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.