Serious Stuff Early

No rust-busting THIS year!!
The 2017 OUTdoor season is up and running--and throwing--and jumping---early!
Normally, the really serious stuff waits until the weekend of the Texas Relays--at least!
But here we are--10 days from that prestigious meet's opening day--and I already have a long list of Top 24 marks, and a few records, to report!
If you've followed the sport for awhile, you'll be surprised at the volume of quality marks already in!

It began in South Africa, where their summer season is just closing down!
Luvo Manyonga had already LJ'ed close to the National Record!
Now he owns it!
His astounding 28-3.50 (8.62) is reportedly the longest LJ (sic!) since 2009---meaning OF this decade!!
Besides his NR, he now ranks 12th A-T World!!
No Age 25 record, however!
He'll have to add about 4 inches for that!

Another great mark emerging from SA was the 9.92 (1.7 wind) 100 of Akani Simbine, that nation's best sprinter--WVN notwithstanding!!
Second was Thando Roto, his 9.95 his 1st dip under the 10 second barrier!

Several High Schoolers segued from INdoors to OUTdoors with ease, already rewriting my HS Record Book in abundance!

As Candace Hill is our only remaining member of the exclusive HS PRO Club, it's only natural she'd be setting, or breaking, records!
At a meet at Georgia Tech, she sped a 200 in 22.76 (wind of 0.5), breaking Kaylin Whitney's 12th Grade HS PRO Class Record of 22.84 from last year!
Then she popped a 400 in 52.94, establishing a HS PRO record for that event, as Whitney hadn't run one, while Hill ran one this year, but INdoors!  (See an earlier post!)
She also gets the HS PRO 12th Grade record for that distance!

Tyrese Cooper exploded out of the walls of various INdoor arenas into the sunshine and breezes of OUTdoor tracks with 2 exciting marks!
His 20.55 in the 200--wind of just 0.2--broke the Soph Class record of the venerable Noah Lyles, set just 3 years ago!
It makes him 19th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
In his FIRST OUTdoor race of 2017!!!

But he wasn't done!
(He rarely is, as he loves to double and triple in all his meets!!)
He did one lap in 46.16.
Not a PR, and no record, but not bad--to say the least--for this time of year--whether you're a Collegian or a Pro--but especially not bad if you're just a 16 year old HS kid!!
(He'll be 17 in 2 days!!)

Symone Mason used the Bob Hayes meet (Where else?) as HER stomping grounds!
And STOMP she did!!
Her opening shot was an 11.24 Century, wind of 0.9!
This makes her 17th A-T HS, tied with 2 others!
Then she popped a 200 (1.6) in 23.00!!
That mark leaves her 23rd A-T HS!!
TWO list-making marks in HER first OUTdoor meet!!

But her 100 did something more!
It erased the names of 2 iconic & historic names FROM my DDD!!
Allyson Felix ran that 22.11 in Mexico City, still the HSR!
But her 100 best in HS wasn't of the same quality!
Her 11.29 from 2003 no longer resides on my list!

Neither does the 11.29 of Margaret Bailes.
Huh?
Who is she?
In 1968, Ms Bailes, then 17 years old, was a member of the Gold medal-winning 4X100 team from the United States in the Mexico City Olympics!
She then ran for Churchill HS in Eugene OR!
And she RETIRED immediately after the OG!!
She now lives in the Bronx (NY), and is 66 years old!!
(Thank you, Wikipedia!  LOL)

I don't keep 300H records or lists, but I need to report the time of Thomas Burns!
He's the Frosh Class record holder--with his 37.22 from 2015.
Now he's run 36.12, which just happens to be 0.20 faster than ANYone ran that event in all of 2016!!
In HIS first OUTdoor race of 2017!
(At least, I THINK it's his first race--although he might have rust-busted earlier!)

Turner Washington threw the Discus 211-1 at the Willie Williams Classic, missing the HS list by just 4 inches!!

Still with the HS'ers, the much-ballyhooed Men's 5000 at the Texas Distance Festival--Ballyhooed by Flotrack, that is!--wasn't a dud--by any stretch!--but it definitely was NOT at the level Flotrack'ers predicted!

Cooper Teare--hot off a fast Mile at NBIN--took the race in 14:13.26, giving him 19th place on the A-T HS list, that list's first entry since 2013!
Connor Lane was 2nd in 14:17.89, but he misses my DDD by 2.34 seconds!
Noah Affolder ran 14:18.26 in 3rd.
This race had good depth, with 7 guys getting in under 14:30!!
(We don't expect times like these until the Arcadia meet, normally!)
Knocked OFF my list was the historic name of Ralph Serna, whose 14:16.2 was run in 1974!

Rachel Baxter had to wait for OUTdoors to get back over 14-0 in the PV.
She reached exactly that height, but no PR for the Senior Vaulter!

Maggie Ewen had a good 2016, PR'ing in the HT at 231-3.
Well, she has a new PR!
In HER first OUTdoor effort, she swung the ball and chain out 238-6 from the ring, giving her the Collegiate Junior Class record, even though she appears to be redshirting, as she competed as unattached!
She moves from 6th to 2nd on the A-T Collegiate list!
And she moves from 15th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to 8th!!

That was at the Baldy Castillo meet in Arizona!
There were several other good marks from that meet!

Kori Carter (known as @KoriMonster on Twitter!) had a productive early meet!!
She ran the 100H in 12.78, wind of 0.6!
She also ran a PR in the 200, time of 23.07 (wind legal)!

Georgeanne Moline opened with a solid 51.93 in a 400 at Tucson's Willie Williams Classic!
(Please excuse an earlier version of this post, wherein yours truly made a GRIEVOUS error---mistaking Moline's 51.93 for one I'd IMAGINED I'd seen tweeted as being by Kori Carter!! Wrong person, wrong meet!!  See above!)

Morgann LeLeux got a PR by 0.50 inches in her PV opener!
Her 15-1.50 moves her from 17th A-T US, tied with 7 (!) others, to 15th, tied with 2 others.

Kristina Owsinski is coming back, her opener of 13-11.25 as proof.
Chris Nilsen went over 18-6.50 as his rust-buster!
Another PV'er to answer the call early was UT-Arlington Frosh Helen Felda, as she PV'ed 13-9.75, a PR.

Matthew O'Neal is suddenly a 56-2 TJ'er at age 22!!
He missed the US list by 2.75 inches!
The wind was 1.4.

Liguelin Santos ran a 600 in Puerto Rico in 1:15.90, defeating Ryan Sanchez's 1:16.29.

Blair Henderson opened with a fast (for mid-March!!) 800 of 1:47.58 at the Louisiana Classic!
He also ran the 1500 in 3:47 and change!
He's an LSU Senior!

LSU's Women's 4X100 Relay team produced a quick opener of 43.12!
Texas A&M's Men ran their 4X100 in 39.13.
USC's Men's 4X400 squad won their race at the Trojan Invite in 3:06.57.
(The Trojans also ran the 4X100 in 39.31!)
But the Professional Altis team sped a 3:01.02 at Baldy Castillo!!
That team had Bralon Taplin on 2nd leg, and was anchored by Deon Lendore!!
A&M finished 2nd in 3:05.72, while Iowa was 3rd in 3:06.28, all solid (VERY-) early season times!

Amelie Iuel had a good day at the Trojan Invite!
She ran a 200 in 23.46.
But her 51.81 in the 400 is the National Record of Norway, a record that was 25 years old!!
(One of her parents is half Norwegian!!)

Also running fast there was Kendell Ellis, who sped the 200 in 22.79, wind of 1.5.

Matti Martinsen, a Junior at North Dakota State, threw the Javelin 253-1, for a Collegiate leader!
Kyle Long had a DT of 206-0.50.
He's an ASU Senior.

Brooke Andersen, an NAU Junior, had a HT of 221-3, making her 22nd A-T Collegiate!
Audrey Malone had a good JT of 181-8, though it's not a PR!
Finally--in the field events department--Valerie Allman had a DT opener of 202-3, a PR by 9 inches!!
But she remains 23rd A-T US!

Other interesting running marks included--
Mike Berry's 46.05 in the 400, as well as a 21.26 in the 200.
Natoya Goule doing the 400 in 53.41, but also moving a bit out of her comfort zone for a 1500 in 4:26.89!
She added an anchor leg for a 4X400 team that ran 3:39.25!
And Zola Pieterse--who used to be Zola Budd!!--ran a track 10000 in 37:30.84!
She's now 50 years old!!

I'll close with a report from this morning's NYC Half-Marathon!
And despite it having snowed yesterday, and with the temperature at 33 degrees at race's start--the NY Sanitation Department spent all night clearing the race course of snow and ice!!--the races were pretty damn fast!!

Callum Hawkins, the fast-rising British star--He'd run a Half in 60:00!!--led much of the way, with Ethiopian expatriot Feyisa Lilesa on his back!
Their first 10K was a safe 28:46 against the weather!
But when they warmed up, they split a 28:12 for their 2nd 10K, passing 20K in 56:58!
Then Lilesa made a move, opening a couple of meters gap on the Brit!
But Hawkins didn't fade, and it then came down to a final straightaway (150 meters) sprint to the tape!
Lilesa prevailed--putting up his now-normal crossed-arms symbol of solidarity with his fellow Ethiopians--but just so!
He won it in 60:04, with Hawkins running a solid 60:08.
Stephen Sambu was 4th in 60:55, with first American Chris Derrick running 61:12 in 6th!!
Noah Droddy and Diego Estrado followed in 7th and 8th, both a few seconds under 62 minutes!
Forty year old Abdi Abdirahman finished in 15th place, time of 63:22.

Molly Huddle did it again!
She won her 3rd straight NYC Half, though the weather prevented any record for her!
Huddle and recent new sometime-training partner Emily Sisson ran side by side through almost the entire race!
In her first venture over the distance, Sisson--who's been HOT on the Roads in recent months--gave Huddle a run for her money--literally!!
In fact, the camera angle (WHEN they focused on the Women's leaders!!) appeared to show Sisson slightly ahead of Huddle!!
But only by half a step--if that!
At the end, though, it was the Huddle Hammer that won the day--and the race!
(I tweeted to my Twitter Model/Runner friend Aysha Mirza that when Huddle puts the hammer down, the nail is driven right through the wall!!  LOL)
Huddle's time was a great 68:19--considering the conditions--and the early slow pace!

They went through 5000 in 16:59--not much under 1:12 pace!!
Picking it up to 16:28, they hit 10K in 33:27!
Then they REALLY picked it up--throwing in a 15:42 split!
(Sisson's track 10K PR is 31:38!!)
Keep that last fact in mind a bit longer, please!
They hit 20K in 64:49!
That means Huddle's (AND Sisson's!!!) SECOND 10000 was run in 31:22!!
If the course was accurate--and the NYRR makes sure of that!!--Sisson beat her track PR by about 16 seconds---in the SECOND 10K of a race run in almost-freezing temperatures, on a road just hours earlier cleared of snow and ice!!
Absolutely amazing!!

Huddle's 68:19 beat Sisson's debut time of 68:21 with her final sprint.
Diane Nukuri took 3rd in 69:13, with 37 year old Edna Kiplagat timing 69:37 in 4th!
Amy Cragg finished just one second behind Kiplagat, with Swedish rookie Sarah Lahti running 69:58 in 6th.
Des Linden was a far back 7th in 1:11:05!

Next post, as promised earlier---but slightly delayed LOL---will be my Age Records Predictions, followed by my Predictions for which WR's, AR's, CR's, and HSR's might be broken this OUTdoor season!
Which has quite obviously already gotten quite serious!!