Some of the NCAA Championships you had to SEE to believe!
It wasn't the GREAT marks that seemingly fell like hailstones from the roof of the College Station TX arena the past 2 days.
Many were expected.
No, it was the stunning way they happened---or in the case of some, didn't!!
And the depth!
WOW!!
But time's-a-wasting!
I'm sure you want to know what went down---or up--as the case might be, so sit back, relax, and read on!
She did it again!
For long time readers of my blog, you know I've referred to Raven Saunders as a Shot Putter who broke her PR's by FEET, not inches!!
There have been several examples of that--since her Senior year of HS!
But recently, she seemed to have arrived on some sort of plateau, where she didn't PR for awhile--or did so by lesser increments than feet!
Well, not to fear, cause Raven's here!!
After a 2nd round 63-0--one of her best--she fell back into her "average" mode of mere 60 foot throws!
For others, that's reason to break into a dance!
For Saunders, it's reason to cry!
Then came her blast of the ball that fell 64-2.25 from where she stood!
This again added a full FOOT (and a bit more!!) to her previous INdoor best!!
Once leading the WORLD--prior to Anita Marton passing her at the Euros--she's back there again--with exclamation points (Something I know much about!! LOL)---and, since the season has for all intents ended, she's likely to remain!!
An incredible feat for a 20 year old College student--in America, Europe, or anywhere else!!
She breaks her own Collegiate Record.
She gets the Junior Class record, and the Meet Record!
While remaining 1st A-T Collegiate, she moves from 5th to 4th on the A-T US list!
Second was Danniel Thomas, getting a 60-4.50 PR.
She remains 9th A-T Collegiate!
Brittany Mann's 58-0.25 misses the Collegiate list by 0.75 inches!
Inside the Aggies's beautiful arena--pure white & light gray walls splashed with great photos & other Texas A&M mementos, we saw several great sprinters performing at their best!
And none were better than Christian Coleman!
We first witnessed it in the heats of the 60.
Side by side with Kendal Williams and Cameron Burrell, he left both those talents in his wake as he flew down the 60 meter straight with abandon--and ease!
His heat was an 0.01 PR of 6.50.
He moved from 9th A-T Collegiate, tied with 5 others, to 7th, tied with 2 others.
He became 23rd A-T US, tied with 4 others!
Burrell ran 6.53, not a PR.
In the 200 heats, Coleman "lost" to Just-N Thymes's 20.49, which missed my Collegiate DDD by 0.03 seconds!
Also missing that list was Jereem Richards's 20.50, which fell short by 0.04 seconds!
Coleman was 3rd fastest, his 20.51 missing the list by 0.05!
On the 2nd day, Coleman outdid himself--to say the least!!
In the 60 final, he blew away his competition--mostly in the last half of the race!--with a Collegiate Record-tying 6.45 shocker!
Even I didn't see this coming!
Besides tying the CR, he nabbed the Junior Class record!
He also tied the Age 21 record--the other guy being one Justin Gatlin!!
(Coleman had just turned 21, being born March 6, 1996!!)
He also got the Meet Record!!
He moved from 7th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others, to the top, where he's tied with 1 other!
On the World DDD, he becomes 6th A-T, tied with 7 others!!
He moves from 23rd A-T US, tied with 4 others, to 4th, where he's also tied with 4 others!
And he wasn't through yet!!
Watch the final of the Men's 200--with AWE!!
Not letting up for an instant--from the gun to the tape--Christian Coleman tore his feet around the banked oval in 20.11 seconds!!
SO close to the venerable American (and Meet) Record---so so close!!
Claiming the Junior Class record, and the Age 21 record, he's now 2nd A-T Collegiate, 2nd A-T US, and 3rd A-T World!!
But it was the depth that added to your amazement!
Behind Coleman came Jereem Richards, whose 20.34 at the SEC became worthless due to its being run on an OT!
He made up for it here!
His 20.31 was far behind Coleman, but he got a distinct honor even Coleman couldn't claim!
He broke the National Record of Trinidad--that having belonged to Ato Boldon, dating from 1997!!
He is 9th A-T Collegiate!
And 11th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Then came The Rapper, Just'N Thymes, who "rapped" out a 20.36 in 3rd!
He is 12th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others!
He's 13th A-T US, tied with 1 other!
And he's 19th A-T World, tied with 2 others!
Another who lost a great mark to the OT gods was Fred Kerley, 2017's INdoor 400 Master!
But here he ran even faster--with no help from an Oversize Track!
His 44.85 solo run in the final (after a heat of 45.10) did lots of things!
It gave him the Senior Class record, which had been his already!
He also broke his own Age 21 record!
On the various lists, he moved from 4th to 3rd A-T Collegiate, from 4th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to 3rd, and from 5th A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 4th!
In that heat, 2nd went to Kunle Fasasi's 45.57, which made him 21st A-T Collegiate!
The Women ran some fantastic times in the sprints also--one of which claimed its athlete a DQ!!
In the 200 heats, Deajah Stevens wanted to make a statement!
She did--except it came out for all the world to see--including the officials who see those things that DQ an athlete!
While sprinting once around in 22.28--which would have smashed the CR!--Stevens spread her talents into the lane inside of her--once too many times!!
So--for lane violations--that "CR" died!!
Maybe next time, Deajah!!
Meanwhile, the other Duck women did themselves proud!
In the 60 heats, Hannah Cunliffe cruised to a 7.13 win, with Stevens taking 3rd!
Between them came Javianne Oliver's 7.14, which made her 10th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others!
Stevens ran 7.17, making her 22nd A-T Collegiate, tied with 5 others!
The DQ, as noted, came in the 200 heats.
Ariana Washington won her section in 22.57 (after the DQ, that is!)
She moves from 24th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, to 9th!!
She also moves from 22nd A-T US to 10th, tied with 1 other.
And she becomes 22nd A-T World!
Hannah Cunliffe's 22.74 wasn't a PR.
Cunliffe took the final in an average (for her!) 7.14, with Stevens taking 5th in 7.22.
The 200 final was beautiful--for those "waddlers" from Ory-gun territory!
Ariana Washington took the Grand Prize with her PR of 22.42!
She claims the Junior Class record, as well as the Age 20 record!
She moves from 9th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, to 2nd!
She moves from 10th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to 3rd.
And she moves from 22nd A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 11th!!
Cunliffe was 2nd in 22.53.
She moves from 12th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, to 9th.
She gains 11th place on the US list, tied with 1 other, while ending in 22nd place on the World DDD, tied with 1 other!
Deanna Hill of USC got 3rd, just one watch tick behind Cunliffe, her 22.54 getting her 10th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, 11th A-T US, tied with 1 other, and 23rd A-T World, also tied with 1 other!!
Not needing the points at the end, the Duck Women ran the 4X400 Relay anyway!
And finished 2nd, losing their Collegiate Record in the process!!
In an amazing race--showing how DEEP the College scene is in the United States--here's the numbers!!
USC has muscle!!
Eeking out a win by 0.04 seconds over the Ducks, their 3:27.03 took 0.37 off Oregon's CR!!
They moved from 5th A-T School to 1st!
UO ran a spiffy 3:27.07, but their loss moved them DOWN the scale, from 1st to 2nd A-T School!!
Now get this!
All 12 finishers ran 3:32.34 or faster!!
Has there EVER been a race like this---anywhere??
Texas A&M got 3rd in 3:28.36
This moves them from 8th A-T School to 5th!
Alabama's 3:28.62 moves them from 9th to 6th A-T School!!
Baylor's 5th place 3:30.60 moves them from 16th A-T School to 12th!
Ohio State moves from 24th A-T School to 15th, off their 3:31.23!
No PR's for Miami (3:31.85), Florida (3:31.94), or South Carolina (3:32.14)!
But then we have Purdue's 3:32.34, which makes them 19th A-T School!
(BTW, three schools got the "same" time of 3:32.34--divided by thousandths of a second!!)
But no PR's were awarded for the 3:32.34's of Arkansas and LSU!!
The Men's 4X4 was good too!
The Home Boys won it, time of 3:02.86.
But if you've read my blog, you know that A&M had run faster--at least twice--albeit once on an OT!
So no PR, but their time gets them the Meet Record!
Florida finished 2nd in 3:03.52, while 2 others made my list, or changed their position on it!
Iowa's 3:05.60 was a PR by just 0.03 seconds, but it moved them from 19th A-T School, tied with 1 other, to 19th, but with no ties!!
In 8th, Alabama's 3:06.06 made them 24th A-T school!!
Sasha Wallace gave 10 more points to the Ducks, via her 60H win in 7.90!
But that wasn't her best time!
That came in the heats--where she won in 7.87!
This moved her from 8th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, to 3rd, tied with 2 others!
She also becomes 23rd A-T US!
Dewynne Charlton took 2nd in the heats with a non-PR 7.98!
But Anna Cockrell's 7.98 WAS a PR, giving her 19th place on the A-T Collegiate list, tied with 6 others!
Much more important, she now is the Frosh Class record holder!!
In the final, Charlton ran 7.93, moving her from 18th A-T Collegiate to 11th, tied with 2 others!
Pedrya Seymour's 7.97 moves her from 19th A-T Collegiate, tied with 6 others, to 19th, but with no ties!
Grant Holloway took the Men's 60H in a PR-tying 7.58.
The Multi's were great!
And Tim Duckworth is for real!
That said, the Brit (via his British parents!) lost!!
Leading by over 200 points after 6 events, he couldn't break 3 minutes in the 1000, while Devon Williams (Kendell's brother!) sped a low-2:40's, edging out the Brit, 6177 to 6165!!
For Williams, he becomes 4th A-T Collegiate, and 10th A-T US!
Duckworth breaks his own National Record of Great Britain--by about 200 points!
Ironic, eh, mate??
Anyway, he also moves from 16th A-T Collegiate to 6th, tied with 1 other!!
Karl Saluri took 3rd with 6051 points, making him 13th A-T Collegiate!
Hunter Price got 5996 points, making him 18th A-T Collegiate, and 21st A-T US!!
Lindon Victor had a great SP of around 55 feet, which helped give him a point total of 5976!
He's 21st A-T Collegiate!
Harrison (No relation!) Williams scored 5970 points,making him 23rd A-T Collegiate.
He also moves up one spot on the US list, from 24th to 23rd!
BTW, Harrison was moved OFF the list by Price's entrance, but then came back on!!
Kendell Williams ALMOST got her own Collegiate Record!
But her HJ ended well below her norm, so she lost just enough points to later deny her another CR!
Nonetheless, her 4682 score was impressive!
And--it gave her her FOURTH Collegiate Class Record, as she now owns ALL of them--plus two from her HS years!!
Taliyah Brooks also performed great, her new PR being 4580 points!
She moves from 8th A-T Collegiate to 4th!
And she moves from 12th to 8th on the A-T US list!!
Nina Schultz took 3rd with 4340 points, making this Canadian 23rd A-T Collegiate!
Michelle Atherley's 4319 points in 4th missed the Collegiate list by 20 points!
But she's now 22nd A-T US!!
In 6th, Stacy Destin's 4186 points included a HJ of 6-2.75!
This misses my Collegiate DDD by a mere quarter-inch!
In the actual HJ, she went over 6-1.50 for 4th in that event--an impressive performance!!
In the open HJ, Logan Boss took 3rd, also getting over 6-2.75!
She's a Junior at Mississippi State!
In case you're interested (HaHa!), Madeline Fagan WON the HJ with a solid 6-4!
She's now 11th A-T Collegiate, tied with 3 others, as well as 19th A-T US, tied with 1 other!!
The distances were good--and interesting!
Mr Edward Cheserek did NOT get the triple he went after, as he lost the Mile to Josh Kerr, a New Mexico Frosh, of all people---and by 2 whole seconds!!
But maybe Ches was tired after winning the 5000 the day before in 13:41 & change, and winning his Mile heat in 3:59.30!
Then he won the 3000 in 7:55 also!
(No leg on the DMR!!)
In the Women's 5000, the pace was pushed by Notre Dame's Anna Rohrer, who figured she'd steal it from flashy kicker Karissa Schweizer!
No dice, Anna!!
After leading Erin Finn and Schweizer for about 23 laps, Schweizer left both far behind, as she sprinted her final 400 in about 65 seconds, her time of 15:19.14 giving her the Junior Class record!!
She moves from 14th A-T Collegiate (from her race in December!!), to 9th!
She also moves from 22nd A-T US to 9th!
Finn stayed together to run a non-PR time of 15:27.36.
Rohrer finished in 15:29.83!
This moves her from 11th to 9th on the A-T Collegiate list!
And she moves up one spot on the A-T US list, from 18th to 17th!
Allie Bucharski's 15:41.69 misses my Collegiate DDD by 0.81 seconds, while Tessa Barrett's 15:42.29 misses that list by 1.41 seconds!
A shock winner came in the Women's Mile also!!
Ever hear of Samford College?
(No, it's NOT a misspelling of Stanford!! LOL)
Well, it's in Birmingham, Alabama!
And that's where the Mile winner--Karissa Nelson--matriculates--AND runs!!
Her 4:31.24 winner took the air out of the balloons of Elinor Purrier (2nd in 4:31.88) and Kaela Edwards (4th in 4:34.27)!!
Nelson becomes 15th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other.
She's in her Junior year at Stanf.....um, I mean SAMford!!
In other NCAA news---
Raevyn Rogers easily sprinted away from CR holder Jazmin Fray, as well as rising star Hanna Green in the 800!
Her 2:01.09 took down the NCAA Meet Record, though it wasn't a PR for her!
Green's 2:02.13 in 2nd moves her from 20th A-T Collegiate to 10th!
Shea Collinsworth ran 2:02.35, claiming 13th spot on the A-T Collegiate list!
Fray faded to 4th, but ran a decent 2:03.00.
Just 0.01 behind her, Ruby Stauber's 2:03.01 claimed the Freshman Class record!!
It also makes her 19th A-T Collegiate!
Chased OFF my Collegiate list was the historic Delisa Walton (Floyd), whose 2:03.24 dated from 1983!!
The Men's 800 was a snoozer, considering there were TWO one-time CR holders, and one one-time WR holder among the finalists!!
Emmanuel Korir got the win in 1:47.83.
Dani Jones took the 3000 in 9:09.21, with Karissa Schweizer and Katie Rainsberger finishing with the number 9:09 to their credit too!
Keturah Orji took just 2 of her 6 rounds to claim an easy TJ win--but no records this time.
Her 46-3.25 was sufficient to beat Yanis David's 45-1.75!
Trey Culver and Kyle Landon both HJ'ed 7-5, with Culver getting the W.
Clive Pullen "pulled" out a TJ win with his 55-3.75!
Shakima Wimbley took the 400 in 51.07, which just squeaked past Kendell Ellis's 51.07!!
For Wimbley, this moves her from 16th A-T Collegiate to 13th, and from 19th A-T US to 12th!
Ellis moves from 19th A-T Collegiate to 13th, where she's "tied" with Wimbley!
She's also tied with Wimbley on the US list--in 12th place!
BTW, Ellis had run 51.59 in her heat, first reaching that 19th spot!
Sage Watson PR'ed in 3rd, her 51.84 missing my Collegiate DDD by 0.07 seconds!
Johnnie Jackson took the Men's WT with 75-0.75!
Grant Cartwright was 2nd with 74-5.25, while Olympian Rudy Winkler was 4th, and 2017 newcomer Gleb Dudarov finished 6th, reaching just 72-1!
Freshman shudders??
KeAndre Bates won the LJ with 26-4.50, while Grant Holloway maybe got those Frosh shudders also, as he ended just 11th, jumping only 24-10!
(Though he recovered--See above!--to win the 60H!)
Mostafa Hassan didn't PR, but his 69-9.50 was an easy winner for him in the Shot Put!
The DMR's were taken by Ole Miss's 9:31.32, with Virginia Tech's 9:33.05 taking 2nd, while the Women's race saw Colorado's 3000 winner Dani Jones sprinting ahead to give her team the win, time of 11:00.34!
They became 16th A-T School!!
But---IMHO!--there's a bit of a question about the split given to Notre Dame's 8th place time of 11:05.76!
NOT their time, or their place, but about the 1600 split given to their anchor, Jessica Harris!
While Dani Jones anchored Colorado with a 4:31.16 split, Harris--whom I'd never heard of before!--was said to have run 4:27.01 for her anchor leg!!
4:27.01--not much slower than the Mile CR of Jenny (Barringer) Simpson!
Or the time Kaela Edwards ran earlier this season!
So should we believe that ND's 800 woman ran a jogger's 2:15 for her 800, while this previous 4:40-type Miler suddenly skips to a 4:27??
If I discover anything different, I'll let you know!!
I'm almost finished--but I think you'll find the rest of my report interesting!
ANOTHER Collegiate Record almost fell!!
The Women's LJ--while not matching the SEC event (See my post about that!)--did deliver a whopper for the winner!
Sha'Keela Saunders leapt 22-7.75, falling just one-quarter inch shy of tying the CR of 22-8!!
She also missed the Senior Class record by the same frustrating amount!!
However, Saunders moves from 5th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, to 3rd!
Quanesha Burks jumped 22-0.75 for 2nd, but it wasn't a PR.
FINALLY--WHEW!--the PV's!!
The Men's was won by Chris Nilsen, with a height of 18-8.25.
He then missed his 3 tries at 19-0.75!
But it was the Women's Vault that delighted some, and puzzled many!!
What happened with Lexi and Tori, the Weeks twins?
Both of them 15 footers, Tori could reach just 14-1.25, while Olympian Lexi couldn't get past her 13-9.25!!
They finished 5th and 8th, respectively!!
In their "absence" (Well, not literally! LOL), Lakan Taylor and Annie Rhodes led the bar-toppers!
Both getting over 14-7.25, Taylor won by virtue of fewer misses!
They're both now 17th A-T Collegiate, tied with 8 others, including each other!!
Olivia Gruver took 3rd with her 14-5.25!
Lucy Bryan got a PR with her 4th place mark of 14-5.25!
I'll be back tomorrow with my report on the NBIN meet!
I have LOTS to report already, so determinant on how much MORE of note happens in its last day, I'll decide whether to divide it into TWO posts--one for each gender!
Hope you don't mind the length here, but I just didn't feel I had enough for 2 posts!!
(Gee, Gosh, maybe I DID!! Hee Hee!!)
See you tomorrow!
(Be sure to watch the all-day livestream--on ESPN3--beginning at 5 a.m., Pacific time this morning!!)
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