, she didn't volunteer to be tested.

And that is why--as are the cases of Grunewald, Bumbalough, and Hersh--the sport of Track and Field is so unpopular in the US of A.

The general populace just can't understand it!!

It's supposed to be so simple.
The fastest, highest, or farthest WINS!
And if you do it faster, higher, or farther than anyone ever did before, you become the Record Holder, whether it be World, Collegiate, High School, or American records in question.

I don't know all the details, but something similar happened (to Coburn's story) in 2006.
A Men's 4X400 Relay team, the USA All-Stars, ran 3:01.96 for the fastest INdoor time ever (in Fayetteville).
But they weren't tested for EPO, a necessary factor in acceptance of major records.

So when another USA team ran 3:02.13 at last year's WIC, THAT time was ruled to be the WR.
Not sure, but I think one organization (IAAF or USATF) says that one of those times is the WR, but not the AR---or vice versa!
(The 2011 edition of the TAFWA All-Time World Indoor List--a book I own--lists the 3:01.96 as the fastest time, but with an asterisk, noting the lack of the EPO tests.)

And there are other rules which add to the confusion about our sport.
And I don't disagree with these rules.
Ones involving wind-assistance, false starts, sizes of tracks, having cones on the curves when there's no curb.

But when a crowd at a meet watches someone run a super fast time in a 100, or jump far, only to find out the time or distance was ruled illegal because of excessive wind, they emit a collective GROAN!
They THOUGHT they had seen a WR or an AR, only to learn they hadn't!

Gabe THOUGHT she had won that 3000, and was heading to Sopot.
Andy THOUGHT his race wasn't the best (He finished 6th!), but that it was legit.
Bob THOUGHT he would represent USATF before the IAAF.
And Emma THOUGHT she had broken her friend Jenny's AR.

All intelligent observers of our sport THOUGHT the same!

Then USATF stepped in, covering the eternal simplicity of our sport in FOG and CONFUSION!

USATF is an acronym which stands for United States of America Track and Field.
It is the body which rules the sport of Track and Field for the United States of America.

Yet, with the four situations described above (as well as that of the Relay teams), this organization becomes nothing more than an EMBARRASSMENT to the sport of Track and Field, and to the nation it represents, the United States of America.

For shame, USATF, for shame!

If you want to read  much more eloquent and insightful essays on USATF, and other viruses affecting our beloved sport in negative ways, please seek out anything written by Lauren Fleshman.
She has become our sport's greatest spokesperson, in my opinion.
Please Google her articles.
They are EXCELLENT---a quality of which USATF is greatly lacking!


This Blog, Aaron K's Track and Field Record Book, will continue to honor and ACCEPT Emma Coburn's 9:11.42 as the American Record in the 3000 Steeplechase!
(I also honor and accept the 3:01.96 as the World and American records in the Men's 4X400 Relay INdoors!)
There are NO asterisks!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Mid-Week Update

Sorry for the delay, but I have enough stuff left off the previous (LONGGG) post to warrant this mid-week update.
There is another reason I'm doing this today, which I'll explain in a bit.
First, here's the marks to whet your appetite for what's coming next weekend.

Is Kim Collins sprinting's Bernard Lagat?
Or perhaps the male version of Merlene Ottey?

Believe it or not, he ran a PR for 60 meters!!
Yep, he ran 6.48, walloped Brit James Kilty, and eeked out a PR by 0.01 seconds.
It's obviously an Age 38 record.
It's also a St Kitts National Record!
And it puts him in 21st place on the A-T World list, but tied with 7 others!!

Another significant mark came from HJ'er Kamila Licwinko, but it's significant for a more personal reason!
You see, when there's a whole lot of ties at or near the bottom of one of my DDD lists, it creates mayhem on the page and frustration in my heart!

Well, the Women's INdoor HJ Top 24 had about 35 (!) names on the list, due to a massive amount of ties at 2.00 meters, or 6-6.75.
I kept wishing for that ONE woman who was NOT on the list, or was one of the 2 meter women, to finally reach 2.01, or 6-7!

And Ms Licwinko did!!
Her 6-7 allowed me to cross off many marks from the 80's and 90's, and 2 from this century!
Some of those axed were:
Yelena Yelesina (1990)
Lyudmila Avdeyenko (1988)
Larisa Kositsyna (1988)
and Colleen Sommer from 1982!
She was the only American to be 86'ed!
The newest, from 2013, was Alessia Trost, who of course has a chance to join (or surpass) Licwinko!

Anyway, Licwinko moves to 17th A-T World, but she's tied THERE with 7 others!!
But for now, my list is back to just 24 names!!

An old mark I didn't report is Sabrina Gaitan's WT of 59-7.
This moves her from 22nd A-T HS to 13th.

Adam Kelly threw the Weight 83-0, making him 6th A-T HS.

JC Lambert, another WT'er (whom I'd never even heard of before!), improved to 79-4.75!
This moves him onto the World list in 10th place!!
It also moves him up on the US list from 20th to 9th!

Noah Lyles, who is almost as much a prodigy as Kaylin Whitney, ran 300 meters in a blazing 33.32.
This is a Class Record for 11th Graders!
And it makes him 7th A-T HS!!

This has been quite a year for the 300.
Or should I say quite a WEEK?!
(Remember the great marks I reported in the previous post from Rai Benjamin and Sydney McLaughlin!)

Maybe I should have put this next mark right after the news about Kim Collins!
Venelina Veneva-Mateeva HJ'ed 6-2.75 for the INdoor Age 40 record!
(Amy Acuff will have some work to do just to dominate the 40-and-over crowd!!  Although Amy won't turn 40 until July!)

Nicole Green HJ'ed 6-0.
She's now 8th A-T HS, tied with 7 others!

Kate Hall LJ'ed 20-1.50, making her 21st A-T HS, but tied with 2 others.

And in the SP, Sophia Rivera got out to 49-9.25.
She's also 21st A-T HS.

Andrew Hudson ran the 200 in 21.36, so he's now 23rd A-T HS.

And Terrell Jackson has an 800 time of 1:51.80, which makes him 24th A-T HS!
(Too bad his recent 1:50.63 was on an Oversize Track!!)

Same goes for Grant Fisher's 4:07.29 Mile!
If he'd run that on a legal track, he'd be 10th A-T HS!

Remember my report on Stanford's DMR of 11:04.99?
Well, I found out that Elise Cranny ran the anchor 1600 in 4:34.76!

Finally, good news from the Kayla Montgomery front!
No PR, or sub-17:00 time (yet!), but this wonderful girl WON her race at the Ed Temple meet in Nashville last Sunday!!
She WON!!
Her 18:02.39 beat one of her teammates by 24 seconds!!
(She beat the other 7 runners as well, of course!)

That other reason for this post, mentioned earlier, is this.

I've been saying what a HOT first several weeks this INdoor season has been.
Well, at least on the HS level, maybe NOT as hot as I thought!!

I decided to do some comparing.
So I went to my trusty copy of Jack Shepard's HS Track 2015 book.
I selected marks from the 2014 INdoor lists (in Jack's book).
Meaning, the list covering the entire 2014 INdoor season!

Then I went to the 2015 HS lists on the T&FN website.
And there, I ran into a problem, which was the direct cause for my delaying this post!

I wanted to wait until the lists were updated to include last weekend's marks.
Normally, this happens on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
But not this week!
As of an hour ago, the lists were the OLD ones, or as of January 27th or 28th, NOT as of February 3rd!

Soooo, following are the numbers.
After each event (except the Relays, the 5000, and the Multis), from left to right, I put the mark I chose, how many reached at least that mark during the entire 2014 INdoor season, then how many (as of January 27th or 28th!) have reached that mark THIS year!!
I intend to update this list every week or two!!
(Although I'm relying on T&FN to do their job!!)
Men on the left, Women following on the right.

60 (6.80)               6          2          (7.40)          3          0
200 (21.50)           3          3          (24.00)        4          0
300 (34.00)           5          2          (38.00)        1          0
400 (48.00)           6          1          (54.00)        1          0
500 (1:04.00)        1          0          (1:15.00)      2         2
600 (1:20.00)        1          2          (1:33.00)      7         0
800 (1:52.00)        4          1          (2:10.00)      3         0
1000(2:27.00)       5          1          (2:50.00)      3         0
1 Mile (4:10.00)    2          0          (4:45.00)      3         1
3000 (8:28.00)      3          2          (9:40.00)      4         0
60H (7.90)            4          2          (8.40)           5         0
HJ (7-0)                4          1          (5-10)           2         1
LJ (24-0)              5           0         (20-0)           2          1
TJ (50-0)              4           2         (41-0)           3          0
PV (17-0)             3           3         (13-4)           4          6
SP (64-0)             1           1         (50-0)           4          0
WT (75-0)           3            2        (60-0)           2          0

Comments:
Remember, the left column for each gender is the FINAL 2014 TOTAL!
The next column  is as of late January, meaning there were about 6.5 weeks left in which to build on those numbers!!
Given those criteria, we see that the Men have surpassed the 2014 totals in one event, the 600.
And they are tied in 3 events, the 200, PV, and SP.

For the Women, they have surpassed the 2014 totals in the PV, and tied 2014 totals in just 1 event, the 500.

So given the fact that there are 6.5 weeks left (after those late January dates of the T&FN lists!), is this season REALLY as great as I've been saying.....or not?

Here's a few more numbers from my Book, specifically my INdoor DDD lists.

As of TODAY (February 4th, early morning!), there are a total of 81 marks dated 2015.
When I say "dated", I mean they happened from January 1st on!
So those great marks that started coming in late November and throughout December are NOT counted!!
Even though they happened in the "2015" season, they ACTUALLY happened in 2014, so are NOT counted as 2015 marks!!
(Only on my DDD's!  The earlier chart includes marks from the entire INdoor season called 2014-2015!)

Those 81 marks are divided this way:
World Men, 4
World Women, 8
US Men, 8
US Women, 15
Coll Men, 10
Coll Women, 12
HS Men, 11
HS Women, 13

Men, Total------33
Women, Total-- 48

Next post will have ALL the Records and Marks from the NB Boston meet!!
And it, as always, should be FANTASTIC!!!

See you then!!