The Payton Jordan Invitational (formerly the Cardinal Invitational) has given 1000's of runners new PR's, Olympic Trials and NCAA qualifiers, and many young athletes the opportunity to race against their older (and more successful) peers.
And even beat some of them!
The latest version of this Distance Runners Heaven kept the tradition going!
In Section 3 of the Women's 1500, against a field of Collegians and Pro's, Ella Donaghu (who was Oregon's HSR holder with her 4:20.83 from 2015!) shocked them all by almost beating them all!
Her 4:15.28 fell just 0.06 seconds short of a win, as Michigan grad Brook Handler ran 4:15.22 for the win!
Still, Donaghu chopped her PR (and state record!) by 5.55 seconds!
She became 5th A-T HS.
Her last lap had been 65 seconds!
But her list standing didn't last long!
In the very next section, Christine Aragon did Donaghu's feat one better!
Her 4:11.24 actually WON the race!!
Fourth in the front group through 1200, she sprinted hard, shocking high-end Professionals like Laura Roesler and Phoebe Wright, taking the lead around the final curve, then INCREASING her margin to the line, winning by over a second from Sara Sutherland's 4:12.43, and Washington Collegian Anna Maxwell's surprising 4:12.61.
Wright finished 4th, while Roesler was 9th!
And for Aragon, who had run a fast 4:16.36 in 2015 at PJ, it moved her from 6th to 4th on the A-T HS list!
(Prior to Donaghu's race, Aragon had been 5th A-T, but was temporarily pushed back a place by her friend's time!)
Her last 400 was 63.4!
And that's what happens at the Payton Jordan meet!
In the "elite" section of the Women's 1500, Linden Hall improved her PR by 6 seconds, winning in 4:04.47, taking just 62.8 on her last lap.
Morgan Uceny's 4:09.75 in 6th was among those she beat!
For the Men, the highlight had to be the 10000!
There, in his first-ever track 10K, and at Age 41 years, 4 months, and 19 days, Bernard Lagat RIPPED the Age 40 & over record to shreds, his 27:49.35 beating Martti Vainio's 28:30.88 from 1991 by a mere 41.53 seconds!!
And he did so by outkicking guys 10, and even 20, years younger!!
His last lap was 58 seconds!!
Second was NOP's Suguru Osako in 27:50.27.
In third came the first Collegian, Futsam Zienasellassie, whose 27:52.70 makes him 20th A-T Collegiate!
Removed FROM my DDD was none other than Craig Virgin, his 27:59.43 dating from 1976!
(When Mr Lagat wasn't even 2 years old yet!!)
Sam Chelanga was 5th in 27:54.57.
The Women's elite section of the 10000 saw 2 Kenyans in front, Irene Cheptai's 31:15.38 beating Caroline Chepkoech's 31:16.28.
But several Americans (and one multi-talented American Greek!) wanted Olympic Trials Q times---and got them!
Marielle Hall's initial 10K of 31:37.45 in 4th was maybe the least surprising.
It makes her 21st A-T US!
(But knocked OFF my list was one Jordan Hasay, her 31:39.67 dating from 2014!)
And speaking of Ms Hasay, her comeback from a year of injury woes saw her meet her goal, albeit in 17th place (!!), her 31:58.33 meeting the Q standard!
Alia Gray smashed her PR, her 31:59.23 finishing just behind Jordan.
Dominique Scott, still an Arkansas Senior, ran 31:56.84, moving her from 10th A-T Collegiate to 6th!
Another Collegian, although she's redshirting this season to try for Rio's team, was 13th, Erin Finn's 31:51.84 gutting her PR by about 50 seconds!!
However, because of her redshirt status, she's not eligible for the Collegiate list!!
Greek-American movie-maker Alexi Pappas (her TrackTown movie will premiere soon in Los Angeles!!) ran 31:46.85, surely sending her to Rio under the flag of Greece!!
Liz Costello's 31:43.79 missed the US Top 24 Performers list by about 5 seconds!
Even closer was 8th placer Kellyn Taylor, whose 31:40.76 missed the list by just 2 seconds!
In the slower section, Boise State's "other" frosh, Brenna Peloquin ran a good 33:03.48 in 28th place!
(That "other" Boise State Frosh is Allie Ostrander, still recovering from an injury!!)
Kim Smith DNF'ed after 6800 meters, for reasons unknown!
The Men's 5000 (the elite section!) didn't match the 2014 race, which saw Ben True beating Hassan Mead, 13:02.74 to 13:02.80!
The winner this year was Shadrack Kipchirchir's 13:18.52.
But 4 Collegians had a "mini-NCAA" race-within-a-race, which became the event's highlight!
Sean McGorty, running on his home track, ran 13:24.25 (in 7th place) to become 20th A-T Collegiate!
Patrick Tiernan's 13:25.78 (in 9th) misses my DDD by just 0.40 seconds!
Justyn Knight, in 10th, ran 13:27.23.
And in 12th, Virginia Tech's Thomas Curtin finished in 13:33.88!
Among the Pro's, David Torrence was 3rd in 13:19.42, Garrett Heath's 13:23.06 took 6th, while Chris Derrick was just 16th in 13:40.91.
Sally Kipyego--Who else??!!--won the elite Women's 5000 in 14:58.60 in what, for her, was basically a tempo run!
However, in 2nd, Nicole Tully's 1.50 second PR of 15:04.08 moves her from 23rd A-T US to 20th!!
Mo Koster, who broke 4:00 in the 1500 last year, was 3rd in 15:07.20, while Kim Conley could finish only 12th (15:12.73).
Steepler Stephanie Garcia PR'ed with her 8th place time of 15:16.56.
And Jen Rhines, a few months older than Bernard Lagat, became the fastest American over-40 track 5K runner with her 20th place time of 15:45.94.
Of course, Jo Pavey's 15:04 is the World 40 & over record!
A Collegian had the fastest Men's 1500 time of the day.
Izaic Yorks ran 3:37.74, missing the Collegiate DDD by 0.41 seconds!
His "victims" included Henrik Ingebrigtsen's 3:38.33 and Evan Jager's 3:38.67.
Oregon's Sam Prakel and Blake Haney ran good races, Prakel's 3:40.84 winning his section, while Haney's 3:40.46 was 6th in his!
Ingebrigtsen's brother, Filip, took another section in 3:38.95
In that race, German Fernandez was 6th, and Matthew Maton was 8th.
Fernandez doubled in the 5K, running 14:21 there.
In a slower section of the 5000--which Jessica Tebo won in 15:31 and change--two Cardinal Women ran well.
Vanessa Fraser ran 15:41.64 in 5th, while 5K (track) rookie Elise Cranny's 15:49.27 took 11th.
For the Men, another Cardinal used his home track to good advantage.
Grant Fisher, a year removed from his 3:59.38 HS Mile, ran 13:39.42 in 7th.
However, Morgan McDonald of Wisconsin ran faster, his 13:34.78 taking 3rd.
The "slow" section of the Women's 10000 was won by Sarah Lahti in a not-so-slow 31:54.87.
She's a 21 year old from Sweden, who was running her first-ever 10K (I believe!), and whose 5000 PR was just 16:19 from 2014.
She ran the 1500 at Portland's INdoor WC this year, not making the final!
Courtney Frerichs continued her rise in the 3000 Steeplechase!
Her winning 9:29.31 (with a final K of 3:05!!) moves her from 4th A-T Collegiate to 3rd, just 0.01 ahead of Colleen Quigley!
She also improves from 14th to 10th on the US list!
A Canadian, Genevieve LaLonde, took 2nd in 9:38.88.
The Men's SC saw PJ-favorite Matt Hughes--also from Canada--win in 8:22.31 over Stanley Kebenai's 8:22.85!
Mason Ferlic was the top Collegian, his 8:28.77 PR missing the Collegiate list by less than 2 seconds!
In a slower section of the 5K, Natosha Rogers had her best comeback race, her 15:58.95 taking 2nd!
The Women's 800 elite section saw yet another Collegian stand out from her older competitors.
Olivia Baker--another Stanford runner--didn't win, but her PR time of 2:01.02 makes her 15th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!
A FORMER Cardinal, Justine Fedronic, PR'ed in 2:00.64 in 2nd.
Maggie Vessey took 3rd in 2:00.82, while Alexa Efraimson opened her OUTdoor season in 6th, time of 2:01.64.
Not a bad rust-buster for this 19 year old!
Eliud Rutto was the fastest 800 man--winning in 1:46.24, a non-PR.
In shorter races--which the PJ meet DOES have!!--the standout was Daye Shon Robinson (of Oklahoma), who doubled in the 200 and 400 in 22.65 and 51.42.
The 200 winner was San Diego State's Ashley Henderson, who ran 22.64 to nip Robinson at the line!
Kendall Baisden took 2nd in the 400 in 52.15.
From other meets, I have 3 field event marks to report.
Nick Scarvelis threw the Shot 66-10.75.
Daina Levy's HT mark of 224-3 wasn't a PR.
But I believe Mason Finley's DT of 214-2 was!!
In my previous post, I said I was trying to find Michael Slagowski's 1500 split in his 3:59.54 Mile.
It took some doing, but the official timers finally got back to me on that!
He ran 3:42.40 enroute, making him 3rd A-T HS, 0.02 ahead of Mr Drew Hunter's (OUTdoor) PR from earlier this year!
(Yes, I know Hunter has a faster "absolute" time, but as you know, I don't DO absolutes!! See a previous post for a deeper explanation!)
The historic Bloomsday 12K race (in Spokane WA) saw Cynthia Limo breaking the Course Record, winning in 38:03.
No record, but Phillip Langat took the Men's race in 34:26.
Not sure which day, but I'm thinking of doing a post on which events have been making "#Yearof...." a HOT hashtag for T&F fans!
And with Doha coming up this week, I should have my next results post ASAP post-meet!
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