NCAA--Passion, Prescience, POW! (Part 2)

Do you think I gave you ALL the "good" stuff in the 1st part?
Think again!
OK, so I did report all of the CR's already, but believe me, I have TONS more goodies for you!
Sit back and enjoy!

The Women's 10000 started a bit slow, but unlike the Men, they quickly picked it up, though still running at less than Meet Record pace.
Anna Rohrer doesn't mind leading, and that's what she did through the 5000 in a steady 16:28..
They'd need to hit 16 flat for the 2nd half to match Sylvia Mosqueda's 1988 MR (which, as I've often told you, I was blessed to witness first-hand!!).
But the 79's kept going, with Alice Wright emerging as the new leader, as Rohrer began a fade!
Charlotte Taylor, a San Francisco Stater via Great Britain, shadowed Wright and Sharon Lokedi, the 3 of them breaking away.
When the bell rang, Taylor sprinted past into a lead she would only widen to the tape!
Her 32:38.57 won by 4 seconds over Wright's 32:42.64, and Lokedi's 32:46.10.
Alyssa Snyder of Montana State also got under 33, running 32:58.31.
Chelsea Blaase was 7th in 33:06, while Rohrer ended in 16th in 33:56.
(She spoke of an illness---can't recall the details!)

Three finals pretty much went by the books---and the memories--of most!
Christoff Bryan took a nondescript HJ with his 7-3 winner!
Filip Mihaljevic's 6th round DT of 209-2 made him the winner.
A surprise in 2nd, as one of the Jager brothers (Reggie) hit 205-1.
Brian Williams could reach just 196-8, ending in 4th!
KeAndre Bates had to come from behind to win the TJ, but his windy 55-0 passed Clive Pullen's early-leading (and legal) 54-5.50!

Seven of the 8 teams in the Men's 4X100 Relay final finished in 38.82 or faster!!
Houston came out on top with their School Record 38.34!
They remain 6th A-T School!
Auburn ran 38.48, beating North Carolina A&T's 38.57.
Texas A&M ran 38.72, nipping their in-state rival Texas by 0.01, with Oregon coming 6th in 38.81, 0.01 before Arkansas!

The Men's 1500 started slow, and stayed that way until the bell, when the entire pack took off.
Josh Kerr--this year's "find"--got in front and stayed there, winning in 3:43.03.

The 3000SC was all Edwin Kibichiy.
He took the lead early (when THIS race started too slow also!), sped things up, and was an easy (and "prescient") winner, time of 8:28.40.
Darren Fahy (8:31.08), Dylan Blankenbaker (8:31.17), and MJ Erb (8:32.38) were also speedy.
Bailey Roth was in good position early, but faded to 11th, time of 8:48.70.

Running against a 2.0 wind, Grant Holloway showed why he might be a HUGE star in the future--the immediate future!!--as he won the 110H in 13.49.
Reuben Walters was 2nd in 13.54.
Remember, this was INTO a 2.0 wind!!

Also running "against the wind" (A GREAT song by Bob Seger!!) were the Men's 100 finalists!
Expecting to see Christian Coleman possibly run FASTER than his Semi of 9.82, we instead saw him battling a negative wind of 2.1.
Thus his time of 10.04, with Cameron Burrell in 2nd with 10.12.

Another we hoped to see break his own CR was Fred Kerley in the 400 final.
But maybe he was saving something for the 4X400 Relay---or maybe it was too  hard to run against that wind on the backstretch!
Anyway, his 44.10 looked ridiculously easy, as 2nd took 44.69 (Nathan Allen).
Michael Cherry ran 44.77, while Michael Norman PR'ed again, this time a 44.88.

Emmannuel Korir was yet one more thought to have a chance to bring home a Collegiate Record, but a slow first lap of 51.8 put paid to that idea!
He loped home in 1:45.03, beating the 1:45.40 of Isaiah Harris, and the 1:45.73 of Joseph White.

Want another example of my "prescience"?
(OK, so you DON'T!!)
But I said that Rai Benjamin might win the 400H.
Well, he ALMOST won!
Eric Futch just edged him out at the line, 48.32 to 48.33!!
Futch makes my Collegiate DDD in 9th place!
Benjamin is 10th A-T Collegiate!
This race had good depth too.
Kemar Mowatt ran 48.49 in 3rd, making him 17th A-T Collegiate.
Kenny Selmon's 48.60 in 4th misses the list by just 0.02 seconds!!

Knocked OFF the list was a Drake Relays legend--Joey Woody--whose 48.58 dated from 1997!!

Think Mr Coleman had a strong wind to fight against in the 100--at 2.1?
How about a THREE point one in the 200??
Despite that negative force, the Bob Hayes clone Christian sped 20.25 for the win, with Nathaneel Mitchell-Blake coming close with 20.29!

From the sublime to the ridiculous!
I'm almost embarrassed to report about the Men's 5000.
Their first 1000 took 3:10!!
(I wrote on the T&FN MB that they should have brought in Helen Obiri--or even Konstanze Klosterhalfen--as rabbits!)
It took about 9 laps before they woke up--and even then they hit just 63's.
But here's 1 more example of my prognosticating prescience!
I said Grant Fisher would win--and his 55.76 final 400--and 1:58.68 last 800--did the trick.
Jack Bruce (a famous name, and now a fast & smartly coiffed & bearded runner) was a shocking 2nd, with favored Justyn Knight taking the Bronze!

The Men ended their meet with another sub-3:00 by Fred Kerley's Texas A&M squad in the 4X400 Relay!
Their 2:59.98 was slightly slower than the semi, but handily beat Arkansas's School Record of 3:01.84.
They move from 24th A-T School, tied with 1 other, to 19th!
Third place Iowa--with all undergraduates!--ran 3:01.91, becoming 20th A-T School!!
Florida and Texas Tech both ran in the 3:02's in 4th & 5th!

The Heptathlon started off good for Kendell Williams, but weather conditions held her 1st day score below her PR pace!
Despite a decent 2nd day, she ended with 6265 points, easily turning back Nina Schultz's 5959.
Taliyah Brooks took 3rd with 5795, while Payton Stumbaugh DNF'ed!!

The Women's HJ was a bit better than expected--at least by the top pair!
Madeline Fagan and Tatiana Gusin both cleared 6-3.25, but Fagan won on fewer misses!
They both missed their 3 attempts at 6-4.25!
For each, they're 22nd A-T Collegiate, tied with 3 others, including each other!

Shadae Lawrence came through with her 6th round 201-4 to take the win in the DT.
Maggie Ewen (who also placed in the SP--besides breaking the CR in the Hammer!) took 2nd with 197-2, beating one of the favorites, Kellion Knibb, who could reach just 194-2.

Keturah Orji ho-hummed her way through a pedestrian TJ, winning with a commonplace (for her!!) 46-10.75--which was windy!
Her best legal mark was 45-11.75!
No one else was close!

Lacking the drama (and the anticipation of a Showdown at the NCAA Corral!!) that woulda/coulda/shoulda been IF UO and LSU hadn't gotten lost getting here--the Women's 4X100 Relay final was, well, anticlimactic.
Kentucky won it in 42.51, moving them from 6th A-T School to 4th!
Alabama took 2nd in 42.56, moving them from 9th A-T School to 5th!
Florida's 42.73 in 3rd missed their School Record by just 0.01 seconds!!
San Diego State and Clemson were further back in 4th and 5th!

Like the Men's 1500, the Women's final started slow, as they hit the 800 in about 2:17.
But unlike the Men, this one produced a shocker at the finish line!!
No one---myself, T&FN, etc etc--saw Michigan's Jaimie Phelan as a likely winner--or even PLACER!!
Not only that, she was in LAST place at the bell!!
(OK, so 1st to last spread was less than the length of my studio apartment!!)
Anyway, Phelan sped from last to 1st, outkicking everyone to win in 4:13.78!!
Her final lap was 64 and change!
Nikki Hiltz was 2nd, while UO's star Frosh Katie Rainsberger took 4th!!

The Women's 3000SC was incredible!!
Yes, I favor the distances--but only when they're RACED--and not jogged!!
This one had it all!
While Elinor Purrier was favored, as she was one of the few really experienced Steeplers in this field, she appeared tired early.
Her 5-1 (or less??) height hidden among the masses, Alaskan Allie Ostrander suddenly took the lead with a K to go!
Only in her 4th-ever Steeple, she nonetheless looked like---Shall I say it??--a PRO, as she cleanly got over each hurdle and water jump, leading to an all-out sprint to the tape, and yet another PR!!

Her 9:41.31 missed the Frosh Class record by 0.33 seconds!!
(She's a 2nd year Frosh, as she redshirted last year!)
She's 13th A-T Collegiate, but said afterward she probably WON'T race anymore this year, as she doesn't want to risk injury before XC begins!!

My Preview said "Watch for Maddie Boreman as a possible shocker!".
This was back when her PR was about 10:05, and she was another near-rookie in the SC world!
But I knew of her fast HS times in the (UGH!) 3200 and 1600, and I knew she was one of "my kind"--a fast times-seeking runner!!
So I said what I said!
And she came through, running another PR--9:46.48--to take 2nd to Ostrander!!
Boreman is now 24th A-T Collegiate!!
Tori Gerlach's 9:46.76 in 3rd misses my Collegiate DDD by 0.28 seconds!
Purrier was 4th in 9:48.26!

Things got even better with the 100H final!!
While the Top 3 were all "foreigners" (although JCQ being Puerto Rican qualifies her as an American, at least for citizenship purposes!!), this was a warning shot to the World that the Women's 100H fields will be STACKED well into the future, and that the current group of Profeshes better watch out for these wannabe's!!

Using a legal, but good 1.6 wind, Tobi Amusan's 12.57 JUST nipped JCQ's 12.58 at the line!!
For Amusan--a Nigerian--this moves her from 9th A-T Collegiate, to 4th!!
It also breaks her own Soph Class Record!!
For Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, this breaks her own National Record of Puerto Rico, and moves her from 13th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, to 5th!
Rushelle Burton's 12.65 took 3rd, and is the new Frosh Class Record!!
She's now 11th A-T Collegiate!!
UO's Alaysha Johnson ran 12.72--a non-PR--in 4th!
Dewynne Charlton sped 12.74 in 5th, making her 23rd A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!!
The last 3 weren't exactly walking!!
Sasha Wallace ran 12.81, edging Dior Hall's 12.82 for 6th, with Anna Cockrell bringing up the rear in a good 12.91!!

BTW, to avoid the strong ANTI-winds the Men suffered with the day before, they moved the Women's sprint finals to the other side, so they'd (hopefully!) have winds WITH them!!
This helped Mikiah Brisco to surprise the strong 100 field, as she won in 10.96, wind of 0.3!
She's 5th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others!!
Deajah Stevens was 2nd in 11.04, with Teahna Daniels (11.06), Ariana Washington (11.09), and slightly favored Aleia Hobbs coming in 5th in 11.12!

Chrisann Gordon took the reins in the 400, but couldn't match her 50.39 Semi time, as she won in 50.51.
Shakima Wimbley was 2nd in 50.68, while Kendell Ellis (who would later play a profound role in the climactic 4X400 Relay!!) was next in 51.06.

Another who starred in the last event was Raevyn Rogers, but not before she easily won HER race--the 800--in 2:00.02.
She's beginning to remind me of Ajee Wilson, as they both make fast times look easy, and both were early phenoms who never slowed up!!
Hanna Green was 2nd in a non-PR of 2:01.32.
But 3rd was the Semi-shocker Brooke Feldmeier--her bright yellow hair flowing as she hit yet another PR--2:01.54, missing my Collegiate DDD by 0.17 seconds!!
(And scoring a valuable 6 points for the Ducks!!)

Sage Watson PR'ed with her 400H winner of 54.52.
She moves from 20th A-T Collegiate, to 12th!!
USC Frosh Anna Cockrell was 2nd in 55.36--not a PR, as she ran 55.20 in HS last year!!

I already reported the final event--the Women's CR-breaking 4X400 Relay, but here's the last event of this 2-part post!!
Allie Ostrander had rested (??) for about 2 hours after her victorious SC run!
But here she was, in 4th or 5th halfway through the 5000!!
Could she pull off a double??
Sorry, but no--not with the outstanding Karissa Schweizer in the lead, and in COMMAND!!
Running with the composure of a certain Champion, Schweizer's feared closing kick wasn't necessary, as her lead was more than enough cushion for her to celebrate her victory before the tape!!
The time wasn't spectacular--15:38.93--but her almost-5 second margin of victory was!

And to add to the excitement was having a TOTAL unknown finish 2nd!!
A Junior at Eastern Michigan, Alsu Bogdanova ran 15:43.84 to stun everyone!!
(She was nowhere to be found on T&FN's 2017 list, nor on any pre-meet formchart!!)
Katherine Receveur was 3rd in 15:44.80, while the marvelous Ostrander was 4th in 15:46.18!
Fiona O'Keefe--another Frosh--was 5th in 15:46.93!

And that's a wrap, my friends!!
But don't fret, as you'll be getting a THIRD post--probably early tomorrow!--which will cover the Rome DL, the Portland Track Festival, and several other interesting meets from around the World!!

See you soon!!