If you read my NCAA post, you know the Collegians closed out their OUTdoor season with a bang!
Well, the official Collegiate season may be over, but there's still the Professionals and HS'ers keeping my BIC pens busy revising my T&F Record Book with fantastic Records and Marks from around the world!
With that fabulous NCAA meet now behind us, let's travel to NYC for their DL meet, to Oslo, where the venerable Bislett Games were held last week, to Boston, where a small "Twilight" meet gave us a couple of good marks, to Cuba (of all places!!), where a couple of US HS'ers had some list-changing performances, to Portland, where the Portland Track Festival may have had a better meet than Payton Jordan, and finally, to Arkansas, where.......Oh heck, why don't we start THERE?
Take off your OUTdoor hats for a moment, and put on your INdoor ones!
We have ourselves a brand new INdoor HSR in the Pole Vault!!
Tori Weeks, just graduated from HS and soon on her way to the University of Arkansas with her twin sister, Lexi, broke her sister's INdoor HSR in a meet called the "AVC School's Out Open".
"AVC" stands for Arkansas Vault Club, which puts on some small meets which often feature the Weeks twins.
In their meet yesterday, Tori vaulted over 13-8, then 14-0, then with the bar set at 14-4, she soared over with room to spare!
How do I know?
Because the AVC puts out videos of their jumps--all of them---with the highest one in slow motion!!
Make sure you look for it.
I put it on Twitter, or look at T&FN MB in the thread titled "Year of the Vault".
Anyway, Tori moves from 5th A-T HS to 1st.
She also becomes the INdoor Senior Class record holder.
Both records were held by her sister!
We'll now move back to OUTdoors for the remainder of this post!
Let's do this in chronological order, starting with the Bislett Games.
As seems to be the case with Diamond League meets of late (maybe starting last year??), they've become kind of hit-or-miss affairs.
Meaning some are outright DUDS, and some are FILLED with record-smashing performances!
Well, Oslo wasn't a "dud", but it also wasn't that great either!
The stand-out was Genzebe Dibaba's 14:21.29 5000.
Yet that run could also stand as metaphor for what I said above!
She'd SAID she would be shooting for sister Tirunesh's WR, set in that same meet in 2008.
But bad pacing and weather (plus lack of competition!) put paid to her intentions!
Laura Muir is having a good year.
She beat Faith Kipyegon, Dawit Seyaum, and Abeba Aregawi in a 1500, running 4:00.39.
Asbel Kiprop won the Mile in 3:51.45.
But the only record set in that race was by Pieter-Jen Hannes of Belgium, whose 3:51.84 is their new National Record!
Another National Record was set by the Women's JT winner, Marharyta Dorezhon, whose 211-10 throw is the new National Record of Israel.
Kaliese Spencer beat Georgeanne Moline in the 400H, 54.15 to 54.29.
Muriel Ahoure took down Veronica Campbell-Brown in the 100, 11.03 to 11.08.
And maybe a bit symbolic of the "duddiness" of this DL was the Men's HJ results!
With a solid field filled with men who had reached 2.40, the win fell to China's Guowei Zhang's 2.36.
Behind him were the Big B Boys, Mutaz Barshim and Bogdan Bondarenko, who could reach just 2.33.
The Adidas NY DL returned DL-dom to its proper position on the Track and Field's world's schedule.
It wasn't the greatest DL ever---or even this year!---but there were some glorious moments!
And as at the Prefontaine meet, perhaps none came nearer to greatness than the Girls "Dream Mile".
Let's take a look.
The winner, in 4:37.91, was Christine Aragon.
Favored in the Pre Mile because she'd run the 1500 in 4:16 recently, she came in 3rd there.
But in NY, she outkicked Ryen Frazier in a time that moves her from 18th A-T HS up to 5th!
Frazier's 4:38.59 moves her from 12th A-T HS up to 6th.
AND she broke the Frazier family record, beating sister Wesley's HS best.
She teasingly tweeted her sister with...."How does it feel to be 2nd?"
OUCH!
In 3rd was Amanda Gerlach, who ran 4:40.25.
She's now 17th A-T HS.
Next came Katie Rainsberger, whose 4:40.92 makes her 20th A-T HS.
Then, Julia Heymach's 4:41.31 made her 24th A-T HS!!
My HS Girls DDD now has EIGHT marks from 2015 on it, one-third of the Top 24 A-T marks!!
Another list that took a beating in NY was my Women's US 1000 Meter DDD.
In a non-DL race, Mary Cain made her first appearance since leaving NOP's headquarters to return home.
(In a post-race interview, she seemed happy and her usual loquacious self, but she refused to answer a question about the NOP scandal!)
In the race, Erin Donohue continued her comeback with the win, running 2:37.42.
This makes her 10th A-T US.
She was followed by another NOP member running her first race since the bombs hit.
Treniere Moser (who, in her post-race interview-denied using drugs, saying she knew nothing about it, having joined the group after the nefarious activities had allegedly started!) ran 2:37.53, almost catching Donohue with a hard sprint down the straight.
She's now 14th A-T US.
Dana Mecke was next, running 2:37.80.
She's now 17th A-T US.
Then came Cain, who looked in finer fit than she was in her 3 poor 1500's this spring, but who faded in the last 200, running 2:38.57.
But her "comeback" didn't bring her to the US DDD.
The 3 women ahead of her prevented Cain from making the list.
She missed out by just 0.09 seconds!!
The NCAA meet featured that great Women's PV battle between Sandi Morris and Demi Payne.
I talked about the Weeks twins earlier.
Well, in NY, you had a pretty fair battle going on between Greece's National Record holder, Nikoletra Kiriakopoulou, and the "Ancient Warrior", Fabiana Murer of Brazil.
They both made 15-9, with Murer winning.
She broke her own Age 34 record!
Kiriakopoulou's 15-9 broke her own NR.
It also moves her from 16th A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 10th, also tied with 1 other.
Christobel Netty got the NY Meet Record with her LJ of 22-8.50.
Ruth Beitia and Blanka Vlasic both HJ'ed 6-5.50, both getting the NY Meet Record.
Daniel Rudisha was one of NY's featured athletes, and he came through with the win, in the 1:43+ category.
But it was the 2nd place man who made the headlines---even if the TV commentators didn't know who he was!!
Boris Berian, who seems to have come out of nowhere this year, ran a startling 1:43.84, and almost catching Rudisha!!
He's now 10th A-T US, tied with 2 others!
Watch out for him at USATF!
Matt Centrowitz was another NOPian present in NY.
(Their Coach was nowhere to be seen!!)
Centro, in a speed test, ran a PR in that 800 race, running 1:44.62.
He misses my US DDD list by only 0.08 seconds!
Fran McCorory became the first Woman in 2015 to go under 50 seconds in the 400.
Her winning time of 49.86 became the new NY Meet Record!
The Men's 400 found a relative newcomer EXPLODING through to a contender's position for a medal in Beijing!
Wayde van Niekerk ran 44.24, becoming the new National Record holder of South Africa.
But he missed LaShawn Merritt's MR from 2014 of 44.19!
He also misses my World DDD list by just 0.03 seconds!!
I'll close my NY report by returning to those HS "Dream" races.
Candace Hill won the Women's Dream 100 convincingly, running 11.21.
This 16 year old Soph moves from 21st A-T HS, tied with 1 other, to 12th, also tied with 1 other.
Keep in mind that at 16, and still a Soph (until August 31st!), Candace has a shot at Kaylin Whitney's HSR, and Soph Class record of 11.10!
Is she yet another HS candidate for the Pro world?
The Men's Dream Mile was won by Grant Fisher in 4:01 and change.
(Since when does a 4:01 HS Mile fail to excite?? LOL)
But the 2 who finished behind him made some news.
Andrew Hunter ran 4:02.36, becoming 18th A-T HS.
And Mikey Brannigan, who is autistic, ran 4:03.18.
But he misses my HS DDD by 0.46 seconds!
Let me break the forward sequence of my reportage by returning to some old news.
After my previous results post (the one before the NCAA post!), some news came in that I saved for my next results post.
But the NCAA post was too long for me to fit it in, so I'll do it here instead!
The Asian Games, held in the week before Oslo, produced some good marks.
Femi Ogunode sprinted the 100 in 9.91, setting a National Record for Qatar.
Another Qatar National Record came in the Men's 4X400 Relay.
They ran it in 3:02.50.
A Bahrain National Record was set in the Women's 400H.
Kemi Adekoye ran it in 54.31.
Ling Li PV'ed 15-3.50 for the National Record of China.
Apparently, "foreigners" are allowed in the Asian Games.
Because 3 Americans produced solid marks.
Dani Bunch threw the Shot 61-0, becoming 19th A-T US.
Whitney Ashley threw the Discus 212-7, moving from 14th to 11th on the A-T US list!
Liz Podominick's DT of 209-6 moves her from 18th to 15th on the A-T US list!
Four HS'ers provided the other "old" news.
That California State HS meet Women's 3200 race had enroute times taken at 3000 meters.
(BTW, why don't ALL the HS meets who run the 3200 do that? If they're not going to allow the kids to run the 2 Mile, at least time them officially at a widely accepted distance, like the 3000! It would be so easy too. Just time them at the usual 200 meter starting line! Duh! Same goes for the 1600. If they refuse to let them run the Mile, then time them officially at the more accepted distance of 1500 meters! Again, so very easy to do!!)
Anyway, in that GREAT 3200 battle between Fiona O'Keefe and Destiny Collins, O'Keefe was timed at 3000 meters in 9:21.3.
She's now 21st A-T HS at that distance!
Collins was timed at 3000 in 9:20.7.
She's 17th A-T HS!!
Grant Holloway's LJ of 25-8.75 makes him 23rd A-T HS, tied with 1 other.
And Hannah Long ran a fast 800, her 2:04.23 making her 19th A-T HS.
Sticking with High Schoolers for awhile longer, let's move to that meet in Cuba I mentioned.
Don't know the details, but apparently a whole group of American kids made the trip, as well as some from Caribbean nations.
Jamaica's 15 year old Christopher Taylor continues to excel.
He broke his own World Age 15 record in the 400, running a phenomenal 45.55.
(His previous PR was 45.69, run a few weeks ago!)
Noah Lyles PR'ed in the 200, sprinting a fine 20.48.
This was in a MINUS 0.17 wind!!)
He's now 13th A-T HS.
Pushed OFF my DDD was iconic Floyd Heard, whose 20.61 dated from 1985!
And Ryan Clark dazzled with a PR of 10.18 in the 100.
He moves from 23rd A-T HS, tied with 1 other, to 7th, also tied with 1 other.
There was a World Challenge meet in Rabat, Morocco.
The best mark came from Almaz Ayana, who PR'ed by about 2 seconds in the 3000, running 8:22.22.
She moves from 17th to 11th on the A-T World list.
BTW, just ahead of her, in 10th, is the 8:22.20 by Marathon WR holder Paula Radcliffe, dating from 2002!
Returning to meets in the United States, let's go first to Massachusetts.
In that Twilight meet I mentioned, Molly Huddle practically soloed the 5000 in a good time of 14:57.23.
(Second was Amy Cragg (formerly Hastings) in 15:30 and change.)
Good warm-up for her USATF 10000!!
Perhaps a speed test for her USATF 5000, Abbey D'Agostino won the 1500 in a PR time of 4:08.04, beating her previous best from 2014 INdoors, when she ran 4:09.77 enroute to that 4:28.31 Mile!
Second, about 5 seconds back, was Corey McGee.
We'll end this post in Portland.
Remember, at the end of my NCAA post, I said the Portland Track Festival (PTF) was sort of a "Minor League Payton Jordan"?
Well, I may have been just a wee bit off in my rush to label!
This year's version of the PTF was just shy of ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR....in a Payton Jordan-ish sort of way!! LOL
Where to begin?
Let's start with the best Men's mark of the 2 day meet. (Saturday and Sunday evenings!)
Evan Jager, his iconic mane tied tightly in a ponytail, won the High-Performance section of the 1500 in a fantastic 3:32.97!!
We knew he was speedy, but this was pretty much out of the blue!
It set a new PTF Meet Record.
And it makes him 12th A-T US.
Garrett Heath ran a solid race too, hitting 3:34.13.
However, he missed his PR by a mere 0.01 seconds!!
There was a special Men's 600 with a CLASSY field!
Charles Jock prevailed over Harun Abda, Mark Wieczorek, and Nick Symmonds.
Jock ran 1:14.33.
I don't keep OUTdoor 600 records, but I looked it up in my 2015 edition of Peter Matthews Athletics Annual.
They list just the Top 7 Performers.
But with the 7th best being a 1:13.9, I imagine Jock's time to be close to the Top 10, or at worst about 12th or 13th.
Abda's time was 1:15.07.
Wieczorek ran 1:15.81.
And Symmonds came in 4th in 1:16.13.
Jock's time became the automatic PTF Meet Record, as I believe it was run there for the first time!
Cam Levins came within 1 second of Dathan Ritzenhein's 2012 Meet Record in the 5000, winning it easily in 13:20.68.
(Levins was one of several NOP members in Portland. But he wasn't talking, and Salazar was nowhere to be seen!!)
Andy Bayer nabbed the PTF Meet Record in the 3000SC, winning easily in 8:26.75.
Back in the pack was HSR holder Bailey Roth, who came close to his HS PR, running 8:48.53.
I have no idea where he's attending college---if anywhere---or whether he's a Professional now!
The Women's races provided a lot of good results.
I'll start with the 3000SC.
Shalaya Kipp won easily in 9:45.90.
On the first night, they ran the Women's High-Performance 5000 and 10000 meter races.
Marathoner Des Linden led most of the way in the 10K, leading a few women to USATF Qualifiers.
Her winning time was 32:50.93.
Next came Sara Hall--Ryan's wife--who ran 32:50.96, just behind Linden.
They were followed by Natasha LeBeaud's 32:51.02, and Amy Van Alstine's 32:52.74.
The 5000 had Emily Infeld beating Shalane Flanagan, 15:07.19 to 15:11.15.
They ran together until about a mile to go, trading the lead every 800, then began to race!
Back a ways came Brie Felnagle in 15:37.17, Kara Goucher (in her first track race in a couple of years!) in 15:40.81, followed by NOP member Jordan Hasay (returning from injury), who ran 15:45.10, and TrackTown Movie maker Alexi Pappas, who clocked in at 15:46.38.
BTW, Infeld's time misses my US DDD list by just 0.66 seconds!
And it's the new PTF Meet Record!!
The last NOP person in Portland, Shannon Rowbury, doubled in the 800 and 1500....both run inside of a half hour of each other!!
She came in third in the 1500, but almost catching winner Lauren Johnson's 4:07.33 with a deadly sprint.
Canadian Sasha Gollish was 2nd in 4:07.47.
Rowbury's time was 4:07.52.
Other notable finishers included Canadian Sheila Reid in 4:09.14, Hannah Fields in 4:11.00, NCAA 3rd placer in that 1500, Sara Sutherland, competing just a couple of days later, and running a 2 second PR of 4:11.06, and 800 specialist (and Twitter and blogger Wit!!) Phoebe Wright, who ran 4:11.62.
Running in a separate heat, Oregon HS'er, Ella Donaghu, won her heat in 4:20.83.
She became 23rd A-T HS!
Forgot to mention it, but Johnson's time of 4:07.33 is the new PTF Meet Record.
Fiona Benson, a Canadian, set a PTF Meet Record in the 800, winning it in 1:59.94.
Once again, there was a solid line-up of elite women following her.
Like I said earlier, as part of her 1500-800 double, Rowbury finished 2nd here in a fast 2:00.53.
That means she started with this 800, "rested" about 20 minutes, then ran her 1500!!
Two more Canadians followed her.
Melissa Bishop's time was 2:00.67, and Jessica Smith's time was 2:01.07.
Then came Katie Mackey, PR'ing in 2:01.20.
She was followed by Annie LeBlanc, who also got a PR with her 2:01.87.
Well, folks, that about wraps things up for THIS week!!
But fear not!
Because we'll soon be having the NBN meet upon us!!
And THAT has proven to be a real workload for this Old Record Book keeper!!
Yet there's ANOTHER big HS meet coming up soon---the Brooks PR meet!
And in 2 weeks is the USATF---also known this year as the World Championships Trials!!
Not sure yet if I'll have a Preview post for the NBN.
I'm going to wait and see who's going to be there!
But I DO plan one for the USATF meet!!
Meanwhile, have a great week, and see you soon!
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