Sunday, December 11, 2016

New Stars emerge at Footlocker & INdoors

And I thought Cross Country was done & fried!
Well, except for Footlocker's Races of Studs!
HA!!
Hang tight, my sturdy readers, I have news for you!!

Yes, those final HS XC races of 2016 were truly "races of studs".
While missing most of those who ran the previous week at NXN, both races gave us new names to be shocked & awed by!

Claudia Lane.
She'd begun her running career just over a year ago!
Her track PR's this past spring were a dull 5:09 and 11:00.
And she was being matched against a girl--Nevada Mareno---who'd run 4:43 & 10:00.
A slight difference in talent, yes?

NO!
Taking the lead after 600 meters, Lane opened a lead she never relinquished!
Mareno calmly worked her way up to Lane's shoulder, and was rarely more than 10 meters behind--always a threat!
Surely her kick would suffice against the newcomer!
Again, NO!
When it came to a kick, it was Lane who produced, not Mareno!
She won by 25 meters, 17:05 to 17:09!
Rebecca Story, who ran good all season, was 3rd, but WAY back, timed in 17:36!!
Julia Heymach, another fast Miler, was 16th, time of 17:59!

The guys race played out a bit differently!
With no clear favorites, but with an interesting pairing of brothers Noah & Sam Affolder, as well as Luis Grivalja & Seth Hirsch being recognizable names, this was a race to watch!
(BTW, the FREE livestream was excellent in every way!!  You can watch both races through FloTrack or Runner Space!)

Hirsch led a lot of the race, but was never really in control!
A couple of times, Reed Brown would sprint ahead, only to be reeled in within 50 meters!
Still a "race" entering the final 200, it was Brown's kick that did the trick, as his 15:02 was 20 meters in front of surprising Finn Gessner's 15:05.
Hirsch was 3rd in the same time!
The older Affolder--Noah--was 6th in 15:11, while Sam Worley was 9th, with Grivalja in 13th, time of 15:24.
Sam Affolder--the Frosh Class record holder in the 3000SC--now a Soph, finished last, or 40th, time of 16:13!!

Then there was the USATF XC Club Championships, held in Florida, home of the Noles, one of whom was Olympic Steepler Colleen Quigley!
And she just happened to WIN the race going away!
Her 19:31 prevailed over Sarah Pagano's 19:36, and Sammy Silva's same time 3rd!
Allie Buchalski and Emily Lipari were next in line, both timed in 19:37!
Tara Welling's 19:43 was 6th, with Emma Bates's 19:59 taking 9th!
Molly Seidel--running unattached--was 14th in 20:13, with ageless Jen Rhines a "masterful" (sic!) 21st, time of 20:30!!

For the Men, it was all Sam Chelanga, winning his first USATF Championship, timed in 28:55!!
Stan Kebenei's 29:04 was well back in 2nd, with Morgan Pearson just one second behind!
Hillary Bor took 4th in 29:13, with Thomas Curtin next in 29:17!
Trevor Dunbar's 29:29 took 9th.
Parker Stinson finished in 25th in 30:09.
And guess who ended in 229th place?
None other than the almost unrecognizable muscular Alan Webb!!
His time was 34:45!!

Before moving INdoors, let's see who prevailed at the European XC Champs!

The Under 20 sets were taken by Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, two fairly "known" names in teen running circles!
The Under 23's went to Isaac Kimeli and Sofia Ennaoui.
In the Women's race, Alice Wright was 3rd, with Jessica Judd in 12th--but back in the game!
The Senior races went to "Turks" Yasmine Can and Aras Kaya!
(There was some pointed commentary on Twitter about the current nature of these "European" fields!!  Yet the same might be said about "United States" fields, with several frontrunners coming from FAR, not near--so to speak!!  Perhaps I'll have more to say on this topic in a future post!!)

OK, to the world of INdoor Track and Field!!
It's just the 2nd week of December, with about three full months to go, but we already have some list-making marks to report!
(See my earlier posts for other good marks, plus all my INdoor season Previews!!)

Jazmine Fray--NOT a name that rolls off your tongue when thinking of HOT runners to watch--"HOT" in the sense of talent & potential!!  LOL
Coming in with a 2:50 time as a Frosh last year in the 1000, she blew that PR to bits with her solo 2:43.15 at the Texas A&M Reveille Invitational, the first of several meets to be held this season at A&M!!  See my INdoor schedule post!!
Winning by about 14 seconds (!!), Fray is now 16th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other.
But more importantly, she now holds the Soph Class Record!!

Brian Barraza ran a historic race too!
His 3:58.66 Mile runaway (He won by about 17 seconds!!) is the FIRST sub-4 Mile run in the month of December INdoors--ever!!

Other good marks coming from this meet include--
Fred Kerley's 200 of 20.85
Grace Barnett's Mile of 4:35.66
And Pro Amanda Bingson's non-PR Weight Throw of 72-6.25!!

Another good meet was the Hoosier Open!
Marc Scott ran the quickest Men's 5000 of the new season, his 13:38.87 missing my Collegiate DDD by 1.84 seconds!!
Ed Kibichiy took 2nd in 13:42.24!

Christian Coleman sped 300 meters in 33.28, beating the 33.64 of Nate Strother!
Jawanna Oliver sped a 7.23 over 60 meters!
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn doubled in the 200 (23.55) and 60H (a PR of 8.10)!
(I'm guessing JCQ can go MUCH faster in her specialty!!)
Regina George won a tough 500, her 1:11.49 winniing over Symone Black's 1:11.68.
Katherine Recevier (sp.??) ran 5000 in 15:50.30.

But it was Sha'keela Saunders who really made her mark--so to speak!
Her 22-1 LJ ranks 10th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!
But it also is 14th A-T US!!

I have a few more marks--one a week or more old!--to report!
The "oldie" is Luca Weiland's Heptathlon score of 6089, a 19 point gain on his PR!
But he remains 9th A-T Collegiate!!

Trey Cunningham began his Senior HS season with a list-making time!
He blasted a 7.63 over the 60H.
This moves him from 12th A-T HS, tied with 2 others, to 8th!
He also ran a 60 without hurdles, time of 6.90!

Jessica Lawson followed a strong performance at NXN, running 1500 meters in 4:26.44, making her 21st A-T HS!!
Knocked OFF my list was the iconic Joetta Clark, her 4:27.2 dating back to 1979!!

On an Oversize Track (Kent State), Brycen Spratling ran the 500 in 1:01.30!

Moving OUTdoors for a moment, NCAA Cross winner Patrick Tiernan won the Zatopek 10000 in Australia with 27:59.74!
This was his first-ever track 10K!!
BTW, this was run as an "open" runner, as he's finished his Collegiate career!!

Okay, folks, I've got some amendments to my Class Records report I did recently--for High Schoolers!
Let me explain!
These marks aren't new!
But I received my 2017 edition of Jack Shepard's HS Track book yesterday.
Browsing through it--specifically the Class Records sections--both INdoors and OUTdoors--I found a few "new" marks I'd somehow missed!
Maybe they were never reported--by eTN or MileSplit--or maybe they were, and I missed seeing them!
Whatever the case, they deserve to be reported now.

OUTdoors first!
Joe Rosa's 8:08.86 from 2010 over 3000 meters is the Junior Class Record.
BTW, this replaces a mark by Galen Rupp I'd had in my own T&F Record Book!
Damion Thomas's 14.05 from 2014 is the Frosh Class Record for the 39 inch 110H!!
Sophia Rivera's 180-4 Javelin Throw is the "new" Senior Class Record, dating from 2016!

Tyra Gittens replaces one of Kendell Williams's MANY Class Records, taking over the Frosh Class slot with her Heptathlon score of 4934, which dates from 2014!!

And Bobby Colantonio gets a PAIR of Class Records!!
For the Frosh Class Record, I had the correct mark--168-2 in the HT from 2013--but the wrong athlete!!
It's Colantonio who holds that CR!
He also has the Soph Class Record, which is his 192-9 from 2014!

INdoors, there's just two corrections--or updates, if you please!!

Sam Toolin's 1500 time of 4:01.09 from 2016 is the "new" Frosh Class Record!

And Kelsey Chmiel's 9:41.73 over 3000 meters takes home the Women's Frosh Class Record--this dating from 2016!

Not 100% sure, but I think the next couple of weeks might be fairly quiet, marks-wise, as the Christmas and New Year's break is nigh!
But I WILL have my INdoor predictions for my 4 core groups--WR's, US records, CR's, and HSR's!!
And any marks that DO happen during this "rest" period!
Then there's my AOY posts for OUTdoor World and US coming on New Year's Eve!!

See you all soon!!

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