And here;s the rest of my Age Records Predictions!
(Well, not really predictions! Just stating which Records are available for breaking, and by whom!! The work is up to THEM!!)
29
Mr Bolt need run only 9.79 and 19.55 in the 100 and 200 for Age 29 Records--that is, while he's still Age 29--aka up through August 20th!!
La Shawn Merritt has until June 26th to run a 400 in 43.65--matching his PR!--to get this mark!
Renaud Lavillenie has until September 28th to PV 19-8.25 for this Age Record!
Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce needs to PR in the 100--to 10.64--to match this Record!
Like most of the distance people, Jenny Simpson can select which Age Records to go after.
Up through August 22nd, she needs to run the 1500 & Mile in 3:54.23 and 4:22.18, or the 3000 & Two Mile in 8:23.26 and 9:20.25 (The latter Record is held by her "rival", Shannon Rowbury!!), or the 5000 in 14:26.90!
Brittney Reese needs to LJ 24-0.25 (through September 8th!), while Yarisley Silva has a PV target of 16-1.25, but starting on June 1st!
28
Ashton Eaton can blindfold himself and get this Record--8900 points in the Decathlon!
Sofia Assefa needs to run the 3000SC in 9:08.37!
27
Ashton's wife--Ms Brianne Thiesen Hyphen--has a mere 6858 points to score in her specialty, the Heptathlon!!
Is David Rudisha back all the way?
(He began this year with a 1:44.7 in Australia a month or so ago!!)
He needs to run the 800 and the 1000 in 1:42.82 and 2:13.08 for those Records!
Asbel Kiprop will be gunning for some sturdy marks in the 1500 and Mile--3:26.84 and 3:46.71.
Yes, the Mile mark is the American Record of Alan Webb!!
BTW, Kiprop can't start chasing those marks until June 30th!
Evan Jager has the 3000SC mark of 8:00.43 to go after!
Joe Kovacs has a SP distance of 74-7.75 to go for, but only starting June 28th!
Pawel Fajdek must throw the Hammer 273-7!
And Julius Yego has a Javelin Throw distance of 313-10 to chase!
26
Asbel Kiprop will be 26 through June 29th!
His marks to go after are 3:26.12 and 3:44.45 in the 1500 and Mile!
(Prefontaine??)
Matthew Centrowitz has those same times as targets!
But he has all season!
Bogdan Bondarenko--if he's back!--needs to HJ 7-11.25!
Joe Kovacs has his own SP best of 74-0.25 to chase!
But he needs to do it by June 27th!
Christian Taylor turns 26 on June 18th, and his target is 58-8.75!
Mare (No Relation) Dibaba has a Marathon time of 2:19:59 to chase, but only through October 19th!
Hiwot Ayalew's 3000SC time to gun for is 9:06.72.
25
Mutaz Barshim had better return to form if he wants this HJ standard--it's the World Record of 8-0.50!!
He doesn't turn 25, however, until MY birthday--June 24th!!
And Christian Taylor--up through June 17th!--can target his own mark of 59-9 in the TJ!
Emma Coburn has a FAST 9:01.59 in the 3000SC to gun for!
(I believe she CAN get it!!)
And Genzebe (World Record Queen) Dibaba??
Oh shit, let her go after the 100, 200, the SP, the HT, the.....!!!!
Just JOKING!!
But she DOES have more targets to aim at than anyone else!!
800 of 1:55.05. 1000 in 2:30.6. 1500's a mere 3:53.96. The Mile? Eh! Just 4:15.61.
The 3000 and Two Mile are 8:19.78 and 9:12.90. Her 5000 target is a JOG of 14:28.39.
And the 10000 is 29:56.34! But heck, go for the WR there, Genzebe!! LOL
24
Wayde Van Niekerk has a PR time of 43.29 to shoot for!
But he has to wait until July 15th when he turns 24!
Pascal Martinot-Legarde has until September 21st to run the 110H in 12.94.
Mutaz Barshim has a slightly easier target HJ here--7-11.25!
And he has until June 23rd to get it!
Dafne Schippers and Elaine Thompson finished just 0.03 seconds apart in the WC 200 last year!
Their birthdays are relatively close too--June 15th for Dafne, and June 28th for Elaine!
So starting on those respective dates, their target in the 200 is the same--21.81.
Almaz Ayana has a few marks to aim for.
8:23.68 and 9:21.35 in the 3000 and Two Mile, 14:12.88 in the 5000, and 29:53.80 in the 10000!
Demi Payne has through September 29th to PV 16-1.25!
Sandi Morris must wait until July 8th to go after the same height!
23
Kirani James has through August 31st, while Wayde Van Niekerk has only through July 14th to try to run the 400 in 43.45!
Ayanleh Souleiman needs a 1500 and Mile time of 3:26.00 (Just the WR!!) and 3:44.39! Jairus Birech's 3000SC target is 7:55.72.
Sam Kendricks seems ready to go MUCH higher in the PV!
But can he reach 19-9.25 by September 6th??
Pedro (or whatever) Pichardo's TJ target is just 58-3.75--beginning June 30th!
Sandi Morris has through July 7th--Ringo Starr's 76th birthday, for all you Beatles fans!!--to reach 16-5.25 in the PV!!
Katarina Johnson-Thompson's Heptathlon score to chase is 6942!
22
Muhammed Aman has fast times in the 800 and 1000 to gun for--1:41.33 and 2:14.52.
Shawn Barber has 6 meters (or 19-8.25) in the PV to aim for, but starting on May 27th!
PPPPichardo has through June 29th to TJ 58-9.50!
The new Discus Throw phenom--Sam Mattis--can target 222-9!!
Shaunae Miller's 200 and 400 times to go for are 21.62 and 48.27!
And yes, I believe she has that kind of potential--though maybe NOT in 2016! We'll see!!
Ajee Wilson can go after the 800 and 1000 times of 1:55.32 and 2:29.34.
Difficult, but doable---eventually!!
Faith Kipyegon's another distancer with various targets!
3:56.60 and 4:17.75 in the 1500 and Mile, or 8:24.31 and 9:35.04 in the 3000 and 2 Mile, or 14:24.53 in the 5000.
21
Trayvon Bromell turns 21 on July 10th!
Starting then, he has VERY fast times of 9.69 and 19.26 in the 100 and 200 as his targets!
Shawn Barber has through May 26th to PV 19-9.25!
20
Trayvon Bromell has through July 9th to run the 100 and 200 in 9.89 and 19.63!
Dawit Seyaum's targets--beginning July 27th!!--in the Mile and Two Mile are 4:23.92 and 9:40.01.
19
Noah Lyles will turn 19 on July 18th!
His 100 and 200 targets from that date will be 9.84 and 19.81.
Too tough?
Well, in some interviews INdoors, he spoke of his goals being "9.7 and 19.7"!!
I believe he's capable of both!!
Konrad Bukowiecki's SP mark to aim for is 66-10.50--a mark he's already reached--at a younger age!!
Irene Ekelund's 200 target is 22.07.
Same for Ewe Swoboda, but add the 100 mark of 10.88 for her!
However, Swoboda doesn't turn 19 until July 26th!
Dawit Seyaum has MORE times to shoot for here than when she turns 20 on July 27th--the 1500 & Mile (3:56.98 and 4:17.57), the 3000 and Two Mile (8:28.83 and 9:20.81).
Ruth Chebet's 3000SC time to aim at is 9:20.37.
Morgan Lake's Heptathlon point score to go after is a solid 6788!!
She turns 19 on May 12th!
There's FOUR female Pole Vaulters going after the same height of 15-9!
Only one of them has reached that mark already!!
New Zealand's Eliza McCartney SET this Record earlier this OUTdoor season!
Can she match or break it?
Yes.
But the other 3--Nina Kennedy, and the Weeks twins--Tori and Lexi--will be trying to raise their bars too!!
Kennedy turns 19 on April 5th!
18
Noah Lyles has slower times at this Age to aim for--9.97 and 19.99 in the 100 and 200.
Adam Hague's PV target--up through August 28th--will be 19-0.25!
Lazaro Martinez of Cuba has a TJ number of 56-9.50!
Kaylin Whitney and Ewe Swoboda both have 100 and 200 times of 10.89 and 22.18 to aim for!
But Swoboda has to do it no later than July 25th!
Vashti Cunningham's HJ mark to aim for is 6-7.
0-17
(NOTE: If you've been a long-time reader of my blog, then you know I don't have Records for specific ages lower than 17! Thus, my Category of "0-17"--meaning any age up to and including Age 17! But If I have reliable sources, I DO report occasional Records for younger ages!! They're just not part of my Record Book!!)
Mondo Duplantis has the mark set by Adam Hague last year--18-4.50 in the PV--to aim for!
And Duplantis may still be just 16!! Don't know his birthdate, but I'm sure it's 17 or younger!
Chris Taylor's 400 time target is 44.71.
Candace Hill has her own 100 time of 10.98--set last year when she was only 16!!--to shoot for!
She can also try for Allyson Felix's time of 22.11 in the 200!
Sydney McLaughlin only turns 17 on August 7th.
Thus, she'll have until August 6th of 2017 to get this Record!!
It's the 400H mark of 54.93.
Nina Kennedy's Record of 15-0.75--set last year--can be matched or broken by Wilma Murto or Lisa Gunnarson!
Gunnarson, I believe, is about a year younger than Murto!
I was a bit more "conservative" in my listing of Age Record candidates this year--listing just the ones who I felt had SERIOUS potential or ability to get the particular Record!
That said, even THESE people won't all be successful!
In fact, here's some numbers from 2015 that talk to this!
In the 24 events for which I have OUTdoor Age Records (Same for both genders, except the Men do the Decathlon, while the Women do the Heptathlon, and the Men's High Hurdles distance is 110 meters, while the Women run 100 meters!), there are just 56 Age Records that have 2015 as their date!
And they were pretty evenly divided--29 for the Men, and 27 for the Women!
By event, here's the breakdown--all Records set in 2015!
Men have 4 Age Records in the 100 (19, 29, 33, 39) and SP (18, 24, 26, 37).
Women have 4 in the Marathon (19, 32, 38, 40 & over).
Men have 3 in the 1500 (19, 32, 40 & over).
Women have 3's in the 1500 (22, 24, 30), the HJ (0-17, 33, 39), and PV (0-17, 28, 34).
A pair each for the Men in the 200 (29, 33), 400 (29, 36), Marathon (33, 40 & over), and TJ (21, 25).
For the Women, 2 each in the 200 (19, 23), 1000 (19, 34), 3000SC (31, 37), 100H (19, 23), and HT (29, 30).
One apiece for the Men in the 800 (40 & over), 1000 (27), Mile, 3000, and 5000 (all 40 & over--Guess who?!), 10000 (32), 3000SC (33), PV (0-17), JT (26), and Decathlon (27)!
For the Women, one each went in the 100 (0-17), Mile (29), DT (25), and JT (18).
Shut out in the Age Record category for the Men were the 2 Mile, 110H, 400H, HJ, LJ, DT, and HT!
For the Women, they got ZERO Age Records in the 400, 800, 3000, Two Mile, 5000, 10000, 400H, LJ, TJ, SP,, and Heptathlon!
I know this has been a LONG post already, but I want to clear the decks of marks I have stored BEFORE the Texas Relays get under way tomorrow!!
So take a break, then return for some pretty fair EARLY EARLY marks!!
The World Championship Half-Marathon was run in Cardiff, Wales!
MO FARAH LOST!!
Okay, so in non-track races, he's lost before!
Still, it's worth headline status--old NY Daily News style! LOL
Geoff Kamworor fell at the start, had to wiggle through 100's of joggers during a 4:15 Mile (!!!) to catch up, then won in a GREAT time of 59:10!!
Bedan Karoki was 2nd in 59:36, followed by Farah and Abeynah Ayele, both timed in 59:59!
First American was Tim Ritchie in 23rd, time of 1:03:49!
The Women's winner was Peres Jepchirchir, time of 1:07:31.
Cythia Limo took 2nd in 1:07:34, while Mary Ngugi was 3rd in 1:07:54.
Janet Bawcom was 1st US in 11th, time of 1:10:46, while Sara Hall was 15th in 1:10:58.
Various Women got decent PV marks.
14-9's went to Lexi Weeks (3 misses at 15-1), Kristen Hixson, April Steiner-Bennett, and Alysha Newman.
Weeks and Newman both are now 6th A-T Collegiate, tied with 6 others, including each other!
Lexi also becomes 22nd A-T US, tied with 8 others!
Newman is Canadian!
Demi Payne and Annie Rhodes both reached 14-7.25.
Rhodes keeps improving, and is now 16th A-T Collegiate, tied with 6 others.
Tori Pena reached 14-5.25, while Tori Weeks got over 14-1.25.
Desiree Freier competed as unattached (!!) in the same Arkansas meet as the Weeks girls, but could reach just 13-5.25.
Not sure if she's redshirting, or why she was listed as unattached!
A DEEP field of HS Milers were seen at a meet in California--and they ran a full Mile, NOT the 1600!!
ELEVEN guys broke 4:10, with 3 going sub-4:05!!
Connor Dunne's 4:04.59 beat Austin Tamagno's 4:04.83 and Eduardo Herrero's 4:04.99.
Tyler James ran 4:05.97, with 7 more coming through in the next 4 seconds!!
My Top 24 list ends at 4:02.70, but JEEZ, to have 11 guys sub-4:10 in one race in March!!
WOW!!
Shayla Sanders had a good sprint double, winning in 11.13 and 22.77, both wind legal!
She beat the 11.21 of INdoor sensation Teahna Daniels in the 100, and the 22.83 of Morolake Akinosun in the 200!
All wind-legal!
Tinesha Mutanga beat Tevin Hester in a legal 200, 20.52 to 20.60!
Ricky Morgan won the 400 in 45.54.
But it was Jaide Stepter who REALLY shone!!
She blasted into the World 400 lead with her 50.91!!
She misses my Collegiate DDD by just 0.04 seconds!!
Eric Futch edged Byron Robinson in the 400H, 49.45 to 49.48.
Sage Watson ran a 400 in 52.20.
The PAC 12-Big 10 dual's Men's 800 was a good one!
Daniel Kuhn won in 1:46.69 over the 1:46.90 of Collins Kibet and the 1:47.24 of Eugene Hamilton!
Dominique Scott took a solo 1500 in 4:15.61.
Raven Saunders had a "down" meet, reaching "just" 59-6.75 in the SP, 182-11 in the DT, and 186-7 in the HT!!
That's all!
Chace Ealey took 2nd in the SP with a good 58-1.25!
In separate meets, Shelbi Vaughan threw the Discus 194-5, while Kelsey Card got a hit that measured 194-7!
Jason Young had a DT of 208-6.
Tripp Piperi improved (again!) in the HS Shot Put--this time to 70-5.50, moving him up one place on my Top 24 Performers list, from 22nd to 21st A-T HS!
Norman Grimes ran the "adult" 400H, timing 50.50, but it's not a PR!
Fran McCorory worked on her speed, running 100's of 11.55 (heat) and 11.77 (final).
Wind readings were 1.9 and 1.2.
Chanelle Price stuck with the 1500, improving her 2016 best to 4:17.59.
Trey McRae HJ'ed 7-4.50.
A good Women's 4X400 Relay saw USC's 3:29.73 beating Florida's 3:30.07!
But I saved the best--or maybe most shocking--for last!
Curtis Thompson suddenly exploded out to 265-10 in the JT!!
I believe his best previous mark was about 246!
It's the Collegiate Soph Class Record!
It makes him 12th A-T Collegiate!
And he's now 20th A-T United States!!
Two brief news items.
Sandi Morris--after discussions with her coach--decided to NOT compete against the World Class field of Jenn Suhr and Demi Payne at the Texas Relays!!
This news came suddenly in a tweet, after great anticipation was built up--with the thought of seeing THREE sixteen footers in a meet---in March!!
(Though I'm not certain what day the Women's PV takes place, as the meet ends April 2nd!)
Also, the mysterious Mary Cain has been announced as part of the 1500 field in the Drake Relays!
Treniere Moser will also be there, as well as World Class fields in other events!
See you all soon, and thanks for hanging in there!!
CORRECTIONS made!
In my OUTdoor Preview post--with the year's schedule, I made a HUGE error!
(Although I was copying T&FN's HUGE error!! LOL)
The Qualifying meet for the World Juniors does not come AFTER the meet you're trying to qualify for!!
I had the WJC's dates as being in June!
They're scheduled for July 19-24!!
Also, It's Wilma MurtO--not Wilma MurtA.
Sorry!
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
OUTdoor Records Predictions--Part 1
Which--if any!--World, US, Collegiate, and HSR's will be broken in 2016, and what are the odds?
Following is a capsulized wrap-up of Record possibilities in the 2016 OUTdoor season!
(This will be followed by my Predictions for Age Records to be broken--but only down to Age 30! I'll finish the Age Record Predictions--and add some new marks--in another post shortly following this one!)
World--Men
ZERO chance we'll see a WR in the 100, 400, 5000, 10000, 400H, LJ, DT, JT, HT, 4X800R, and 4X1500R.
The Records are just too good, and no one competing now is ready to break them!
As for the Relays, with no World Relays meet this year (Sad to say!!), the longer Relays have little opportunity to try for a Record!
If a meet sets up a race, those odds will drastically change!!
10-90 that we'll have new WR's in the 200, 800, 1000, Mile, 110H, HJ, SP, or 3000.
I give the 4XMileR 20-80 odds because I'm hoping the Penn Relays will have a good race, and that Ed Cheserek--if he's on the leading team!--will RUN his anchor leg this time!!
Other events getting 20-80 odds are the 4X200 and 4X400 Relays!
30-70 odds go to the Two Mile and the DMR.
For the 4X100R and the Marathon, it's 40-60!
Even odds go to the 3000SC!
60-40 is given the 1500, with Asbel Kiprop ready to take El G's mark!
Odds go up in the TJ to 80-20, with Christian Taylor, Pablo Pichardo, and maybe a resurgent Teddy Tamgho ready to take down Jonathan Edwards's WR!
With Renaud Lavillenie seemingly taking a WR shot (3 of them, if necessary!) in EVERY meet, I believe Bubka's mark will finally go--so I give the PV 90-10 odds.
Same goes for the Decathlon, with Ashton Eaton perhaps taking his final swing at a JJK-type WR---say 9200!!
US--Men
NO chance for a US Record in the 200, 400, Marathon, 400H, LJ, DT, JT, and HT.
10-90 for the 110H!
20-80 for the 1000, Two Mile, 10000, PV, 4X200R and the 4X800R.
30-70 odds for the 800, Mile, HJ, SP, 4X400R, and the 4X1500R.
40-60 for the 1500, 3000, and the DMR.
Even odds for the 5000, with Ben True the leading candidate, IMO!
60-40 for the 100, with either Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, or Trayvon Bromell the ones to do it!
The TJ--with Taylor the one--gets 80-20 odds, same as the WR!
90-10's go to the 3000SC (Evan Jager, of course!), Decathlon (AE), and the 4X100R!
The Relay gets 90-10 for the US Record, NOT the WR!!
Collegiate--Men
ZERO odds go to the 400, 3000SC, 110H, 400H, HJ, LJ, PV, SP, JT, HT, 4X100, 4X200, 4X800, and SM Relays!
Slightly better (10-90) odds go to the 200 and TJ, but I still see them as LONGGGGG shots!!
20-80's are for the Decathlon, 4X1500 and DM Relays!
30-70's are given for the 100, 3000, 10000 (If Cheserek gives them a SERIOUS shot!!), and the 4X400R.
40-60's go to the 1500, Mile, and 5000.
Even odds for the 800 to go down!
See my WR section for my caveats for giving 80-20 odds for the Collegiate 4XMileR!!
With the GREAT opener for Sam Mattis (2 feet 4 inches shy of Julian Wruck's CR!), I'm giving the DT 90-10 odds!
HS--Men
NO chance for HSR's in the 800, 10000, 3000SC, HJ, TJ, the HS SP (Carter's 81-3.50!), the HS DT, the JT, the Pro SP (Carter's 67-9), the Pro DT, nor the 4X100, 4X400, 4X800, and the SM and DM Relays!!
Odds go up to 20-80 for the 400, LJ, the HS HT, the HS Decathlon, the Pro Decathlon, and the 4XMileR!
It's 30-70 for the Pro 110H and the 400H.
The 1500 and Mile--DESPITE Drew Hunter probably running in the Pre Bowerman Mile--get "just" 40-60 odds!
I take Hunter at his word that he's NOT a true Miler, but better at the longer races, like the 5000!
Even odds for the Pro HT, with Bobby Colantonio the prime candidate.
His INdoor-season-ending try at the Pro WT--and getting 2nd A-T HS--gives him a fair shot at the mark!
With Hunter in mind---maybe at Payton Jordan??--I give the 5000 odds of 70-30!
80-20's go to the 100, 3000, Two Mile,, and the HS 110H.
90-10's for the 200 and Pole Vault!
Now for the Women!
World--Women
NADA for the 100, 400, Marathon, HJ, LJ, SP, DT, Heptathlon, and the 4X800 Relay.
It's 5-95 for the 200, 800, 100H, and the TJ.
10-90's for the 1000 and 400H.
20-80's go to the 3000, 3000SC, Decathlon (Yes, the TEN-eventer!!), and the 4X100 and DM Relays.
30-70's are given the JT, and the 4X200, 4X400, and 4X1500 Relays.
40-60 odds go to the 1500 and 10000!
I'm giving the Two Mile 60-40 odds, but there were NO World Class Deuces in 2015!! I hope that changes in 2016!!
80-20's go to the Mile, 5000, and the Hammer Throw!
90-10 for the 4XMile Relay!
The latter WR is 18:39 and change--just under 4:40 per Mile!
Will there be a good Collegiate race at the Penn Relays?
That mark is so EASY, it's a shame it's still on the books!!
US--Women
NO chance for the 100, 200, LJ, or Heptathlon!
5-95 for the 100H.
Odds go up to 20-80 for the 400, and 4X100 and DM Relays.
It's 30-70's for the 1000, DT, and 4X200R.
40-60's for the 800, 10000, 400H, HJ, TJ, and 4X400R.
Even odds for the Marathon (In a Fall Marathon!!), 4X800R, and the Decathlon!
60-40's go to the 1500, Two Mile, 5000, JT, HT, and the 4X1500R.
I give 70-30 odds to the Mile and 3000.
An 80-20 is given the Shot Put!
With Emma Coburn possibly returning to 2014 form, I give the 3000SC 95-5 odds!
The Pole Vault IS going down, folks!!
With THREE 16-footers among the Women, that Record is GONE!!
Collegiate--Women
Only the 1500 and Discus Throw have NO chance!
5-95 for the 100H.
10-90 for the 100.
20-80 to the 200.
30-70 for the 400.
40-60's to the 3000, 10000, and LJ.
Even odds to the 3000SC.
60-40's to the 800, 400H, HJ, HT, 4X200 and 4X400 Relays!
70-30's to the 5000 and Decathlon!
80-20 odds go for the Mile, JT, Heptathlon, 4X100, 4X1500, SM, and DM Relays!
90-10's for the TJ and 4X800R.
One Hundred to Zero odds for the Pole Vault (Demi Payne is in her final season of eligibility!!) and SP!
HS--Women
NO chance for the 100, 200, 800, 1500, HJ, LJ, TJ, or the 4X100R.
10-90's for the 400, 3000SC, PV, and DT!
Odds rise to 30-70 for the Heptathlon, and 4X400 and 4X800 Relays!
The 4X200R gets 40-60 odds.
Even odds to the 10000 and Hammer Throw!
That 10K HSR is now 37 years old!! One of you Distance Studs, PLEASE go after it!!
60-40's for the 5000 and SP!
Remember, Weini Kelati is NOT eligible to break HSR's!!
70-30's to the 3000 and Two Mile!
80-20's for the 100H (Tonea Marshall??), 300H (Sydney McLaughlin), JT, and 4XMile and DM Relays.
The Great Oaks team MIGHT go for the longer Relay mark--and there's little doubt they'll get it!
90-10's for the Mile and SMR.
It's a solid GO for Sydney McLaughlin to DESTROY Leslie Maxie's 1984 HSR of 55.20---maybe in a HEAT race!!
Three HS PRO Records are open!
Given 90-10 odds is the 100.
Solid 100-0 odds for the 200 and the empty throne of the HJ!
The very first jump---at whatever height the bar is at!!--will be the HS PRO Record for Vashti Cunningham!!
Now for my Age Record category!!
I will combine the Men & Women within each Age.
I'll start with the 40 & Over's, working down to Age 30 in this post!
No room to go all the way to the Teenage years!
Age 29 down to "0-17" will follow later today!
40 & Over
Venelina Veneva-Mataeeva chases her own 6-2.75 in the HJ.
Kim Collins wants the 100 and 200 (10.29 and 20.64), while Fabrizio Donato will chase the TJ mark of 54-4.75!
For Collins, he turns 40 next week, while Donato must wait until August 14th!
And Bernard Lagat is still running on the track--this year!
So he could get the 10000 Record of 28:30.88--at Payton Jordan??--if he wants it!!
39
Donato has until August 13th to fill the empty TJ slot!
38
Reese Hoffa has an empty place in the SP!
37
Chris Brown will have to run the 400 in 46.06.
Ruth Beitia must HJ 6-6.25, while Gia Lewis-Smallwood will have to throw the Discus 221-4, starting on April Fool's Day!
36
Edna Kiplagat has until November 14th to run a Marathon in 2:19:19 or faster!
35
Starting July 8th, Shalane Flanagan must run the Marathon in 2:21:30.
Barbara Spotakova must hit the 216-6 mark in the JT, but only beginning June 30th, when she turns 35!
Amber Campbell's HT target--after June 5th!--is just 226-4.
Fabiana Murer REALLY has it easy! Her Age 35 target in the PV is a mere 13-7.25!!
34
Justin Gatlin has fairly easy 100 & 200 times to chase--9.91 and 19.88.
Ezekiel Kemboi has to run the 3000SC in 8:08.01, but only after May 25th!
PK Koech has the same target as Kemboi!
David Oliver has to run the 110H in 12.94, but after April 24th!
Kriszrian Pars has a HT target of 270-10!
Novlene Williams-Mills can start chasing the 400 mark of 50.71 starting April 26th!
Barbara Spotakova has until June 29th to get the JT mark of 227-11.
Both Jenn Suhr and Yelena Isinbayeva can get the 15-11 PV mark, but Isi has to wait until June 3rd!
33
Starting April 25th, Nick Willis can have the 1500 and Mile Records of 3:30.58 and 3:52.16.
Mo Farah has those same times to chase, plus Records for the 3000 (7:30.50), Two Mile (8:12.45),, 5000 (12:57.62), and 10000 (27:12.47.).
Starting June 4th, Olga Saladukha can get the TJ mark of 48-7.50!
32
Trey Hardee will need a Decathlon score of 8755!
Viola Kibiwot can chase marks in the 3000 (8:22.62), 5000 (14:31.09), 10000 (30:25.41), as well as the empty Two Mile slot!
Habiba Ghribi can start April 9th to chase the 3000SC Record of 9:21.76!
Caterine Ibarguen may be our greatest TJ'er now, but her target is a tough 50-6!
Betty Heidler has it much easier in the HT--just throw 246-0!
31
Aries Merritt is healthy again!
But he still must wait until July 24th to begin chasing the Age 31 mark of 13.00!!
Sanya Richards-Ross said she wants the American Record in the 400!
Well, a bit easier is the Age 31 mark of 48.85!
Shannon Rowbury has a handful (5!) of Age Records to go for!
3:56.91 & 4:23.40 in the 1500 & Mile, 8:35.26 & 9:53.35 (!!) in the 3000 and Two Mile, and the 5000 mark of 14:32.79!
(And yes, I think she's fully capable of getting the latter!!)
Anita Wlodarczyk will have it easy--starting August 8th, that is!--with the HT mark of 248-0!
30
As with Rowbury, Galen Rupp also has a series of marks to chase--beginning May 8th, that is!
Choose from the 3000 & 2 Mile (7:29.23 & 8:16.38), the 5000 and 10000 (12:49.04 & 26:29.22), or the Marathon--a mere 2:02:57!!
Go get 'em, Galen!!
The Merritt's (LaShawn & Aries) have Age 30 Records to chase--LaShawn the 400 of 43.68 (but only starting June 27th!!), and Aries the 12.88 in the 110H (but only up to July 23rd!).
Ivan Ukhov can have the HJ mark, if he jumps 7-9.25!
Usain Bolt has 100 & 200 times of 9.75 and 19.74 to chase, but only starting August 21st!!
Allyson Felix has to run the 200 in 21.66!!
Like other great distance runners, Tirunesh Dibaba will have several times to run down--pun intended!
(Until September 30th!!)
8:24.41 and 9:12.59 in the 3000 and 2 Mile, or 14:23.75 and 30:04.18 in the 5000 & 10000!!
Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou has the PV height of 15-11 to go after!
And Anita Wlodarczyk has her own Age 30 Record to get--her 265-3--but she must get it by August 7th!!
Okay, dear readers, I'll be back soon--2 hours??--with the remainder of my Age Record Predictions, as well as several good recent marks to report!
See you VERY soon!!
Following is a capsulized wrap-up of Record possibilities in the 2016 OUTdoor season!
(This will be followed by my Predictions for Age Records to be broken--but only down to Age 30! I'll finish the Age Record Predictions--and add some new marks--in another post shortly following this one!)
World--Men
ZERO chance we'll see a WR in the 100, 400, 5000, 10000, 400H, LJ, DT, JT, HT, 4X800R, and 4X1500R.
The Records are just too good, and no one competing now is ready to break them!
As for the Relays, with no World Relays meet this year (Sad to say!!), the longer Relays have little opportunity to try for a Record!
If a meet sets up a race, those odds will drastically change!!
10-90 that we'll have new WR's in the 200, 800, 1000, Mile, 110H, HJ, SP, or 3000.
I give the 4XMileR 20-80 odds because I'm hoping the Penn Relays will have a good race, and that Ed Cheserek--if he's on the leading team!--will RUN his anchor leg this time!!
Other events getting 20-80 odds are the 4X200 and 4X400 Relays!
30-70 odds go to the Two Mile and the DMR.
For the 4X100R and the Marathon, it's 40-60!
Even odds go to the 3000SC!
60-40 is given the 1500, with Asbel Kiprop ready to take El G's mark!
Odds go up in the TJ to 80-20, with Christian Taylor, Pablo Pichardo, and maybe a resurgent Teddy Tamgho ready to take down Jonathan Edwards's WR!
With Renaud Lavillenie seemingly taking a WR shot (3 of them, if necessary!) in EVERY meet, I believe Bubka's mark will finally go--so I give the PV 90-10 odds.
Same goes for the Decathlon, with Ashton Eaton perhaps taking his final swing at a JJK-type WR---say 9200!!
US--Men
NO chance for a US Record in the 200, 400, Marathon, 400H, LJ, DT, JT, and HT.
10-90 for the 110H!
20-80 for the 1000, Two Mile, 10000, PV, 4X200R and the 4X800R.
30-70 odds for the 800, Mile, HJ, SP, 4X400R, and the 4X1500R.
40-60 for the 1500, 3000, and the DMR.
Even odds for the 5000, with Ben True the leading candidate, IMO!
60-40 for the 100, with either Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, or Trayvon Bromell the ones to do it!
The TJ--with Taylor the one--gets 80-20 odds, same as the WR!
90-10's go to the 3000SC (Evan Jager, of course!), Decathlon (AE), and the 4X100R!
The Relay gets 90-10 for the US Record, NOT the WR!!
Collegiate--Men
ZERO odds go to the 400, 3000SC, 110H, 400H, HJ, LJ, PV, SP, JT, HT, 4X100, 4X200, 4X800, and SM Relays!
Slightly better (10-90) odds go to the 200 and TJ, but I still see them as LONGGGGG shots!!
20-80's are for the Decathlon, 4X1500 and DM Relays!
30-70's are given for the 100, 3000, 10000 (If Cheserek gives them a SERIOUS shot!!), and the 4X400R.
40-60's go to the 1500, Mile, and 5000.
Even odds for the 800 to go down!
See my WR section for my caveats for giving 80-20 odds for the Collegiate 4XMileR!!
With the GREAT opener for Sam Mattis (2 feet 4 inches shy of Julian Wruck's CR!), I'm giving the DT 90-10 odds!
HS--Men
NO chance for HSR's in the 800, 10000, 3000SC, HJ, TJ, the HS SP (Carter's 81-3.50!), the HS DT, the JT, the Pro SP (Carter's 67-9), the Pro DT, nor the 4X100, 4X400, 4X800, and the SM and DM Relays!!
Odds go up to 20-80 for the 400, LJ, the HS HT, the HS Decathlon, the Pro Decathlon, and the 4XMileR!
It's 30-70 for the Pro 110H and the 400H.
The 1500 and Mile--DESPITE Drew Hunter probably running in the Pre Bowerman Mile--get "just" 40-60 odds!
I take Hunter at his word that he's NOT a true Miler, but better at the longer races, like the 5000!
Even odds for the Pro HT, with Bobby Colantonio the prime candidate.
His INdoor-season-ending try at the Pro WT--and getting 2nd A-T HS--gives him a fair shot at the mark!
With Hunter in mind---maybe at Payton Jordan??--I give the 5000 odds of 70-30!
80-20's go to the 100, 3000, Two Mile,, and the HS 110H.
90-10's for the 200 and Pole Vault!
Now for the Women!
World--Women
NADA for the 100, 400, Marathon, HJ, LJ, SP, DT, Heptathlon, and the 4X800 Relay.
It's 5-95 for the 200, 800, 100H, and the TJ.
10-90's for the 1000 and 400H.
20-80's go to the 3000, 3000SC, Decathlon (Yes, the TEN-eventer!!), and the 4X100 and DM Relays.
30-70's are given the JT, and the 4X200, 4X400, and 4X1500 Relays.
40-60 odds go to the 1500 and 10000!
I'm giving the Two Mile 60-40 odds, but there were NO World Class Deuces in 2015!! I hope that changes in 2016!!
80-20's go to the Mile, 5000, and the Hammer Throw!
90-10 for the 4XMile Relay!
The latter WR is 18:39 and change--just under 4:40 per Mile!
Will there be a good Collegiate race at the Penn Relays?
That mark is so EASY, it's a shame it's still on the books!!
US--Women
NO chance for the 100, 200, LJ, or Heptathlon!
5-95 for the 100H.
Odds go up to 20-80 for the 400, and 4X100 and DM Relays.
It's 30-70's for the 1000, DT, and 4X200R.
40-60's for the 800, 10000, 400H, HJ, TJ, and 4X400R.
Even odds for the Marathon (In a Fall Marathon!!), 4X800R, and the Decathlon!
60-40's go to the 1500, Two Mile, 5000, JT, HT, and the 4X1500R.
I give 70-30 odds to the Mile and 3000.
An 80-20 is given the Shot Put!
With Emma Coburn possibly returning to 2014 form, I give the 3000SC 95-5 odds!
The Pole Vault IS going down, folks!!
With THREE 16-footers among the Women, that Record is GONE!!
Collegiate--Women
Only the 1500 and Discus Throw have NO chance!
5-95 for the 100H.
10-90 for the 100.
20-80 to the 200.
30-70 for the 400.
40-60's to the 3000, 10000, and LJ.
Even odds to the 3000SC.
60-40's to the 800, 400H, HJ, HT, 4X200 and 4X400 Relays!
70-30's to the 5000 and Decathlon!
80-20 odds go for the Mile, JT, Heptathlon, 4X100, 4X1500, SM, and DM Relays!
90-10's for the TJ and 4X800R.
One Hundred to Zero odds for the Pole Vault (Demi Payne is in her final season of eligibility!!) and SP!
HS--Women
NO chance for the 100, 200, 800, 1500, HJ, LJ, TJ, or the 4X100R.
10-90's for the 400, 3000SC, PV, and DT!
Odds rise to 30-70 for the Heptathlon, and 4X400 and 4X800 Relays!
The 4X200R gets 40-60 odds.
Even odds to the 10000 and Hammer Throw!
That 10K HSR is now 37 years old!! One of you Distance Studs, PLEASE go after it!!
60-40's for the 5000 and SP!
Remember, Weini Kelati is NOT eligible to break HSR's!!
70-30's to the 3000 and Two Mile!
80-20's for the 100H (Tonea Marshall??), 300H (Sydney McLaughlin), JT, and 4XMile and DM Relays.
The Great Oaks team MIGHT go for the longer Relay mark--and there's little doubt they'll get it!
90-10's for the Mile and SMR.
It's a solid GO for Sydney McLaughlin to DESTROY Leslie Maxie's 1984 HSR of 55.20---maybe in a HEAT race!!
Three HS PRO Records are open!
Given 90-10 odds is the 100.
Solid 100-0 odds for the 200 and the empty throne of the HJ!
The very first jump---at whatever height the bar is at!!--will be the HS PRO Record for Vashti Cunningham!!
Now for my Age Record category!!
I will combine the Men & Women within each Age.
I'll start with the 40 & Over's, working down to Age 30 in this post!
No room to go all the way to the Teenage years!
Age 29 down to "0-17" will follow later today!
40 & Over
Venelina Veneva-Mataeeva chases her own 6-2.75 in the HJ.
Kim Collins wants the 100 and 200 (10.29 and 20.64), while Fabrizio Donato will chase the TJ mark of 54-4.75!
For Collins, he turns 40 next week, while Donato must wait until August 14th!
And Bernard Lagat is still running on the track--this year!
So he could get the 10000 Record of 28:30.88--at Payton Jordan??--if he wants it!!
39
Donato has until August 13th to fill the empty TJ slot!
38
Reese Hoffa has an empty place in the SP!
37
Chris Brown will have to run the 400 in 46.06.
Ruth Beitia must HJ 6-6.25, while Gia Lewis-Smallwood will have to throw the Discus 221-4, starting on April Fool's Day!
36
Edna Kiplagat has until November 14th to run a Marathon in 2:19:19 or faster!
35
Starting July 8th, Shalane Flanagan must run the Marathon in 2:21:30.
Barbara Spotakova must hit the 216-6 mark in the JT, but only beginning June 30th, when she turns 35!
Amber Campbell's HT target--after June 5th!--is just 226-4.
Fabiana Murer REALLY has it easy! Her Age 35 target in the PV is a mere 13-7.25!!
34
Justin Gatlin has fairly easy 100 & 200 times to chase--9.91 and 19.88.
Ezekiel Kemboi has to run the 3000SC in 8:08.01, but only after May 25th!
PK Koech has the same target as Kemboi!
David Oliver has to run the 110H in 12.94, but after April 24th!
Kriszrian Pars has a HT target of 270-10!
Novlene Williams-Mills can start chasing the 400 mark of 50.71 starting April 26th!
Barbara Spotakova has until June 29th to get the JT mark of 227-11.
Both Jenn Suhr and Yelena Isinbayeva can get the 15-11 PV mark, but Isi has to wait until June 3rd!
33
Starting April 25th, Nick Willis can have the 1500 and Mile Records of 3:30.58 and 3:52.16.
Mo Farah has those same times to chase, plus Records for the 3000 (7:30.50), Two Mile (8:12.45),, 5000 (12:57.62), and 10000 (27:12.47.).
Starting June 4th, Olga Saladukha can get the TJ mark of 48-7.50!
32
Trey Hardee will need a Decathlon score of 8755!
Viola Kibiwot can chase marks in the 3000 (8:22.62), 5000 (14:31.09), 10000 (30:25.41), as well as the empty Two Mile slot!
Habiba Ghribi can start April 9th to chase the 3000SC Record of 9:21.76!
Caterine Ibarguen may be our greatest TJ'er now, but her target is a tough 50-6!
Betty Heidler has it much easier in the HT--just throw 246-0!
31
Aries Merritt is healthy again!
But he still must wait until July 24th to begin chasing the Age 31 mark of 13.00!!
Sanya Richards-Ross said she wants the American Record in the 400!
Well, a bit easier is the Age 31 mark of 48.85!
Shannon Rowbury has a handful (5!) of Age Records to go for!
3:56.91 & 4:23.40 in the 1500 & Mile, 8:35.26 & 9:53.35 (!!) in the 3000 and Two Mile, and the 5000 mark of 14:32.79!
(And yes, I think she's fully capable of getting the latter!!)
Anita Wlodarczyk will have it easy--starting August 8th, that is!--with the HT mark of 248-0!
30
As with Rowbury, Galen Rupp also has a series of marks to chase--beginning May 8th, that is!
Choose from the 3000 & 2 Mile (7:29.23 & 8:16.38), the 5000 and 10000 (12:49.04 & 26:29.22), or the Marathon--a mere 2:02:57!!
Go get 'em, Galen!!
The Merritt's (LaShawn & Aries) have Age 30 Records to chase--LaShawn the 400 of 43.68 (but only starting June 27th!!), and Aries the 12.88 in the 110H (but only up to July 23rd!).
Ivan Ukhov can have the HJ mark, if he jumps 7-9.25!
Usain Bolt has 100 & 200 times of 9.75 and 19.74 to chase, but only starting August 21st!!
Allyson Felix has to run the 200 in 21.66!!
Like other great distance runners, Tirunesh Dibaba will have several times to run down--pun intended!
(Until September 30th!!)
8:24.41 and 9:12.59 in the 3000 and 2 Mile, or 14:23.75 and 30:04.18 in the 5000 & 10000!!
Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou has the PV height of 15-11 to go after!
And Anita Wlodarczyk has her own Age 30 Record to get--her 265-3--but she must get it by August 7th!!
Okay, dear readers, I'll be back soon--2 hours??--with the remainder of my Age Record Predictions, as well as several good recent marks to report!
See you VERY soon!!
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Going OUTdoors!--A Preview
In reality, the OUTdoor season is 365 (or 366) days long!
Australia and New Zealand are in their Summer season as the New Year begins!
In the US, you have some OUTdoor meets in the first 2 months, in the sunnier climes!
But generally, the US OUTdoor season kicks off with the Texas and Florida Relays.
For Europe and other areas, it's even later!
So let's see what the 2016 Olympic year is SCHEDULED to bring us.
Following is a Schedule of meets (HS, Collegiate, World, and US, as well as some key Road Races and XC meets!) which are NORMALLY the best meets for quality results!
ALL of the information comes from the March issue of Track and Field News.
This list is in no way complete!!
And dates could turn out to be wrong!!
I'll try to keep you informed of any changes as the year rolls on!
That said, here's the 2016 OUTdoor Meet Schedule!
(After this, I'll report a LOT of quite good and/or interesting results from OUTdoors already in!!)
March 25-26 Florida State Relays, PAC-12/Big 10 Invite, Raleigh Relays, CARIFTA Games in Grenada!
March 30--April 2 Texas & Florida Relays, Stanford Invite, Don Kirby Memorial, Duke/Michigan/NC Tri, Challenge of Champions (HS) in Alabama, South America Championships!
April 3 Paris Marathon, Carlsbad 5K, Cherry Blossom 10 Mile
April 8-9 Sun Angel Classic, Baylor Invite, Johnson/JJK Invite, Pepsi Team Invite (Eugene), Towns Invite (Georgia), Stanford/Cal & Texas A&M/UCLA duals, Arcadia Invite (HS)!!
April 10 Rotterdam Marathon
April 13-16 Kansas, Oregon, and Mt SAC Relays, ACC/Big 10 Challenge, Longhorn Invite
April 18 Boston Marathon
April 21-23 Penn Relays, Georgia Tech Invite, McDonnell Invite, Owens Classic, Michael Johnson Invite
April 24 London Marathon
April 27--May 1 Drake Relays, Payton Jordan (!!), LSU & UTEP Invites, Arizona/ASU & UCLA/USC duals, Bloomsday 12K
May 6-7 Doha DL (!!!), Jamaica Invite, Oxy Invite, Arkansas & Oregon Twilights, beginning of HS State meets (7 for these dates)
May 12 Hoka One One Distance Carnival
May 13-15 Collegiate Conferences, including SEC, Big 12, Big 10, PAC-12, ACC, Shanghai DL (!!!), and 5 more State HS meets!
May 18 Beijing IWC
May 21 Ostrava
May 22 Hengelo, Rabat DL (!!!) Replaces NY DL!
May 27-29 Gotzis Multis, Prefontaine Classic/Eugene DL (!!!), East & West NCAA Regionals
June 2 Rome DL (!!!), Great Southwest (HS)
June 4 Znaminskiy Memorial, Freihofer 5K (Women only)
June 5 Birmingham DL (!!!)
June 6 Prague
June 8-11 NCAA (Eugene), Golden West (HS), Bislett Games/Oslo DL(!!!)
June 11-12 Portland Track Festival
June 16 DN Galan/Stockholm DL (!!!)
June 17-19 NBN (HS), Brooks PR (HS), Jerome Classic, Portland Summer Twilight, Grandma's Marathon, Adidas GP/NY (NOT a DL!!)
June 24-26 USATF Junior Championships
July 1-10 USATF/Olympic Trials (Eugene) (!!!)
July 4 Peachtree 10K
July 6-10 European Championships
July 15-17 Eberstadt HJ, Herculis/Monaco DL (!!!), Heusden-Zolder
July 19-24 World Junior Championships (Poland)
July 22-23 London Anniversary Games DL (!!!)
July 25-31 USATF Junior Olympics, TrackTown Classic
August 6 Portland 10K (track)
August 12-21 Rio De Janeiro Olympic Games (!!!!!), Falmouth 7.1 (August 21)
August 25 Lausanne DL (!!!)
August 27 Paris DL (!!!)
September 1 Weltklasse/Zurich DL (!!!), around this time, beginning of Collegiate XC season
September 3 ISTAF (Berlin)
September 5 New Haven 20K
September 9 Van Damme Memorial/Brussels DL (!!!)
September 11 Rieti
September 13 DecaNation
September 17-18 Philadelphia Half-Marathon, Talence Multis
September 25 Berlin Marathon
October 9 Chicago Marathon
October 10 Tufts 10K (Women only)
October 16 Amsterdam & Twin Cities Marathons
November 6 NYC Marathon
November 19 NCAA XC Championships
late November-early December (??) NXN & Footlocker XC (HS)
As noted, the above schedule is from T&FN!!
Please watch this blog--or T&FN website!--for updates!
Also as noted, the US OUTdoor season has begun with marks I don't remember seeing in such quantity--and being so good!!--this early!!
Normally, the first tumble of great marks comes at the Texas Relays!
Does this portend a FANTASTIC year of OUTdoor T&F??
Or is it just a damn brain-tease??
Well, let's take a look at what I have for you!
Sam Mattis threw the Discus 221-3!!
This is the Collegiate Senior Class Record!
It makes him 3rd A-T Collegiate!
And 19th A-T US!!
Sean Donnelly had a HT of 243-11.
It makes him 17th A-T Collegiate, and 23rd A-T US, tied with 2 others!
Maggie Malone threw the Javelin 198-0!!
She is now 3rd A-T Collegiate.
And 5th A-T US!!
As noted in a previous post, Molly Huddle won the NY Half-Marathon in a fast 1:07:41, JUST nipping Joyce Chepkurai at the tape, as she was given the same time!
Diane Nikuri was 3rd in 1:09:41.
The Men's race was taken by Stephen Sambu in 1:01:16, over Wilson Chebet's 1:01:35.
Sam Chelanga was 3rd in 1:01:43, while Diego Estrada was 5th in 1:02:15!
Molly's 10K splits?
Would you believe 32:51 and 31:14??!!
In a 20K Walk race in Japan, Maria Michta-Coffey tied her American Record of 1:30:49, taking 5th place!!
Also Walking a great race was Miranda Melville, as she PR'ed with a time of 1:31:42, for 7th place!
Melville is 2nd A-T US!!
Rui Ling won the race in 1:28:43.
The Men's race was won by 2014 World Junior Championships 10000 track winner, Matsunaga Daisuke in 1:18:53!!
Stephanie Brown-Trafton had a DT of 196-0.
Valerie Allman was 2nd with 190-7.
Amber Campbell had a HT of 234-6.
DeAnna Price was even better!
Her HT mark (different meet!) was 236-10, just 4 inches short of her PR!!
Speaking of the Hammer, former HS Shot Put star Stamatia Scarvelis is now a Freshman at UCLA.
In her FIRST-EVER Hammer comp, she threw it out to a promising 195-8!!
Tripp Piperi slightly improved his PR in the SP to 70-3.
He moves up one spot on my OUTdoor HS DDD, from 23rd to 22nd A-T!
But even better, Bronson Osborn--whose 2015 best is listed as 61-9!--threw the Shot a massive 70-4.50!
As far as I know, this was his first meet of the year!
If so, he improved his PR by 8 feet 7.50 inches!!!
(Memories of Raven Saunders in late 2013??!!)
Osborn is now 21st A-T HS!
Pushed OFF my list was Ryan Whiting, his 70-0 dating from 2005!!
Rachel Baxter opened her OUTdoor season in the Pole Vault with a chunky improvement from 2015.
Her 13-10 Vault is the US Age 16 Record, according to a source!
The old record was held by Desiree Freier, her 13-9 mark dating from 2013!
This makes Baxter 12th A-T HS!!
She's a HS Junior!
Her best as a Soph was 13-3!!
Raven Saunders opened her OUTdoor campaign with a BANG!!
She tossed the SP ball out 61-6.25, missing the Soph Class Record by less than 3 inches!!
She moves from 9th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, to 6th!
And on the US list, she moves from 24th A-T, tied with 1 other, to 17th!
Oh yes, she also threw the Discus a PR of 186-6!
Both were Ole Miss school records!!
Tyrese Cooper had a good meet.
No wind info, but he ran the 200 in 20.96.
He added a 400 in 46.51, plus ran a leg on a 4X400 Relay!!
HSR holder Bailey Roth, now an Arizona Frosh, ran the 3000 SC in 8:59.38!
He graduated HS in 2014, so he might have either redshirted last year, or taken the year off, starting college this year!
Other good marks included--
Kylie Price LJ of 21-4.75.
Kristin Hixson and Demi Payne (in separate meets!) PV'ing 14-7.25.
(NOTE--An error about my report of Diamara Planell Cruz's 14-7.25 from a previous post! That was NOT in the World Championships!! It was at another meet! I might have made it seem like it was in the WC!! BUT--it's still the INdoor Puerto Rico National Record!!)
Duane Solomon opened with an 800 in 1:46.45!
There was a good Women's 400!
Ebony Eutsey won with a time of 52.25!
She beat the 52.83 of Shalonda Solomon, and the 52.95 of none other than VCB, aka Veronica Campbell-Brown!!
Chanelle Price won a 1500 in 4:20.93.
In 2nd was comebacking Natosha Rogers, her time being 4:22.78!
Good to see Rogers back in the mix!
Madison Pachner of BYU threw the Discus 196-6!
She misses my Collegiate DDD by just 6 inches!
Raevyn Rogers showed some good 400 speed, running 52.30!
Annie LeBlanc ran an 800 in 2:04.38.
Jasmine Quinn, a Kentucky Frosh, battled a -0.8 wind to run the 100H in 13.01!
Devon Allen fought a -1.2 wind to run the 110H in 13.40.
He also ran a 100 and 200 in wind-legal times of 10.36 and 20.79!
Ronnie Baker had a helpful 2.7 wind to register the first sub-10 (windy or not!) of 2016, a 9.95!
And in the 4X100 Relay, the Texas A&M Men ran a good 39.17!
Oregon's Women ran 43.31.
Their team included Jasmine Todd, Hannah Cunliffe, and Arianna Washington!!
Returning to INdoors for just a sec, I have 2 significant marks to report!
Darryl Sullivan HJ'ed 7-3, making him 9th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
BTW, his mark adds one to my overall INdoor DDD count (See previous post!) of 372.
Remember I'd said it fell one short of my 2015 total?
Well, Sullivan's mark now makes the 2016 total EQUAL to 2015's!!
And Bobby Colantonio apparently took a swing at the Professional weighted Weight!!
His 64-3.25 is 2nd A-T HS in that category!!
Some brief notes of interest--some of which you probably already know!
Vashti Cunningham signed a Pro contract with Nike, thus ending her HS career, with her Senior academic year still ongoing!!
She hasn't decided on college yet!
No more HS meets (or Records or Marks!) for her!
She WILL be eligible for my HS PRO Record Book!!
As will Khalifa St. Fort, who ALSO has turned Pro, although as of right now, has not signed with anyone!
Her coach and manager is Ato Boldon!!
St. Fort has said she'll finish her HS academics in Florida, and will take a year off before deciding on a college!!
She said she'll open her Pro career at the Texas Relays!
Watch (maybe!!) for former HS Pro Alana Hadley in the 1st heat of the Raleigh Relays 10000!
She's listed as an entrant.
However, she was ALSO listed on the 2015 entry list for the 10K, but DNS'ed!!
She remains the HS Freshman Class Record holder for the distance, her 34:59.38 from 2012 remaining her PR!!
See you all soon!
Australia and New Zealand are in their Summer season as the New Year begins!
In the US, you have some OUTdoor meets in the first 2 months, in the sunnier climes!
But generally, the US OUTdoor season kicks off with the Texas and Florida Relays.
For Europe and other areas, it's even later!
So let's see what the 2016 Olympic year is SCHEDULED to bring us.
Following is a Schedule of meets (HS, Collegiate, World, and US, as well as some key Road Races and XC meets!) which are NORMALLY the best meets for quality results!
ALL of the information comes from the March issue of Track and Field News.
This list is in no way complete!!
And dates could turn out to be wrong!!
I'll try to keep you informed of any changes as the year rolls on!
That said, here's the 2016 OUTdoor Meet Schedule!
(After this, I'll report a LOT of quite good and/or interesting results from OUTdoors already in!!)
March 25-26 Florida State Relays, PAC-12/Big 10 Invite, Raleigh Relays, CARIFTA Games in Grenada!
March 30--April 2 Texas & Florida Relays, Stanford Invite, Don Kirby Memorial, Duke/Michigan/NC Tri, Challenge of Champions (HS) in Alabama, South America Championships!
April 3 Paris Marathon, Carlsbad 5K, Cherry Blossom 10 Mile
April 8-9 Sun Angel Classic, Baylor Invite, Johnson/JJK Invite, Pepsi Team Invite (Eugene), Towns Invite (Georgia), Stanford/Cal & Texas A&M/UCLA duals, Arcadia Invite (HS)!!
April 10 Rotterdam Marathon
April 13-16 Kansas, Oregon, and Mt SAC Relays, ACC/Big 10 Challenge, Longhorn Invite
April 18 Boston Marathon
April 21-23 Penn Relays, Georgia Tech Invite, McDonnell Invite, Owens Classic, Michael Johnson Invite
April 24 London Marathon
April 27--May 1 Drake Relays, Payton Jordan (!!), LSU & UTEP Invites, Arizona/ASU & UCLA/USC duals, Bloomsday 12K
May 6-7 Doha DL (!!!), Jamaica Invite, Oxy Invite, Arkansas & Oregon Twilights, beginning of HS State meets (7 for these dates)
May 12 Hoka One One Distance Carnival
May 13-15 Collegiate Conferences, including SEC, Big 12, Big 10, PAC-12, ACC, Shanghai DL (!!!), and 5 more State HS meets!
May 18 Beijing IWC
May 21 Ostrava
May 22 Hengelo, Rabat DL (!!!) Replaces NY DL!
May 27-29 Gotzis Multis, Prefontaine Classic/Eugene DL (!!!), East & West NCAA Regionals
June 2 Rome DL (!!!), Great Southwest (HS)
June 4 Znaminskiy Memorial, Freihofer 5K (Women only)
June 5 Birmingham DL (!!!)
June 6 Prague
June 8-11 NCAA (Eugene), Golden West (HS), Bislett Games/Oslo DL(!!!)
June 11-12 Portland Track Festival
June 16 DN Galan/Stockholm DL (!!!)
June 17-19 NBN (HS), Brooks PR (HS), Jerome Classic, Portland Summer Twilight, Grandma's Marathon, Adidas GP/NY (NOT a DL!!)
June 24-26 USATF Junior Championships
July 1-10 USATF/Olympic Trials (Eugene) (!!!)
July 4 Peachtree 10K
July 6-10 European Championships
July 15-17 Eberstadt HJ, Herculis/Monaco DL (!!!), Heusden-Zolder
July 19-24 World Junior Championships (Poland)
July 22-23 London Anniversary Games DL (!!!)
July 25-31 USATF Junior Olympics, TrackTown Classic
August 6 Portland 10K (track)
August 12-21 Rio De Janeiro Olympic Games (!!!!!), Falmouth 7.1 (August 21)
August 25 Lausanne DL (!!!)
August 27 Paris DL (!!!)
September 1 Weltklasse/Zurich DL (!!!), around this time, beginning of Collegiate XC season
September 3 ISTAF (Berlin)
September 5 New Haven 20K
September 9 Van Damme Memorial/Brussels DL (!!!)
September 11 Rieti
September 13 DecaNation
September 17-18 Philadelphia Half-Marathon, Talence Multis
September 25 Berlin Marathon
October 9 Chicago Marathon
October 10 Tufts 10K (Women only)
October 16 Amsterdam & Twin Cities Marathons
November 6 NYC Marathon
November 19 NCAA XC Championships
late November-early December (??) NXN & Footlocker XC (HS)
As noted, the above schedule is from T&FN!!
Please watch this blog--or T&FN website!--for updates!
Also as noted, the US OUTdoor season has begun with marks I don't remember seeing in such quantity--and being so good!!--this early!!
Normally, the first tumble of great marks comes at the Texas Relays!
Does this portend a FANTASTIC year of OUTdoor T&F??
Or is it just a damn brain-tease??
Well, let's take a look at what I have for you!
Sam Mattis threw the Discus 221-3!!
This is the Collegiate Senior Class Record!
It makes him 3rd A-T Collegiate!
And 19th A-T US!!
Sean Donnelly had a HT of 243-11.
It makes him 17th A-T Collegiate, and 23rd A-T US, tied with 2 others!
Maggie Malone threw the Javelin 198-0!!
She is now 3rd A-T Collegiate.
And 5th A-T US!!
As noted in a previous post, Molly Huddle won the NY Half-Marathon in a fast 1:07:41, JUST nipping Joyce Chepkurai at the tape, as she was given the same time!
Diane Nikuri was 3rd in 1:09:41.
The Men's race was taken by Stephen Sambu in 1:01:16, over Wilson Chebet's 1:01:35.
Sam Chelanga was 3rd in 1:01:43, while Diego Estrada was 5th in 1:02:15!
Molly's 10K splits?
Would you believe 32:51 and 31:14??!!
In a 20K Walk race in Japan, Maria Michta-Coffey tied her American Record of 1:30:49, taking 5th place!!
Also Walking a great race was Miranda Melville, as she PR'ed with a time of 1:31:42, for 7th place!
Melville is 2nd A-T US!!
Rui Ling won the race in 1:28:43.
The Men's race was won by 2014 World Junior Championships 10000 track winner, Matsunaga Daisuke in 1:18:53!!
Stephanie Brown-Trafton had a DT of 196-0.
Valerie Allman was 2nd with 190-7.
Amber Campbell had a HT of 234-6.
DeAnna Price was even better!
Her HT mark (different meet!) was 236-10, just 4 inches short of her PR!!
Speaking of the Hammer, former HS Shot Put star Stamatia Scarvelis is now a Freshman at UCLA.
In her FIRST-EVER Hammer comp, she threw it out to a promising 195-8!!
Tripp Piperi slightly improved his PR in the SP to 70-3.
He moves up one spot on my OUTdoor HS DDD, from 23rd to 22nd A-T!
But even better, Bronson Osborn--whose 2015 best is listed as 61-9!--threw the Shot a massive 70-4.50!
As far as I know, this was his first meet of the year!
If so, he improved his PR by 8 feet 7.50 inches!!!
(Memories of Raven Saunders in late 2013??!!)
Osborn is now 21st A-T HS!
Pushed OFF my list was Ryan Whiting, his 70-0 dating from 2005!!
Rachel Baxter opened her OUTdoor season in the Pole Vault with a chunky improvement from 2015.
Her 13-10 Vault is the US Age 16 Record, according to a source!
The old record was held by Desiree Freier, her 13-9 mark dating from 2013!
This makes Baxter 12th A-T HS!!
She's a HS Junior!
Her best as a Soph was 13-3!!
Raven Saunders opened her OUTdoor campaign with a BANG!!
She tossed the SP ball out 61-6.25, missing the Soph Class Record by less than 3 inches!!
She moves from 9th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, to 6th!
And on the US list, she moves from 24th A-T, tied with 1 other, to 17th!
Oh yes, she also threw the Discus a PR of 186-6!
Both were Ole Miss school records!!
Tyrese Cooper had a good meet.
No wind info, but he ran the 200 in 20.96.
He added a 400 in 46.51, plus ran a leg on a 4X400 Relay!!
HSR holder Bailey Roth, now an Arizona Frosh, ran the 3000 SC in 8:59.38!
He graduated HS in 2014, so he might have either redshirted last year, or taken the year off, starting college this year!
Other good marks included--
Kylie Price LJ of 21-4.75.
Kristin Hixson and Demi Payne (in separate meets!) PV'ing 14-7.25.
(NOTE--An error about my report of Diamara Planell Cruz's 14-7.25 from a previous post! That was NOT in the World Championships!! It was at another meet! I might have made it seem like it was in the WC!! BUT--it's still the INdoor Puerto Rico National Record!!)
Duane Solomon opened with an 800 in 1:46.45!
There was a good Women's 400!
Ebony Eutsey won with a time of 52.25!
She beat the 52.83 of Shalonda Solomon, and the 52.95 of none other than VCB, aka Veronica Campbell-Brown!!
Chanelle Price won a 1500 in 4:20.93.
In 2nd was comebacking Natosha Rogers, her time being 4:22.78!
Good to see Rogers back in the mix!
Madison Pachner of BYU threw the Discus 196-6!
She misses my Collegiate DDD by just 6 inches!
Raevyn Rogers showed some good 400 speed, running 52.30!
Annie LeBlanc ran an 800 in 2:04.38.
Jasmine Quinn, a Kentucky Frosh, battled a -0.8 wind to run the 100H in 13.01!
Devon Allen fought a -1.2 wind to run the 110H in 13.40.
He also ran a 100 and 200 in wind-legal times of 10.36 and 20.79!
Ronnie Baker had a helpful 2.7 wind to register the first sub-10 (windy or not!) of 2016, a 9.95!
And in the 4X100 Relay, the Texas A&M Men ran a good 39.17!
Oregon's Women ran 43.31.
Their team included Jasmine Todd, Hannah Cunliffe, and Arianna Washington!!
Returning to INdoors for just a sec, I have 2 significant marks to report!
Darryl Sullivan HJ'ed 7-3, making him 9th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
BTW, his mark adds one to my overall INdoor DDD count (See previous post!) of 372.
Remember I'd said it fell one short of my 2015 total?
Well, Sullivan's mark now makes the 2016 total EQUAL to 2015's!!
And Bobby Colantonio apparently took a swing at the Professional weighted Weight!!
His 64-3.25 is 2nd A-T HS in that category!!
Some brief notes of interest--some of which you probably already know!
Vashti Cunningham signed a Pro contract with Nike, thus ending her HS career, with her Senior academic year still ongoing!!
She hasn't decided on college yet!
No more HS meets (or Records or Marks!) for her!
She WILL be eligible for my HS PRO Record Book!!
As will Khalifa St. Fort, who ALSO has turned Pro, although as of right now, has not signed with anyone!
Her coach and manager is Ato Boldon!!
St. Fort has said she'll finish her HS academics in Florida, and will take a year off before deciding on a college!!
She said she'll open her Pro career at the Texas Relays!
Watch (maybe!!) for former HS Pro Alana Hadley in the 1st heat of the Raleigh Relays 10000!
She's listed as an entrant.
However, she was ALSO listed on the 2015 entry list for the 10K, but DNS'ed!!
She remains the HS Freshman Class Record holder for the distance, her 34:59.38 from 2012 remaining her PR!!
See you all soon!
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Best & Worst--2016 INdoors
When promising this post awhile back, I'd overlooked the fact I'd never done this before!
That is, had a Best & Worst post exclusively about the INdoor season!
My last B&W covered the entire 2015 season, INdoors AND OUTdoors!
But after thinking it over for a second, I decided to do it!
After all, my blog separates the seasons--why shouldn't I do it with this too?
Speaking of my blog, that's where I'll begin.
Here's my personal favorite posts from the INdoor season, January 1st through now!
I'll list the titles and dates, in chronological order.
My New Year's Wish List (Jan 1)
Two HS Class Records (& a Book Review) (Jan 4)
NOTE: The last was mostly for the Book Review!
Pole Vault Special--2016 INdoors (Jan 16)
Thoughts & Questions (Jan 25)
February First Feast (Feb 2)
Record-Smashing Weekend (Feb 7)
Olympic Trials Marathon Preview (Feb 12)
Dramatic Close to LA 26.2's (Feb 13)
Millrose Distances rewrite Lists (Feb 20)
Explaining This Blog (Feb 27)
ALL of my Meet Previews!! NBIN, Men & Women; NCAA, Men & Women; USATF, Men and Women; World Championships, Men & Women. (Mar 10, 11, 14, 17)
NBIN--The Women (Mar 17)
WC 2016--The Verdict (Mar 21)
2016 INdoors--Season Review (Mar 22)
NOTE: I'd probably include THIS one too!!
Which were the Best Meets?
1. NBIN!!
2. Millrose
3. Stockholm
4. NCAA
5. World Championships
6. SEC
7. Big 12
8. USATF
We all saw the Eaton's kissin' and huggin' at the WC!
But do they have the Best Relationship among T&F athletes?
Let's see!
1. Brianne-Thiesen & Ashton Eaton (Yes, they win! But come on, guys, GET A ROOM!!)
2. Kara & Adam Goucher (She cries. A LOT!! But if I were Adam, I'd love her too!!)
3. Darren & Sarah Brown (He helped her through her pregnancy in a great way!)
4. Carrie Tollefsen & Charlie (Watch some of her videos! You'll see a loving Charlie in some of them!)
5. Ben and Stephanie Bruce (Training, Coaching, and Life Partners! Good team!)
6. Matthew Maton & Alexa Efraimson (No word of how serious they are, but he's still in her Twitter profile photo!!)
7. Lexi & Tori Weeks (No, they're NOT romantically involved! But I've never seen siblings--even if twins--as tight-knit a pair as these two! Totally supportive of each other!)
8. Noah & Josephus Lyles (Ditto what I said about the Weeks girls--except they aren't twins!!)
Best Elite Racing Groups
In no particular order!
BAA
Oregon Track Club Elite
Brooks Beasts
NJ/NY Track Club
Nike Oregon Project
Oiselle
Mammoth Track Club
Who had the Best Comeback INdoors?
Chaunte Lowe
Meseret Defar
Aries Merritt
Lolo Jones
Francine Niyonsaba
Molly Huddle (Came back strong emotionally, after the WC!!)
Laura Roesler
The past 3 months weren't ALL about INdoor T&F!!
What were the Best NON-T&F Events during the INdoor season?
Olympic Trials Marathon!!
NYRR Half-Marathon (Huddle's recent 1:07:41!)
Garrett Heath beating Mo Farah in the Edinburgh XC race!
Maria Michta-Coffey tying her American Record in the 20K Walk in Japan a couple of days ago!!
Dubai Marathon
Best FALSE Controversy
Huddle supposedly "preventing" Joyce Chepkurai from beating her at the tape by "intentionally" moving her left arm out to "stop" Chepkurai!!
BULLSHIT!!
If ANYone "interfered", it was Chepkurai for running so CLOSE to Huddle!!
Worst IAAF Decision
(Oh, let me count the ways!)
Banning INNOCENT Russians along with the criminals!!
My Best Sources for INdoors
HS Track 2016 by Jack Shepard!
Tilastopaia (For Top 20 INdoor marks in each event--almost instantaneous!!)
eTN (Used mostly as a BACK-UP source!! I usually already HAVE the marks!!)
Athletics Annual 2015 (For complete INdoor lists for the 2015 season!)
And the Worst Sources?
Mile Split (They charge a fee for the deep lists they USED to provide for free!!)
IAAF (They changed the method for getting to their lists! Should have kept it simple!!)
FloTrack (See Mile Split comment!)
Best Livestreams (Webcasts, TV coverage)
The Pole Vaults at the WC!
British portions of the WC webcast!!
And let me comment a bit on this!!
Here's a brief comparison of the British part (with Katharine Merry & Peter Matthews) and NBC's (with Ato Boldon, among others!).
Brits--TOTAL coverage! ALL of the 3000's shown! ALL of the field events, NOT just the highlights!)
NBC--3K's broken up by ads & field events during an EIGHT minute race!! Only field event highlights, and some MISSES/FOULS!!
Brits--Intelligent, knowledgeable chatter!
NBC--SEVERAL mistakes in facts!! Lacked insight into certain events!
Brits--Only "flaw" was Matthews MISpronouncing Brenda MarTEEnez's name as MARTINez!
NBC--Let me count the ways!! IF I could count that high!!
Worst Livestreams
NBC's WC "coverage"
Flotrack (Two reasons! They charge $20/month for their livestreams! And most of those seem to be from meets held on OVERSIZE Tracks!!)
Best Tattoos
Male--Boris Berian
Female--Michelle Lee-Ahye
Best Headband
Sandi Morris!
Best Twitter Sources for Results
PoleVaultPower (Want PV results, attempt by attempt, for EVERY elite Vaulter? Becca's your source!!)
TFRSS (For compiled meet results!)
IAAF (During meets!)
Portland2016 (They were good, during the WC!)
Flotrack (This is FREE!)
Best Self-Promoter on Twitter
Model Aysha Mirza (She's a NYC model/runner who knows EVERYONE!! Sends selfies & brief vines shown with Shannon Rowbury & many other elites!! Sort of like a rock and roll groupie, without the sex part---as far as I know!! LOL)
Shannon Rowbury (In recent months, has sent MANY short videos (1-5 minutes) of herself from around the world! Interesting POV--from the inside!!)
Best Events for Teenagers for 2016 INdoors
Pole Vault!! (Wilma Murto, Eliza McCartney, Lexi Weeks, Mondo Duplantis, Lisa Gunnarson)
200 & 400 (Tyrese Cooper, Brian Herron, Noah Lyles, Chris Taylor, Sydney McLaughlin)
HJ (Vashti Cunningham, for leading the World and winning WC Gold!!)
Worst Performances Against Expectations
Mary Cain's!!
Ryen Frazier (After some great XC races!!)
Mutaz Barshim (Where's all those 2.40+ HJ's??)
Jordan Hasay (Can't blame it all on her comebacking from injury!!)
Worst Overall Events
Triple Jumps, Men and Women!! (Part due to absence of SUPERstars Caterine Ibarguen, Christian Taylor, and Pablo Pichardo--but their absence showed how glaringly WEAK these events are right now!!
400, for the Men (The Women weren't so great either, but the Men were awful!!)
5000, for the Men! (Most of the fast times were run on OT's, and even THEY weren't really fast!!)
HJ, for the Men! (With Bogdan Bondarenko's & Ivan Ukhov's absences, and Mutaz Barshim not at his best, a weak event!)
Best Names in T&F
(NOTE: This is from my own opinion, which is solidly based in my lengthy history as a writer of fiction, where character's names are very important!!)
Axumawit Embaye
Boris Berian
Jenn Suhr (For how many JOKES I can tell with that SUHR!! For SUHR!! LOL)
Wilma Murto
Worst of the Best Marks
(Because they were all run on OT's!!!)
Kim Conley's 15:09 5000.
Allie Ostrander's 15:21 5K.
Izaic Yorks's and Sean McGorty's 3:53 Miles!
Raevyn Rogers's 1:26.34 600, which would have been a Collegiate Record if run on a LEGAL track!!
Best Pregnancy and Birth Stories
Sarah Brown
Stephanie Bruce
Carrie Tollefsen
Meseret Defar
Nia Ali
(And in absentia, Yelena Isinbayeva!!)
Best New Venue
Ocean Breeze on Staten Island, NY!!
Worst Event Choices
No 200's in WC's!!
No Two Mile races this season!!
No Weight Throw in the WC's, or anywhere outside the US!
No Walks in the WC's!!
And finally, the Best Song Titles for Track and Field
I'm Gonna Take You Higher (Sly and the Family Stone)
Ready to Run (Dixie Chicks)
Kicks (Paul Revere and the Raiders)
Runaway (Del Shannon)
Idiot Wind (Bob Dylan)
(NOTE: The last listed is what blows out of IAAF's offices in Monaco!!)
Strange Brew (Cream)
(NOTE: What Russian scientists concoct in their labs!! LOL)
Forever Young (Bob Dylan)
(NOTE: Dedicated to Bernard Lagat, Kim Collins, Ruth Beitia, Deena Kastor, Meb Keflizighi, Reese Hoffa, Chris Brown, and Kara Goucher!!)
See you soon with my OUTdoor Preview, to be followed by my OUTdoor Age Record Predictions for 2016!!
That is, had a Best & Worst post exclusively about the INdoor season!
My last B&W covered the entire 2015 season, INdoors AND OUTdoors!
But after thinking it over for a second, I decided to do it!
After all, my blog separates the seasons--why shouldn't I do it with this too?
Speaking of my blog, that's where I'll begin.
Here's my personal favorite posts from the INdoor season, January 1st through now!
I'll list the titles and dates, in chronological order.
My New Year's Wish List (Jan 1)
Two HS Class Records (& a Book Review) (Jan 4)
NOTE: The last was mostly for the Book Review!
Pole Vault Special--2016 INdoors (Jan 16)
Thoughts & Questions (Jan 25)
February First Feast (Feb 2)
Record-Smashing Weekend (Feb 7)
Olympic Trials Marathon Preview (Feb 12)
Dramatic Close to LA 26.2's (Feb 13)
Millrose Distances rewrite Lists (Feb 20)
Explaining This Blog (Feb 27)
ALL of my Meet Previews!! NBIN, Men & Women; NCAA, Men & Women; USATF, Men and Women; World Championships, Men & Women. (Mar 10, 11, 14, 17)
NBIN--The Women (Mar 17)
WC 2016--The Verdict (Mar 21)
2016 INdoors--Season Review (Mar 22)
NOTE: I'd probably include THIS one too!!
Which were the Best Meets?
1. NBIN!!
2. Millrose
3. Stockholm
4. NCAA
5. World Championships
6. SEC
7. Big 12
8. USATF
We all saw the Eaton's kissin' and huggin' at the WC!
But do they have the Best Relationship among T&F athletes?
Let's see!
1. Brianne-Thiesen & Ashton Eaton (Yes, they win! But come on, guys, GET A ROOM!!)
2. Kara & Adam Goucher (She cries. A LOT!! But if I were Adam, I'd love her too!!)
3. Darren & Sarah Brown (He helped her through her pregnancy in a great way!)
4. Carrie Tollefsen & Charlie (Watch some of her videos! You'll see a loving Charlie in some of them!)
5. Ben and Stephanie Bruce (Training, Coaching, and Life Partners! Good team!)
6. Matthew Maton & Alexa Efraimson (No word of how serious they are, but he's still in her Twitter profile photo!!)
7. Lexi & Tori Weeks (No, they're NOT romantically involved! But I've never seen siblings--even if twins--as tight-knit a pair as these two! Totally supportive of each other!)
8. Noah & Josephus Lyles (Ditto what I said about the Weeks girls--except they aren't twins!!)
Best Elite Racing Groups
In no particular order!
BAA
Oregon Track Club Elite
Brooks Beasts
NJ/NY Track Club
Nike Oregon Project
Oiselle
Mammoth Track Club
Who had the Best Comeback INdoors?
Chaunte Lowe
Meseret Defar
Aries Merritt
Lolo Jones
Francine Niyonsaba
Molly Huddle (Came back strong emotionally, after the WC!!)
Laura Roesler
The past 3 months weren't ALL about INdoor T&F!!
What were the Best NON-T&F Events during the INdoor season?
Olympic Trials Marathon!!
NYRR Half-Marathon (Huddle's recent 1:07:41!)
Garrett Heath beating Mo Farah in the Edinburgh XC race!
Maria Michta-Coffey tying her American Record in the 20K Walk in Japan a couple of days ago!!
Dubai Marathon
Best FALSE Controversy
Huddle supposedly "preventing" Joyce Chepkurai from beating her at the tape by "intentionally" moving her left arm out to "stop" Chepkurai!!
BULLSHIT!!
If ANYone "interfered", it was Chepkurai for running so CLOSE to Huddle!!
Worst IAAF Decision
(Oh, let me count the ways!)
Banning INNOCENT Russians along with the criminals!!
My Best Sources for INdoors
HS Track 2016 by Jack Shepard!
Tilastopaia (For Top 20 INdoor marks in each event--almost instantaneous!!)
eTN (Used mostly as a BACK-UP source!! I usually already HAVE the marks!!)
Athletics Annual 2015 (For complete INdoor lists for the 2015 season!)
And the Worst Sources?
Mile Split (They charge a fee for the deep lists they USED to provide for free!!)
IAAF (They changed the method for getting to their lists! Should have kept it simple!!)
FloTrack (See Mile Split comment!)
Best Livestreams (Webcasts, TV coverage)
The Pole Vaults at the WC!
British portions of the WC webcast!!
And let me comment a bit on this!!
Here's a brief comparison of the British part (with Katharine Merry & Peter Matthews) and NBC's (with Ato Boldon, among others!).
Brits--TOTAL coverage! ALL of the 3000's shown! ALL of the field events, NOT just the highlights!)
NBC--3K's broken up by ads & field events during an EIGHT minute race!! Only field event highlights, and some MISSES/FOULS!!
Brits--Intelligent, knowledgeable chatter!
NBC--SEVERAL mistakes in facts!! Lacked insight into certain events!
Brits--Only "flaw" was Matthews MISpronouncing Brenda MarTEEnez's name as MARTINez!
NBC--Let me count the ways!! IF I could count that high!!
Worst Livestreams
NBC's WC "coverage"
Flotrack (Two reasons! They charge $20/month for their livestreams! And most of those seem to be from meets held on OVERSIZE Tracks!!)
Best Tattoos
Male--Boris Berian
Female--Michelle Lee-Ahye
Best Headband
Sandi Morris!
Best Twitter Sources for Results
PoleVaultPower (Want PV results, attempt by attempt, for EVERY elite Vaulter? Becca's your source!!)
TFRSS (For compiled meet results!)
IAAF (During meets!)
Portland2016 (They were good, during the WC!)
Flotrack (This is FREE!)
Best Self-Promoter on Twitter
Model Aysha Mirza (She's a NYC model/runner who knows EVERYONE!! Sends selfies & brief vines shown with Shannon Rowbury & many other elites!! Sort of like a rock and roll groupie, without the sex part---as far as I know!! LOL)
Shannon Rowbury (In recent months, has sent MANY short videos (1-5 minutes) of herself from around the world! Interesting POV--from the inside!!)
Best Events for Teenagers for 2016 INdoors
Pole Vault!! (Wilma Murto, Eliza McCartney, Lexi Weeks, Mondo Duplantis, Lisa Gunnarson)
200 & 400 (Tyrese Cooper, Brian Herron, Noah Lyles, Chris Taylor, Sydney McLaughlin)
HJ (Vashti Cunningham, for leading the World and winning WC Gold!!)
Worst Performances Against Expectations
Mary Cain's!!
Ryen Frazier (After some great XC races!!)
Mutaz Barshim (Where's all those 2.40+ HJ's??)
Jordan Hasay (Can't blame it all on her comebacking from injury!!)
Worst Overall Events
Triple Jumps, Men and Women!! (Part due to absence of SUPERstars Caterine Ibarguen, Christian Taylor, and Pablo Pichardo--but their absence showed how glaringly WEAK these events are right now!!
400, for the Men (The Women weren't so great either, but the Men were awful!!)
5000, for the Men! (Most of the fast times were run on OT's, and even THEY weren't really fast!!)
HJ, for the Men! (With Bogdan Bondarenko's & Ivan Ukhov's absences, and Mutaz Barshim not at his best, a weak event!)
Best Names in T&F
(NOTE: This is from my own opinion, which is solidly based in my lengthy history as a writer of fiction, where character's names are very important!!)
Axumawit Embaye
Boris Berian
Jenn Suhr (For how many JOKES I can tell with that SUHR!! For SUHR!! LOL)
Wilma Murto
Worst of the Best Marks
(Because they were all run on OT's!!!)
Kim Conley's 15:09 5000.
Allie Ostrander's 15:21 5K.
Izaic Yorks's and Sean McGorty's 3:53 Miles!
Raevyn Rogers's 1:26.34 600, which would have been a Collegiate Record if run on a LEGAL track!!
Best Pregnancy and Birth Stories
Sarah Brown
Stephanie Bruce
Carrie Tollefsen
Meseret Defar
Nia Ali
(And in absentia, Yelena Isinbayeva!!)
Best New Venue
Ocean Breeze on Staten Island, NY!!
Worst Event Choices
No 200's in WC's!!
No Two Mile races this season!!
No Weight Throw in the WC's, or anywhere outside the US!
No Walks in the WC's!!
And finally, the Best Song Titles for Track and Field
I'm Gonna Take You Higher (Sly and the Family Stone)
Ready to Run (Dixie Chicks)
Kicks (Paul Revere and the Raiders)
Runaway (Del Shannon)
Idiot Wind (Bob Dylan)
(NOTE: The last listed is what blows out of IAAF's offices in Monaco!!)
Strange Brew (Cream)
(NOTE: What Russian scientists concoct in their labs!! LOL)
Forever Young (Bob Dylan)
(NOTE: Dedicated to Bernard Lagat, Kim Collins, Ruth Beitia, Deena Kastor, Meb Keflizighi, Reese Hoffa, Chris Brown, and Kara Goucher!!)
See you soon with my OUTdoor Preview, to be followed by my OUTdoor Age Record Predictions for 2016!!
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
2016 INdoors--Season Review
You would think that in a year dominated by the World Championships--both in anticipation and in actuality--it would be easy to choose my Athletes of the Year.
Simply look to who broke records, won Golds, shocked and soared!
But, if you read my WC wrap-up, then you know that meet wasn't what it should have been, or could have been!
That said, here's my picks for AOY, Performance of the Year, Event of the Year, and Personalities of the Year!
Athlete of the Year--Men
World--AYANLEH SOULEIMAN
He took down one of the legendary WR's--that being Wilson Kipketer's 2:14.96 in the 1000. So how does the PERFORMANCE of the Year (See below!) translate to ATHLETE of the Year? Simple--by default!
There was simply no one else who TRULY stood out. No one really dominated--from December through mid-March!
But Honorable Mentions should go to Renaud Lavillenie, Matthew Centrowitz, Omar McLeod, Boris Berian, and Ashton Eaton.
USA--MATTHEW CENTROWITZ
I gave him my AOY more for his Millrose Mile win than for his WC 1500 Gold! His 3:50.63 Wanamaker was the fastest Mile, and was run in a GREAT race with Nick Willis! I gave a few minutes thought to Sam Kendricks, whose 19-4.75 PV is the best by an American in awhile, not to mention his medaling in the WC!
Honorable Mentions go to Kendricks, and to Ryan Crouser, as well as Trayvon Bromell, Boris Berian, and Ashton Eaton.
Collegiate--RYAN CROUSER
He tied one of the better CR's, that of his namesake, Ryan Whiting! At that time, it ranked as the best in the World! Other than Brannon Kidder in the 1000, it was the only CR this year!
Besides Kidder, other Honorable Mentions go to both Ronnie Baker and Cameron Burrell, as well as Donavan Brazier, and Ed Cheserek (Mainly for his Millrose 3000!).
High School--DREW HUNTER
Who else?? His TWO sub-4 Miles not only broke Alan Webb's HSR, but he got TWO 1500 HSR's, as well as Ed Cheserek's 3000 mark! But beyond the Records, he brought attention to the sport from outside the realm of the Fan Geeks!
But this year was busy in the HSR department, so my Honorable Mentions list is also long!
Begin with Grant Holloway and Noah Lyles, but don't end there.
Add Mondo Duplantis, Tyrese Cooper, Bobby Colantonio, and Jordan Geist!
Athlete of the Year--Women
World--GENZEBE DIBABA
When you break the MILE World Record by 3.83 seconds--in a solo run!--and know you're capable of taking ANOTHER 3.83 seconds off THAT time, then that makes THIS choice the easiest!
She backed it up with her 8:22.50 in the 3000, as well as her WC Gold.
Honorable Mentions go to Barbara Pierre, both for her fast times, and for her beating Dafne Schippers at the WC, and to Jenn Suhr, Brittney Reese, Michelle Carter, Brianne Thiesen-Eaton, and Vashti Cunningham.
USA--MICHELLE CARTER
She shattered the AR, beat Valerie Adams, and won WC Gold in dramatic last round fashion!
But she had stiff competition for this award.
Jenn Suhr's WR (and US Record!), as well as her year-long dominance (Except at USATF!), and WC win over a VERY strong field narrowly missed getting her my AOY!
So give her First Place on my Honorable Mentions list!
But others go to Raven Saunders, Barbara Pierre, Natasha Hastings, Molly Huddle, Vashti Cunningham, Brittney Reese, Sandi Morris, and Kendell Williams!
Collegiate--RAVEN SAUNDERS
This was a CLOSE one!! This HS and Collegiate LEGEND has broken more records in her event in a relatively short period of time than most--if not everyone!
The fact she's just a Sophomore adds to her brilliance!
But she had INTENSE competition for this award!
Another Soph--Keturah Orji--dominated HER event maybe even more than Saunders did this year! (Although that says more about the relative WEAKNESS of her opponents than Orji's greatness!)
If Orji had broken the CR, and/or WON Gold in Portland, this Award would be her's!
Honorable Mentions--besides Orji--go to Angel Piccirillo, Molly Seidel, Raevyn Rogers, Quenesha Burks, Kendell Williams, and to new 15 foot PV'ers Lexi Weeks and Megan Clark!
But a very special HM goes to Akela Jones! (See my Performance of the Year below!)
High School--TONEA MARSHALL
THIS was TOUGH!!!!
How do you pick one HSR over another? Especially when ALL of them either broke Records of Legends, won at the World Championships, or so impressed by their poise, maturity, and UNMET potential!!
You had Vashti Cunningham who, in her FIRST year INdoors, broke the HSR, won Gold against World Class competition, and then turned Pro!
You had Sydney McLaughlin, who ran 51.84 for the HSR, then one hour later, Relayed a 51.65!!
You had Katie Rainsberger, who while NOT getting the HSR, DID knock out two iconic CLASS Records--those of Lynn Jennings from 1978!!
But I finally gave it to Marshall because she broke Dior Hall's HSR TWICE!!
She ran a fast 8.16 in the heats at NBIN, then got HSR's in the semis (8.08) and final (8.02)!!
Performance of the Year--Men
World--Souleiman's 2:14.20 in the 1000.
A few A-T Greats in the 800--including David Rudisha!--had attempted to break Kipketer's WR--and failed!
Souleiman succeeded!
Award to him!
The only other WR was the 500 of Abdelelah Haroun.
Yes, he was the first to break one minute, but that event is so rarely run that it was an easy pick for Souleiman's more popular event!
USA--Centrowitz's Millrose Mile of 3:50.63.
It was against a fierce competitor, and in the legendary Wanamaker race!
Some weight was given to Kendricks's PV and to Crouser's SP.
Collegiate--Ryan Crouser's 71-3.50 tying of Ryan Whiting's CR!
Brannon Kidder got the CR in the 1000, but that event's CR is still too soft a mark for Kidder to get this award!
High School--Hunter's 3:57.81 Mile (and 3:41.83 1500).
I could as easily given it to his FIRST sub-4:00--the 3:58.25--but the former came against a much better field at the Millrose Games!
It was similar to when Alan Webb got the OUTdoor HSR's against Hicham El Guerrouj in the Prefontaine Classic!
But given VERY serious consideration was Noah Lyles's 20.63 in the NBIN 200!
He removed the X-Man from the Record Book!!
Xavier Carter's 20.69 had acquired the status of UNBREAKABLE!!
Duplantis's HSR in the Vault--the first HS 18-footer INdoors--got a few votes!
Performance of the Year--Women
World--Dibaba's Mile!
Case closed!
(You can add her 3:56.46 1500 enroute!)
US--Carter's WC 66-3-75 win in the SP!
For all the reasons given above--the Record AND the WC Gold!
Suhr's 16-6 was GREAT, but the PV was so LOADED this year, and Suhr's POTENTIAL so unmet, that the edge was given to Carter's throw!
Collegiate--Akela Jones's Big 12 meet!!
She won THREE events--and two of them were Collegiate leaders at the time.
8.00 in the 60H, 22-1.75 in the LJ, and 6-4 in the HJ!
While her NCAA Pentathlon fell apart, she tied the CR in the HJ, and tied the Collegiate-leading LJ mark during her DNF in the Pent!
Picirrillo's 1000 CR was given STRONG consideration, but that CR is still fairly weak!
And of course, you can't overlook Saunders's CR in the Shot Put!
High School--Cunningham's 6-6.25 HJ!
The WC Gold came AFTER the NBIN, and added little to my decision!
Katie Rainsberger's removing TWO Class Records dating from 38 years back was given much consideration, but a HSR trumps Class Records!
I also liked McLaughlin's 51.84 HSR. If Relay legs were included, this award would probably be McLaughlin's, for her entire NBIN roster of events!
Event of the Year--Men
World--1000 and SP
The breaking of the 1K WR, and the depth of the SP made this choice simple.
Even in the 1000, we saw 3 men make my Top 24 World list!
USA--3000
SEVEN guys made my US DDD in 2016.
No American Record, but the depth was incredible!
Collegiate--the 60 and the 800
The fast times of Baker and Burrell, as well as Christian Coleman's 6.52, gave the shortest race this prize.
But the 800 saw FIVE guys make my Top 24 Collegiate list this year!
High School--the 200 and the Mile
Hunter WAS the Mile!!
And Noah Lyles WAS the 200.
But the greater depth in the 200 (4 on my list, as opposed to 3 in the Mile!) offset the VALUE given to Hunter's TWO HSR's!
Event of the Year--Women
World--the 5000 and the Pole Vault
No WR in the distance event, but my World (and US) lists were drastically revised!!
The Vault got the WR, AND great depth!
But the latter has been the dominant event for at least the past two years, while the 5K is rarely run INdoors!
US--same as the World--the PV and the 5000!
For the same reasons!
Except Huddle didn't get Shalane Flanagan's AR!
ELEVEN 5K marks made my US list in 2016.
NINE marks in the PV did!
Collegiate--the 5000
Yes, the PV saw two additions to the Collegiate 15-foot list!
The 5000 saw "just" 3 additions to my Collegiate list, while the PV got SEVEN!
So why did I give it to the 5000 alone?
Lexi Weeks's and Megan Clark's 15+ Vaults stayed behind Demi Payne's and Sandi Morris's marks from 2015.
Molly Seidel ran TWO times in the 5K that placed high on the 5000 list!
HS--the 60H
Just reread my Women's NBIN report!
Again, case closed!
The Mile had those sub-4:40's, but they should have been faster!
I gave a bit of weight to the 1000, with Kate Murphy's and Sammy Watson's 2:45+ times!
IF either one had broken Sarah (Bowman) Brown's HSR--while I still would have chosen the 60H--the 1K would have gained a STRONG Honorable Mention!
Personality of the Year--Men
World--RENAUD LAVILLENIE
If you watched the livestream of the WC Pole Vault, you'd know why I gave Renaud this award!
For two hours--give or take--PRIOR to his opening height!--he sat!
Or stood.
And chatted.
And smiled.
No other person so FILLED a room at the WC without DOING his event!!
I gave some weight to Ashton Eaton, but his image was so all-pervasive--that it began to actually DRAIN some of the energy from the arena!!
At least it did that for me!
But Lavillenie's effect was all positive!
US--ASHTON EATON
DESPITE what I said above, there was no getting around the fact that Eaton (AND his wife!! See my Women's Personality of the Year!!) DOMINATED not only his event, but the entire World Championships!!
Collegiate--DONAVAN BRAZIER
He was the shocker of the year--running a Frosh Class record in the 800--that stood up as the fastest of the year!
But it was all the CHATTER about him that gives him this award!
You would have thought he had re-invented the wheel!
High School--DREW HUNTER
Confident in his demeanor, and brilliant in his ability, and a stand-out with his red hair, this award was made easier by his seeming nonchalance in his interviews after his Records!
Not arrogant or self-congratulatory, he handled his new-found fame with a humble gracious attitude.
The Lyles Brothers--both Noah and Josephus--were a bit too loud and jovial in their interviews.
Good guys, but they need to tone it down a bit!
Personality of the Year--Women
World--GENZEBE DIBABA
Despite all my negative-sounding editorial posts, I really do NOT enjoy being negative, especially against someone I've never met, and never will!
Thus my decision to PASS on Brianne Thiesen-Eaton as my Personality of the Year bothers me!
She SEEMS like a very likeable woman!
And you rarely see a more in love couple than the Eatons--seen worldwide for millions to observe!
But again, they just were TOO all-pervasive at the WC's!
Too much of a good thing is---too much!!
Thus this award goes to Dibaba, whose radiant beauty, and athletic perfection so dominate the Track portion of T&F!
US--SANDI MORRIS
While Jenn Suhr is the better Vaulter (in most categories--for now!), Morris's Personality shines through her every movement!
Whether in her event, or on Twitter & Instagram, or maybe especially on her funny and entertaining YouTube videos (with her snakes!!), Morris takes over your mind and your heart!
Similar to Lolo Jones and Maggie Vessey (among others!), she'd be popular even if she WASN'T a World Class PV'er!!
Collegiate--RAVEN SAUNDERS
There's other Collegiate Women as talented, but none (that I've seen!) FILL a room as Saunders does!
(And no, I'm NOT talking about her SIZE!!!)
She gets in that ring, and you just wait for the EXPLOSION that follows!
But it's in her interviews, and on social media, where her Personality shines through the best!
She's super confident, without being obnoxious.
She's loud and brash, without being all ME all the time!
I just LIKE the girl--no apologies!!
High School--VASHTI CUNNINGHAM
She doesn't talk much!
Even in her Pro-signing interview, with Mom and Dad sitting on each side, it was the parents who spoke the most!
During competitions, she rarely smiles and seems super intense!
After making a height, she's the antithesis of Blanka Vlasic's celebratory demonstrations!
But maybe THAT is what defines her!!
As a Pro now, she might change.
But for the 2016 HS INdoor season, she wins this award!
So how great WAS this 2016 season?
Let's take a look.
For the Men, we saw---
2 WR's
ZERO US records
2 Collegiate Records
SEVEN HSR's!
The Women saw---
2 WR's
3 US Records
4 Collegiate Records
6 HSR's!
That makes a Total of--
4 WR's
3 US Records
6 CR's
13 HSR's!!
Thus, the HS'ers prevailed!
My DDD list count was ALMOST the same as in 2015!!
In 2015,, I counted 373 marks from my 4 groups INdoors!
In 2016, I counted 1 less--372!
Here's the breakdown for this year!
World Men have 27 DDD marks!
World Women have 33.
US Men sees 36 DDD marks.
US Women have 72!!
Collegiate Men have 37 Top 24 Marks!
Collegiate Women see 58 marks!
HS Men have 48 DDD marks.
HS Women get 61.
The Men's Total is 148.
The Women's Total is 224!
The Grand Total, as noted, is 372.
Good, but coulda/shoulda/woulda been MUCH better IF----!!!
My "Best and Worst" comes next--possibly later today, but more likely tomorrow.
Then I'll have my OUTdoor Preview!!
Thursday?
See you all soon!
And thank you all for reading my blog!
I try to be 100% accurate, as well as entertaining!
If I can do better, please tell me how!
Or just comment on ANYthing you like!
(Trolls & Spammers are NOT welcome here!!)
Simply look to who broke records, won Golds, shocked and soared!
But, if you read my WC wrap-up, then you know that meet wasn't what it should have been, or could have been!
That said, here's my picks for AOY, Performance of the Year, Event of the Year, and Personalities of the Year!
Athlete of the Year--Men
World--AYANLEH SOULEIMAN
He took down one of the legendary WR's--that being Wilson Kipketer's 2:14.96 in the 1000. So how does the PERFORMANCE of the Year (See below!) translate to ATHLETE of the Year? Simple--by default!
There was simply no one else who TRULY stood out. No one really dominated--from December through mid-March!
But Honorable Mentions should go to Renaud Lavillenie, Matthew Centrowitz, Omar McLeod, Boris Berian, and Ashton Eaton.
USA--MATTHEW CENTROWITZ
I gave him my AOY more for his Millrose Mile win than for his WC 1500 Gold! His 3:50.63 Wanamaker was the fastest Mile, and was run in a GREAT race with Nick Willis! I gave a few minutes thought to Sam Kendricks, whose 19-4.75 PV is the best by an American in awhile, not to mention his medaling in the WC!
Honorable Mentions go to Kendricks, and to Ryan Crouser, as well as Trayvon Bromell, Boris Berian, and Ashton Eaton.
Collegiate--RYAN CROUSER
He tied one of the better CR's, that of his namesake, Ryan Whiting! At that time, it ranked as the best in the World! Other than Brannon Kidder in the 1000, it was the only CR this year!
Besides Kidder, other Honorable Mentions go to both Ronnie Baker and Cameron Burrell, as well as Donavan Brazier, and Ed Cheserek (Mainly for his Millrose 3000!).
High School--DREW HUNTER
Who else?? His TWO sub-4 Miles not only broke Alan Webb's HSR, but he got TWO 1500 HSR's, as well as Ed Cheserek's 3000 mark! But beyond the Records, he brought attention to the sport from outside the realm of the Fan Geeks!
But this year was busy in the HSR department, so my Honorable Mentions list is also long!
Begin with Grant Holloway and Noah Lyles, but don't end there.
Add Mondo Duplantis, Tyrese Cooper, Bobby Colantonio, and Jordan Geist!
Athlete of the Year--Women
World--GENZEBE DIBABA
When you break the MILE World Record by 3.83 seconds--in a solo run!--and know you're capable of taking ANOTHER 3.83 seconds off THAT time, then that makes THIS choice the easiest!
She backed it up with her 8:22.50 in the 3000, as well as her WC Gold.
Honorable Mentions go to Barbara Pierre, both for her fast times, and for her beating Dafne Schippers at the WC, and to Jenn Suhr, Brittney Reese, Michelle Carter, Brianne Thiesen-Eaton, and Vashti Cunningham.
USA--MICHELLE CARTER
She shattered the AR, beat Valerie Adams, and won WC Gold in dramatic last round fashion!
But she had stiff competition for this award.
Jenn Suhr's WR (and US Record!), as well as her year-long dominance (Except at USATF!), and WC win over a VERY strong field narrowly missed getting her my AOY!
So give her First Place on my Honorable Mentions list!
But others go to Raven Saunders, Barbara Pierre, Natasha Hastings, Molly Huddle, Vashti Cunningham, Brittney Reese, Sandi Morris, and Kendell Williams!
Collegiate--RAVEN SAUNDERS
This was a CLOSE one!! This HS and Collegiate LEGEND has broken more records in her event in a relatively short period of time than most--if not everyone!
The fact she's just a Sophomore adds to her brilliance!
But she had INTENSE competition for this award!
Another Soph--Keturah Orji--dominated HER event maybe even more than Saunders did this year! (Although that says more about the relative WEAKNESS of her opponents than Orji's greatness!)
If Orji had broken the CR, and/or WON Gold in Portland, this Award would be her's!
Honorable Mentions--besides Orji--go to Angel Piccirillo, Molly Seidel, Raevyn Rogers, Quenesha Burks, Kendell Williams, and to new 15 foot PV'ers Lexi Weeks and Megan Clark!
But a very special HM goes to Akela Jones! (See my Performance of the Year below!)
High School--TONEA MARSHALL
THIS was TOUGH!!!!
How do you pick one HSR over another? Especially when ALL of them either broke Records of Legends, won at the World Championships, or so impressed by their poise, maturity, and UNMET potential!!
You had Vashti Cunningham who, in her FIRST year INdoors, broke the HSR, won Gold against World Class competition, and then turned Pro!
You had Sydney McLaughlin, who ran 51.84 for the HSR, then one hour later, Relayed a 51.65!!
You had Katie Rainsberger, who while NOT getting the HSR, DID knock out two iconic CLASS Records--those of Lynn Jennings from 1978!!
But I finally gave it to Marshall because she broke Dior Hall's HSR TWICE!!
She ran a fast 8.16 in the heats at NBIN, then got HSR's in the semis (8.08) and final (8.02)!!
Performance of the Year--Men
World--Souleiman's 2:14.20 in the 1000.
A few A-T Greats in the 800--including David Rudisha!--had attempted to break Kipketer's WR--and failed!
Souleiman succeeded!
Award to him!
The only other WR was the 500 of Abdelelah Haroun.
Yes, he was the first to break one minute, but that event is so rarely run that it was an easy pick for Souleiman's more popular event!
USA--Centrowitz's Millrose Mile of 3:50.63.
It was against a fierce competitor, and in the legendary Wanamaker race!
Some weight was given to Kendricks's PV and to Crouser's SP.
Collegiate--Ryan Crouser's 71-3.50 tying of Ryan Whiting's CR!
Brannon Kidder got the CR in the 1000, but that event's CR is still too soft a mark for Kidder to get this award!
High School--Hunter's 3:57.81 Mile (and 3:41.83 1500).
I could as easily given it to his FIRST sub-4:00--the 3:58.25--but the former came against a much better field at the Millrose Games!
It was similar to when Alan Webb got the OUTdoor HSR's against Hicham El Guerrouj in the Prefontaine Classic!
But given VERY serious consideration was Noah Lyles's 20.63 in the NBIN 200!
He removed the X-Man from the Record Book!!
Xavier Carter's 20.69 had acquired the status of UNBREAKABLE!!
Duplantis's HSR in the Vault--the first HS 18-footer INdoors--got a few votes!
Performance of the Year--Women
World--Dibaba's Mile!
Case closed!
(You can add her 3:56.46 1500 enroute!)
US--Carter's WC 66-3-75 win in the SP!
For all the reasons given above--the Record AND the WC Gold!
Suhr's 16-6 was GREAT, but the PV was so LOADED this year, and Suhr's POTENTIAL so unmet, that the edge was given to Carter's throw!
Collegiate--Akela Jones's Big 12 meet!!
She won THREE events--and two of them were Collegiate leaders at the time.
8.00 in the 60H, 22-1.75 in the LJ, and 6-4 in the HJ!
While her NCAA Pentathlon fell apart, she tied the CR in the HJ, and tied the Collegiate-leading LJ mark during her DNF in the Pent!
Picirrillo's 1000 CR was given STRONG consideration, but that CR is still fairly weak!
And of course, you can't overlook Saunders's CR in the Shot Put!
High School--Cunningham's 6-6.25 HJ!
The WC Gold came AFTER the NBIN, and added little to my decision!
Katie Rainsberger's removing TWO Class Records dating from 38 years back was given much consideration, but a HSR trumps Class Records!
I also liked McLaughlin's 51.84 HSR. If Relay legs were included, this award would probably be McLaughlin's, for her entire NBIN roster of events!
Event of the Year--Men
World--1000 and SP
The breaking of the 1K WR, and the depth of the SP made this choice simple.
Even in the 1000, we saw 3 men make my Top 24 World list!
USA--3000
SEVEN guys made my US DDD in 2016.
No American Record, but the depth was incredible!
Collegiate--the 60 and the 800
The fast times of Baker and Burrell, as well as Christian Coleman's 6.52, gave the shortest race this prize.
But the 800 saw FIVE guys make my Top 24 Collegiate list this year!
High School--the 200 and the Mile
Hunter WAS the Mile!!
And Noah Lyles WAS the 200.
But the greater depth in the 200 (4 on my list, as opposed to 3 in the Mile!) offset the VALUE given to Hunter's TWO HSR's!
Event of the Year--Women
World--the 5000 and the Pole Vault
No WR in the distance event, but my World (and US) lists were drastically revised!!
The Vault got the WR, AND great depth!
But the latter has been the dominant event for at least the past two years, while the 5K is rarely run INdoors!
US--same as the World--the PV and the 5000!
For the same reasons!
Except Huddle didn't get Shalane Flanagan's AR!
ELEVEN 5K marks made my US list in 2016.
NINE marks in the PV did!
Collegiate--the 5000
Yes, the PV saw two additions to the Collegiate 15-foot list!
The 5000 saw "just" 3 additions to my Collegiate list, while the PV got SEVEN!
So why did I give it to the 5000 alone?
Lexi Weeks's and Megan Clark's 15+ Vaults stayed behind Demi Payne's and Sandi Morris's marks from 2015.
Molly Seidel ran TWO times in the 5K that placed high on the 5000 list!
HS--the 60H
Just reread my Women's NBIN report!
Again, case closed!
The Mile had those sub-4:40's, but they should have been faster!
I gave a bit of weight to the 1000, with Kate Murphy's and Sammy Watson's 2:45+ times!
IF either one had broken Sarah (Bowman) Brown's HSR--while I still would have chosen the 60H--the 1K would have gained a STRONG Honorable Mention!
Personality of the Year--Men
World--RENAUD LAVILLENIE
If you watched the livestream of the WC Pole Vault, you'd know why I gave Renaud this award!
For two hours--give or take--PRIOR to his opening height!--he sat!
Or stood.
And chatted.
And smiled.
No other person so FILLED a room at the WC without DOING his event!!
I gave some weight to Ashton Eaton, but his image was so all-pervasive--that it began to actually DRAIN some of the energy from the arena!!
At least it did that for me!
But Lavillenie's effect was all positive!
US--ASHTON EATON
DESPITE what I said above, there was no getting around the fact that Eaton (AND his wife!! See my Women's Personality of the Year!!) DOMINATED not only his event, but the entire World Championships!!
Collegiate--DONAVAN BRAZIER
He was the shocker of the year--running a Frosh Class record in the 800--that stood up as the fastest of the year!
But it was all the CHATTER about him that gives him this award!
You would have thought he had re-invented the wheel!
High School--DREW HUNTER
Confident in his demeanor, and brilliant in his ability, and a stand-out with his red hair, this award was made easier by his seeming nonchalance in his interviews after his Records!
Not arrogant or self-congratulatory, he handled his new-found fame with a humble gracious attitude.
The Lyles Brothers--both Noah and Josephus--were a bit too loud and jovial in their interviews.
Good guys, but they need to tone it down a bit!
Personality of the Year--Women
World--GENZEBE DIBABA
Despite all my negative-sounding editorial posts, I really do NOT enjoy being negative, especially against someone I've never met, and never will!
Thus my decision to PASS on Brianne Thiesen-Eaton as my Personality of the Year bothers me!
She SEEMS like a very likeable woman!
And you rarely see a more in love couple than the Eatons--seen worldwide for millions to observe!
But again, they just were TOO all-pervasive at the WC's!
Too much of a good thing is---too much!!
Thus this award goes to Dibaba, whose radiant beauty, and athletic perfection so dominate the Track portion of T&F!
US--SANDI MORRIS
While Jenn Suhr is the better Vaulter (in most categories--for now!), Morris's Personality shines through her every movement!
Whether in her event, or on Twitter & Instagram, or maybe especially on her funny and entertaining YouTube videos (with her snakes!!), Morris takes over your mind and your heart!
Similar to Lolo Jones and Maggie Vessey (among others!), she'd be popular even if she WASN'T a World Class PV'er!!
Collegiate--RAVEN SAUNDERS
There's other Collegiate Women as talented, but none (that I've seen!) FILL a room as Saunders does!
(And no, I'm NOT talking about her SIZE!!!)
She gets in that ring, and you just wait for the EXPLOSION that follows!
But it's in her interviews, and on social media, where her Personality shines through the best!
She's super confident, without being obnoxious.
She's loud and brash, without being all ME all the time!
I just LIKE the girl--no apologies!!
High School--VASHTI CUNNINGHAM
She doesn't talk much!
Even in her Pro-signing interview, with Mom and Dad sitting on each side, it was the parents who spoke the most!
During competitions, she rarely smiles and seems super intense!
After making a height, she's the antithesis of Blanka Vlasic's celebratory demonstrations!
But maybe THAT is what defines her!!
As a Pro now, she might change.
But for the 2016 HS INdoor season, she wins this award!
So how great WAS this 2016 season?
Let's take a look.
For the Men, we saw---
2 WR's
ZERO US records
2 Collegiate Records
SEVEN HSR's!
The Women saw---
2 WR's
3 US Records
4 Collegiate Records
6 HSR's!
That makes a Total of--
4 WR's
3 US Records
6 CR's
13 HSR's!!
Thus, the HS'ers prevailed!
My DDD list count was ALMOST the same as in 2015!!
In 2015,, I counted 373 marks from my 4 groups INdoors!
In 2016, I counted 1 less--372!
Here's the breakdown for this year!
World Men have 27 DDD marks!
World Women have 33.
US Men sees 36 DDD marks.
US Women have 72!!
Collegiate Men have 37 Top 24 Marks!
Collegiate Women see 58 marks!
HS Men have 48 DDD marks.
HS Women get 61.
The Men's Total is 148.
The Women's Total is 224!
The Grand Total, as noted, is 372.
Good, but coulda/shoulda/woulda been MUCH better IF----!!!
My "Best and Worst" comes next--possibly later today, but more likely tomorrow.
Then I'll have my OUTdoor Preview!!
Thursday?
See you all soon!
And thank you all for reading my blog!
I try to be 100% accurate, as well as entertaining!
If I can do better, please tell me how!
Or just comment on ANYthing you like!
(Trolls & Spammers are NOT welcome here!!)
Monday, March 21, 2016
WC 2016--the Verdict
Should such a prestigious meet as the World Championships be judged as to its place in history?
Or should we believe that ANY World Championships is worth its weight --in Gold, Silver, and Bronze?
For the purposes of this blog--with its main emphasis on Records and Marks--such a verdict is expected, if not welcomed.
And MY verdict is---Guilty!!
(With extenuating circumstances!)
The first night's events--both PV's--was a soaring--pun intended!--success!
Two events--Two Meet Records.
Who could ask for more?
That was already 2 MORE Meet Records than was produced in the previous--2014--edition!
And what a show it was!
With 3 sixteen foot Women, the competition was expected to be of the highest levels--and it was.
At 14-7.25, Diamara Planell Cruz set the National Record of Puerto Rico!
Then, at 15-5, it was New Zealand's teenage sensation Eliza McCartney's turn to break a National Record.
Then came Switzerland's Nicole Buchler, whose clearance at 15-9 broke her own NR.
It also moved her from 16th A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 12th, also tied with 1 other!
Then, at 16-0.75, Sandi Morris wasn't able to match her performance at USATF, while Jenn Suhr cleared!
In doing so, she tied her own Age 34 record!
For a moment, it was thought that Suhr would try for a WR of 16-6-50.
But she apparently felt a tightness in her calf, and ended the competition as the Gold medal winner!
On the Men's side, with Shawn Barber in one of his lesser moments, it was left to Renaud Lavillenie to make that event worth watching!
And he did, first making the MR height of 19-9, and then trying 3 times at 20-2.75!
For Lavillenie--a showman--he drew attention just by sitting and waiting to jump---for 2 hours!
To top off this first day, the livestream was EXCELLENT--with every vault shown, plus all the between-vault movements of the athletes!
I'll have LOTS more to say about the coverage of the meet---by livestreams, webcasts, or by NBC--in my "Best & Worst" post coming in the next few days!
Normally, I'd have TWO posts to detail this meet.
But what happened the final 3 days CAN be fully covered in a single post!
If this blog were about thrilling COMPETITIONS---and not Records & Marks--then it would need a second post!
Both 60's produced great races--and good results!
Asefa Powell's TWO 6.44's--in both heats and semis--portended a break in his seeming inability to win Championship finals!
But young Trayvon Bromell had something to say about that!
Once again, Powell was left behind, while Bromell steamed ahead to a Gold in 6.47, his PR.!!
Those 6.44's were Jamaica National Records, as well as breaking his own Age 33 record!
Powell is now 5th A-T World!
Ramon Gittens broke the Barbados National Record twice also--first with his semi time of 6.53, then with his final of 6.51.
Kim Collins's 6.49 broke his own Age 39 record.
Bingtian Su's 6.50 broke his own National Record of China!
Bromell's 6.47 put him on my A-T lists!
He's 11th A-T US, tied with 3 others, and 17th A-T World, tied with 7 others!!
Pushed OFF the World list were some big names, INCLUDING both Burrell's, father and son--aka Leroy and Cameron!
Mike Rodgers was also 86'ed!!
Leroy's 6.48 was from 1991, while Cameron's was from this year!
The Women's 60 produced a small shock--as Dafne Schippers was beaten by Barbara Pierre, 7.02 to 7.04.
Michelle Lee Ahye nabbed the Trinidad & Tobago National Record with her heat time of 7.09.
Elaine Thompson's 7.04 in the semis made her 24th A-T World, tied with 6 others!
Tori Bowie's semi of 7.11 makes her 17th A-T US, tied with 3 others!
The Women's SP welcomed back the (almost) invincible Valerie Adams--with a BRONZE medal!
Winning the comp with her final throw--Michelle Carter (the original Shot Diva!!) threw the ball out to an American Record of 66-3.75!!
Moving from 2nd to 1st on the A-T US list, she still falls more than a foot short of the World list!
In 2nd was Hungary's Anita Marton, whose 63-5 measures up to her National Record, breaking her own mark!
While Adams couldn't produce for New Zealand, Thomas Walsh did!
He broke his own National Record with his winning throw of 71-5.50!
He's now 16th A-T World!
Another American to win with her final effort was the Mistress of Heart Failure--Brittney Reese!
Known as either the fouler of foulers--or the greatest come-through performer of All-Time--Reese certainly was the latter in Portland!!
In a fierce competition with Ivana Spanovic and Leslie Ugen, she finally put it away with her leap of 23-8.25.
Ugen tied the National Record of Great Britain, now co-held by Katarina Johnson-Thompson--at 22-9!
Spanovic had a jump measured at 23-2.50--which broke her own National Record of Serbia!
It also moves her from 23rd A-T World, tied with 2 others, to 10th!!
Reese missed her PR by a half inch, but got the Age 29 record!
The Multi's--or rather, the Eaton Extravaganza!!--were followed by an adoring crowd of Eaton worshipers!
Husband and Wife both won--Ashton the Heptathlon, and Brianne Thiesen-Eaton the Pentathlon--making the sold-out Oregon-centric crowd happy!
After smashing the 3rd hurdle in the 2nd day's 60H, and ending much slower than normal, Ashton's chances at a WR were gone!
Not helping was his decision to move from 5.10 in the PV all the way to 5.50--where he missed his 3 tries!
Eaton's score of 6470 got him just the Age 28 record!
Curtis Beach ran 2:29.04 for his 1000, but missed a medal by 8 points!
Kurt Felix got the Grenada National Record with his 5986 point total!
Ashton's Better Half squeaked past Anastasiya Mukhnyuk's 4847 total with a 2:09.99 in her 800, scoring 4881 points for Gold, also breaking her own National Record of Canada!
For Mukhnyuk, it makes her 13th A-T World!
Alina Fodorova's 4770 misses the World list by 5 points!
But Barbara Nwaba's 4661 score moves her from 13th to 6th on the A-T US list!
Besides the NR, Thiesen-Eaton is now ranked 8th A-T World, and she gets the Age 27 record!
Two American youngsters shone in their respective events!
Keturah Orji--a last minute addition to the TJ field, despite competing at NCAA's instead of USATF--took a VERY close 4th in a VERY close competiton!
In fact, her 46-4.25 first round LED the field!!
But eventual winner--20 year old Yolimar Rojas of Venezuela--made her only fair jump a winner--measuring 47-3.50!
Orji improved to an INdoor PR of 46.4.75, but missed medaling by ONE centimeter!!
She remains 4th A-T US!
She'd turned 20 just 2 weeks earlier!
The other young phenom is soon to turn Professional!
Vashti Cunningham, still a High School student, admitted in an interview she WILL go the Pro route---soon!!
Negotiations are ongoing, and the official announcement will come shortly!
That said, her (probably!) final competition as an amateur was a good one, that being maybe the understatement of the century!!
For this 18 year old beat 36 year old Ruth Beitia and ALMOST (Tomorrow!!!) 30 year old Kamila Licwinko in a thrilling 4-woman battle!
Four women had made 6-5--or 1.96--but all 4 failed at 1.99--or 6-6.25, which would have tied Cunningham's HSR!!
Cunningham was given the win, as she had the only clean card in her 4 jumps!
All the others had missed at least once at the lower heights!
(Tell me, do you think her selling price went WAY up with her GOLD Medal??)
The 60H races were good ones!
The Men's race saw two Frenchmen--Pascal Martinot-Legarde and Dimitri Bascou--lose to Jamaican Omar McLeod's National Record of 7.41.
Bascou had run a 7.41 earlier this season!
It's not how fast you run, but WHEN you do it!!
McLeod's time makes him 13th A-T World, tied with 4 others.
The Women's race was an all-US race--of sorts!
Tiffany Porter, once US, now British, took the Bronze behind the one-two of Nia Ali and Brianna Rollins!
Kendra Harrison, the 3rd American, whomped a hurdle or two, and didn't medal!
But Andrea Ivancevic of Croatia broke her own National Record with her 7.91.
Marquis Dendy won with his leap of 27-1.25 prevailing for Gold!
In second was Australia's Fabrice LaPierre, whose 27-0.75 is the new National Record!
It also got him the Age 32 record!
Rushwal Samaai got the South Africa National Record with his 26-10 effort!
Jeff Henderson took 4th!
Boris Berian tore through 400 in the 49's, then held on to win the 800 in 1:45.83.
This moves him from 7th to 3rd on the A-T US list!
After Lynsey Sharp failed to make it into the final (!!), it was left to Ajee Wilson to conquer the relatively weak field!
Tell that to INdoor rookie Francine Niyonsaba!!
After a slow first 400, Niyonsaba rushed into a 5 meter lead, with Wilson calmly sitting in 3rd.
Late to respond, Ajee's steady kick wasn't enough, as her 2:00.27 lost to the Burundian's 2:00.01.
In fourth was Laura Roesler!
Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain ran a National Record time of 51.45--nipping her own mark--to win the 400.
The Men's race was taken by Pavel Maslak, after Vernon Norwood was DQ'ed in his semi!
Times were slow!
The Relays were both taken by the United States--in non-record times!
In the Men's race, The Bahamas team--which included the Ancient One--37 year old Chris Brown--ran 3:04.75 in a far back 2nd to move from 15th World to 8th!
Trinidad and Tobago timed 3:05.51 for Bronze, moving them from 14th to 10th World, tied with 1 other!
The US Women's team had it easy after Jamaican Patricia Hall fell on the first leg, thus DNF'ing her team!
The 4 distance races had big names, but small efforts!
The Men's 1500 became Wanamaker Mile II, for all intents.
For it wasn't an African, but Nick Willis who finally broke open the stuck-in-cement-paced race!
Sprinting into the lead with over 400 to go, only Arch-rival Matthew Centrowitz gave serious chase, sticking to Willis's shoulder until the final straight, where he handed Willis yet another loss!
Ayanleh Souleiman finished dead last!!
The Women's race had some young Ethiopians--and by Brit announcer Peter Matthews's pronouncement-- Brenda MARTIN-ez as the main contestants!
When Dawit Seyaum tore into the lead after a 2:12 first 800, MarTEEnez (sic!) was slow to follow, and in the end, just didn't have her usual finish!
The Men's 3000 didn't have Dejen Gebremeskel, as I'd predicted---didn't know he'd scratched!--but it did have 18 year old wunderkind Yomif Kejelcha!
And Ryan Hill--despite the best finish of them all---just missed getting Kejelcha, nabbing the Silver.
The pace was a WALK for the first K--around 2:52, or SLOWER than the Women would open a 14:30ish 5000 with!!--and ended with a 2:22 final 1000.
So they start at 8:36 pace, and end at 7:06 pace!
Hurrah!
YAWN!!
Another yawner saw the women sit-and-knit for a K, waiting for Genzebe Dibaba to do her thing.
When she finally moved---from last to first--and move ahead by 30 meters, NO ONE followed!!
I mean, they were "running" at COOL DOWN pace!!
Why didn't Meseret Defar, who had run a solo 8:30 in Boston this year--or Shannon Rowbury, with her 3:56.29 US Record creds--go with her??
Sure, it's GENZEBE we're talking about, but after CRAWLING the first K, surely both of those studs should have had enough left to at least stick with Dibaba for a few more laps!!
They just SURRENDERED!!
Here's another measure of just how poor---relatively speaking--this Championship meet was!
Left over from the twentieth century--now 17 years minimum to the rear!!--are FIVE Women's Meet Records, and SEVEN from the Men's side!!
That is NOT including the respective 200's, which events are no longer held in this meet!!
Well, folks, lots more is coming your way---and soon!
I'll have my Athlete of the Year picks--for World, US, Collegiate, and HS--posted next.
That will include other awards--like Performance and Meet of the Year!
Then, following that, I'll have my "Best and Worst" post for the INdoor season!
And following THAT, I'll put up my OUTdoor Preview, which will include an unusual number of VERY early season Top quality marks already in!!
These 3 posts should be up in the next 2 to 3 days!!
See you VERY soon!!
Or should we believe that ANY World Championships is worth its weight --in Gold, Silver, and Bronze?
For the purposes of this blog--with its main emphasis on Records and Marks--such a verdict is expected, if not welcomed.
And MY verdict is---Guilty!!
(With extenuating circumstances!)
The first night's events--both PV's--was a soaring--pun intended!--success!
Two events--Two Meet Records.
Who could ask for more?
That was already 2 MORE Meet Records than was produced in the previous--2014--edition!
And what a show it was!
With 3 sixteen foot Women, the competition was expected to be of the highest levels--and it was.
At 14-7.25, Diamara Planell Cruz set the National Record of Puerto Rico!
Then, at 15-5, it was New Zealand's teenage sensation Eliza McCartney's turn to break a National Record.
Then came Switzerland's Nicole Buchler, whose clearance at 15-9 broke her own NR.
It also moved her from 16th A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 12th, also tied with 1 other!
Then, at 16-0.75, Sandi Morris wasn't able to match her performance at USATF, while Jenn Suhr cleared!
In doing so, she tied her own Age 34 record!
For a moment, it was thought that Suhr would try for a WR of 16-6-50.
But she apparently felt a tightness in her calf, and ended the competition as the Gold medal winner!
On the Men's side, with Shawn Barber in one of his lesser moments, it was left to Renaud Lavillenie to make that event worth watching!
And he did, first making the MR height of 19-9, and then trying 3 times at 20-2.75!
For Lavillenie--a showman--he drew attention just by sitting and waiting to jump---for 2 hours!
To top off this first day, the livestream was EXCELLENT--with every vault shown, plus all the between-vault movements of the athletes!
I'll have LOTS more to say about the coverage of the meet---by livestreams, webcasts, or by NBC--in my "Best & Worst" post coming in the next few days!
Normally, I'd have TWO posts to detail this meet.
But what happened the final 3 days CAN be fully covered in a single post!
If this blog were about thrilling COMPETITIONS---and not Records & Marks--then it would need a second post!
Both 60's produced great races--and good results!
Asefa Powell's TWO 6.44's--in both heats and semis--portended a break in his seeming inability to win Championship finals!
But young Trayvon Bromell had something to say about that!
Once again, Powell was left behind, while Bromell steamed ahead to a Gold in 6.47, his PR.!!
Those 6.44's were Jamaica National Records, as well as breaking his own Age 33 record!
Powell is now 5th A-T World!
Ramon Gittens broke the Barbados National Record twice also--first with his semi time of 6.53, then with his final of 6.51.
Kim Collins's 6.49 broke his own Age 39 record.
Bingtian Su's 6.50 broke his own National Record of China!
Bromell's 6.47 put him on my A-T lists!
He's 11th A-T US, tied with 3 others, and 17th A-T World, tied with 7 others!!
Pushed OFF the World list were some big names, INCLUDING both Burrell's, father and son--aka Leroy and Cameron!
Mike Rodgers was also 86'ed!!
Leroy's 6.48 was from 1991, while Cameron's was from this year!
The Women's 60 produced a small shock--as Dafne Schippers was beaten by Barbara Pierre, 7.02 to 7.04.
Michelle Lee Ahye nabbed the Trinidad & Tobago National Record with her heat time of 7.09.
Elaine Thompson's 7.04 in the semis made her 24th A-T World, tied with 6 others!
Tori Bowie's semi of 7.11 makes her 17th A-T US, tied with 3 others!
The Women's SP welcomed back the (almost) invincible Valerie Adams--with a BRONZE medal!
Winning the comp with her final throw--Michelle Carter (the original Shot Diva!!) threw the ball out to an American Record of 66-3.75!!
Moving from 2nd to 1st on the A-T US list, she still falls more than a foot short of the World list!
In 2nd was Hungary's Anita Marton, whose 63-5 measures up to her National Record, breaking her own mark!
While Adams couldn't produce for New Zealand, Thomas Walsh did!
He broke his own National Record with his winning throw of 71-5.50!
He's now 16th A-T World!
Another American to win with her final effort was the Mistress of Heart Failure--Brittney Reese!
Known as either the fouler of foulers--or the greatest come-through performer of All-Time--Reese certainly was the latter in Portland!!
In a fierce competition with Ivana Spanovic and Leslie Ugen, she finally put it away with her leap of 23-8.25.
Ugen tied the National Record of Great Britain, now co-held by Katarina Johnson-Thompson--at 22-9!
Spanovic had a jump measured at 23-2.50--which broke her own National Record of Serbia!
It also moves her from 23rd A-T World, tied with 2 others, to 10th!!
Reese missed her PR by a half inch, but got the Age 29 record!
The Multi's--or rather, the Eaton Extravaganza!!--were followed by an adoring crowd of Eaton worshipers!
Husband and Wife both won--Ashton the Heptathlon, and Brianne Thiesen-Eaton the Pentathlon--making the sold-out Oregon-centric crowd happy!
After smashing the 3rd hurdle in the 2nd day's 60H, and ending much slower than normal, Ashton's chances at a WR were gone!
Not helping was his decision to move from 5.10 in the PV all the way to 5.50--where he missed his 3 tries!
Eaton's score of 6470 got him just the Age 28 record!
Curtis Beach ran 2:29.04 for his 1000, but missed a medal by 8 points!
Kurt Felix got the Grenada National Record with his 5986 point total!
Ashton's Better Half squeaked past Anastasiya Mukhnyuk's 4847 total with a 2:09.99 in her 800, scoring 4881 points for Gold, also breaking her own National Record of Canada!
For Mukhnyuk, it makes her 13th A-T World!
Alina Fodorova's 4770 misses the World list by 5 points!
But Barbara Nwaba's 4661 score moves her from 13th to 6th on the A-T US list!
Besides the NR, Thiesen-Eaton is now ranked 8th A-T World, and she gets the Age 27 record!
Two American youngsters shone in their respective events!
Keturah Orji--a last minute addition to the TJ field, despite competing at NCAA's instead of USATF--took a VERY close 4th in a VERY close competiton!
In fact, her 46-4.25 first round LED the field!!
But eventual winner--20 year old Yolimar Rojas of Venezuela--made her only fair jump a winner--measuring 47-3.50!
Orji improved to an INdoor PR of 46.4.75, but missed medaling by ONE centimeter!!
She remains 4th A-T US!
She'd turned 20 just 2 weeks earlier!
The other young phenom is soon to turn Professional!
Vashti Cunningham, still a High School student, admitted in an interview she WILL go the Pro route---soon!!
Negotiations are ongoing, and the official announcement will come shortly!
That said, her (probably!) final competition as an amateur was a good one, that being maybe the understatement of the century!!
For this 18 year old beat 36 year old Ruth Beitia and ALMOST (Tomorrow!!!) 30 year old Kamila Licwinko in a thrilling 4-woman battle!
Four women had made 6-5--or 1.96--but all 4 failed at 1.99--or 6-6.25, which would have tied Cunningham's HSR!!
Cunningham was given the win, as she had the only clean card in her 4 jumps!
All the others had missed at least once at the lower heights!
(Tell me, do you think her selling price went WAY up with her GOLD Medal??)
The 60H races were good ones!
The Men's race saw two Frenchmen--Pascal Martinot-Legarde and Dimitri Bascou--lose to Jamaican Omar McLeod's National Record of 7.41.
Bascou had run a 7.41 earlier this season!
It's not how fast you run, but WHEN you do it!!
McLeod's time makes him 13th A-T World, tied with 4 others.
The Women's race was an all-US race--of sorts!
Tiffany Porter, once US, now British, took the Bronze behind the one-two of Nia Ali and Brianna Rollins!
Kendra Harrison, the 3rd American, whomped a hurdle or two, and didn't medal!
But Andrea Ivancevic of Croatia broke her own National Record with her 7.91.
Marquis Dendy won with his leap of 27-1.25 prevailing for Gold!
In second was Australia's Fabrice LaPierre, whose 27-0.75 is the new National Record!
It also got him the Age 32 record!
Rushwal Samaai got the South Africa National Record with his 26-10 effort!
Jeff Henderson took 4th!
Boris Berian tore through 400 in the 49's, then held on to win the 800 in 1:45.83.
This moves him from 7th to 3rd on the A-T US list!
After Lynsey Sharp failed to make it into the final (!!), it was left to Ajee Wilson to conquer the relatively weak field!
Tell that to INdoor rookie Francine Niyonsaba!!
After a slow first 400, Niyonsaba rushed into a 5 meter lead, with Wilson calmly sitting in 3rd.
Late to respond, Ajee's steady kick wasn't enough, as her 2:00.27 lost to the Burundian's 2:00.01.
In fourth was Laura Roesler!
Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain ran a National Record time of 51.45--nipping her own mark--to win the 400.
The Men's race was taken by Pavel Maslak, after Vernon Norwood was DQ'ed in his semi!
Times were slow!
The Relays were both taken by the United States--in non-record times!
In the Men's race, The Bahamas team--which included the Ancient One--37 year old Chris Brown--ran 3:04.75 in a far back 2nd to move from 15th World to 8th!
Trinidad and Tobago timed 3:05.51 for Bronze, moving them from 14th to 10th World, tied with 1 other!
The US Women's team had it easy after Jamaican Patricia Hall fell on the first leg, thus DNF'ing her team!
The 4 distance races had big names, but small efforts!
The Men's 1500 became Wanamaker Mile II, for all intents.
For it wasn't an African, but Nick Willis who finally broke open the stuck-in-cement-paced race!
Sprinting into the lead with over 400 to go, only Arch-rival Matthew Centrowitz gave serious chase, sticking to Willis's shoulder until the final straight, where he handed Willis yet another loss!
Ayanleh Souleiman finished dead last!!
The Women's race had some young Ethiopians--and by Brit announcer Peter Matthews's pronouncement-- Brenda MARTIN-ez as the main contestants!
When Dawit Seyaum tore into the lead after a 2:12 first 800, MarTEEnez (sic!) was slow to follow, and in the end, just didn't have her usual finish!
The Men's 3000 didn't have Dejen Gebremeskel, as I'd predicted---didn't know he'd scratched!--but it did have 18 year old wunderkind Yomif Kejelcha!
And Ryan Hill--despite the best finish of them all---just missed getting Kejelcha, nabbing the Silver.
The pace was a WALK for the first K--around 2:52, or SLOWER than the Women would open a 14:30ish 5000 with!!--and ended with a 2:22 final 1000.
So they start at 8:36 pace, and end at 7:06 pace!
Hurrah!
YAWN!!
Another yawner saw the women sit-and-knit for a K, waiting for Genzebe Dibaba to do her thing.
When she finally moved---from last to first--and move ahead by 30 meters, NO ONE followed!!
I mean, they were "running" at COOL DOWN pace!!
Why didn't Meseret Defar, who had run a solo 8:30 in Boston this year--or Shannon Rowbury, with her 3:56.29 US Record creds--go with her??
Sure, it's GENZEBE we're talking about, but after CRAWLING the first K, surely both of those studs should have had enough left to at least stick with Dibaba for a few more laps!!
They just SURRENDERED!!
Here's another measure of just how poor---relatively speaking--this Championship meet was!
Left over from the twentieth century--now 17 years minimum to the rear!!--are FIVE Women's Meet Records, and SEVEN from the Men's side!!
That is NOT including the respective 200's, which events are no longer held in this meet!!
Well, folks, lots more is coming your way---and soon!
I'll have my Athlete of the Year picks--for World, US, Collegiate, and HS--posted next.
That will include other awards--like Performance and Meet of the Year!
Then, following that, I'll have my "Best and Worst" post for the INdoor season!
And following THAT, I'll put up my OUTdoor Preview, which will include an unusual number of VERY early season Top quality marks already in!!
These 3 posts should be up in the next 2 to 3 days!!
See you VERY soon!!
Thursday, March 17, 2016
World Championships Preview--Women
See my Men's Preview for all the intro stuff!
Same exact format here!
Same excuse for being late!
PV (15-11.25) Thurs at 7:05 P.M.
Jenn Suhr
Sandi Morris
Ekaterina Stefanidi
Suhr lost to Morris at USATF, but she won't lose here!
She's the WR holder, and is in THE shape of her life!
Also, this might be her last INdoor WC!!
Morris was INCREDIBLE at USATF, but might be too giddy from that meet to be ON here!
Demi Payne, Yelena Isinbayeva, and Yarisley Silva--all absent for very different reasons--would be GENUINE Gold Medal contenders here!!
The MR (and maybe the WR!!) WILL fall here!
100-0 (for the MR)
50-50 for the WR!
Pentathlon (5013) Fri at 8:10 P.M. (for the 800!)
Anastasiya Mukhnyuk
Kendell Williams
Brianne Thiesen-Eaton
I know, I KNOW--you don't bet AGAINST an Eaton!!
But Williams should open with the fastest 60H.
Mukhnyuk has the best score going in THIS year!
MIA's include the other Hyphens--Katerina Johnson-Thompson and Jessica Ennis-Hill, Gold Medal favorite LOCKS!!
But alas, they're absent!
Thus, the MR (and WR!) are given 10-90 odds, and even THAT is probably too much!!
LJ (23-8.25) Fri at 6:55 P.M.
Shara Proctor
Brittney Reese
Ivana Spanovic
Reese jumps hot OR cold, so her place will be determined by her penchant to foul!
Watch for Janay DeLoach to shock!
0-100
60H (7.72) Fri at 8:30 P.M.
Brianna Rollins
Kendra Harrison
Nia Ali
Yes, I see a USA sweep!
And you can switch the order any way you please!
There's too many American MIA's--but IAAF rules are the rules!!
(Whatever happened to that old saw--Rules are made to be BROKEN!!--??)
20-80
TJ (50-4.75) Sat at 11:37 (!!) A.M.
Yulimar Rojas
Kristina Gurasch
Keturah Orji
Yes, Orji made the cut, and is still in college.
But I believe she's ready to go 47 feet.
IF she does--or is even close--this field is WEAK enough that she COULD medal!
Missing is the WINNER--Caterine Ibarguen!
Odds for that MR (and WR)??
You gotta be kidding!
ZERO, baby!!
SP (70-3.75) Sat at 5:45 P.M.
Michelle Carter
Valerie Adams
Jillian Camarena-Williams
Adams has an OUTdoor 63-9 from an Oceania meet.
Carter has one mark about the same!
It could be close.
But I still took a HUGE chance giving the Gold to Michelle!
I wish Raven Saunders could have been here--if only for the experience!
But her last 2 meets--including the NCAA--were AWFUL!!
The MR is VERY safe!
0-100
400 (50.04) Sat at 6:47 P.M.
Quenera Hayes
Ashley Spencer
Stephanie McPherson
MIA's include Sanya Richards-Ross, Allyson Felix, and Fran McCorory.
Also, Natasha Hastings WAS listed a few days ago, but isn't on the final heat sheet list!
Courtney Okolo either isn't here, or will be running the Relay only!
10-90
1500 (3:59.75) Sat at 7:18 P.M.
Dawit Seyaum
Sifan Hassan
Gudaf Tsegay
Brenda Martinez says she's not 800 sharp yet, but she's a STRONG bet to replace one of the above for a medal!
Missing, of course, is Genzebe Dibaba, who decided to do just one event here!
20-80 odds for the MR are fully dependent on whether they MoBot the race--or RUN it!!
60 (6.95) Sat at 7:53 P.M.
Dafne Schippers
Barbara Pierre
Marie Jose Ta Lou
So MANY names missing--the best being probably Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce!
But loads of others too!
That said, the two 7.00 women ARE here!
Ta Lou--to me--is an unknown!
Dina Asher-Smith, Tori Bowie, or Michelle Lee-Ahye could surprise--at least for the Bronze!
30-70 for the MR!
HJ (6-8.75) Sun at 1:00 P.M.
Vashti Cunningham
Ruth Beitia
Kamila Licwinko
Vashti is 18.
Ruth is 36.
But Cunningham showed true maturity at the USATF!
If she doesn't "teenage" out, she CAN win!
But Licwinko and Beitia should NOT be taken lightly!
10-90 for the MR
800 (1:56.90) Sun at 1:30 P.M.
Ajee Wilson
Lynsey Sharp
Laura Roesler
Francine Niyonsaba is here, but I know of NO times for her this year!
If she's in shape--and why would she BE here if she wasn't??--she could very well take it all.
But Wilson has proven herself as a WINNER!
Off of ANY pace!
Roesler is having a GREAT year, and has the 400 speed to move up on the medal ladder!
ZERO-100
3000 (8:33.9) Sun at 1:45 P.M.
Genzebe Dibaba
Meseret Defar
Gelete Burka
Jeez, I hope the Big D's RACE this baby all the way out!!
From the GUN!!
I want a time in the TEENS here!!
Or, at WORST, in the low-8:20's!
Anything slower than 8:30--I'll consider a MoBot JOG!!
The only shocker might come from Shannon Rowbury!
She has the 1500 speed!
Does she stay with the Ethiopians?
95-5--IF!!
4X400 Relay (3:23.88) Sun at 2:20 P.M.
USA
Jamaica
Nigeria
Not much to say about this.
Even without their best, the home team should win--easily!
And they CAN get the MR, but it would help if Jamaica stays close through the first 3 legs!
50-50
Enjoy the meet!
See you Sunday with my DETAILED recap!
Same exact format here!
Same excuse for being late!
PV (15-11.25) Thurs at 7:05 P.M.
Jenn Suhr
Sandi Morris
Ekaterina Stefanidi
Suhr lost to Morris at USATF, but she won't lose here!
She's the WR holder, and is in THE shape of her life!
Also, this might be her last INdoor WC!!
Morris was INCREDIBLE at USATF, but might be too giddy from that meet to be ON here!
Demi Payne, Yelena Isinbayeva, and Yarisley Silva--all absent for very different reasons--would be GENUINE Gold Medal contenders here!!
The MR (and maybe the WR!!) WILL fall here!
100-0 (for the MR)
50-50 for the WR!
Pentathlon (5013) Fri at 8:10 P.M. (for the 800!)
Anastasiya Mukhnyuk
Kendell Williams
Brianne Thiesen-Eaton
I know, I KNOW--you don't bet AGAINST an Eaton!!
But Williams should open with the fastest 60H.
Mukhnyuk has the best score going in THIS year!
MIA's include the other Hyphens--Katerina Johnson-Thompson and Jessica Ennis-Hill, Gold Medal favorite LOCKS!!
But alas, they're absent!
Thus, the MR (and WR!) are given 10-90 odds, and even THAT is probably too much!!
LJ (23-8.25) Fri at 6:55 P.M.
Shara Proctor
Brittney Reese
Ivana Spanovic
Reese jumps hot OR cold, so her place will be determined by her penchant to foul!
Watch for Janay DeLoach to shock!
0-100
60H (7.72) Fri at 8:30 P.M.
Brianna Rollins
Kendra Harrison
Nia Ali
Yes, I see a USA sweep!
And you can switch the order any way you please!
There's too many American MIA's--but IAAF rules are the rules!!
(Whatever happened to that old saw--Rules are made to be BROKEN!!--??)
20-80
TJ (50-4.75) Sat at 11:37 (!!) A.M.
Yulimar Rojas
Kristina Gurasch
Keturah Orji
Yes, Orji made the cut, and is still in college.
But I believe she's ready to go 47 feet.
IF she does--or is even close--this field is WEAK enough that she COULD medal!
Missing is the WINNER--Caterine Ibarguen!
Odds for that MR (and WR)??
You gotta be kidding!
ZERO, baby!!
SP (70-3.75) Sat at 5:45 P.M.
Michelle Carter
Valerie Adams
Jillian Camarena-Williams
Adams has an OUTdoor 63-9 from an Oceania meet.
Carter has one mark about the same!
It could be close.
But I still took a HUGE chance giving the Gold to Michelle!
I wish Raven Saunders could have been here--if only for the experience!
But her last 2 meets--including the NCAA--were AWFUL!!
The MR is VERY safe!
0-100
400 (50.04) Sat at 6:47 P.M.
Quenera Hayes
Ashley Spencer
Stephanie McPherson
MIA's include Sanya Richards-Ross, Allyson Felix, and Fran McCorory.
Also, Natasha Hastings WAS listed a few days ago, but isn't on the final heat sheet list!
Courtney Okolo either isn't here, or will be running the Relay only!
10-90
1500 (3:59.75) Sat at 7:18 P.M.
Dawit Seyaum
Sifan Hassan
Gudaf Tsegay
Brenda Martinez says she's not 800 sharp yet, but she's a STRONG bet to replace one of the above for a medal!
Missing, of course, is Genzebe Dibaba, who decided to do just one event here!
20-80 odds for the MR are fully dependent on whether they MoBot the race--or RUN it!!
60 (6.95) Sat at 7:53 P.M.
Dafne Schippers
Barbara Pierre
Marie Jose Ta Lou
So MANY names missing--the best being probably Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce!
But loads of others too!
That said, the two 7.00 women ARE here!
Ta Lou--to me--is an unknown!
Dina Asher-Smith, Tori Bowie, or Michelle Lee-Ahye could surprise--at least for the Bronze!
30-70 for the MR!
HJ (6-8.75) Sun at 1:00 P.M.
Vashti Cunningham
Ruth Beitia
Kamila Licwinko
Vashti is 18.
Ruth is 36.
But Cunningham showed true maturity at the USATF!
If she doesn't "teenage" out, she CAN win!
But Licwinko and Beitia should NOT be taken lightly!
10-90 for the MR
800 (1:56.90) Sun at 1:30 P.M.
Ajee Wilson
Lynsey Sharp
Laura Roesler
Francine Niyonsaba is here, but I know of NO times for her this year!
If she's in shape--and why would she BE here if she wasn't??--she could very well take it all.
But Wilson has proven herself as a WINNER!
Off of ANY pace!
Roesler is having a GREAT year, and has the 400 speed to move up on the medal ladder!
ZERO-100
3000 (8:33.9) Sun at 1:45 P.M.
Genzebe Dibaba
Meseret Defar
Gelete Burka
Jeez, I hope the Big D's RACE this baby all the way out!!
From the GUN!!
I want a time in the TEENS here!!
Or, at WORST, in the low-8:20's!
Anything slower than 8:30--I'll consider a MoBot JOG!!
The only shocker might come from Shannon Rowbury!
She has the 1500 speed!
Does she stay with the Ethiopians?
95-5--IF!!
4X400 Relay (3:23.88) Sun at 2:20 P.M.
USA
Jamaica
Nigeria
Not much to say about this.
Even without their best, the home team should win--easily!
And they CAN get the MR, but it would help if Jamaica stays close through the first 3 legs!
50-50
Enjoy the meet!
See you Sunday with my DETAILED recap!
World Championships Preview--Men
Sorry I'm late with these Previews.
Was waiting for the IAAF to release the final heat sheets!
Well, they did--for SOME of the events!!
Not all!
Good old IAAF!
Seb Coe's new leadership!
That said, here's my MEN's Preview for the meet, beginning tonight!
I'll make my Medal picks--in order!
I'll predict which (if any!) MEET Records might be broken, giving the odds!
And will comment on---well, on whatever!
I'll go in the order of the FINALS!
All times are Pacific Time!
PV (19-8.50) Thurs at 7:05 P.M.
Renaud Lavillenie
Shawn Barber
Thiagi Braz da Silva
The only way Renaud loses is if he's slightly off, and Barber's ON!
The Meet Record, as well as the World Record, are in danger.
I give the MR 100-0 odds!
Heptathlon (6645) Fri & Sat--ends with 1000 at 7:35 P.M. Sat
Ashton Eaton
Kurt Felix
Curtis Beach
There's really only one name here!
The man with 6 stitches in his head!
And the only question is--Does he get his own MR & WR?
Odds are 90-10.
SP (72-4.75) Fri at 6:45 P.M.
Kurt Roberts
Muhel (sp.?) Harityk
Tim Nedow
So many MIA's!!
This is a ridiculous charade!
The REAL Champions aren't here!
Kurt's the best of the rest.
Odds are 0-100!
60 (6.42) Fri at 8:40 P.M.
Asefa Powell
James Dasaolu
Kim Collins
Powell ran 6.50, then 6.49 at meets he walked on!!
Veteran gets the nod!
Collins over Trayvon Bromell for the same reason!
MR gets 30-70 odds!
TJ (58-8.75) Sat at 5:00 P.M.
Bin Dong
Omar Craddock
Benjamin Compaere
If Dong's 57 footer wasn't "compromised" in some fashion, he's a clear favorite, despite Craddock's better OUTdoor mark!!
MIA's include the Gold and Silver Medalists--Christian Taylor and Pedro Pichardo!
That is, Gold and Silver for HERE!!
Odds are 0-100 for the MR!
HJ (7-11.50) Sat at 6:22 P.M.
Gianmarco Tamberi
Mutaz Barshim
Marco Fassinotti
Barshim hasn't shown his consistent 2.40-plus abilities this year--yet.
If he's there, give him the win!
But the Italians have been the "HOT" item in 2016 in this event!
20-80 for the MR
And that's just wishful thinking!!
Missing is Bogdan Bondarenko and Ivan Ukhov, among others.
Erik Kynard should be seen as the Dark Horse!
800 (1:42.67) Sat at 6:35 P.M.
Musaeb Baala
Boris Berian
Mohammed Aman
I went all over the map with this one!
To bet against Aman is a Fool's Errand!
But Baala's good, and Berian's on fire this year!
For the MR & WR, the odds are ZERO-100!!
400 (45.11) Sat at 7:05 P.M.
Lalonde Gordon
Deon Lendore
Abdelaleh Haroun
Most of the sub-44 OUTdoor men aren't here!
Haroun ran the first INdoor sub-60 500, but Gordon's been winning everything this year!
Lendore is always a good bet for INdoors!
Neri Brenes, the MR holder, is here, but haven't heard anything from him this season!
40-60
LJ (28-3.50) Sun at 1:05 P.M.
Marquis Dendy
Fabrice LaPierre
Jeff Henderson
Dendy's an easy pick--unless he fouls out!
30-70 for the MR!
3000 (7:34.71) Sun at 1:10 P.M.
Dejen Gebremeskel
Ryan Hill
Paul Chelimo
Hill's good, but to bet against Gebremeskel is stupid!
He wins!
Rupp won't be a factor, but might improve on his USATF showing!
I'll give the MR 40-60, but only if they RUN the race, and don't try their MoBot act!
1500 (3:33.77) Sun at 2:05 P.M.
Abdelaati Iguider
Matthew Centrowitz
Nick Willis
Centro's HOT--in several ways, if you define it by his social media standing with women!--but Iguider can't be given too big a lead with 200 to go!
Robby Andrews and Ayanleh Souleiman can replace any of my picks on any given day!
20-80 on the MR, unless they go for it!
Fat chance!
60H (7.34) Sun at 2:40 P.M.
Dimitri Bascou
Pascal Martinot-Legarde
Omar McLeod
You don't really need David Oliver or Aries Merritt--or anyone else--with this group!
But the MR is safe.
0-100
4X400 Relay (3:02.13) Sun at 2:50 P.M.
USA
Trinidad and Tobago
Bahamas
The home team doesn't have their real studs here, but you ALWAYS have to favor the US team in this event!
I believe Chris Brown is here with his Bahamas team, but he's 37 years old, and slower than he was--just last year!
40-60 on the MR!
I'll have the Women's Preview up ASAP---but before the Pole Vault begins!!
Again, blame the IAAF for the delay!!
LOL
Was waiting for the IAAF to release the final heat sheets!
Well, they did--for SOME of the events!!
Not all!
Good old IAAF!
Seb Coe's new leadership!
That said, here's my MEN's Preview for the meet, beginning tonight!
I'll make my Medal picks--in order!
I'll predict which (if any!) MEET Records might be broken, giving the odds!
And will comment on---well, on whatever!
I'll go in the order of the FINALS!
All times are Pacific Time!
PV (19-8.50) Thurs at 7:05 P.M.
Renaud Lavillenie
Shawn Barber
Thiagi Braz da Silva
The only way Renaud loses is if he's slightly off, and Barber's ON!
The Meet Record, as well as the World Record, are in danger.
I give the MR 100-0 odds!
Heptathlon (6645) Fri & Sat--ends with 1000 at 7:35 P.M. Sat
Ashton Eaton
Kurt Felix
Curtis Beach
There's really only one name here!
The man with 6 stitches in his head!
And the only question is--Does he get his own MR & WR?
Odds are 90-10.
SP (72-4.75) Fri at 6:45 P.M.
Kurt Roberts
Muhel (sp.?) Harityk
Tim Nedow
So many MIA's!!
This is a ridiculous charade!
The REAL Champions aren't here!
Kurt's the best of the rest.
Odds are 0-100!
60 (6.42) Fri at 8:40 P.M.
Asefa Powell
James Dasaolu
Kim Collins
Powell ran 6.50, then 6.49 at meets he walked on!!
Veteran gets the nod!
Collins over Trayvon Bromell for the same reason!
MR gets 30-70 odds!
TJ (58-8.75) Sat at 5:00 P.M.
Bin Dong
Omar Craddock
Benjamin Compaere
If Dong's 57 footer wasn't "compromised" in some fashion, he's a clear favorite, despite Craddock's better OUTdoor mark!!
MIA's include the Gold and Silver Medalists--Christian Taylor and Pedro Pichardo!
That is, Gold and Silver for HERE!!
Odds are 0-100 for the MR!
HJ (7-11.50) Sat at 6:22 P.M.
Gianmarco Tamberi
Mutaz Barshim
Marco Fassinotti
Barshim hasn't shown his consistent 2.40-plus abilities this year--yet.
If he's there, give him the win!
But the Italians have been the "HOT" item in 2016 in this event!
20-80 for the MR
And that's just wishful thinking!!
Missing is Bogdan Bondarenko and Ivan Ukhov, among others.
Erik Kynard should be seen as the Dark Horse!
800 (1:42.67) Sat at 6:35 P.M.
Musaeb Baala
Boris Berian
Mohammed Aman
I went all over the map with this one!
To bet against Aman is a Fool's Errand!
But Baala's good, and Berian's on fire this year!
For the MR & WR, the odds are ZERO-100!!
400 (45.11) Sat at 7:05 P.M.
Lalonde Gordon
Deon Lendore
Abdelaleh Haroun
Most of the sub-44 OUTdoor men aren't here!
Haroun ran the first INdoor sub-60 500, but Gordon's been winning everything this year!
Lendore is always a good bet for INdoors!
Neri Brenes, the MR holder, is here, but haven't heard anything from him this season!
40-60
LJ (28-3.50) Sun at 1:05 P.M.
Marquis Dendy
Fabrice LaPierre
Jeff Henderson
Dendy's an easy pick--unless he fouls out!
30-70 for the MR!
3000 (7:34.71) Sun at 1:10 P.M.
Dejen Gebremeskel
Ryan Hill
Paul Chelimo
Hill's good, but to bet against Gebremeskel is stupid!
He wins!
Rupp won't be a factor, but might improve on his USATF showing!
I'll give the MR 40-60, but only if they RUN the race, and don't try their MoBot act!
1500 (3:33.77) Sun at 2:05 P.M.
Abdelaati Iguider
Matthew Centrowitz
Nick Willis
Centro's HOT--in several ways, if you define it by his social media standing with women!--but Iguider can't be given too big a lead with 200 to go!
Robby Andrews and Ayanleh Souleiman can replace any of my picks on any given day!
20-80 on the MR, unless they go for it!
Fat chance!
60H (7.34) Sun at 2:40 P.M.
Dimitri Bascou
Pascal Martinot-Legarde
Omar McLeod
You don't really need David Oliver or Aries Merritt--or anyone else--with this group!
But the MR is safe.
0-100
4X400 Relay (3:02.13) Sun at 2:50 P.M.
USA
Trinidad and Tobago
Bahamas
The home team doesn't have their real studs here, but you ALWAYS have to favor the US team in this event!
I believe Chris Brown is here with his Bahamas team, but he's 37 years old, and slower than he was--just last year!
40-60 on the MR!
I'll have the Women's Preview up ASAP---but before the Pole Vault begins!!
Again, blame the IAAF for the delay!!
LOL
Monday, March 14, 2016
NBIN--The Women
If you read my Report on the Men's side of this meet, then you know there were MORE Records broken--whether HS or Meet (and other kinds too!) on the Women's side!
I won't pinpoint the reasons now--I don't really KNOW why!
Maybe there's more talent on the Female end.
Maybe the Records are easier targets!
Whatever the reasons, Records dropped like snowflakes in a blizzard these past 3 days in the Big Apple.
(Maybe an appropriate metaphor, given the weather recently in that part of our great country! LOL)
Anyway, let's see what went down in The Armory over the weekend!
Watching Sydney McLaughlin in action is like seeing inside the mind of a great poet while she composes her next poem!
From somewhere, the Muse latches onto her, infusing her with a magical power some would think--by looking at her--she doesn't possess.
She's thin and lanky--sort of like Vashti Cunningham!--without any apparent over-production of muscle that would destroy opponents or the Record Book like she does.
But in the 400 final, she ran powerfully around the Armory's 200 meter oval, in the end taking down one of the strongest HSR's--the 51.93 run by future Olympian Francena McCorory 10 years ago!
She just got it--her 51.84 the new HSR!
It's also the Junior Class Record and the NBIN Meet Record!
And I believe it's the Age 16 record too!
Which, in MY Record Book, makes it the Age "0 to 17" record, meaning the best mark up to and including the Age of 17!
She'd run 52.77 in the heats!
That had moved her from 7th A-T HS to 4th.
The final continued the rise, from 4th to 1st!
The time misses the Collegiate DDD by just 0.05 seconds, and the US list by 0.06!!
(That is, if she WAS a Collegiate athlete now!)
In those 400 heats, Sterling Lester--just a Frosh--ran 54.11, making her 22nd A-T HS!
But Sydney wasn't through!
On the same night--Sunday--she ran the anchor on her Union Catholic TC's 4X400 Relay!
Just an hour or so after running that 51.84, she was timed in 51.65 for her 400 split!
And she's still in the 11th Grade!!
The team broke the Meet Record with their time of 3:40.28, and became the 2nd fastest School All-Time!!
And their competition weren't rag dolls!
Motor City TC's 3:40.69 makes them the 3rd fastest School, and the Paul Robesen TC's 3:40.95 is 4th fastest A-T!!
And she passed their anchors like they were stuck in cement!
She kicked from 4th to 1st in the final 100 meters!
Another VERY impressive athlete--who ALSO is credited with TWO HSR's!!--was Tonea Marshall!
She TWICE broke the 60H HSR set by Dior Hall in 2014!
In fact, the entire event was spectacular!
Hold on to your hats for THIS!!
In the heats, Marshall sped a PR of 8.16!
It moved her from 9th A-T HS, tied with 1 other, to 2nd!
Behind her was Alexis Duncan's 8.32, which moved her from 24th A-T HS, tied with 2 others, to 12th!
Anna Cockrell was between them, but her 8.28 wasn't a PR.
From these heat results, forced OFF my DDD was one Nia Ali, her 8.36 dating from 2006!
Tia Jones ran 8.35 , claiming the Frosh Class record!!
It also made her 19th A-T HS, tied with 4 others!
Then, in the semis, Marshall broke her FIRST High School Record, her time being 8.08!!
It also became her first Meet Record!
And first Senior Class record!
She moved from 2nd A-T HS, tied with 1 other, into the top spot!
And behind her came that metaphoric blizzard!
Anna Cockrell ran 8.16, but she remained 6th A-T HS!
Alexis Duncan's 8.18 moved her from 12th A-T HS to 6th, tied with 1 other!
Charal Brissett ran 8.24, moving from 10th A-T HS to 8th!
Brittley Humphrey ran 8.29, making her 12th A-T HS.
And Brandee Johnson's 8.33 made her 14th A-T HS, tied with 4 others!
Then came the final!
Marshall broke her own HSR, her own Senior Class Record, her own NBIN Meet Record, and added the World Age 17 Record to boot--her time of 8.02 filling all those pockets!
She won;t be 18 until October 17th!!
Duncan's 8.14 in 2nd moves her from 5th A-T HS, tied with 1 other, to 3rd!
Both Humphrey and Brissett ran 8.23, and both wound up in 8th, tied with 2 others, including each other!
Right behind them came Johnson, her 8.24 moving her from 15th A-T HS, tied with 4 others, up to 11th!
If all of these women develop into World Class athletes, I wonder how many might look to other nations for residency, to avoid the already-gridlocked traffic jam of the American Women's High Hurdles Fast Lane!!
What an amazing series of marks--from ONE event in ONE meet!!
The Mile was a Mover and Shaker too!
With 3 giants going head to head--Kate Murphy, Stephanie Jenks, and Katie Rainsberger--something was bound to come loose!
What fell from the shelf was the NBIN Meet Record, and a few other records!
The first 440 was run in 67, with Rainsberger and Jenks a few meters ahead of a pack, where Murphy was riding the wave.
They reached the 880 point in 2:17, with the two ladies sharing the lead.
After the 1320, reached in 3:27, Jenks was falling back, replaced by Murphy, but not too close.
Then the kicking began.
But Murphy, even with her 4:16 1500 PR, and her more recent 2:45 kilometer, didn't have the pick-up to rob Rainsberger of the win, as the Coloradan ran a blazing 4:36.61!
That time, if run just over 3 years earlier, would have broken the HSR!
But Mary Cain got there first!
As it was, she claimed some venerable records that the PRO Cain couldn't!
She finally got both of Lynn Jennings's Senior Class records--her Mile standard of 4:39.0, and her 1500 record of 4:18.9, both dating from 1978!!
Rainsberger's 1500 time was 4:17.68.
The Meet Records for both had belonged to Alexa Efraimson for the past 2 years!!
Both marks rank her 3rd A-T HS--on the amateur side of things!!
Murphy's time of 4:39.47 was preceeded by her 1500 split of 4:22.73, making her final 109 meters a lot faster than Rainsberger's--16.74 to 18.93!
For Murphy, her 1500 moved her from 8th A-T HS to 6th, while her Mile moved her from 10th to 6th!
That 4:16 I mentioned was run OUTdoors!
Jenks wound up running 4:44.94 (and 4:25..15 at 1500 enroute!).
The 1500 ranks her 14th A-T HS, while her Mile puts her 19th A-T HS!
Back a bit was a girl named Lexy Halladay!
Her 1500 and Mile times don't make my Top 24 lists!
They are 4:28.29 and 4:48.43.
Oh, did I forget to mention she's an EIGHTH GRADER??!!
Two BIG names were 86'ed from my DDD's!
From the Mile list fell Darlene Beckford, her mark dating back to 1978.
From the 1500 list went one SFH, aka Suzy Favor Hamilton, whose time dated from 1986!
The flat 60's and the 200's saw some good marks!
("Good" being kind of an understatement!! LOL)
In the shorter race, Zaria Frasncis ran 7.30, making her 14th A-T HS, tied with 4 others!
Celena Barnes finished in 7.33, making her 23rd A-T HS, tied with 3 others!
But the BIG story was that of Thelma Davies.
In the semis, she sped 7.45.
It broke the Frosh Class record of 7.47, held by Hannah Cunliffe since 2011.
If you read my NCAA post, then you know Cunliffe has suddenly become quite an accomplished sprinter!!
But Ms Davies wasn't done!
In the final, she broke her own Frosh Class standard, speeding a 7.37!!
The 200 was dominated by Lauren Rain Williams.
In her heat, she sped a 23.72.
But in the final, she exploded to a 23.23 Meet Record time, breaking her own mark from last year!
It's also the Junior Class record, and moves her from 6th to 5th on the A-T HS list!
Following her was Anna Cockrell, whose 23.47 moves her from 17th A-T HS to 8th!
Then came Lanae Tava Thomas, whose 23.66 makes her 16th A-T HS!
Weini Kelati ran crazy and fast!
Fast because of her times.
Crazy because of her pacing!
In the 5000, she blasted out from the gun, hitting her first 1000 in 3:03--just 15:15 5000 pace!!
Inevitably slowing, she did her next K's in 3:10, then 3:15, 3:21, and finished with a final K of 3:19, her final time being a HSR of 16:08.83!
It's also the Meet Record.
But no others!
Behind her came Maryjeanne Gilbert's 16:28.74, which makes her 7th A-T HS.
Shona McCulloch's 16:31.22 won't make my US HS list, as she's Canadian!
Next in line came Hannah Debalsi's 16:32.26, making her 9th A-T HS.
Stephanie Jenks was next, but her 16:40.38 wasn't a PR.
Libby Davidson's 16:40.97 makes her 13th A-T HS.
Diana Vizza's 16:42.84 makes her 14th A-T HS.
Kelati's 2 Mile winner was 10:02.71, again run off a fast early pace.
She did her Miles in about 4:55 and 5:07, but her first lap was around 71!
She's 4th A-T HS.
Davidson clocked 10:14.97, making her 19th A-T HS.
Jessica Lawson's 10:18.30 gives her the 22nd A-T spot!
Run OFF my list was---Molly Huddle!
Her 10:19.7 dated from 2002.
Also OFF my list was Kristy Orre, a name from the deep well of the past century, namely 1985!
Some field events provided some decent marks.
The WT was won by Kamryn Brinson's 62-8.50.
She moves from 20th A-T HS all the way to 4th!
The Shot Put saw an upset of sorts, as new phenom Alyssa Wilson's 53-3.50 non-PR was overtaken by Nickolette Dunbar's super PR of 54-7.50, upping her best by 17.50 inches!!
She moves from 8th to 4th on the A-T HS list!
Elena Bruckner's 50=8 Put makes her 19th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
The PV was won by Carson Dingler's 13-4.50.
But it was Colleen Clancy's 13-4.50 which made her 19th A-T HS, tied with 6 others--including Dingler, who matched her PR!
Samiyah Samuels won the LJ, her leap of 21-3.25 setting a new Meet Record!
It also moves her from 12th A-T HS, tied with 2 others, to 3rd!
The TJ was won by Chinne Okoronkwo's 42-11.75.
She moves from 20th A-T HS, tied with 2 others, all the way up into 6th!
A Canadian won the Pentathlon.
But Tea Livingston's score of 3674 in 2nd makes her 11th A-T HS!
The 800 had some good depth!
It was won by Sammy Watson, whose 2:05.11 makes her 6th A-T HS.
The line flowed back to Ruby Stauber, who ran 2:05.56 for 7th A-T HS.
Then came youth vet Gabrielle Wilkinson's 2:06.87, making her 15th A-T HS.
Danae Rivers ran 2:07.54 for 23rd A-T HS!.
Remember Darlene Beckford getting kicked off the Mile DDD earlier?
Well, it happened again here, Beckford's 2:07.7 from 1978 leaving my Record Book!
Two more HSR's were broken!
In the One Mile Walk, not only was Lauren Harris's winning time of 6:57.46 the new HSR and Meet Record, but it was the first sub-7 minute Mile ever by a Female HS'er!!
On the Men's side--something I forgot to mention in my Men's report--Cameron Haught's 6:15.77 is the Junior Class Mile Walk record!
The other HSR came in the DMR!
A great race ensued between North Rockland HS TC and the Lake Braddock HS TC.
North Rockland's winning time of 11:34.85 becomes the new HSR, and NBIN Meet Record.
They were anchored by 8th Grader Katelyn Tuohy's 4:53.44!
But Tuohy should be happy she had a big lead at the hand-off, because chasing her down was Kate Murphy, who sped a 4:43.95!!
Her team finished in 11:39.10.
While we're on the subject of long Relays, remember me mentioning there would be a team called "4XMancini TC", composed of 4 girls from the same family?
Well, they ran, finishing in 7th place, timed in 20:58.09 in the 4XMile Relay.
The Senior of the group was Grace.
The Freshman is Christine.
And the presumed-to-be twins, Eleanor and Elizabeth, are Sophs!
Liz had the fastest split, anchoring in 5:10.5!!
Borlee's--Watch out!!
On that note, I'll just say I expect to have my World Championship Preview posts--one for each gender--on the 16th, the day before the meet's start!
See you then!
I won't pinpoint the reasons now--I don't really KNOW why!
Maybe there's more talent on the Female end.
Maybe the Records are easier targets!
Whatever the reasons, Records dropped like snowflakes in a blizzard these past 3 days in the Big Apple.
(Maybe an appropriate metaphor, given the weather recently in that part of our great country! LOL)
Anyway, let's see what went down in The Armory over the weekend!
Watching Sydney McLaughlin in action is like seeing inside the mind of a great poet while she composes her next poem!
From somewhere, the Muse latches onto her, infusing her with a magical power some would think--by looking at her--she doesn't possess.
She's thin and lanky--sort of like Vashti Cunningham!--without any apparent over-production of muscle that would destroy opponents or the Record Book like she does.
But in the 400 final, she ran powerfully around the Armory's 200 meter oval, in the end taking down one of the strongest HSR's--the 51.93 run by future Olympian Francena McCorory 10 years ago!
She just got it--her 51.84 the new HSR!
It's also the Junior Class Record and the NBIN Meet Record!
And I believe it's the Age 16 record too!
Which, in MY Record Book, makes it the Age "0 to 17" record, meaning the best mark up to and including the Age of 17!
She'd run 52.77 in the heats!
That had moved her from 7th A-T HS to 4th.
The final continued the rise, from 4th to 1st!
The time misses the Collegiate DDD by just 0.05 seconds, and the US list by 0.06!!
(That is, if she WAS a Collegiate athlete now!)
In those 400 heats, Sterling Lester--just a Frosh--ran 54.11, making her 22nd A-T HS!
But Sydney wasn't through!
On the same night--Sunday--she ran the anchor on her Union Catholic TC's 4X400 Relay!
Just an hour or so after running that 51.84, she was timed in 51.65 for her 400 split!
And she's still in the 11th Grade!!
The team broke the Meet Record with their time of 3:40.28, and became the 2nd fastest School All-Time!!
And their competition weren't rag dolls!
Motor City TC's 3:40.69 makes them the 3rd fastest School, and the Paul Robesen TC's 3:40.95 is 4th fastest A-T!!
And she passed their anchors like they were stuck in cement!
She kicked from 4th to 1st in the final 100 meters!
Another VERY impressive athlete--who ALSO is credited with TWO HSR's!!--was Tonea Marshall!
She TWICE broke the 60H HSR set by Dior Hall in 2014!
In fact, the entire event was spectacular!
Hold on to your hats for THIS!!
In the heats, Marshall sped a PR of 8.16!
It moved her from 9th A-T HS, tied with 1 other, to 2nd!
Behind her was Alexis Duncan's 8.32, which moved her from 24th A-T HS, tied with 2 others, to 12th!
Anna Cockrell was between them, but her 8.28 wasn't a PR.
From these heat results, forced OFF my DDD was one Nia Ali, her 8.36 dating from 2006!
Tia Jones ran 8.35 , claiming the Frosh Class record!!
It also made her 19th A-T HS, tied with 4 others!
Then, in the semis, Marshall broke her FIRST High School Record, her time being 8.08!!
It also became her first Meet Record!
And first Senior Class record!
She moved from 2nd A-T HS, tied with 1 other, into the top spot!
And behind her came that metaphoric blizzard!
Anna Cockrell ran 8.16, but she remained 6th A-T HS!
Alexis Duncan's 8.18 moved her from 12th A-T HS to 6th, tied with 1 other!
Charal Brissett ran 8.24, moving from 10th A-T HS to 8th!
Brittley Humphrey ran 8.29, making her 12th A-T HS.
And Brandee Johnson's 8.33 made her 14th A-T HS, tied with 4 others!
Then came the final!
Marshall broke her own HSR, her own Senior Class Record, her own NBIN Meet Record, and added the World Age 17 Record to boot--her time of 8.02 filling all those pockets!
She won;t be 18 until October 17th!!
Duncan's 8.14 in 2nd moves her from 5th A-T HS, tied with 1 other, to 3rd!
Both Humphrey and Brissett ran 8.23, and both wound up in 8th, tied with 2 others, including each other!
Right behind them came Johnson, her 8.24 moving her from 15th A-T HS, tied with 4 others, up to 11th!
If all of these women develop into World Class athletes, I wonder how many might look to other nations for residency, to avoid the already-gridlocked traffic jam of the American Women's High Hurdles Fast Lane!!
What an amazing series of marks--from ONE event in ONE meet!!
The Mile was a Mover and Shaker too!
With 3 giants going head to head--Kate Murphy, Stephanie Jenks, and Katie Rainsberger--something was bound to come loose!
What fell from the shelf was the NBIN Meet Record, and a few other records!
The first 440 was run in 67, with Rainsberger and Jenks a few meters ahead of a pack, where Murphy was riding the wave.
They reached the 880 point in 2:17, with the two ladies sharing the lead.
After the 1320, reached in 3:27, Jenks was falling back, replaced by Murphy, but not too close.
Then the kicking began.
But Murphy, even with her 4:16 1500 PR, and her more recent 2:45 kilometer, didn't have the pick-up to rob Rainsberger of the win, as the Coloradan ran a blazing 4:36.61!
That time, if run just over 3 years earlier, would have broken the HSR!
But Mary Cain got there first!
As it was, she claimed some venerable records that the PRO Cain couldn't!
She finally got both of Lynn Jennings's Senior Class records--her Mile standard of 4:39.0, and her 1500 record of 4:18.9, both dating from 1978!!
Rainsberger's 1500 time was 4:17.68.
The Meet Records for both had belonged to Alexa Efraimson for the past 2 years!!
Both marks rank her 3rd A-T HS--on the amateur side of things!!
Murphy's time of 4:39.47 was preceeded by her 1500 split of 4:22.73, making her final 109 meters a lot faster than Rainsberger's--16.74 to 18.93!
For Murphy, her 1500 moved her from 8th A-T HS to 6th, while her Mile moved her from 10th to 6th!
That 4:16 I mentioned was run OUTdoors!
Jenks wound up running 4:44.94 (and 4:25..15 at 1500 enroute!).
The 1500 ranks her 14th A-T HS, while her Mile puts her 19th A-T HS!
Back a bit was a girl named Lexy Halladay!
Her 1500 and Mile times don't make my Top 24 lists!
They are 4:28.29 and 4:48.43.
Oh, did I forget to mention she's an EIGHTH GRADER??!!
Two BIG names were 86'ed from my DDD's!
From the Mile list fell Darlene Beckford, her mark dating back to 1978.
From the 1500 list went one SFH, aka Suzy Favor Hamilton, whose time dated from 1986!
The flat 60's and the 200's saw some good marks!
("Good" being kind of an understatement!! LOL)
In the shorter race, Zaria Frasncis ran 7.30, making her 14th A-T HS, tied with 4 others!
Celena Barnes finished in 7.33, making her 23rd A-T HS, tied with 3 others!
But the BIG story was that of Thelma Davies.
In the semis, she sped 7.45.
It broke the Frosh Class record of 7.47, held by Hannah Cunliffe since 2011.
If you read my NCAA post, then you know Cunliffe has suddenly become quite an accomplished sprinter!!
But Ms Davies wasn't done!
In the final, she broke her own Frosh Class standard, speeding a 7.37!!
The 200 was dominated by Lauren Rain Williams.
In her heat, she sped a 23.72.
But in the final, she exploded to a 23.23 Meet Record time, breaking her own mark from last year!
It's also the Junior Class record, and moves her from 6th to 5th on the A-T HS list!
Following her was Anna Cockrell, whose 23.47 moves her from 17th A-T HS to 8th!
Then came Lanae Tava Thomas, whose 23.66 makes her 16th A-T HS!
Weini Kelati ran crazy and fast!
Fast because of her times.
Crazy because of her pacing!
In the 5000, she blasted out from the gun, hitting her first 1000 in 3:03--just 15:15 5000 pace!!
Inevitably slowing, she did her next K's in 3:10, then 3:15, 3:21, and finished with a final K of 3:19, her final time being a HSR of 16:08.83!
It's also the Meet Record.
But no others!
Behind her came Maryjeanne Gilbert's 16:28.74, which makes her 7th A-T HS.
Shona McCulloch's 16:31.22 won't make my US HS list, as she's Canadian!
Next in line came Hannah Debalsi's 16:32.26, making her 9th A-T HS.
Stephanie Jenks was next, but her 16:40.38 wasn't a PR.
Libby Davidson's 16:40.97 makes her 13th A-T HS.
Diana Vizza's 16:42.84 makes her 14th A-T HS.
Kelati's 2 Mile winner was 10:02.71, again run off a fast early pace.
She did her Miles in about 4:55 and 5:07, but her first lap was around 71!
She's 4th A-T HS.
Davidson clocked 10:14.97, making her 19th A-T HS.
Jessica Lawson's 10:18.30 gives her the 22nd A-T spot!
Run OFF my list was---Molly Huddle!
Her 10:19.7 dated from 2002.
Also OFF my list was Kristy Orre, a name from the deep well of the past century, namely 1985!
Some field events provided some decent marks.
The WT was won by Kamryn Brinson's 62-8.50.
She moves from 20th A-T HS all the way to 4th!
The Shot Put saw an upset of sorts, as new phenom Alyssa Wilson's 53-3.50 non-PR was overtaken by Nickolette Dunbar's super PR of 54-7.50, upping her best by 17.50 inches!!
She moves from 8th to 4th on the A-T HS list!
Elena Bruckner's 50=8 Put makes her 19th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
The PV was won by Carson Dingler's 13-4.50.
But it was Colleen Clancy's 13-4.50 which made her 19th A-T HS, tied with 6 others--including Dingler, who matched her PR!
Samiyah Samuels won the LJ, her leap of 21-3.25 setting a new Meet Record!
It also moves her from 12th A-T HS, tied with 2 others, to 3rd!
The TJ was won by Chinne Okoronkwo's 42-11.75.
She moves from 20th A-T HS, tied with 2 others, all the way up into 6th!
A Canadian won the Pentathlon.
But Tea Livingston's score of 3674 in 2nd makes her 11th A-T HS!
The 800 had some good depth!
It was won by Sammy Watson, whose 2:05.11 makes her 6th A-T HS.
The line flowed back to Ruby Stauber, who ran 2:05.56 for 7th A-T HS.
Then came youth vet Gabrielle Wilkinson's 2:06.87, making her 15th A-T HS.
Danae Rivers ran 2:07.54 for 23rd A-T HS!.
Remember Darlene Beckford getting kicked off the Mile DDD earlier?
Well, it happened again here, Beckford's 2:07.7 from 1978 leaving my Record Book!
Two more HSR's were broken!
In the One Mile Walk, not only was Lauren Harris's winning time of 6:57.46 the new HSR and Meet Record, but it was the first sub-7 minute Mile ever by a Female HS'er!!
On the Men's side--something I forgot to mention in my Men's report--Cameron Haught's 6:15.77 is the Junior Class Mile Walk record!
The other HSR came in the DMR!
A great race ensued between North Rockland HS TC and the Lake Braddock HS TC.
North Rockland's winning time of 11:34.85 becomes the new HSR, and NBIN Meet Record.
They were anchored by 8th Grader Katelyn Tuohy's 4:53.44!
But Tuohy should be happy she had a big lead at the hand-off, because chasing her down was Kate Murphy, who sped a 4:43.95!!
Her team finished in 11:39.10.
While we're on the subject of long Relays, remember me mentioning there would be a team called "4XMancini TC", composed of 4 girls from the same family?
Well, they ran, finishing in 7th place, timed in 20:58.09 in the 4XMile Relay.
The Senior of the group was Grace.
The Freshman is Christine.
And the presumed-to-be twins, Eleanor and Elizabeth, are Sophs!
Liz had the fastest split, anchoring in 5:10.5!!
Borlee's--Watch out!!
On that note, I'll just say I expect to have my World Championship Preview posts--one for each gender--on the 16th, the day before the meet's start!
See you then!
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