Here's all the news & results from the July 7th & 8th portions of this (so far) stunning Trials meet!
In which a group of teenagers showed some prominent adults what's what and who's on top---or very likely well on their way there!!
Here's the tale of the tape--so to speak!
Two Women's Field event Q rounds started the action on Thursday--the Shot Put and Javelin Throw.
Tia Brooks, having a PR year, led the Q's with a good 62-6.50.
Jill Camarena-Williams, returning strong from new motherhood and a bit of injury probs, threw 62-1.25, while new Bombshell Betty (aka Raven Saunders) reached 60-5.75!
The only real shock came when Kelsey Card fouled out!
Kara Winger flung the spear out 201-6---one and done!
Maggie Malone, the top Collegiate threat, threw it 198-3.
Winger's throw missed the Meet Record by 3 inches!!
Malone's sister Audrey also moved on.
The Women's 5000 heats were 2 of the most loaded fields in the entire meet!
Race one went through 3K at tempo pace before the real running began.
Kim Conley, who'd DNF'ed the 10000 after 8K, ran 15:40.04 to lead Kellyn Taylor, Nicole Tully, and Emily Infeld in under 15:41.
The field was so good, that several "names" didn't make it.
This heat saw that group include Lauren Paquette, Laura Thweatt, and Natosha Rogers.
Jessica Tonn was a DNS.
The RoadRunner (Molly Huddle) ran as she wished, finishing with a K of under 3 minutes, and timing 15:26.33, bringing 5 more in under 15:30.
One of those didn't think she'd be there!
If you recall, tiny Alaskan Grizzly Allie Ostrander stopped during an INdoor 5000, injured!
Earlier, on Seattle's Oversize Track, she'd run 15:21, 2nd only to Kim Conley's 15:09!
Well, here she ran a smart and persistent 15:27.13, finishing 4th in the fastest heat!!
In her first Collegiate "legal track" 5000, she'd be 23rd A-T Collegiate if it had been run a few weeks earlier!!
Appears to be a definite contender come finals day!!
Katie Mackey was 2nd to Huddle, with Shelby Houlihan 3rd, with Marielle Hall following Ostrander, and Abbey D'Agostino next in line.
Also Q'ing, but in 9th, came Jordan Hasay.
Gabe Grunewald was a non-Q.
All of the contenders in the Men's Triple Jump passed through the Q round unscathed.
Matthew O'Neal's 55-8.75 led the way, although it was windy.
His best legal effort measured 55-6.
The Olympian field in the Women's 100H heats provided some decent entertainment for the sun-drenched Hayward crowd.
In heat 1, American Record holder Kendra (I prefer to call her Kendra rather than Keni!) Harrison strolled through in 12.57, wind legal.
In 5th place was HS'er Chanel Brissett, who had sped a 13.04 earlier in the year, one of a solid contingent of HS hurdle speedsters, ready to take over from their elders!
Her PR of 12.95 ties Candy Young's one-time HSR,, but Young's still-valid Junior Class record!!
It also moves her from 4th A-T HS to 3rd, tied with--Ms Young!!
Dawn Harper-Nelson finished 2nd in 12.85.
Kristi Castlin's 12.68 took heat 2, with Puerto Rican dual citizen Jasmine Camacho-Quinn next in 12.82.
Heat 3 went to Jasmine Stowers in 12.65, edging Nia Ali's 12.68.
The fourth heat was windy (2.4), and saw Queen Harrison win in 12.71 over Sharika Nelvis's 12.79.
Brianna Rollins, seemingly on her way back to her brilliant form of 2013, won heat 5 in 12.56!
And that was just the heats!!
Next came the Men's 200 heats!
All season, talk in HS circles was about what Noah Lyles and Michael Norman might run if unleashed!
The first heat provided some clues!
Coming off a strong turn, Lyles took the lead from Walter Dix, and proceeded to lengthen it--while seemingly in cruise mode!
He even let up a bit before the line, and STILL ran 20.09!!
Alas, no HSR, as the wind was a substantial 3.3!!
However, he left veteran Dix in the dust, his time being 20.23!
Long Jumper--Sprinter Jarrion Lawson took heat 2 in 20.54, while Isiah Young won the 3rd heat in 20.53.
Then came heat number 4!
Teen wunderkind Norman would be facing 30-plussers Tyson Gay and Wallace Spearmon!!
Inspired by Lyles's run, Norman charged off the curve in front, and only increased his lead over the final 100!!
His 20.06--aided by a wind of 2.8--destroyed his elders, with Gay timing 20.36, and Spearmon 20.39!
Talk became NOT whether these 2 teen studs could make it through the rounds in Eugene, but whether they would make the final in Rio!!
It seemed a bit anticlimactic when heat 5 saw Ameer Webb's 20.27 take the win from Justin Gatlin's 20.32.
In the final heat, LaShawn Merritt strode a 20.09 with a 2.8 wind helping him!
Action on the track continued with the Women's 400H heats, with yet another teenage superstar bringing on a solid sea of awestruck ooh's and aah's from the fans!
After a slow 1st heat (where a DNS was injured Georgeanne Moline!!), 16 year old New Jersey native Sydney McLaughlin cleared all 10 hurdles like they weren't even there, cruising home in 55.46, a time very few HS'ers have ever run---even once---yet it's become average for this young rock star!
Kori Carter took 3rd, while another fast-improving HS'er, Anna Cockrell, ran 56.53 in 5th.
Delilah Muhammad took heat 3 in 55.33, while Cassandra Tate timed 55.93 as the winner of heat 4.
Ashley Spencer also Q'ed in 5th in the latter heat!
In heat 5, favored Shamier Little ran 2nd to Jaide Stepter's 55.64, as Little ran 55.83.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that Little decided to forego her last year of Collegiate eligibility and turn Professional!!
The Men's DT qualifying saw Mason Finley explode out to a PR distance of 218-11.
He is now 24th A-T US, tied with 1 other!
Sean Mattis, who had thrown 221-2 in his first outing this year, reached 199-11.
Casey Malone was a non-Q.
Raven Saunders almost won the Women's Shot Put!!
Never having reached even 46 feet as late as December 2013, but breaking the INdoor HSR just 3 months later (followed by the OUTdoor HSR in 2014!), Saunders grabbed the lead in round 5 with a massive (and almost-PR) 63-1.50!!
This led Felicia Johnson's 63-1.25 by the tiniest of filaments!
That is, until in round 6, Shot Diva Michelle Carter (whose HSR reign Saunders ended a few years ago!) reached 64-3.25, enough to win, and set a new Meet Record!!
ALL of Carter's 6 throws were over 62-6!!
In 4th was Tia Brooks's 62-1.75, which also fell in round 5!
She edged Jillian Camarena-Williams, who threw 61-8.50.
Brittany Smith and Chase Ealey also topped 60 feet, while Jeneva Stevens was 8th with 59-10.50!
Dani Bunch had 3 fouls!
The Women's 1500 heats were spared drama, for the most part, except for the discussion about whether it was even necessary to run them, as there would be just 3 people not getting through to the semi's, after 3 scratched!!
One of those missing out (but not really expected to make it!) was new Mom Sarah Brown, who gave birth to her daughter just 4 months ago!!
She stayed with the pack for a couple of laps, but then fell off, running 4:24.97!
(Not only was she still a breastfeeding new mother, but she'd had a health scare as well, a tumor on her back turning up benign!!!)
Amanda Eccleston led the 1st heat with her 4:13.82.
Three more teenagers were in the mob behind her, all Q'ing, despite Alexa Efraimson falling, then getting up to sprint into the next round!!
(Kate Murphy and Christina Aragon were the other sub-20's!)
Brenda Martinez, more determined here after her disaster in the 800, led Morgan Uceny and Elise Cranny in heat 2, the slowest of the 3 at 4:23-plus!
Jenny Simpson controlled the last heat, cruising to a 4:17, with AR holder Shannon Rowbury and 20 year old NOP-mate Mary Cain among the followers.
Gabe Grunewald, just 2 hours removed from her 5000 heat, Q'ed in 6th!!
For the first time this century, three American female Triple Jumpers are heading to the Olympic Games!!
Keturah Orji's 46-11.75 (with 5 of her jumps being 46-7.50 or longer, and the other one at 45-10.75!!) led Christina Epps's 46-6 and Andrea Geubelle's 45-9.25.
Epps's PR moves her from 12th A-T US to 9th, tied with 1 other!
In 4th was the surprising Imani Oliver, whose 45-4.50 couldn't match her Q-round PR of 46-0!
Ciarra Brewer also reached 45 feet (45-3.50) in 5th!
Amanda Smock was just 10th, while Bria Matthews was 12th!
One of our (and the world's!!) weaker events, the Men's 400H, saw everyone of note moving from the heats to the semi's!
Johnny Dutch's 49.56 was the fastest.
The Men's 1500 heats were all jogfests, just as were the Women's!
Craig Engels took the first in 3:41.92, with Ben Blankenship taking the 2nd in 3:49, and Eric Avila winning the third over Leo Manzano and Matthew Centrowitz.
Chad Noelle and Will Leer were among the notable non-Q's.
Ohhhh, that Women's Steeplechase final!!
Look out World, here we come!!
Two-time American Record breaker, and newbie nude ESPN Body Issue icon Emma Coburn took the win in 9:17.48.
While it's her 5th fastest time ever, she made it appear about 30 seconds slower, with her loping stride and effortless hurdling totally controlling the race, start to finish--even though she didn't take the lead until after 2000 meters!
Running with a pack of 5 or 6, they appeared to be on 9:30 to 9:35 pace for the first 3 or 4 laps!
Then, almost silently, the Coloradan edged in front, but with Colleen Quigley, Stephanie Garcia, and Courtney Frerichs playing shadow.
9:18 girl Leah O'Connor started falling off, as did Shalaya Kipp, Megan Rolland, Ashley Higginson, and Bridget Franek!
With 1000 to go, Coburn showed her stuff, developing a gap of 5 meters, then 10, then 20.
But then she started coming back--or THEY started moving toward Coburn--and soon a pack of 4 turned a runaway into a RACE!!
(Well, at least a race for 2nd & 3rd!!)
Turning 76 and 77 second laps into 68's, Coburn again led, with all 4 clearing the final water pit cleanly, all sprinting hard!
Coburn moved away after that, with the other 3 in a fierce battle.
Quigley led Frerichs over the last barrier, but Garcia, face in a grimace, clipped it with her left foot, going down hard, her Rio dreams gone!
While Frerichs sprinted past Quigley, Kipp came on hard to overtake the struggling Garcia, who'd risen to finish the race!
Coburn's 9:17.48 is the new Meet Record!
Frerichs's PR of 9:20.92--yes--WOULD break her own Collegiate Record IF it had been run---oh Hell, you know the drill!!
As it stands, it moves her from 6th to 4th on the A-T US list!
Quigley's 9:21.29 moves her from 9th A-T US up to 5th!!
Kipp wanted a Rio ticket, but was happy with a solid PR of 9:28.72, which moves her from 17th A-T US to 11th!
Garcia's 9:28.99 in 5th was amazing, all things considered!
Franek ran 9:33.51, while Rolland got a small PR in 7th with her 9:35.31.
She moves up one spot on the A-T US list, from 19th to 18th!
Mel Lawrence got a PR by just 0.20 (9:36.35), but a PR's a PR!!
She remains 19th A-T US!
Ashley Higginson was 9th in 9:38.55, while Rene Williams-Chesser's 9:40.40 misses my US DDD by 0.71 seconds!
O'Connor completely fell apart on the last lap, which took her 104 seconds, and she needed to be helped off the track!!
Not sure what caused it!
I know this is already a LONGGG post, but I still have a lot more to report, so take a break, then come back for the remainder!
Ready?
The Women's Pole Vault Qualifying!!
On a day when Oregon's infamous rain finally appeared--in torrents!!
They started---with Demi Payne's injury taking her out of the game after 1 clearance--at 13-11.25!
Jenn Suhr asked to pass all the initial heights.
Sandi Morris--also back from injury--mastered her series of attempts.
After a long weather delay, they finally finished, with Suhr among the Q's.
Becky Holliday and Kaitlin Petrillose joined Payne on the sidelines.
The Men's 110H heats were drama-less--if that's a word!
All 4 heats had to fight winds of 1.2 to 1.8!!
All the players Q'ed, with Ronnie Ash's 13.39 in heat 2 being the fastest.
The Men's DT final--with the rain still falling--made the circle slippery, and limited Mason Finley's winning throw to 208-1, more than 10 feet less than his PR in the qualifying round!
Tavis Bailey and Andrew Evans took the other two spots, barely over 200 feet!
Lance Brooks took 5th, with Jared Schuurmanns in 7th, and Sam Mattis back in 9th!
Just as in the Men's 200 heats, there were a pair of teenagers who gave their elders small headaches in the Women's 200 heats--though not the MIGRAINES that Noah Lyles and Michael Norman gave theirs!!
Candace Hill took 2nd behind Jenna Prandini's 22.72 in heat 1, with Hill timed in 22.93, as both fought a 2.0 negative wind!
Allyson Felix did her thing in heat 2, her 22.93 edging Morolake Akinosun's 22.99.
The wind was mildly against them, at 0.3 power.
Heat 3 saw 18 year old Kaylin Whitney run 23.14 for second behind UO heroine Deajah Stevens's 22.91.
Another "Duck", Ariana Washington, won heat 4 in 22.95, beating Jeneba Tarmoh (23.02) and Kyra Jefferson (23.17).
The wind turned--windy!--so Tori Bowie's 5th heat 22.74 wasn't legal.
Candyce McGrone took second in 22.98.
Finally, in heat 6, a small shock hit Joanna Atkins, as Harvard Freshman Gabrielle Thomas beat her with a 22.91, as Atkins ran 22.99.
They had a helpful wind of 1.0.
(A Harvard sprinter??)
In the heaviest downpour of the day, the 100H women returned for their semi's!!
Into a wind of 1.0 sped Brianna Rollins, whose 12.60 beat Nia Ali's 12.68.
Moving on with time Q's were Jackie Coward and Sharika Nelvis.
In the 2nd semi, Kristi Castlin's 12.77 beat Jasmin Stowers's 12.91.
But in 3rd--in 13.01--came the legendary Dawn Harper-Nelson--but too slow to qualify for the final!!
The two unrelated Harrison's--Queen and Kendra--fought in the last semi, with Queen prevailing, 12.78 to 12.91.
Kendra was NOT looking like the same person who sprinted 12.24 for the American Record earlier this year!!
Non-Q's included Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and the HS'er, Chanel Brissett!
Jesse Williams and Randall Cunningham (Vashti's brother) were the most serious non-Q's in the Men's HJ.
All the other players made it to the final.
The Men's 1500 semi's went off similarly to the heats---slow, then slower!
Izaic Yorks took semi 1 in 3:47 and change.
Sam Prakel, Robby Creese, and Thomas Awad were among the non-Q's.
Ben Blankenship out-kicked (or jogged to the line faster!!) Matthew Centrowitz in semi 2.
The only notable name not making it through was Alexa Efraimson's boyfriend, Matthew Maton, his hippie-ish long locks flowing!!
The Women's 400H semi's produced THE shock of the day, when Shamier Little failed to advance to the final in the second semi!!
In semi one, Sydney McLaughlin took care of business like someone twice her age of 16, as her 55.23 easily beat all comers, Terea Brown's 55.70 taking 2nd, followed by Kori Carter and Jaide Stepter.
It was semi 2 where we watched--stunned--as favored Ms Little fell behind, and never really developed any real charge, finally finishing a non-Q 5th in 55.64!!
She laid down on the track afterward, staring into space, trying to comprehend what just happened!
Shaken to the bone--raw!
Delilah Muhammad sped an unnecessary 54.14, by far the fastest of the meet!
Autumne Franklin was far back in 55.40, with Ashley Spencer and Cassandra Tate also finishing ahead of Little!!
Michael Tinsley and Johnny Dutch took the pair of Men's 400H semi's, times of 49.15 and 49.20, respectively.
Kenny Selmon didn't Q in the first, while Eric Futch failed to move on in number 2.
Taylor McLaughlin was a DNS.
The two Women's 1500 semi rounds were won in 4:10--4:11 times, with Jenny Simpson and Brenda Martinez the winners.
Twelve women ran under 4:13, with 10 of them under 4:12!
Shannon Rowbury's 61.94 (behind Simpson) was the fastest closing lap.
Mary Cain was among the Q's in semi 2.
Many top-notch Milers didn't make it through--among them Cory McGee (8th), Christina Aragon (9th), and Heather Kampf (10th) in the first semi--and Rachel Schneider, Elise Cranny, Kate Murphy, and Erin Donohue from the second!
HS'er Murphy held back too far for the first 800, then moved too late, and despite a final 400 in 63.55, also failed to move on!
Treniere Moser was a DNS.
The Men's 3000SC wasn't nearly as dramatic---or fast--as the Women's!
Evan Jager slowed 22 seconds from his American Record time, winning as he wished!
Hillary Bor, one of the Kenyans turned Americans through the US Army team, took 2nd, with Donn Cabral set to join them in Rio.
Cory Leslie was 7th, while Dan Huling was only 9th!
Stan Kebenai, up front with Jager most of the way, fell over the last water jump, ending in 12th, and last!
The Men's 200 semi's again saw the two teens dominate---at least until the third semi!
Michael Norman, running against a wind of 1.1, was ahead of Justin Gatlin coming off the curve, and while Gatlin tried, he couldn't catch the smooth striding Norman, times of 20.21 and 20.23!
Noah Lyles did the same, except to younger competition--Kendal Williams---as his 20.26 prevailed with legal wind.
The first race saw Isiah Young, Wallace Spearmon, Michael Rodgers, and Trentavis Friday failing to move on!
The second race left Dedric Dukes, Jarrion Lawson, and Walter Dix behind!!
But in the 3rd semi, 400 Master LaShawn Merritt proved at least as masterful at half the distance, as he ran a PR by 0.04, his 19.74 tying Tyson Gay's Age 30 record!!
He moves from 15th A-T World to 12th.
And he moves from 10th A-T US to 8th!
Ameer Webb wasn't crawling in 2nd, as his 19.97 was far ahead of Gay's 20.16!!
The wind was 1.4.
The final event of Day 8 of these Trials was the Women's 100H!!
Run in dry weather--as opposed to the monsoonish semi's!!--this race was symbolic of the high drama--and the shocks and surprises that have made this---thus far!---one of the very best OG Trials ever!!
(Or if not the best, maybe one of the most intriguing!!)
The second fastest woman of All-Time, Kendra Harrison, finished SIXTH!!!
(And yet, ironically, and probably of zero import to her, her time of 12.62 tied for the fastest-ever 6th Place mark!!)
Winning, in 12.34, was rebounding Brianna Rollins!!
Her time missed Gail Devers's 2000 Meet Record by just 0.01 seconds!!
But she handily beat Kristi Castlin, who celebrated her 28th birthday with a PR of 12.50, and a plane trip to Brazil next month!!
She moves from 20th A-T US to 17th.
Also joining them in Rio will be the hurdler with the shortest name--Nia Ali--who finished in 12.55, just 0.02 ahead of Queen Harrison.
Sharika Nelvis's 12.60 was another 0.02 ahead of Kendra Harrison.
Jackie Coward was next in 12.75, while Jasmin Stowers crashed over the last hurdle--a la Gail Devers in the Barcelona Olympics--but still finished, although in just 17.13.
My next results post will be at the meet's conclusion--on Sunday!!
Then I'll follow that with a "Best & Worst" post--a selection of good AND bad memories from the entire meet!!
Enjoy the rest of the meet!
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