Two HS Class Records (& a Book Review)

The Book Review of the title is for "World's Greatest in Athletics".
(MUCH) more on that in a few.
But when an athlete breaks (or ties) TWO Class Records in the first week of January---in ONE MEET!!--you have to lead with that!

Brian Herron (Decatur GA) broke one Class Record, and tied another, making for an incredible "rust-busting" day!
His 48.76 for 400 tied one of the more venerable Freshman Class records--that being William Reed's from 1985!
Herron also broke Michael Grant's 200 mark of 21.95 from 2001, running a pretty fair time of 21.84.

If this is what he does in his FIRST meet of the year, what can we expect from him the rest of the way?
As I said in my Class Records Predictions posts, Frosh Class records are the most difficult to predict, since this blog doesn't cover the Middle School grades--or just an occasional name or two!
But now we HAVE some data to work with.
So I'll go out on a limb---albeit a pretty safe one--and say I can see times of 21.6 or 21.7 in the 200, and a sub-48 in the 400---THIS INdoor season!--for Herron!
BTW, he also ran the 60 in 6.99!
(The Frosh Class record for the 60 is 6.78!)

Other good marks came in recently.

Shawn Barber again opened his INdoor campaign with a solid Vault--this year, it being 19-3.50 (5.88).
(Last year, if you recall, he opened half an inch lower!)

In the same meet, Demi Payne also opened good, reaching 14-10.
(Keep in mind that in 2015, she entered the year as a SUB-14 foot PV'er!!  A bit of an improvement, yes?)

Keeping with the PV for a second more, let's return to the Jenn Suhr Saga!
Her 15-5 (4.70) Vault WAS apparently 15-5, and NOT 15-7, as some sources first reported.
That said, if I find out anything different, I'll be sure to let you know.
Her season best remains her 15-9 from early December!

One thing I CAN tell you is that the Freshman girl I mentioned as Vaulting 11-9.75 in Suhr's meet (Erica Ellis), improved to 12-1 a couple of days later!
She's now 8.50 inches from tying the Frosh Class record!

A Half-Marathon in Jacksonville FL produced a slough of OT Qualifying times, with maybe the most significant being Chris Derrick's 1:03:41--in his FIRST race at the distance!
He's contemplating doing the Trials race!

Jonathon Grey won the Men's division in 1:02:47, with Fernando Cabada 2nd.
The Women's winner was Stephanie Dinius, time of 1:13:41.
And 43 year old Kevin Castille also Q'ed for the OT's with his 1:04:33!!

In Mixed races at BU's 3rd Mini-Meet, Abbey D'Agostino showed she's back, hitting a PR of 0.03 seconds for 3000, time of 8:51.88.
Liz Costello also opened good, running 9:01.13.
Cory McGee ran 9:19.13.
Abbey finished behind just 5 men!!

Some news from a couple of Professionals!
Jamie Cheever has signed with Oiselle!
And Alana Hadley now has a shoe sponsor--"On" from Switzerland!
(Never heard of them, but a sponsor's a sponsor!!)

BOOK REVIEW
by Aaron Krohn

"World's Greatest in Athletics" (Jonas Hedman, Richard Hymans, and Peter Matthews) is a book FILLED with Track and Field statistics that will keep you busy perusing it for a LONG time!
Its 832 pages (paperbound) are divided into 3 sections.

1. All-Time Rankings, by event, for Men and Women
2. Deep A-T Lists, many extending to 500 for an event, and covering EVERY event in the sport!
3. Decade-by-Decade Top 10's, most starting at 1900 (although most Women's lists start with the 1930's!)

Let's take a peek at some of the more fascinating (and Controversial??) stuff.

I must give these guys a prize for having the courage to even TRY to rank an athlete from 100 years ago with a currently active athlete!
It's like trying to rank Babe Ruth & Walter Johnson with Albert Pujols & Clay Kershaw in Baseball, or Wilt Chamberlain & George Mikan with LeBron James & Kobe Bryant in Basketball!
Good luck!

Here's some I personally was surprised and/or "dissatisfied" by!

Men
Jesse Owens just Honorable Mention in the 100?
Jeremy Wariner ahead of Lee Evans in the 400?  (Were they drunk when they decided?)
Peter Snell just 7th in the 1500?  Oh really?
And Jim Ryun 10th!!
How about Roger Bannister rating only Honorable Mention status??
(No swearing, AK!!)
Even worse, Ron Clarke---RON CLARKE!!!--gets just 7th in the 10K, and is nowhere to be found in the 5000!!
(Call 9-1-1, please!!)

One I'm not TOO upset about is that Mo Farah got just HM in the 10K, and is invisable in the 5K.
In field events, you won't find either Bogdan Bondarenko or Mutaz Barshim in the HJ Top 10!

(NOTE: I should have told you before, but their criteria for these selections are Championships won, Marks, and Longevity!  With that in mind, SOME of their choices make---sense!)

Bob Beamon ranks only 10th in the Long Jump!
Neither Pablo Pichardo or Christian Taylor are in the TJ rankings.

(Another NOTE: The book's data ENDS at December 31, 2014!  So the 2015 season was NOT included in their deliberations in any way!)

Julius Yego ain't in the Javelin!
But here's one that assuredly will lead to HUGE and LENGTHY discussion!
Ashton Eaton gets just Honorable Mention in the Multi's!!
Okay, I understand their criteria of athletes needing long careers to rank (the longevity factor!), but come on!
They couldn't place him SOMEWHERE in the Top 10???

(Author's NOTE: My differences of opinion with the authors are just that--differences of opinion!  They in NO WAY take away from the greatness of this magnificent book.  In fact, they ADD TO it!!  Giving the READER the space & time to make THEIR choices only is given birth by the choices THEY made!)

Well, the Women's Rankings weren't exactly without some controversial choices, so let's take a look!

Flojo ranks only 6th & 7th in the 100 and 200!
Mary Slaney is nowhere to be found--not even an HM!--in the 1500.
(That may be my American bias showing!  Sorry!)
But Qu Yunxia--FORMER holder of the 1500 WR!--ranks only 10th in that event!
The only Dibaba listed is--Tirunesh!
In that US stronghold--the 100H--you'll find Dawn Harper-Nelson getting only Honorable Mention!
And Lolo Jones?
The Invisable Woman!
The woman who moved the fledgling Pole Vault past the 15 foot barrier--Emma George of Australia--is ranked just 7th!
Helena Fibingerova gets only 7th in the Shot Put!
You won't find Sandra Perkovic in the DT rankings!
And while, as noted, the 2015 season wasn't included, Anita Wlodarczyk gets just 3rd in the Hammer Throw!
And the Heroine of the 2012 Olympics--Jessica Ennis (-Hill)--is ranked just 6th in the Multi's!

Now here's some fascinating numbers from those VERY long A-T lists.
But first a few NOTES!

As I said, some of the lists are less than 500 deep.
Those are mainly the newer events!
But the book has lists for EVERY event--including such as the 300, 600, 2000, 2000SC, 100 Yards, Two Miles, all of the Relays (except the SMR and the DMR), the 20K and 50K Walk for Men (but just the 20K for Women!), and the Half-Marathon!
It includes lengthy lists of Wind-Aided marks for the sprints and Horizontal Jumps!

One BAD thing---IMHO--is that, for Field Events ONLY, they integrate INdoor marks onto their lists!
This is NOT done for the running events!
Also, please note that this is basically an OUTdoor season book!
There are no lists for such INdoor events as the 60, 60H, or the Weight Throw!

Anyway, here are those stats I spoke of!

The lists for the 100's--legal & windy--take up 16 & 15 pages, respectively, for Men & Women!
300th fastest 100 meters is 10.11, while 500th best is 10.17!
500th best 200 is 20.44 for the Men.
100th fastest 400 is 44.63.
There are 201 sub-45's!  (Again, data ends with the 2014 season!)
And 500th best time is 45.38!
For the 800, there are 122 sub-1:44's!
(BTW, I'm talking about Performers, not Performances!!)
300th fastest is 1:45.05, and 500th is 1:45.70!
There's 304 performers with sub-3:35 times in the 1500!
You need to run 3:36.35 to make the top 500!

Evan Jager's 3000 PR of 7:35.16 gets him 101st place!
But this list ends at 352, as they stop at the 7:43 line!
The Two Mile list is 69 deep, or all the sub-8:19's!
In the Mile, you'll see there's 58 sub-3:50 performers!
Jim Ryun?  He's 102nd!
But this list too stops short of 500, ending at 3:53.49 in 212th place!

There have been 87 sub-13 minute 5K guys!
Also, a sub-13:10 will get you just 213th place, while 500th best is 13:19.04!
Did you run a 10000 under 27:30?
Then you'd be 189th!
In the 10K, you'll find Steve Prefontaine's 27:43.6 in 366th place!
A 27:51.07 gets you 500th place!
The 500th fastest Half Marathon is 61:14.
For the Full Marathon, 500th is 2:09:03!
Thus, American Icons such as Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter are NOT included!!
It takes just 8:26.2 in the 3000SC to get you in the Top 500!
The 110H finds 54 sub-13.20 performers!
200th best is 13.42, while 500th is 13.62.
There are 195 Men with times of 48.99 or faster in the 400H.
500th is 49.64!

(NOTE: All of the Field events are listed in Metric ONLY!!)
Have to get out my copy of "The Big Gold Book" here!!
Also, let me remind you that INdoor marks are included in the appropriate Field event lists!
UGH!!

For the HJ, it takes a 7-5.25 (2.27) for 500th place!
In the LJ, the 500th best mark is 26-6.50 (8.09).
Jesse Owens's best mark gets him 372nd!!
There's 315 TJ performers who have reached 17.00 meters (55-9.25)
500th place is 16.77, or 55-0.25!
In the PV, 100th best is 5.81 (19-0.75), while 400th is 5.60 (18-4.50), and 500th dips to 5.55, or 18-2.50!
132 SP'ers have reached 21.00 meters (68-10.75), while 451 have gotten marks of 20 meters (65-7.50).
500th best is at 19.88, or 65-2.75!
232 DT'ers have reached 65.00 meters (213-3), but 500th is just 62.16 (203-11).
The "new" Javelin Throw list sees 316th place reaching 80.00 meters, or 262-5!
Only (??) 102 Hammerers have gotten to the 80 meter mark, while 500th requires just 73.06 (239.8)!
8000 points in the Decathlon would get you just 374th place!!
7902 is needed for the Top 500!

(NOTE!  This book gives you EVERY event mark in ALL 500 Decs listed!!  IMHO, this is one of the BEST features of the entire book!!)

Well, it's only fair I give you some data for the Women's A-T lists!!
(I know this post--and review--is already too long, but I didn't want to do a separate post for the review!!)

If Candace Hill's 2015 mark of 10.98 were on the 100 list, it would rank 79th!
Kaylin Whitney's 11.10 is ranked 174th!
500th fastest is just 11.28!
There have been 148 sub-22.50 performers in the 200!
500th is only 22.93!
78 women have run sub-50 in the 400!
300th is a 51.17, while it takes 51.65 to rate as 500th!
You've run a sub-1:57 800?  Then you'd rank 71st!
Mary Cain's HSR of 1:59.51 finds her in 340th place!
Sub-2:00??  There are 437 women listed in that group!
Cain's 1500 HSR (4:04.62) is 314th!
500th requires a 4:06.71.
Only 100 Milers are listed, and that woman ran 4:26.66!
All 300 women who have run 3000 meters faster than 8:48 are listed!
200th place is an 8:43.08!
There are 149 sub-15 minute 5K runners listed!
300th is a 15:11.78, while 400th (Only 400 listed!) is a 15:17.53.
500th best in the 10K needs just 32:10.57!
73 have run under 31 minutes, while 397 are under 32 minutes!
There are 79 women faster than 9:30 in the 3000SC!
All of the sub-9:55's are listed, with the last of those being in 325th place!
A 70:34 Half-Marathon will get you in the Top 500!
A Full Marathon of 2:26:51 gets you 300th, while 500th is 2:28:47!

NOTE: Boston--and other "downhill" courses-- are on a separate list!!

200th in the 100H needs a time of 12.84!
Dior Hall's HSR of 12.92 is rated 281st!
And Michelle Jenneke's 2015 PR of 12.82 would get her in the Top 200 All-Time!!
500th needs just 13.11 of her time!
The 300th fastest 400H is a 55.85, while 500th is a 56.53!

Maria Michta-Coffey's 20K Walk American Record would rank her 196th!!
400th is 1:34:13!
However, this list stops short of 500, at the time of 1:34:28!

In the Field events, a 2.00 meter HJ (6-6.75) gets you 67 women!
300th is at 1.93 (6-4)
And--with all the ties at 1.90 (6-2.75)--the HJ list has 577 (!!) names on it!!
In the LJ, 69 have reached 7.00 meters (22-11.75).
200th best is at 6.81 (22-4.25), 400th is 6.69 (21-11.50), while 500th is at 6.64 (21-9.50)!
The TJ list ends at 473rd, a mark of 13.70 (44-11.50).
277 have reached 14 meters, or 45-11.25.
Keturah Orji's PR gets her in the Top 200!

The Pole Vault list ENDS at 499th place!!
Why not 500th?
I guess it's because there would be too many tied at the mark that would follow below the 4.20 (13-9.25) that ends at 499th!!
400 are at 4.22 (13-10) or higher, while the Top 200 is a 4.40, or 14-5.25!

77 women have reached 20 meters (65-7.50) in the SP!
300th place is a distance of 18.16 (59-7).
And 500th needs just a 17.45, or 57-3!!
In the Discus Throw, 200th is a 63.66 (208-10).
396 have reached 60 meters, or 196-10.
500th is at 58.88, or 193-2!
For the "new" Javelin, just 277 are listed, or everyone over 57.00 (187-0).
144 have reached 60 meters with the new spear!
200th is at 58.36, or 191-6!
In the Hammer Throw, 99 have reached 70.00 meters, or 229-8!
400th is a 63.07 (206-11), while 500th needs a 61.94, or 203-2!

For the Heptathlon--Again, EVERY event mark is listed for ALL 500 women!!--you need "just" 5895 points to make the list!
201 are at 6200 or better!

Well, I won't keep you much longer---that is, IF you're still with me!!
Just want to remind you that in the Best-by-Decade section, for the Men, most events start at the 1900 decade.
For the Women, most events begin with the 1930's!
And the newest additions to the Women's event menu--the 3000SC, HT, TJ, PV--start from either the 1980's, or as late as the 2000 decade!

This definitive work also has 5 pages of Women's name changes!
It also has a chart of how many marks (for the Top 500 lists) came from each nation!!

For the Men, the US high came in the 200, with 223 performers!
Kenya's high--natch!--is in the Marathon, at 250!!
The US has 154 Men in the SP!!

For the Women, the most US performers comes in the PV, with 164!
And the 100 beats the 100H for the US, 149 to 148!
Surprisingly, the Hammer Throw numbers 132 Americans!!

The Women's Marathon list finds Japan tied with Ethiopia for the lead, with 86 apiece!
Kenyan women?
Only 69 make that list!
The US has but 17!!

OKAYYYYYY!!!!

See you soon---unless reading all this sent you into delirium tremens!!!
LOL