Finally!!
Sorry for the delay!
Guidelines are simple--
ALL marks are OUTdoors!
The Collegiate season ENDS when the final event of the NCAA Championship meet is completed!
NO marks made by Collegiates after the meet are eligible for consideration!!
I'll do the Men first.
There were FOUR Collegiate Records by the Men this year!
Christian Coleman ran 9.82 in the 100.
Fred Kerley blasted a 400 in 43.70.
Lindon Victor scored 8539 points in the Decathlon.
And the Texas A&M Sprint Medley Relay team ran 3:11.94!
Class Records went to Nathon Allen's 44.52 as a Frosh.
To Josh Kerr's 1500 of 3:35.99 as a Soph.
Coleman's 9.82 is the sole Junior Class record!
Kerley's 400 & Victor's Dec are the Senior Class records!!
NCAA Meet Records went to Coleman's 9.82 and Ionnis Kyriazis's JT of 270-11.
CHRISTIAN COLEMAN is the Aaron K's T&F Record Book's Athlete of the Year for the 2017 OUTdoor season!!
He didn't win this as easily as he won his races this year!
After all, Fred Kerley's 43.70 (in a HEAT!!) took 0.30 off the previous CR--and of course was the first sub-44 by a Collegiate (not counting marks AFTER the NCAA meet!!).
Lindon Victor's 8539 Dec was his 2nd of 3 this season!
All were high-scoring!
You also had Emmanuel Korir's spectacular 1st year at UTEP in both the 800 & 400!
But when the fog drifted off, there was the smallish dynamo with the initials of CC standing VERY tall!!
But all of the other above-named get & deserve Honorable Mentions!!
More HM's go to Josh Kerr, Justyn Knight & Kyriazis!
Note that FIVE of the six HM's last names begin with K!!
The Performance of the Year was a tough decision to make!
Sure, Coleman's 100 time was GREAT, but isn't also Kerley's 43.70, or Victor's 8539??
Or even Kyriazis's early season 288-9 in the Javelin?
I chose Kerley's 43.70 as my POY!
As noted, it came in a heat.
The fact that he ran several other fast times adds luster!
Also, he broke the CR by a larger percentage of margin than Coleman did---though true mathematicians might tell me I'm wrong!!
If Korir had run his PR of 1:43.10 DURING the season, the award might have gone to him!!
BTW, Coleman had a pair of marks under consideration---his 200 time of 19.85 being the other!
All the above named get HM's, including Coleman for his 200!
As noted in my HS post, my Event of the Year goes to the event with the most 2017 marks on my various DDD's!
We had a TIE this year!
With 5 marks each were the 100 and the 4X100 Relay!
(Goes hand in hand---just as the BATON is supposed to in the sprint Relay!! LOL)
Four marks each included the DMR and the 400H.
The 200, 400, Decathlon, and the 4X400 Relay had 3 marks apiece.
With a pair were the 800, PV, SP, and the HT.
The 1500, 5000, DT, and JT have just 1 each.
Striking out were the Mile, 10000, 3000SC, 110H, HJ, LJ, and TJ!
My Personality of the Year goes to someone I've often been critical of here!
ED CHESEREK ran too many races in his Collegiate career for medals or points, NOT time!!
But you can't deny the power of his presence---especially when he was ABSENT!!
Injured in May, he was forced to skip the NCAA's, thus ending his career with "just" 17 Golds for Oregon, IN & OUT!
It was then that I realized what he meant to Collegiate T&F---not just in 2017, but in the 3 years prior!
His athletic skills may not have been present in Eugene in June, but King Ches was!
Following are all the athletes with marks on my Collegiate OUTdoor Top 24 Performers list!
Events not listed have ZERO!
100---Coleman (9.82--CR--1st), Burrell (9.93--6th, tied with 4 others), Belcher (9.93--6th, tied with 4 others), Skeen (9.98--19th, tied with 2 others), Mitchell-Blake (9.99--22nd, tied with 3 others)
200---Coleman (19.85--2nd), Richards (19.97--10th, tied with 1 other), Belcher (20.01--14th)
400---Kerley (43.70--CR--1st), N Allen (44.52--13th), E Korir (44.53--14th, tied with 1 other)
800---E Korir (1:43.73--2nd), I Harris (1:45.12--20th, tied with 1 other)
1500--Kerr (3:35.99--6th)
5000--Knight (13:17.51--5th)
400H--Futch (48.32--9th), Benjamin (48.33--10th), Mowatt (48.49--17th), B Robinson (48.58--23rd, tied with 2 others)
PV---Nilsen (18-9.50--12th), Laidig (18-8.25--19th, tied with 7 others)
SP---Hassan (69-11--16th), Miheljevic (69-10.25--17th)
DT--B Williams (213-8--16th)
JT--Kyriazis (288-9--2nd)
HT--Dudarev (243-5--19th), A Young (241-8--24th, tied with 1 other)
Dec--Victor (8539--CR--1st), D Williams (8345--6th), Wieland (8201--18th)
4X100--Houston (38.34--6th), NC A&T (38.48--9th), Texas (38.68--16th), UO (38.76--20th), Ohio St (38.92--23rd)
4X400--Arkansas (3:01.84--19th), Iowa (3:01.91--20th), Auburn (3:02.10-22nd, tied with 1 other)
DMR--Middle Tenn (9:33.25--14th), Penn (9:33.35--16th), Columbia (9:34.92--18th), Buffalo (9:35.72--20th)
Onward to the Women!!
Collegiate Records were numerous on the Women's side--with Relays leading the charge!!
UO's Ducks garnered FOUR of them--42.12 in the 4X100 (later tied!), 1:28.78 in the 4X200, 3:23.13 in the 4X400, and 3:39.05 in the SMR!!
(The latter lasted all of FOUR MINUTES!!! See my earlier post for details of that tumultuous day of SMR Record-breaking!!)
LSU tied UO's 4X100 mark.
And Texas A&M was the squad that took over from UO with their SMR time of 3:39.04!!
Individual CR's went to Raevyn Rogers's 1:59.10 in the 800, to Kyra Jefferson's 22.02 in the 200, and to Maggie Ewen's HT of 240-7!!
So there were NINE CR's set this season!
Class Records went to--
Katie Rainsberger's 4:11.58 in the 1500, Rochelle Burton's 12.65 in the 100H, Kate Hall's 22-1 LJ (but tied with 1 other!), and Nina Schultz's 6021 Heptathlon all got Frosh Class records!
The lone Soph Class mark went to Tobi Amusan's 12.57 in the 100H.
Junior Class records go to Aleiah Hobbs's 10.85, Deajah Stevens's 22.09 in the 200, Rogers's 1:59.10 two-lapper, Keturah Orji's 46-11.50 TJ, and Ewen's 240-7!
Jefferson's 22.02 was the only Senior Class record!
There were a trio of Meet Records at the NCAA's--
Jefferson's 200, Ewen's HT, and the Ducks 4X400 Relay mark!
My policy is to omit Relays for consideration for "Athlete" of the Year!
After all, FOUR athletes comprise a Relay team!
So while the quality--AND the quantity!--of CR's in the Relays were stupifying, I decided to stick to my policy!
Thus, KYRA JEFFERSON is my 2017 Collegiate Athlete of the Year!!
Since I give highest consideration to those who break records in one of my 4 core groups (World, US, Collegiate, HS), I basically had 3 athletes from which to choose!
I went with Jefferson (over Rogers & Ewen) because that 22.02 broke one of the most respected (& oldest!!) CR's on the books--Dawn Sowell's 22.04 from 1989!!
And it came in a race that was thrilling to watch!
The rest of her season wasn't much to speak of, but that one race--in the most important meet of the year--tipped the scales to Ms Jefferson!
HM's go to Rogers, Ewen, Amusan, Hobbs, as well as to neophyte Steeplechaser Allie Ostrander, Jamaica's new SP find Danielle Thomas, and to Anna Rohrer!
Again, my Performance of the Year goes to Jefferson's half-lapper!!
For the reasons mentioned above!
HM's go to Ewen, Hobbs, Ostrander, and TWO for Rogers, whose 4X400 Relay leg of 49.77 powered the Ducks to a thrilling win in the NCAA's final event--giving them a pair of victories--the race AND the meet!!
The Event of the Year for the Women was the 4X100 Relay---by a mile--figuratively speaking!!
It had EIGHT marks making my DDD list!!
With 5 each were the 100, 100H, and the PV.
Four marks came from the JT, Heptathlon, and the DMR.
Three each go to the 200, 400, 10000, 3000SC, SP, DT, and the HT.
A pair go to the Mile, HJ, LJ, and the 4X400 Relay.
The 800 and 400H have 1 each.
With NONE are the 1500, 3000, 5000, and TJ!!
I love choosing my Personality of the Year MORE than I do my other awards!
Why?
Because its criteria aren't based on things measurable by a stopwatch or tape measure.
It goes into the true heart of our sport--what makes it tick & inspire others--the qualities that make us Humans!!
For those reasons, my Personality of the Year doesn't go to the best ATHLETE, but to the most interesting person--for whatever reason, good or bad!
(Keep in mind that Time magazine's "Person of the Year" choices have included some VERY evil people!!)
Thus, my Personality of the Year goes to 3 Women!!
And two of them USED to have the same last name!!
I speak obviously of the (former) WEEKS twins, TORI and LEXI!
They both got married this summer--Tori in July, Lexi in August--so will not be known by Weeks anymore!
(Don't ask me now their new names--I'd have to look it up, and I'm lazy!! LOL)
But I give them this award for BEING the twins they are--in their looks, and in their wedding plans!!
The other award goes to ALLIE OSTRANDER!!
I chose her not so much for her fast times in the SC, but for the fact she's even RUNNING such an event, being all of 5 feet "tall"!!
She has perfect (Emma Coburn-style) form, and appears capable of going much faster!
But she gets it for being a Mountain Racer too!!
In fact, she won one of her races this season after winning a Mountain race in Wales (??), then flying home, and running the race a day or 2 later!
She's just a really fascinating person!
Finally, here's all the Women who have marks dated 2017 on my OUTdoor DDD lists---
100---Hobbs (10.85--2nd), M Brisco (10.96--5th, tied with 2 others), Stevens (11.00--11th, tied with 1 other), Henderson (11.01--12th, tied with 1 other), D Carter (11.05--24th, tied with 1 other)
200---Jefferson (22.02--CR--1st), Stevens (22.09--3rd), D Hill (22.41--23rd)
400---C Gordon (50.39--7th, tied with 1 other), Wimbley (50.40--9th), Ellis (50.45--10th)
800--Rogers (1:59.10--CR--1st)
Mile--Purrier (4:32.05--5th), H Green (4:32.50--6th)
10000--Rohrer (31:58.99--7th), C Taylor (32:11.80--12th), Wright (32:29.28--23rd)
3000SC--Ostrander (9:41.31--13th), Purrier (9:43.65--20th), Boreman (9:46.48--24th)
100H---Amusan (12.57--4th), J Camacho-Quinn (12.58--5th), Burton (12.65--11th), A Johnson (12.69--15th), Charleton (12.74--23rd, tied with 1 other)
400H---Watson (54.52--12th)
HJ---Fagan & Gusan (6-3.25--22nd's, tied with 3 others each)
LJ---S Saunders (22-1.75--19th, tied with 2 others), Hall (22-1--22nd, tied with 2 others)
PV---Rhodes (15-1.50--5th, tied with 1 other), Grove (15-1--7th, tied with 2 others), Clute & T Weeks (??) (14-11--11ths, tied with each other), Gruver (14-9--14th, tied with 4 others)
SP---Thomas (62-10--2nd), Woodard (60-3--12th), Farmer (59-5.50--21st)
DT---S Lawrence (205-4--10th), Knibb (203-7--13th), Ewen (198-6--22nd)
JT---Sediva (192-9--12th), Vucevenic (192-2--13th), Wales (191-0--14th), Pryke (186-9--21st)
HT--Ewen (240-7--CR--1st), B Anderson (225-1--16th), Llano (221-2--23rd, tied with 1 other)
Hept--K Williams (6354--5th), T Brooks (6099--14th), Stumbaugh (6023--23rd), Schultz (6021--24th)
4X100--(UO & LSU--42.12--CR's--1st's, tied with each other), Kentucky (42.51--4th), Alabama (42.56--6th), San Diego St (42.99--11th), Auburn (43.02--12th), Clemson (43.31--15th), Arkansas (43.34--16th)
4X400--UO (3:23.13--CR--1st), USC (3:23.35--2nd)
DMR--Penn St (10:56.07--7th), Notre Dame (10:58.22--11th), Indiana (11:02.25--16th), Columbia (11:02.32--17th)
Not sure when my next post will be, as I'm now in what I like to call my vacation period!
OUTdoor season is over, except for the Marathons & other Road races.
I don't do much with XC!
And my INdoor Previews won't begin until November!
But rest assured that whatever happens--on or off the Track & Field--will be reported ASAP, and in as much Detail as possible!!
See you---whenever!!
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Berlin, XC & other stuff
First, let me apologize for the delay in posting my Collegiate AOY etc picks!
Should be today!
That said, this post includes some additions & corrections to my High School AOY post!
Scanning the T&FN website's lists, I found a few marks I missed during the year that make my DDD lists!
However, while my HS lists needed revision, none of the changes affected my choices for the various awards!
But I'll begin this post with those new marks!
There is some confusion regarding Sydney McLaughlin's 22.96 in the 200!
Originally listed as wind-legal, T&FN now has it in their windy column!
But someone on their MB says that there was "NWI"---or no wind info on it.
Thus it remains unclear whether it's legit, despite T&FN saying it was wind-aided!
So I've decided---for now---to keep her mark on my list!!
If Jack Shepard's HS Track book for 2018 says it was windy, THEN I'll erase it from my list!!
Clare Martin's 3000SC best is 10:25.80, not the time I listed in my AOY post!
This makes her 6th A-T HS!
Annie Hill ran 3000 meters in 9:16.80.
This makes her 13th A-T HS!
Also, the count of 2017 marks for the 3K rises to 2!
The Women's DT adds 2 marks!
This gives that event 3 marks from 2017, but doesn't change my Event of the Year selection!
The new marks are---
Ashley Anumba's 177-8, which makes her 22nd A-T HS
Obi Annaechi's 177-0, which makes her 24th A-T HS!
The Women's HT also adds a pair of marks, bringing that event's total to 4, but also not changing my EOY!!
Mahenli Forrest threw the ball & chain 188-0, making her 18th A-T HS!
Molly Leppelmaier reached 185-0, giving her 24th A-T HS!
The Men's HT added a foot to Jacob Slate's PR.
His new mark of 232-1 gives him 20th A-T HS!
The event still has 3 marks from 2017!
The Women's JT adds Kaelyn Shipley's 163-6, making her 22nd A-T HS!
And Jonathan Ply scored 7111 in the Decathlon!
He's 10th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
This moves Kyle Garland to 18th A-T, tied with 1 other!
But the event's 2017 total of 2 doesn't change anything!
I'll save my Berlin report for the end, so next up are some Cross Country results of note!
An oldie (one week old?) comes from a Seattle race, where Amy Eloise-Neale won with a time of 20:30 over the 6K route!
A Virginia race found Amon Kemboi winning over 8K in a quick 23:31, with Lawrence Kipkoech a hair or 2 back!
Caroline Sang took the Women's 5K in 17:05!
The Roy Griak meet's main races went to Jerrell Mock (24:52 over 8K).
He beat Grant Reynolds, who ran 25:03.
Weronika Pyzik---Yes, the spelling is correct!!!---beat Charlotte Taylor, 21:09 to 21:11.
Both run for San Francisco State, with Pyzik being a Junior!
An upset of sorts in the Women's HS race!
Grace Ping finished second!!
Emily Covert's 18:13 finished 8 seconds in front of the now-9th Grade phenom!!
Her sister Lauren was 5th in 18:49.
Another Frosh--Anna Fenske--ended third, 10 seconds back of Ping!
The Men's HS race saw a quick 15:49 run by David Peters!
Matt Carmody was 23 seconds behind, while Carlos Carvajal ended in 3rd, another 11 seconds back!
The meet at Texas A&M gave some fast times!
Brian Barraza ran 23:51 over the 8K course, beating Alex Riba's 23:58!
For the Women, it was Susannah Lynch's 20:23 beating Brenley Goertzen's 20:36 over 6K!
The Beantown meet saw Elinor Purrier winning in 16:48, while Jesse Reiser took the Men's race in 24:12!
Loudoun County is famous for being where Drew Hunter went to HS!
Their XC meet saw Peter Morris winning in 15:11.
He beat the better known Sam Affolder's 15:19.
The Women's race had Natalie Morris running 17:49.
I mention her because she also attends Loudoun Valley HS, and is a Grade lower than Peter, so I'm wondering if they're brother and sister!
Speaking of familiar names---
When someone asks my name, and I say it's Aaron, some folks think I said ERIN!!
Well, the Tabor College Invite's Women's winner was one ERIN Krohn!!
NO, she is NOT related to me---as far as I know!!
(Her winning time was 19:30, and she's a Soph at Mid-American Nazarene Community College! This meet was apparently a CC meet, held in Kansas!)
In 17th came Elizabeth Krohn!
She's a Freshman at the same school as Erin, so they've gotta be sisters!!
This same meet's Men's winner was a guy named Benard Langat!
This Northwest Kansas Frosh's name sounds awfully similar to some dude named Bernard Lagat!!
(Gotta reread George Carlin's hilarious bit on funny names from his Braindroppings book!! LOL)
BERLIN!!!
No World Record, but some amazing & shocking results nonetheless!!
Eliud Kipchoge--he of the infamous 2:00:25 helped-in-every-way-imaginable Marathon earlier this year--won the race, but NOT easily!!
After an initial kilometer of 2:50, a group of 5 (not counting the 3 pacers) hit 5000 in 14:28.
But that was their fastest 5K split of the day!!
They ran 14:36 (29:04), 14:40 (43:44), and 14:34, bringing them to 20K in 58:18!
They hit the Half in 1:01:29, faster than Dennis Kimetto ran in his 2:02:57, but forcing them to run a negative split race if they wanted a World Record!!
Their next two splits were 14:32 and 14:34---fast, but not enough to keep them on Kimetto's pace!
And then Wilson Kipsang suddenly DNF'ed!!
Right after taking water, he and one of the pacers stopped suddenly!
There was no sign of injury, or even fatigue, so WHY he dropped out is unknown at this time!!
Also apparently DNF'ing was Ken Bekele--although his came later!
He'd fallen behind, and then kept falling back, until his name suddenly disappeared from the leaderboard!
So, did this leave the race open to a guaranteed Kipchoge victory?
Not quite!
Ever hear of Guye Adola of Ethiopia?
Good, because neither had I!!
My 2017 Athletics Annual (Had to look it up during the race!) says his track 10K PR is 27:09 and change!
A decent time---if you're an American!
But not so if you're from Ethiopia or Kenya!!
So Kipchoge's "clear" road to a W became somewhat foggy when--after the other Super Studs had ended their run---he shockingly found Adola right there with him!!
Then, shock of shocks, Adola skipped AHEAD!!
And spread the gap!!
Could he win??
Would he beat the legendary Eliud Kipchoge??
Sorry, but no, as Eliud passed him in the final stretch leading to the Brandenburg Gate and the finish line!
Kipchoge's time was 2:03:32---a 15:04 split between 35 & 40K sent them way south of any WR possibilities!!
He gets the Age 32 record!
Adola ran 2:03:46, looking strong to the end!
He's 26, but didn't get the Age record!
He didn't run faster than Bekele's NR of 2:03:03 either!
However, his time IS faster than Haile Gebrselassie ever ran!!
It makes him 9th A-T World!!
(Again, I include times from Boston on my lists!!)
Oh, did I mention that this was Adola's FIRST race over the 26.2 mile distance??
Some said his was the fastest-ever debut Marathon!
It was, IF you leave out results from Boston!!
But Moses Mosop's 2:03:06 from Boston was faster!
Ryan Vail ran 2:12:40 as apparently the lone American in the race!
The Women saw a pack of six run the Half in 1:09:40, all on sub-2:20 pace!
But as the race passed the 30K point, splits slowed to 16:41 (1 second slower than the first 5K), then 17:07, putting paid to a sub-2:20!
By 40K, it was down to 3 Women, with Gladys Cherono among them!
Then she pulled ahead, even though running slugglishly, appearing to just be hanging on, rather than driving to a victory!!
In fact, the sprint finishes by Ruti Aga and Valary Ayebei threatened to overtake Cherono---if another 500 meters were tacked on!!
The gaps were wide---Aga was 20 seconds back, while Ayabei was 32---but Cherono was DEAD at the end.
She stopped immediately at the line, and had to be assisted to walk!!
Cherono's winner was 2:20:21, with Aga's 2:20:41 missing my DDD by 11 seconds!
Ayabei's time was 2:20:53.
Helen Tola was 4th in 2:22:51.
Two news items to report---
There's a new Track Club (Running Club??)!!
The Saucony-sponsored Freedom Track Club opened its doors recently, with Molly Seidel a key name among its listed members!
The coach is also a known entity!
Tim Broe's PR's include 7:39.45 (23rd A-T US), and 13:11.77 (ties with 1 other for 18th A-T US) for 5000, both OUTdoor marks!
And Phoebe Wright---who wrote a couple of hilarious & insightful blogs about "dating Profeshes"--got married!!
Yesterday!!
I'd heard she had a boyfriend, but had no idea a marriage was planned!
(Maybe neither did she!! LOL)
She's now doing some coaching, but not with a school or club!
Congratulations, Phoebe!!
I'll try to get my Collegiate AOY post up soon!!
Should be today!
That said, this post includes some additions & corrections to my High School AOY post!
Scanning the T&FN website's lists, I found a few marks I missed during the year that make my DDD lists!
However, while my HS lists needed revision, none of the changes affected my choices for the various awards!
But I'll begin this post with those new marks!
There is some confusion regarding Sydney McLaughlin's 22.96 in the 200!
Originally listed as wind-legal, T&FN now has it in their windy column!
But someone on their MB says that there was "NWI"---or no wind info on it.
Thus it remains unclear whether it's legit, despite T&FN saying it was wind-aided!
So I've decided---for now---to keep her mark on my list!!
If Jack Shepard's HS Track book for 2018 says it was windy, THEN I'll erase it from my list!!
Clare Martin's 3000SC best is 10:25.80, not the time I listed in my AOY post!
This makes her 6th A-T HS!
Annie Hill ran 3000 meters in 9:16.80.
This makes her 13th A-T HS!
Also, the count of 2017 marks for the 3K rises to 2!
The Women's DT adds 2 marks!
This gives that event 3 marks from 2017, but doesn't change my Event of the Year selection!
The new marks are---
Ashley Anumba's 177-8, which makes her 22nd A-T HS
Obi Annaechi's 177-0, which makes her 24th A-T HS!
The Women's HT also adds a pair of marks, bringing that event's total to 4, but also not changing my EOY!!
Mahenli Forrest threw the ball & chain 188-0, making her 18th A-T HS!
Molly Leppelmaier reached 185-0, giving her 24th A-T HS!
The Men's HT added a foot to Jacob Slate's PR.
His new mark of 232-1 gives him 20th A-T HS!
The event still has 3 marks from 2017!
The Women's JT adds Kaelyn Shipley's 163-6, making her 22nd A-T HS!
And Jonathan Ply scored 7111 in the Decathlon!
He's 10th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
This moves Kyle Garland to 18th A-T, tied with 1 other!
But the event's 2017 total of 2 doesn't change anything!
I'll save my Berlin report for the end, so next up are some Cross Country results of note!
An oldie (one week old?) comes from a Seattle race, where Amy Eloise-Neale won with a time of 20:30 over the 6K route!
A Virginia race found Amon Kemboi winning over 8K in a quick 23:31, with Lawrence Kipkoech a hair or 2 back!
Caroline Sang took the Women's 5K in 17:05!
The Roy Griak meet's main races went to Jerrell Mock (24:52 over 8K).
He beat Grant Reynolds, who ran 25:03.
Weronika Pyzik---Yes, the spelling is correct!!!---beat Charlotte Taylor, 21:09 to 21:11.
Both run for San Francisco State, with Pyzik being a Junior!
An upset of sorts in the Women's HS race!
Grace Ping finished second!!
Emily Covert's 18:13 finished 8 seconds in front of the now-9th Grade phenom!!
Her sister Lauren was 5th in 18:49.
Another Frosh--Anna Fenske--ended third, 10 seconds back of Ping!
The Men's HS race saw a quick 15:49 run by David Peters!
Matt Carmody was 23 seconds behind, while Carlos Carvajal ended in 3rd, another 11 seconds back!
The meet at Texas A&M gave some fast times!
Brian Barraza ran 23:51 over the 8K course, beating Alex Riba's 23:58!
For the Women, it was Susannah Lynch's 20:23 beating Brenley Goertzen's 20:36 over 6K!
The Beantown meet saw Elinor Purrier winning in 16:48, while Jesse Reiser took the Men's race in 24:12!
Loudoun County is famous for being where Drew Hunter went to HS!
Their XC meet saw Peter Morris winning in 15:11.
He beat the better known Sam Affolder's 15:19.
The Women's race had Natalie Morris running 17:49.
I mention her because she also attends Loudoun Valley HS, and is a Grade lower than Peter, so I'm wondering if they're brother and sister!
Speaking of familiar names---
When someone asks my name, and I say it's Aaron, some folks think I said ERIN!!
Well, the Tabor College Invite's Women's winner was one ERIN Krohn!!
NO, she is NOT related to me---as far as I know!!
(Her winning time was 19:30, and she's a Soph at Mid-American Nazarene Community College! This meet was apparently a CC meet, held in Kansas!)
In 17th came Elizabeth Krohn!
She's a Freshman at the same school as Erin, so they've gotta be sisters!!
This same meet's Men's winner was a guy named Benard Langat!
This Northwest Kansas Frosh's name sounds awfully similar to some dude named Bernard Lagat!!
(Gotta reread George Carlin's hilarious bit on funny names from his Braindroppings book!! LOL)
BERLIN!!!
No World Record, but some amazing & shocking results nonetheless!!
Eliud Kipchoge--he of the infamous 2:00:25 helped-in-every-way-imaginable Marathon earlier this year--won the race, but NOT easily!!
After an initial kilometer of 2:50, a group of 5 (not counting the 3 pacers) hit 5000 in 14:28.
But that was their fastest 5K split of the day!!
They ran 14:36 (29:04), 14:40 (43:44), and 14:34, bringing them to 20K in 58:18!
They hit the Half in 1:01:29, faster than Dennis Kimetto ran in his 2:02:57, but forcing them to run a negative split race if they wanted a World Record!!
Their next two splits were 14:32 and 14:34---fast, but not enough to keep them on Kimetto's pace!
And then Wilson Kipsang suddenly DNF'ed!!
Right after taking water, he and one of the pacers stopped suddenly!
There was no sign of injury, or even fatigue, so WHY he dropped out is unknown at this time!!
Also apparently DNF'ing was Ken Bekele--although his came later!
He'd fallen behind, and then kept falling back, until his name suddenly disappeared from the leaderboard!
So, did this leave the race open to a guaranteed Kipchoge victory?
Not quite!
Ever hear of Guye Adola of Ethiopia?
Good, because neither had I!!
My 2017 Athletics Annual (Had to look it up during the race!) says his track 10K PR is 27:09 and change!
A decent time---if you're an American!
But not so if you're from Ethiopia or Kenya!!
So Kipchoge's "clear" road to a W became somewhat foggy when--after the other Super Studs had ended their run---he shockingly found Adola right there with him!!
Then, shock of shocks, Adola skipped AHEAD!!
And spread the gap!!
Could he win??
Would he beat the legendary Eliud Kipchoge??
Sorry, but no, as Eliud passed him in the final stretch leading to the Brandenburg Gate and the finish line!
Kipchoge's time was 2:03:32---a 15:04 split between 35 & 40K sent them way south of any WR possibilities!!
He gets the Age 32 record!
Adola ran 2:03:46, looking strong to the end!
He's 26, but didn't get the Age record!
He didn't run faster than Bekele's NR of 2:03:03 either!
However, his time IS faster than Haile Gebrselassie ever ran!!
It makes him 9th A-T World!!
(Again, I include times from Boston on my lists!!)
Oh, did I mention that this was Adola's FIRST race over the 26.2 mile distance??
Some said his was the fastest-ever debut Marathon!
It was, IF you leave out results from Boston!!
But Moses Mosop's 2:03:06 from Boston was faster!
Ryan Vail ran 2:12:40 as apparently the lone American in the race!
The Women saw a pack of six run the Half in 1:09:40, all on sub-2:20 pace!
But as the race passed the 30K point, splits slowed to 16:41 (1 second slower than the first 5K), then 17:07, putting paid to a sub-2:20!
By 40K, it was down to 3 Women, with Gladys Cherono among them!
Then she pulled ahead, even though running slugglishly, appearing to just be hanging on, rather than driving to a victory!!
In fact, the sprint finishes by Ruti Aga and Valary Ayebei threatened to overtake Cherono---if another 500 meters were tacked on!!
The gaps were wide---Aga was 20 seconds back, while Ayabei was 32---but Cherono was DEAD at the end.
She stopped immediately at the line, and had to be assisted to walk!!
Cherono's winner was 2:20:21, with Aga's 2:20:41 missing my DDD by 11 seconds!
Ayabei's time was 2:20:53.
Helen Tola was 4th in 2:22:51.
Two news items to report---
There's a new Track Club (Running Club??)!!
The Saucony-sponsored Freedom Track Club opened its doors recently, with Molly Seidel a key name among its listed members!
The coach is also a known entity!
Tim Broe's PR's include 7:39.45 (23rd A-T US), and 13:11.77 (ties with 1 other for 18th A-T US) for 5000, both OUTdoor marks!
And Phoebe Wright---who wrote a couple of hilarious & insightful blogs about "dating Profeshes"--got married!!
Yesterday!!
I'd heard she had a boyfriend, but had no idea a marriage was planned!
(Maybe neither did she!! LOL)
She's now doing some coaching, but not with a school or club!
Congratulations, Phoebe!!
I'll try to get my Collegiate AOY post up soon!!
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
2017 OUTdoor High School AOY's
Two for the price (FREE!) of one!
(Meaning I'm putting the Men & Women together in this post!)
Lots to do, so let's get started!
Simple set of guidelines--
1. ALL marks are OUTdoors!
2. No 1600 or 3200 times were considered, nor marks computed from them (for the HS 1 & 2 Mile).
3. HS Men's Throws (& Dec) are with HS weighted implements, NOT Youth or Junior!
This was a good year for Records of various kinds.
The Men had a pair of HSR's--Mondo Duplantis's 19-4.25 (his last & highest!), and the American Fork (Utah) 4 X Mile Relay team, who ran 16:41.30.
Frosh Class Records went to Brandon Miller's 1:49.87 in the 800, and Trey Tintinger's 7-1.50 HJ!
Ty Cooper's 20.51 broke the Soph Class record in the 200.
Eric Edwards's 13.32 in the 110H got the Junior Class record, as did Mondo's 19-4.25!
However, no Senior Class records fell this season!
The New Balance Nationals saw 5 Meet Records fall--
Jordan Geist's 76-0 SP, Turner Washington's 220-9 in the DT, Ayden Owens's 7009 in the Dec, as well as two Relay marks--Motor City TC's (Michigan) 3:20.25 in the SMR, and Parkview Express's (Georgia) 1:52.40 in the Swedish Relay!
Despite a great year for HS Men's T&F OUTdoors, my choice of MONDO DUPLANTIS as my Athlete of the Year was a given!
His THREE HSR's (18-6.50, 19-0.25, and 19-4.25) were WORLD Class, moving him beyond just 2017--to being an ALL-TIME Great!!
But my Honorable Mention list is long, and deserving!
Jordan Geist led a SP challenge that made Michael Carter sweat a little!
(Not to mention his massive PR in the Hammer Throw!!)
Reed Brown added his name to the growing list of sub-4:00 Milers!
Cooper Teare ran a fast 5000 & Mile!
Vernon Turner renewed interest in the HJ, while Turner Washington did the same with the DT!
Anthony Schwartz got injured, but his 10.15 100 before that got people talking!
Jamal Walton dipped under 45 in the 400--a rarity!
And FROSH Brandon Miller destroyed the Class Record, running (finally) 1:49.87!!
Performance of the Year?
You have to ask?
19-4.25 for MONDO!!
But you can't ignore Miller's Frosh 800 record, nor Geist's 76-0 (& 238-9), Turner's 7-6, Washington's 227-10, Brown's 3:59.30, or Schwartz's 10.15.
All of those get an HM!
My Event of the Year is based on how many marks date from 2017 (OUTdoors only!) on my DDD lists!
The Men's Mile is my EOY, with 5 marks on my list dated 2017!
The DT has 4.
With 3 are the 200, 110H, PV, SP, and the HT!
Two each for the 100, 400, 800, 2 Mile, and the 400H.
One apiece for the 1500, 5000, HJ, and the Decathlon!
ZERO marks in the 3000, 10000, 3000SC, LJ, TJ, and the JT!
My Personality of the Year is shared by DUPLANTIS and TYRESE COOPER!
Besides being the greatest PV'er ever (for HS), Mondo was a crowd pleaser, a striking performer (in the Show Business sense of that word!), and just a nice guy!
Tyrese gets this award for his penchant to double (& TRIPLE!!) in most of his many meets.
Not to mention having to run some heats or semi's also!!
While this might have prevented his running faster (& breaking records!), he gave his all in every meet, win or lose!
Here's all the athletes on my DDD's that have marks dated 2017!
Events with NO marks from 2017 are not listed!!
100---Schwartz (10.15--6th, tied with 1 other), Barnes (10.22--19th)
200---Ty Cooper (20.51--17th), Barnes (20.54--20th), Walton (20.57--23rd, tied with 1 other)
400---Walton (44.99--2nd), Shinnick (45.20--9th)
800---Cameron Cooper (1:47.59--5th), Worley (1:48.25--18th)
1500--Hasty (3:44.75--17th)
NOTE--1500 splits in Mile races were rarely taken! I'm certain we would have seen more 1500 times make this list if they'd been timed there!!
Mile--Reed Brown (3:59.30--4th), Teare (4:00.16--11th), Worley (4:00.61--13th), Principe (4:00.73--14th), Hasty (4:01.75--21st)
2 Mile--Hasty (8:45.95--19th), Grijalva (8:46.68--24th)
5000--Teare (14:13.26--19th)
110H--E Edwards (13.32--5th, tied with 1 other), J Anderson (13.33--7th), Trey Cunningham (13.35--9th, tied with 1 other)
400H--Poole (49.88--8th), Burns (50.12--15th)
HJ---Turner (7-6--2nd, tied with 1 other)
PV---Duplantis (19-4.25--HSR--1st), Lightfoot (17-8.50--16th, tied with 3 others), Riddle (17-7--22nd, tied with 2 others)
SP--Geist (76-0--3rd), Piperi (74-11.50--6th), Oladipo (73-8.75--8th)
DT--Washington (227-10--4th), J Wilson (221-5--6th), Oladipo (215-3--12th), Mason (212-11--22nd, tied with 1 other)
HT--M Feldman (242-8--9th), Geist (238-9--13th, tied with 1 other), Slate (231-1--23rd)
Dec--Owens (7009--17th, tied with 1 other)
Now we turn to the Women!
Six HSR's were set by the Women OUTdoors this year!
Brie Oakley's 9:51.35 Two Mile, Alyssa Wilson's SP of 58-1, Western Branch's (Virginia) Shuttle Hurdle Relay time of 55.06, Lauren Harris's 1500 Walk time of 6:17.20, and a pair from Sydney McLaughlin--her 53.82 for 400H & 38.90 for the 300H!!
One HS PRO record was set--Candace Hill ran the 400 in 52.70!
Frosh Class Records went to Lexy Halladay's 4:41.80 Mile, London Culbreath's 10:04.73 for 2 Miles, Markalah Hart's 40.28 over 300H, and Jenna Rogers's 6-0.75 in the HJ!
Soph Class Records went to Kelsey Chmiel's 9:18.04 over 3000 meters, Tia Jones's 13.01 in the 100H, and Jasmine Moore's TJ of 43-7.25!
The sole Junior Class Record was Lanae Tava Thomas's LJ of 21-11.
Senior Class Records were set by Oakley in the Deuce, Wilson in the SP, and by McLaughlin's pair!!
HS PRO Senior Class Records went to Hill's 22.76 in the 200, and her 52.70!
This is a first for me, but I must mention two EIGHTH Grade Records--Grace Ping's 5000 of 16:25.63, and Tamari Davis's 23.21 in the 200!!
New Balance Nationals Meet Records included--
Symone Mason's 11.27 in the 100, though she tied the record!
McLaughlin's 54.22 over 400H, Anna Watson's 13-9 PV, Alyssa Wilson's 179-7 DT, plus a trio of Relays--Bullis TC's (Maryland) 44.88 in the 4X100, Union Catholic's (NJ) 2:05.93 in the Swedish Relay, and the 55.06 in the Shuttle Hurdles for Western Branch of Virginia!
Another in the "Do you really have to ask?" department is my Women's Athlete of the Year!
Who else but SYDNEY McLAUGHLIN??!!
Breaking TWO High School Records, one in the USATF meet's spectacular 400H race!
Running sensational Relay legs!
And being the best Juggler!!
Honorable Mentions go to Oakley, Wilson, Harris, and to Samantha Watson and Tara Davis!
Special Mentions to Grace Ping and Tamari Davis!
Choosing a Performance of the Year was simple---if we're speaking about the ATHLETE, not her mark(s). But in Sydney McLaughlin's case, I had to decide which was better--her 53.82 or her 38.90.
It's the 300H mark!!
She ran that solo at the Arcadia meet--very early in the season--and SMASHED the old mark, held by the venerable Lashinda Demus!
Her 53.82 was great also, but she ended 6th in that race--and she was breaking a record (her own!) she'd broken a few times already!!
Honorable Mentions go to McLaughlin's 53.82 (Natch!!), Oakley's Deuce, Harris's Walk, Chmiel's 3K, Wilson's SP, Watson's 2:00.65 PR in the 800, Rachel Baxter's 14-5.50 PV, but not leaving out Tara Davis, who LJ'ed 22-1 and ran the 100H in 12.95!--but also to Ms's Ping & Tamari Davis, who proved you don't need to be a HS'er yet to run HS-level times!!
My Event of the Year--as noted above--goes to the event with the most 2017 marks on my various DDD lists!!
So my Women's EOY is the Two Mile with 5 marks!
The TJ has 4.
Three each for the 400, 400H, and the LJ.
A pair are in the 100, 200, 800, 3000SC, 100H, PV, SP, JT, and HT!
One each for the 1500, 3000, 5000, DT, and the Heptathlon!
ZERO marks in the Mile, 10000, and the HJ!
My Personality of the Year--like the Men--is a dual award this year!
SYDNEY McLAUGHLIN just overwhelmed everyone in her events, including anchoring Record-breaking Relays.
But she's also a VERY interesting PERSON!
Not only her juggling, but just her humility and graciousness toward her friends & other athletes!
TARA DAVIS shares this award!
If you're on Twitter, check out her many offerings there--in words, photos, and videos--where her vivacious & endless smile--and her self-avowed love for her boyfriend--are there for all to enjoy!
Following is the list of everyone who makes my DDD (Top 24 A-T Performers) lists, with marks dated from 2017!!--OUTdoors only, of course!!
100---Mason (11.24--17th, tied with 2 others), Richardson (11.28--24th, tied with 1 other)
200---McLaughlin (22.96--17th, tied with 3 others), Mason (23.00--24th)
400---J Reed (51.71--11th), S Anderson (51.99--17th), Minor (52.05--21st)
800---Watson (2:00.65--3rd), Collier (2:03.32--15th, tied with 1 other)
1500--Tuohy (4:18.51--18th)
3000--Chmiel (9:18.04--13th)
2 Mile--Oakley (9:51.35--HSR--1st), Lane (10:01.18--10th), Culbreath (10:04.73--12th), Gregory (10:05.26--14th), Chmiel (10:10.45--22nd)
5000--Ping (16:25.63--16th)
3000SC--A Harris (10:14.76--3rd), C Martin (10:46.36--9th)
NOTE--My list for the 3000SC is just 14 deep!
100H---Tara Davis (12.95--4th, tied with 2 others), C Little (13.29--24th, tied with 1 other)
NOTE--I don't have a list for the 300H---but if I did, the following would make that list--
McLaughlin (38.90--HSR--1st), M Hart (40.28--6th), S Anderson (40.31--8th), Woodward (40.78--16th), S Robinson (40.84--21st)
400H--McLaughlin (53.82--HSR--1st), D Young (57.51--19th), Russell (57.55--21st)
LJ---Tara Davis (22-1--3rd), Tava Thomas (21-11--5th), Flannel (21-2.75--10th)
TJ---J Robinson (43-10.50--7th), J Moore (43-7.25--8th), Marsh (43-5--10th), Tara Davis (43-4--13th)
PV---Baxter (14-5.50--3rd), A Watson (13-9--15th, tied with 6 others)
SP---Wilson (58-1--HSR--1st), Young (53-5--11th)
DT---Wilson (182-0--11th, tied with 1 other)
JT---D Baker (169-2--13th), Ciccolini (164-9--19th)
HT--Shippee (201-4--4th), G Rao (185-8--21st, tied with 1 other)
Hept--Gittens (5490--6th)
Well, folks, that's it for the HS crowd!
I'll post my Collegiate AOY selections either later today, or tomorrow at the latest!!
See you soon!
(Meaning I'm putting the Men & Women together in this post!)
Lots to do, so let's get started!
Simple set of guidelines--
1. ALL marks are OUTdoors!
2. No 1600 or 3200 times were considered, nor marks computed from them (for the HS 1 & 2 Mile).
3. HS Men's Throws (& Dec) are with HS weighted implements, NOT Youth or Junior!
This was a good year for Records of various kinds.
The Men had a pair of HSR's--Mondo Duplantis's 19-4.25 (his last & highest!), and the American Fork (Utah) 4 X Mile Relay team, who ran 16:41.30.
Frosh Class Records went to Brandon Miller's 1:49.87 in the 800, and Trey Tintinger's 7-1.50 HJ!
Ty Cooper's 20.51 broke the Soph Class record in the 200.
Eric Edwards's 13.32 in the 110H got the Junior Class record, as did Mondo's 19-4.25!
However, no Senior Class records fell this season!
The New Balance Nationals saw 5 Meet Records fall--
Jordan Geist's 76-0 SP, Turner Washington's 220-9 in the DT, Ayden Owens's 7009 in the Dec, as well as two Relay marks--Motor City TC's (Michigan) 3:20.25 in the SMR, and Parkview Express's (Georgia) 1:52.40 in the Swedish Relay!
Despite a great year for HS Men's T&F OUTdoors, my choice of MONDO DUPLANTIS as my Athlete of the Year was a given!
His THREE HSR's (18-6.50, 19-0.25, and 19-4.25) were WORLD Class, moving him beyond just 2017--to being an ALL-TIME Great!!
But my Honorable Mention list is long, and deserving!
Jordan Geist led a SP challenge that made Michael Carter sweat a little!
(Not to mention his massive PR in the Hammer Throw!!)
Reed Brown added his name to the growing list of sub-4:00 Milers!
Cooper Teare ran a fast 5000 & Mile!
Vernon Turner renewed interest in the HJ, while Turner Washington did the same with the DT!
Anthony Schwartz got injured, but his 10.15 100 before that got people talking!
Jamal Walton dipped under 45 in the 400--a rarity!
And FROSH Brandon Miller destroyed the Class Record, running (finally) 1:49.87!!
Performance of the Year?
You have to ask?
19-4.25 for MONDO!!
But you can't ignore Miller's Frosh 800 record, nor Geist's 76-0 (& 238-9), Turner's 7-6, Washington's 227-10, Brown's 3:59.30, or Schwartz's 10.15.
All of those get an HM!
My Event of the Year is based on how many marks date from 2017 (OUTdoors only!) on my DDD lists!
The Men's Mile is my EOY, with 5 marks on my list dated 2017!
The DT has 4.
With 3 are the 200, 110H, PV, SP, and the HT!
Two each for the 100, 400, 800, 2 Mile, and the 400H.
One apiece for the 1500, 5000, HJ, and the Decathlon!
ZERO marks in the 3000, 10000, 3000SC, LJ, TJ, and the JT!
My Personality of the Year is shared by DUPLANTIS and TYRESE COOPER!
Besides being the greatest PV'er ever (for HS), Mondo was a crowd pleaser, a striking performer (in the Show Business sense of that word!), and just a nice guy!
Tyrese gets this award for his penchant to double (& TRIPLE!!) in most of his many meets.
Not to mention having to run some heats or semi's also!!
While this might have prevented his running faster (& breaking records!), he gave his all in every meet, win or lose!
Here's all the athletes on my DDD's that have marks dated 2017!
Events with NO marks from 2017 are not listed!!
100---Schwartz (10.15--6th, tied with 1 other), Barnes (10.22--19th)
200---Ty Cooper (20.51--17th), Barnes (20.54--20th), Walton (20.57--23rd, tied with 1 other)
400---Walton (44.99--2nd), Shinnick (45.20--9th)
800---Cameron Cooper (1:47.59--5th), Worley (1:48.25--18th)
1500--Hasty (3:44.75--17th)
NOTE--1500 splits in Mile races were rarely taken! I'm certain we would have seen more 1500 times make this list if they'd been timed there!!
Mile--Reed Brown (3:59.30--4th), Teare (4:00.16--11th), Worley (4:00.61--13th), Principe (4:00.73--14th), Hasty (4:01.75--21st)
2 Mile--Hasty (8:45.95--19th), Grijalva (8:46.68--24th)
5000--Teare (14:13.26--19th)
110H--E Edwards (13.32--5th, tied with 1 other), J Anderson (13.33--7th), Trey Cunningham (13.35--9th, tied with 1 other)
400H--Poole (49.88--8th), Burns (50.12--15th)
HJ---Turner (7-6--2nd, tied with 1 other)
PV---Duplantis (19-4.25--HSR--1st), Lightfoot (17-8.50--16th, tied with 3 others), Riddle (17-7--22nd, tied with 2 others)
SP--Geist (76-0--3rd), Piperi (74-11.50--6th), Oladipo (73-8.75--8th)
DT--Washington (227-10--4th), J Wilson (221-5--6th), Oladipo (215-3--12th), Mason (212-11--22nd, tied with 1 other)
HT--M Feldman (242-8--9th), Geist (238-9--13th, tied with 1 other), Slate (231-1--23rd)
Dec--Owens (7009--17th, tied with 1 other)
Now we turn to the Women!
Six HSR's were set by the Women OUTdoors this year!
Brie Oakley's 9:51.35 Two Mile, Alyssa Wilson's SP of 58-1, Western Branch's (Virginia) Shuttle Hurdle Relay time of 55.06, Lauren Harris's 1500 Walk time of 6:17.20, and a pair from Sydney McLaughlin--her 53.82 for 400H & 38.90 for the 300H!!
One HS PRO record was set--Candace Hill ran the 400 in 52.70!
Frosh Class Records went to Lexy Halladay's 4:41.80 Mile, London Culbreath's 10:04.73 for 2 Miles, Markalah Hart's 40.28 over 300H, and Jenna Rogers's 6-0.75 in the HJ!
Soph Class Records went to Kelsey Chmiel's 9:18.04 over 3000 meters, Tia Jones's 13.01 in the 100H, and Jasmine Moore's TJ of 43-7.25!
The sole Junior Class Record was Lanae Tava Thomas's LJ of 21-11.
Senior Class Records were set by Oakley in the Deuce, Wilson in the SP, and by McLaughlin's pair!!
HS PRO Senior Class Records went to Hill's 22.76 in the 200, and her 52.70!
This is a first for me, but I must mention two EIGHTH Grade Records--Grace Ping's 5000 of 16:25.63, and Tamari Davis's 23.21 in the 200!!
New Balance Nationals Meet Records included--
Symone Mason's 11.27 in the 100, though she tied the record!
McLaughlin's 54.22 over 400H, Anna Watson's 13-9 PV, Alyssa Wilson's 179-7 DT, plus a trio of Relays--Bullis TC's (Maryland) 44.88 in the 4X100, Union Catholic's (NJ) 2:05.93 in the Swedish Relay, and the 55.06 in the Shuttle Hurdles for Western Branch of Virginia!
Another in the "Do you really have to ask?" department is my Women's Athlete of the Year!
Who else but SYDNEY McLAUGHLIN??!!
Breaking TWO High School Records, one in the USATF meet's spectacular 400H race!
Running sensational Relay legs!
And being the best Juggler!!
Honorable Mentions go to Oakley, Wilson, Harris, and to Samantha Watson and Tara Davis!
Special Mentions to Grace Ping and Tamari Davis!
Choosing a Performance of the Year was simple---if we're speaking about the ATHLETE, not her mark(s). But in Sydney McLaughlin's case, I had to decide which was better--her 53.82 or her 38.90.
It's the 300H mark!!
She ran that solo at the Arcadia meet--very early in the season--and SMASHED the old mark, held by the venerable Lashinda Demus!
Her 53.82 was great also, but she ended 6th in that race--and she was breaking a record (her own!) she'd broken a few times already!!
Honorable Mentions go to McLaughlin's 53.82 (Natch!!), Oakley's Deuce, Harris's Walk, Chmiel's 3K, Wilson's SP, Watson's 2:00.65 PR in the 800, Rachel Baxter's 14-5.50 PV, but not leaving out Tara Davis, who LJ'ed 22-1 and ran the 100H in 12.95!--but also to Ms's Ping & Tamari Davis, who proved you don't need to be a HS'er yet to run HS-level times!!
My Event of the Year--as noted above--goes to the event with the most 2017 marks on my various DDD lists!!
So my Women's EOY is the Two Mile with 5 marks!
The TJ has 4.
Three each for the 400, 400H, and the LJ.
A pair are in the 100, 200, 800, 3000SC, 100H, PV, SP, JT, and HT!
One each for the 1500, 3000, 5000, DT, and the Heptathlon!
ZERO marks in the Mile, 10000, and the HJ!
My Personality of the Year--like the Men--is a dual award this year!
SYDNEY McLAUGHLIN just overwhelmed everyone in her events, including anchoring Record-breaking Relays.
But she's also a VERY interesting PERSON!
Not only her juggling, but just her humility and graciousness toward her friends & other athletes!
TARA DAVIS shares this award!
If you're on Twitter, check out her many offerings there--in words, photos, and videos--where her vivacious & endless smile--and her self-avowed love for her boyfriend--are there for all to enjoy!
Following is the list of everyone who makes my DDD (Top 24 A-T Performers) lists, with marks dated from 2017!!--OUTdoors only, of course!!
100---Mason (11.24--17th, tied with 2 others), Richardson (11.28--24th, tied with 1 other)
200---McLaughlin (22.96--17th, tied with 3 others), Mason (23.00--24th)
400---J Reed (51.71--11th), S Anderson (51.99--17th), Minor (52.05--21st)
800---Watson (2:00.65--3rd), Collier (2:03.32--15th, tied with 1 other)
1500--Tuohy (4:18.51--18th)
3000--Chmiel (9:18.04--13th)
2 Mile--Oakley (9:51.35--HSR--1st), Lane (10:01.18--10th), Culbreath (10:04.73--12th), Gregory (10:05.26--14th), Chmiel (10:10.45--22nd)
5000--Ping (16:25.63--16th)
3000SC--A Harris (10:14.76--3rd), C Martin (10:46.36--9th)
NOTE--My list for the 3000SC is just 14 deep!
100H---Tara Davis (12.95--4th, tied with 2 others), C Little (13.29--24th, tied with 1 other)
NOTE--I don't have a list for the 300H---but if I did, the following would make that list--
McLaughlin (38.90--HSR--1st), M Hart (40.28--6th), S Anderson (40.31--8th), Woodward (40.78--16th), S Robinson (40.84--21st)
400H--McLaughlin (53.82--HSR--1st), D Young (57.51--19th), Russell (57.55--21st)
LJ---Tara Davis (22-1--3rd), Tava Thomas (21-11--5th), Flannel (21-2.75--10th)
TJ---J Robinson (43-10.50--7th), J Moore (43-7.25--8th), Marsh (43-5--10th), Tara Davis (43-4--13th)
PV---Baxter (14-5.50--3rd), A Watson (13-9--15th, tied with 6 others)
SP---Wilson (58-1--HSR--1st), Young (53-5--11th)
DT---Wilson (182-0--11th, tied with 1 other)
JT---D Baker (169-2--13th), Ciccolini (164-9--19th)
HT--Shippee (201-4--4th), G Rao (185-8--21st, tied with 1 other)
Hept--Gittens (5490--6th)
Well, folks, that's it for the HS crowd!
I'll post my Collegiate AOY selections either later today, or tomorrow at the latest!!
See you soon!
Sunday, September 17, 2017
The World by Half
Mid-September is supposed to be a time of transition---from full-bore Track & Field to the first inklings of what the Cross Country season will be about--with maybe a Road Race or 2 to sweeten the pot!
Well, XC has begun (See below!), while the main portion of the T&F campaign was completed in the Talence meet (Also see below!).
But OH MY, those Road Races---with the Half-Marathon being the dominating force!!
With Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay being promoted endlessly for today's Philadelphia Half, our attention was riveted on that race.
Fooled ya!!
Because while that race was okay, it was MUCH less competitive and slower than other Half-Marathon races run these past couple of days!
Let's begin with the best--the Copenhagen (Denmark) Half!
Beset by a hail (!!) & thunder storm during the race (at the 90 minute point), the organizers tried to stop the race!
But the hardy back-pack crowd ran on!!
Meanwhile---before the storm hit!---the elites had finished!
Abe Cheroben ran 58:40 for the win!
This is the National Record of Bahrain, as well as the Age 24 record!!
He moves from 7th A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 3rd!
Jorum Okumbo was 2nd in 58:48.
He's 8th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Alex Korio finished in 58:51, making him 10th A-T World!!
Fourth & Fifth weren't too slow, as Albert Kangogo ran 59:25, while Len Barsoton was next in 59:28!!
The Women ran good too, including Sara Hall, the lone American!
Eunice Chumba won it in 66:11.
This makes her 14th A-T World!
Joan Melly was 2nd in 66:25.
She's 17th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Brigid Kosgei's 66:35 in 3rd also made the World list, in 23rd!!
As for Hall, her 69:37 in 10th was a PR by 30 seconds, moving her from 12th to 8th on the A-T US list!!
The Czech Republic Half was also fast!
Barsilius Kipyego won it in 59:14.
He misses my (revised!!) World list by 8 seconds!
Josphat Tanui took Silver with a 59:22.
Third, in a National Record of Tanzania time of 59:30, was Ismail Juma!!
Violah Jepchumba took the Women's race in 66:06!
(She'd run 65:22 earlier this year!!)
As for Rupp & Hasay, Galen easily won the Philly race in 62:18--a decent tempo run before his Chicago Marathon race!
But Hasay went up against one Meseret Defar, who showed she's FAR from being finished!!
Her 68:46---slow times were probably caused by high heat & humidity!--defeated Caroline Rotich by 55 seconds!1
Hasay also tempo'd through, time of 70:42--as she's also scheduled to run in Chi-Town!
The early XC dribblings showed some young---a couple VERY young!!--Women moving into the early ratings talk for NCAA--& the HS races (NXN & Footlocker).
Texas Soph Destiny Collins--the former Great Oak (CA) stud--won her first pair of races in dominating fashion!
Times are not important, but she won this weekend's race by 30 seconds, front-running the whole way!
Sam Worley--the fast HS Miler (4:00.61) from this past season--also ran good (3rd) as a Texas Frosh!
Brodey Hasty, now a HS Senior, beat a pack of Collegians (!!) at the adidas XC Challenge.
But maybe "beat" is the wrong word!
He OBLITERATED the field, his 14:45 over the 5K course being a full 74 seconds ahead of the runner-up!
This was in North Carolina.
The Harvard/Princeton/Yale Tri-meet gave some interesting results--at least in the "familiar names" department!
While Andrea Mastron (sp??) won the Women's race in 13:45 (4K), in 2nd came Sophie Cantine in 14:02.
She's now a Princeton Frosh, but you might recall my mentioning (over & over & over again!! LOL) that her 2:47.64 INdoor 1000 she ran as a HS Frosh WOULD have set records & made lists EXCEPT that it was run on Seattle's Oversize Track a few years ago!!
She never did run any LEGAL list-making times as a HS'er!!
Maybe her time for that will be as a Collegian!!
The Men's race too produced a familiar name!
Matt Chisholm won the 6K race in 19:27.
But it was a Yale Frosh back in 4th you might recognize!
Nick Dahl's time was 19:39!
Karissa Schweizer's initial race of her Senior year proved one thing--She's a force to be reckoned with at NCAA's!!
Her time of 16:25 over the 5000 meter course produced a 64 second gap back to 2nd!!
As for those youngsters I mentioned earlier, THEIR names are Ping--as in HS Frosh Grace--and 7th Grade sister Lauren!!
Grace is fairly well known, as reported a few times on this blog!
In fact, her 16:25.63 Track 5000 from this past Spring--even though she was then an 8th Grader!!--ranks 16th A-T HS!!
I reported (in a previous post) that Grace & Lauren---though I'd forgotten her name then!!--had finished 1st & 3rd in their first XC race this year!
Well, they've one-upped themselves!
Grace again won--the Rochester MN Mayo Invite--in 18:16 over the 5K course!
Lauren was a full 65 seconds behind--19:21--but she ended SECOND---as a Seventh Grader!!
Oh yes, in 3rd came the first HS SENIOR!!--time of 19:48!
In interviews, they both sound VERY serious about wanting to get faster & become future elites!
That future may be NOW!
BTW, Grace is on Twitter--and wants people to PM her to talk about Track!
Not only a great runner, but a FAN of the sport!
The Talence Multis meet (DecaStar) lost Kevin Mayer to a DNS, as well as Kurt Felix & Zack Ziemek being early DNF's, the latter with some sort of injury!
Damian Warner thus had it relatively easy, his 8252 points being enough for the W.
Anouk Vetter had a bit more competition--but her 6363 prevailed over Xenia Krizsan's 6282 in the Heptathlon!
Trevor Dunbar invited some of his pals up to his home state of Alaska for some Mile races on the track!
The one in Kodiak was the fastest, won by Ben Blankenship in 3:57.85.
This is the fastest ever Mile run on Alaska soil!!
I don't believe there were any Women's races!
At the Dam to Dam 10 Mile race in Amsterdam (Sic!!), Berhanu Legese won over Yenew Alamirew--45:38 to 45:45.
That's it for results, but I have a few news items to offer.
The Nor-Cal Distance Project is no more!!
Drew Wartenburg's group has folded--after Leah O'Connor and Kate Grace both left!
He's married to Kim Conley, and will continue to coach her--but at least for now, in a non-group environment!
Drew Hunter has moved to Colorado to train!!
But he says he's not joining a group--at least for now!
Another moving to Colorado is Kaela Edwards!
She'll be joining Emma Coburn, to also be coached by Emma's soon-to-be husband Joe Bosshard!
Finally, Jereem Richards turned Professional before his Senior year at Alabama!!
Berlin's Marathon is in a week, with talk of a WR chase for the Men--no specific time goal given!
But with Eliud Kipchoge, Wilson Kipsang, and Ken Bekele among the entrants, that talk ain't cheap!!
Not sure when exactly, but I might do my Collegiate & HS Athlete of the Year posts BEFORE my report on Berlin!!
See you soon!
Well, XC has begun (See below!), while the main portion of the T&F campaign was completed in the Talence meet (Also see below!).
But OH MY, those Road Races---with the Half-Marathon being the dominating force!!
With Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay being promoted endlessly for today's Philadelphia Half, our attention was riveted on that race.
Fooled ya!!
Because while that race was okay, it was MUCH less competitive and slower than other Half-Marathon races run these past couple of days!
Let's begin with the best--the Copenhagen (Denmark) Half!
Beset by a hail (!!) & thunder storm during the race (at the 90 minute point), the organizers tried to stop the race!
But the hardy back-pack crowd ran on!!
Meanwhile---before the storm hit!---the elites had finished!
Abe Cheroben ran 58:40 for the win!
This is the National Record of Bahrain, as well as the Age 24 record!!
He moves from 7th A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 3rd!
Jorum Okumbo was 2nd in 58:48.
He's 8th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Alex Korio finished in 58:51, making him 10th A-T World!!
Fourth & Fifth weren't too slow, as Albert Kangogo ran 59:25, while Len Barsoton was next in 59:28!!
The Women ran good too, including Sara Hall, the lone American!
Eunice Chumba won it in 66:11.
This makes her 14th A-T World!
Joan Melly was 2nd in 66:25.
She's 17th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Brigid Kosgei's 66:35 in 3rd also made the World list, in 23rd!!
As for Hall, her 69:37 in 10th was a PR by 30 seconds, moving her from 12th to 8th on the A-T US list!!
The Czech Republic Half was also fast!
Barsilius Kipyego won it in 59:14.
He misses my (revised!!) World list by 8 seconds!
Josphat Tanui took Silver with a 59:22.
Third, in a National Record of Tanzania time of 59:30, was Ismail Juma!!
Violah Jepchumba took the Women's race in 66:06!
(She'd run 65:22 earlier this year!!)
As for Rupp & Hasay, Galen easily won the Philly race in 62:18--a decent tempo run before his Chicago Marathon race!
But Hasay went up against one Meseret Defar, who showed she's FAR from being finished!!
Her 68:46---slow times were probably caused by high heat & humidity!--defeated Caroline Rotich by 55 seconds!1
Hasay also tempo'd through, time of 70:42--as she's also scheduled to run in Chi-Town!
The early XC dribblings showed some young---a couple VERY young!!--Women moving into the early ratings talk for NCAA--& the HS races (NXN & Footlocker).
Texas Soph Destiny Collins--the former Great Oak (CA) stud--won her first pair of races in dominating fashion!
Times are not important, but she won this weekend's race by 30 seconds, front-running the whole way!
Sam Worley--the fast HS Miler (4:00.61) from this past season--also ran good (3rd) as a Texas Frosh!
Brodey Hasty, now a HS Senior, beat a pack of Collegians (!!) at the adidas XC Challenge.
But maybe "beat" is the wrong word!
He OBLITERATED the field, his 14:45 over the 5K course being a full 74 seconds ahead of the runner-up!
This was in North Carolina.
The Harvard/Princeton/Yale Tri-meet gave some interesting results--at least in the "familiar names" department!
While Andrea Mastron (sp??) won the Women's race in 13:45 (4K), in 2nd came Sophie Cantine in 14:02.
She's now a Princeton Frosh, but you might recall my mentioning (over & over & over again!! LOL) that her 2:47.64 INdoor 1000 she ran as a HS Frosh WOULD have set records & made lists EXCEPT that it was run on Seattle's Oversize Track a few years ago!!
She never did run any LEGAL list-making times as a HS'er!!
Maybe her time for that will be as a Collegian!!
The Men's race too produced a familiar name!
Matt Chisholm won the 6K race in 19:27.
But it was a Yale Frosh back in 4th you might recognize!
Nick Dahl's time was 19:39!
Karissa Schweizer's initial race of her Senior year proved one thing--She's a force to be reckoned with at NCAA's!!
Her time of 16:25 over the 5000 meter course produced a 64 second gap back to 2nd!!
As for those youngsters I mentioned earlier, THEIR names are Ping--as in HS Frosh Grace--and 7th Grade sister Lauren!!
Grace is fairly well known, as reported a few times on this blog!
In fact, her 16:25.63 Track 5000 from this past Spring--even though she was then an 8th Grader!!--ranks 16th A-T HS!!
I reported (in a previous post) that Grace & Lauren---though I'd forgotten her name then!!--had finished 1st & 3rd in their first XC race this year!
Well, they've one-upped themselves!
Grace again won--the Rochester MN Mayo Invite--in 18:16 over the 5K course!
Lauren was a full 65 seconds behind--19:21--but she ended SECOND---as a Seventh Grader!!
Oh yes, in 3rd came the first HS SENIOR!!--time of 19:48!
In interviews, they both sound VERY serious about wanting to get faster & become future elites!
That future may be NOW!
BTW, Grace is on Twitter--and wants people to PM her to talk about Track!
Not only a great runner, but a FAN of the sport!
The Talence Multis meet (DecaStar) lost Kevin Mayer to a DNS, as well as Kurt Felix & Zack Ziemek being early DNF's, the latter with some sort of injury!
Damian Warner thus had it relatively easy, his 8252 points being enough for the W.
Anouk Vetter had a bit more competition--but her 6363 prevailed over Xenia Krizsan's 6282 in the Heptathlon!
Trevor Dunbar invited some of his pals up to his home state of Alaska for some Mile races on the track!
The one in Kodiak was the fastest, won by Ben Blankenship in 3:57.85.
This is the fastest ever Mile run on Alaska soil!!
I don't believe there were any Women's races!
At the Dam to Dam 10 Mile race in Amsterdam (Sic!!), Berhanu Legese won over Yenew Alamirew--45:38 to 45:45.
That's it for results, but I have a few news items to offer.
The Nor-Cal Distance Project is no more!!
Drew Wartenburg's group has folded--after Leah O'Connor and Kate Grace both left!
He's married to Kim Conley, and will continue to coach her--but at least for now, in a non-group environment!
Drew Hunter has moved to Colorado to train!!
But he says he's not joining a group--at least for now!
Another moving to Colorado is Kaela Edwards!
She'll be joining Emma Coburn, to also be coached by Emma's soon-to-be husband Joe Bosshard!
Finally, Jereem Richards turned Professional before his Senior year at Alabama!!
Berlin's Marathon is in a week, with talk of a WR chase for the Men--no specific time goal given!
But with Eliud Kipchoge, Wilson Kipsang, and Ken Bekele among the entrants, that talk ain't cheap!!
Not sure when exactly, but I might do my Collegiate & HS Athlete of the Year posts BEFORE my report on Berlin!!
See you soon!
Sunday, September 10, 2017
On the Road(s) Again
There's still the Talence Multi's, but for all intents, the 2017 OUTdoor T&F season is over!!
Which means one thing---it's back on the Roads again---and the various XC courses!---for the next 3 months!
(Although the 2017-2018 INdoor T&F season will begin BEFORE those 90 days are done!)
Joyciline Jepkosgei--already a four-time Roads World Record holder from her Half-Marathon WR earlier this year--has added a fifth--at the IAAF Prague 10K!
Breaking---nay, SMASHING!--her own WR of 30:05 by 22 seconds, Jepkosgei's 29:43 became the first sub-30 time run on the roads!
But she broke a 2nd WR enroute--passing the 5000 meters point in 14:33!!
Thus, she has broken SIX Road WR's in 2017!!
Fancy Chemutai was 2nd in 30:04, also finishing under the old WR!
Violah Jepchumba was 3rd in 30:25, one second ahead of Sheila Chepkirui's 30:26!
The Men's race was much closer up front, but of lesser quality!
Benard Kimeli's 27:10 edged Mathew Kipkorir's 27:11 for the win!
Rhonex Kipruto's 27:13 was 3rd!
Today's Fifth Avenue Mile was the other highlight of the week!
Nick Willis won his 4th, while Jenny Simpson took her 6th--and 5th consecutive!
The ever-reliable Simpson powered the final 200 to a Course Record time of 4:16.65!
(Patti Sue Plumer held the old mark at 4:16.68!!)
Jenny had to battle a pair of Brits to win, but was not to be denied!
Jessica Judd--having her best year since her WJC 800 win in 2012--led at halfway (winning the $1000 bonus!), and still led when Simpson started her kick!
Another Brit--Laura Weightman--was also in the front pack, with Brenda Martinez close!
Weightman took 2nd in the British Road Mile best of 4:17.62, with Judd 3rd in 4:18.27!
Martinez was next in 4:18.36, while Eilish McColgan and Dominique Scott also ran under 4:20!
Heather Kampf, Emma Coburn, and Colleen Quigley were next, in that order, all sub-4:22!
Sara Vaughn was 11th, while Courtney Frerichs and Emily Lipari had off-days, ending 20th & 22nd!
Craig Engels and Drew Windle made it a real RACE to the Bonus point--Engels outleaning (!!) Windle!!
(Really, they leaned at the 880 point!!)
This cost them (in Place, NOT the bonus money!), as they finished 13th and 22nd, respectively!!
Up front--after the lead pair faded--it became a race between Chris O'Hare and Nick Willis, as the 2016 winner--Eric Jenkins--was never in it!
Also near the front through about 1000 was new Pro Ed Cheserek--but he finished only 16th!!
Willis won in 3:51.31 to O'Hare's 3:52.00.
Ben Blankenship beat Spain's Adel Mechaal, 3:52.25 to 3:52.60, for 3rd!
Close behind were Colby Alexander (3:52.62) and Jenkins (3:52.63)!
Ryan Hill was 10th, while Robby Andrews finished in 12th!
The Great North Run Half was won by Mo Farah and Mary Keitany!
Mo's winner was 60:08, with Jake Robertson 4 seconds back in 60:12.
For Farah, it was the Age 34 record!
Feyisa Lelisa was 3rd, but well behind in 61:32.
Dathan Ritzenhein--who led early!--ended 6th in 62:49.
Bernard Lagat was 8th in 63:02--not bad for a guy nearing his 43rd birthday!!
Keitany's win was clearcut, her 65:59 well over a minute ahead of Vivian Cheruiyot's 67:44!!
Kenyans took the first 5 places, but Gemma Steel led the British field with her 71:32 in 6th!
Another Road Race of note was the USATF 20K in New Haven, Connecticut!
Oregon Project (NOP) teammates Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay took the wins, although Rupp had to really claw for his!
It came down to a final sprint between Rupp and Len Korir, with Rupp's 59:04 nipping Korir's 59:05, although they might as well have been given the same time!
Sam Chelanga's 59:16 was 3rd!
It was much easier for Hasay!
Her 66:35 beat Aliphine Tuliamuk's 67:49, and Sara Hall's 67:53!
BTW, remember this was 20000 meters, NOT a Half-Marathon!
If continued, Rupp probably would have run 62:20 for 13.1 Miles, while Hasay's time might have been right at 70 minutes even!!
The Hoka One One Miles--the Men's re-named the David Torrence Memorial Mile!!--were good devotionals to the much-loved Torrence's memory!
(Every runner wore a sticker labeled "DT" on their bibs!!)
Run just days before the 5th Ave Mile (See above!), it was another Chris O'Hare--Nick Willis thriller--but here O'Hare's 3:56.22 prevailed over Willis's 3:56.41!
(Times might have been slower than desired, as it was run during a rainstorm on a VERY wet track!!)
Johnny Gregorek was 3rd in 3:57.41.
For the Women, Emily Lipari was a shock (??) winner, her last-dash kick keeping Brenda Martinez in check!
Times were 4:28.84 and 4:28.96 for those two, with Lipari's being her first sub-4:30!!
Hanna Fields beat Emily Infeld for 3rd, 4:30.32 to 4:30.78!
(The track announcer introduced her as InFIELD!!! LOL)
Not much else from the Track (or Field!) to report, but here's the best---
Yoshihide Kiryu became the first Japanese to break 10 seconds for 100 meters!!
His 9.98 is of course the Japan National Record!!
At the DecaNation meet, Ryan Crouser's SP sailed out 71-5.25.
Jimmy Vicaut took the 100 in 10.05.
Courtney Okolo won a double, the 200 and 400, times of 23.41 and 51.96.
Shannon Rowbury won the Women's 2000 in 5:48.22.
The great North Games--a street Track meet run on a portable track--saw Nijel Amos blaze a 500 in 59.26!
I have no idea how the track was laid out, so can't tell you the "value" of his time!---but it sounds good!!
I neglected to tell you in a previous post, but Eilish McColgan's recent 5000 of 14:48.49 is the National Record of Scotland!
Cross Country has begun!
Here's some VERY early results of some significance--
Weini Kelati---the girl who set the HS world aflame with some stunning front-run distance races INdoors and OUT as an over-aged Freshman and Sophomore--is now a Frosh at New Mexico!!
In her first race in 15 months (!!), she broke the Lobo Invitational Course Record, time of 16:59.8 over 5K!
She won, obviously!!
Katelyn Tuohy is one of several returning HS studs--and she proved it by shattering the Course Record with her 3 Mile time of 16:24!
Second?
She was over three MINUTES behind!!
On the Men's side, Carlos Carvajal was most impressive, winning at California's Seaside Invite in 14:12 over a 3 Mile course!
(Second fastest time in that meet's history!)
Finally, at the Kentucky Bluegrass XC, Kentucky (sic!!) athletes took the W's--Jake Thomson's 23:42 over 8K--Katy Kunc's 16:42 over 6K!
Both are Seniors.
In other news--
As noted above, Ed Cheserek is now a Professional!
He signed with Skechers!
(This was surprising, as he ran for Oregon, a school widely accepted as being a Nike-bought & paid for Institution!!)
Kate Grace has switched teams!
She just joined Jerry Schumacher's Bowerman TC--and has moved to Portland!
This might already be known, but Emma Coburn's wedding date is October 14th!
Also, Molly Ludlow is now 34 weeks pregnant--as a recent InstaGram photo revealed!
Finally, Triple Jumper Supreme Christian Taylor announced he will concentrate on the 400 meters in 2018!
He didn't say whether he will do his specialty also--but let's assume he will---at least once or twice!
At least one XC meet was cancelled in Florida because of Hurricane Irma!
Coming up is the Talence meet, beginning in 6 days!
Also, more XC, and the Berlin Marathon, where Wilson Kipsang has said he wants the World Record!
See you soon!
Which means one thing---it's back on the Roads again---and the various XC courses!---for the next 3 months!
(Although the 2017-2018 INdoor T&F season will begin BEFORE those 90 days are done!)
Joyciline Jepkosgei--already a four-time Roads World Record holder from her Half-Marathon WR earlier this year--has added a fifth--at the IAAF Prague 10K!
Breaking---nay, SMASHING!--her own WR of 30:05 by 22 seconds, Jepkosgei's 29:43 became the first sub-30 time run on the roads!
But she broke a 2nd WR enroute--passing the 5000 meters point in 14:33!!
Thus, she has broken SIX Road WR's in 2017!!
Fancy Chemutai was 2nd in 30:04, also finishing under the old WR!
Violah Jepchumba was 3rd in 30:25, one second ahead of Sheila Chepkirui's 30:26!
The Men's race was much closer up front, but of lesser quality!
Benard Kimeli's 27:10 edged Mathew Kipkorir's 27:11 for the win!
Rhonex Kipruto's 27:13 was 3rd!
Today's Fifth Avenue Mile was the other highlight of the week!
Nick Willis won his 4th, while Jenny Simpson took her 6th--and 5th consecutive!
The ever-reliable Simpson powered the final 200 to a Course Record time of 4:16.65!
(Patti Sue Plumer held the old mark at 4:16.68!!)
Jenny had to battle a pair of Brits to win, but was not to be denied!
Jessica Judd--having her best year since her WJC 800 win in 2012--led at halfway (winning the $1000 bonus!), and still led when Simpson started her kick!
Another Brit--Laura Weightman--was also in the front pack, with Brenda Martinez close!
Weightman took 2nd in the British Road Mile best of 4:17.62, with Judd 3rd in 4:18.27!
Martinez was next in 4:18.36, while Eilish McColgan and Dominique Scott also ran under 4:20!
Heather Kampf, Emma Coburn, and Colleen Quigley were next, in that order, all sub-4:22!
Sara Vaughn was 11th, while Courtney Frerichs and Emily Lipari had off-days, ending 20th & 22nd!
Craig Engels and Drew Windle made it a real RACE to the Bonus point--Engels outleaning (!!) Windle!!
(Really, they leaned at the 880 point!!)
This cost them (in Place, NOT the bonus money!), as they finished 13th and 22nd, respectively!!
Up front--after the lead pair faded--it became a race between Chris O'Hare and Nick Willis, as the 2016 winner--Eric Jenkins--was never in it!
Also near the front through about 1000 was new Pro Ed Cheserek--but he finished only 16th!!
Willis won in 3:51.31 to O'Hare's 3:52.00.
Ben Blankenship beat Spain's Adel Mechaal, 3:52.25 to 3:52.60, for 3rd!
Close behind were Colby Alexander (3:52.62) and Jenkins (3:52.63)!
Ryan Hill was 10th, while Robby Andrews finished in 12th!
The Great North Run Half was won by Mo Farah and Mary Keitany!
Mo's winner was 60:08, with Jake Robertson 4 seconds back in 60:12.
For Farah, it was the Age 34 record!
Feyisa Lelisa was 3rd, but well behind in 61:32.
Dathan Ritzenhein--who led early!--ended 6th in 62:49.
Bernard Lagat was 8th in 63:02--not bad for a guy nearing his 43rd birthday!!
Keitany's win was clearcut, her 65:59 well over a minute ahead of Vivian Cheruiyot's 67:44!!
Kenyans took the first 5 places, but Gemma Steel led the British field with her 71:32 in 6th!
Another Road Race of note was the USATF 20K in New Haven, Connecticut!
Oregon Project (NOP) teammates Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay took the wins, although Rupp had to really claw for his!
It came down to a final sprint between Rupp and Len Korir, with Rupp's 59:04 nipping Korir's 59:05, although they might as well have been given the same time!
Sam Chelanga's 59:16 was 3rd!
It was much easier for Hasay!
Her 66:35 beat Aliphine Tuliamuk's 67:49, and Sara Hall's 67:53!
BTW, remember this was 20000 meters, NOT a Half-Marathon!
If continued, Rupp probably would have run 62:20 for 13.1 Miles, while Hasay's time might have been right at 70 minutes even!!
The Hoka One One Miles--the Men's re-named the David Torrence Memorial Mile!!--were good devotionals to the much-loved Torrence's memory!
(Every runner wore a sticker labeled "DT" on their bibs!!)
Run just days before the 5th Ave Mile (See above!), it was another Chris O'Hare--Nick Willis thriller--but here O'Hare's 3:56.22 prevailed over Willis's 3:56.41!
(Times might have been slower than desired, as it was run during a rainstorm on a VERY wet track!!)
Johnny Gregorek was 3rd in 3:57.41.
For the Women, Emily Lipari was a shock (??) winner, her last-dash kick keeping Brenda Martinez in check!
Times were 4:28.84 and 4:28.96 for those two, with Lipari's being her first sub-4:30!!
Hanna Fields beat Emily Infeld for 3rd, 4:30.32 to 4:30.78!
(The track announcer introduced her as InFIELD!!! LOL)
Not much else from the Track (or Field!) to report, but here's the best---
Yoshihide Kiryu became the first Japanese to break 10 seconds for 100 meters!!
His 9.98 is of course the Japan National Record!!
At the DecaNation meet, Ryan Crouser's SP sailed out 71-5.25.
Jimmy Vicaut took the 100 in 10.05.
Courtney Okolo won a double, the 200 and 400, times of 23.41 and 51.96.
Shannon Rowbury won the Women's 2000 in 5:48.22.
The great North Games--a street Track meet run on a portable track--saw Nijel Amos blaze a 500 in 59.26!
I have no idea how the track was laid out, so can't tell you the "value" of his time!---but it sounds good!!
I neglected to tell you in a previous post, but Eilish McColgan's recent 5000 of 14:48.49 is the National Record of Scotland!
Cross Country has begun!
Here's some VERY early results of some significance--
Weini Kelati---the girl who set the HS world aflame with some stunning front-run distance races INdoors and OUT as an over-aged Freshman and Sophomore--is now a Frosh at New Mexico!!
In her first race in 15 months (!!), she broke the Lobo Invitational Course Record, time of 16:59.8 over 5K!
She won, obviously!!
Katelyn Tuohy is one of several returning HS studs--and she proved it by shattering the Course Record with her 3 Mile time of 16:24!
Second?
She was over three MINUTES behind!!
On the Men's side, Carlos Carvajal was most impressive, winning at California's Seaside Invite in 14:12 over a 3 Mile course!
(Second fastest time in that meet's history!)
Finally, at the Kentucky Bluegrass XC, Kentucky (sic!!) athletes took the W's--Jake Thomson's 23:42 over 8K--Katy Kunc's 16:42 over 6K!
Both are Seniors.
In other news--
As noted above, Ed Cheserek is now a Professional!
He signed with Skechers!
(This was surprising, as he ran for Oregon, a school widely accepted as being a Nike-bought & paid for Institution!!)
Kate Grace has switched teams!
She just joined Jerry Schumacher's Bowerman TC--and has moved to Portland!
This might already be known, but Emma Coburn's wedding date is October 14th!
Also, Molly Ludlow is now 34 weeks pregnant--as a recent InstaGram photo revealed!
Finally, Triple Jumper Supreme Christian Taylor announced he will concentrate on the 400 meters in 2018!
He didn't say whether he will do his specialty also--but let's assume he will---at least once or twice!
At least one XC meet was cancelled in Florida because of Hurricane Irma!
Coming up is the Talence meet, beginning in 6 days!
Also, more XC, and the Berlin Marathon, where Wilson Kipsang has said he wants the World Record!
See you soon!
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Brussels ends so-so DL's of 2017
And so they're done!
No more of my rants at weak DL's---at least not until May of 2018!
(Although the usual May DL's---Doha, Shanghai, and Eugene---are normally among the best!!)
This one began with a BANG!!
On the day before the meat of the meet began!
Ryan Crouser returned---to form, that is!--opening the SP with a 73-4!!
He added a 72-11.75 in the 3rd!
Then came the HUGE shocker of round 6!
Having thrown just 69-9.75 (4th round!), when Darrell Hill came into the ring, no one expected what was to come!
Hill's PR stood at 71-10.75 from earlier this year!
But in round 6, he added about 21 inches to that mark, his 73-7.50 becoming the new Van Damme Meet Record!
He's now 13th A-T World!
And suddenly---heh!---King of the HILL!!
(Couldn't resist! LOL)
Joe Kovacs was 3rd with 70-11.25, with David Storl (70-5.25) and Tomas Stanek (70-2.25) next!
But it was Tom Walsh's 70-1.75 that made some history!
It's the best 6th Place mark!
But more importantly, this makes the 1st competition with SIX athletes at 70 or more feet!!
The Women's 5000 and 400 races produced some list-revising marks!
Helen Obiri won the longer race in 14:25.88.
But in 2nd came Caroline Kipkirui's 14:27.55, which makes her 9th A-T World!!
Senbere Teferi ran 14:32.03 in 3rd, but no PR.
In 4th was Margaret Kipkemboi's 14:32.82, which misses my A-T list by 0.91 seconds!
Next came Beatrice Chepkoech---in her first track 5000!!--time of 14:39.33!!
Not a bad debut for the infamous Steeple fumbler!!
Susan Krumins's 14:51.25 in 9th was a 2 second PR, continuing a solid summer in this event!
But it was Eilish McColgan's 14:48.49 in 8th that opened eyes!
Not only was it her initial dip into the 14's (!!), but when you realize that her Mother (Liz McColgan) had run 14:59.56 about a quarter century ago, you see the genesis of the Best Ever Mother-Daughter 5000 combo in history!!
Their times add to 29:48.05!
(As someone sardonically said---Unless the Dibaba's Mom turns out to have been a stud also, this baby stands as Number One!)
Oh, BTW, knocked OFF the World list was one Faith Kipyegon, her 14:31.95 from 2015 now GONE!
(I have a feeling she'll return to the list--soon!)
In the one-lapper, Shaunae Miller-Uibo (aka SMU) was clearly in first entering the 2nd curve.
But the slower-starting Salwa Naser was clearly charging forward the fastest.
Coming into the straight, it was a two-woman race!
Running almost side-by-side (They were in lanes 6 & 7!), SMU had to work it to edge ahead, then blaze over the line in 49.46--just 0.02 off her PR!
Naser didn't let up, as she and her dread-braided hair flew to yet another PR (her FOURTH in the past 4 weeks, beginning with her London heat time of 50.57!)!
Her 49.88 broke her own National Record of Bahrain!
It was NOT an Age 19 record, but it brought her progress to a full second over her best at the end of 2016!!
Another youngster--though now Age 20--surprised some in winning the Men's 200--and beating the London WC winner!!
Noah Lyles sped 20.00, just nipping the 20.01 of Ameer Webb and the 20.02 of Ramil Guliyev!
Not bad for a guy who missed making TeamUSA in this event!
As has become common in these much-ballyhooed DL's, there were other good--even GREAT--marks, but still not quite what you'd expect from such a prestigious event!
Here's the rest of Brussels---
Sandra Perkovic unwound to 225-9 in the DT, easily beating Dani Stevens!
Ivana Spanovic took the LJ, but NO ONE reached even 22 feet, Spanovic's winning mark being 21-11.75!!
Taking a mediocre 4th & 5th were Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese!!
Elijah Manangoi didn't impress in the 1500, his winner timed at 3:38.97!
Neither did Yohan Blake with his 10.02 winner in the 100.
Delilah Muhammed just beat Zuzana Hejnova in the 400H, 53.89 to 53.93!
Sergey Shubenkov added another win to his list, his 13.14 in the 110H beating the 13.17 of Orlando Ortega, Aries Merritt's 13.20, and Devon Allen's 13.24!
Elaine Thompson won the 100, but her time of 10.92 was nowhere near her PR.
However, she beat the 10.93 of Marie Josee Ta Lou!!
Nijel Amos took the 800 in 1:44.53.
Andrius Gudzius took the DT with his 223-7.
Christian Taylor--again having said he wanted the WR--TJ'ed 57-4.75--missing Jonathan Edwards's WR by just a tad!!
Making it a habit, Mariya Lasitskene again won the HJ--this time at 6-7.50--though she took 3 attempts at 6-9.75!
Also making a habit of winning, Greece's Ekaterina Stefanidi beat her chief American foe, Sandi Morris, in the PV!
Morris and Alysha Newman cleared 15-7, with Newman tying her National Record of Canada!
But they could go no higher!
Stefanidi went on to clear 15-11, then missed her 3 tries at 16-1.75!!
The Men's 3000SC was a 3-person race---until the final water jump!!
Evan Jager led the race, with Consesius Kipruto and Soufiane El Bakkali for company!
But Jager then stumbled, falling, leaving it to the others to duel for the win!
Kipruto's 8:04.73 just beat El Bakkali's 8:04.82!
Jager got up to finish in 8:11.71.
El Bakkali missed the World DDD by 0.37 seconds!
The Women's 1500 also became a two-person race!
Sifan Hassan was on the inside of Faith Kipyegon almost the entire last lap, but Kipyegon edged ahead in the last 50 meters, her 3:57.04 prevailing over Hassan's 3:57.22.
Jenny Simpson was about 9th with 800 to go---not her usual M.O.!
(Heh---more like SIR Mo!!!)
Moving too late to make a difference, she finished just 6th in 4:00.70!
The final event of this Belgian meet had a "bad omen"-type result!
The famed Borlee Brothers were all entered--in a relatively weak field---made to order for a possible 1-2-3 Borlee (& Belgian!) finish!
Not to be!
Liguelin Santos took the W in 45.67, with the B-Boys taking slots 4, 5, and 6!!
I'm on Twitter a lot!!
(Too much!!)
But it's there where I see TFRSS's compiled results of various T&F meets (during the Collegiate season)---and Cross Country results!!
And yes, the latter have begun to dribble (POUR!!) in!!
A few worth mentioning---
In the Michigan Open, Nick Willis--a long ago Michigan grad from New Zealand--decided to step in--as part of a longer workout!
But workout or not, for a guy of his caliber to take just 5th was a bit of a shocker!
He was about 10 seconds behind the winner!!
Gina Serena beat Jamie Morrissey in the Women's race, 17:00 to 17:10.
And in the Aggie Invite, Texas's Destiny Collins--a star alum of the loaded Great Oaks CA squad--won her first Collegiate XC race, her 14:05 prevailing over the 4100 meter course!
In a previous post, I mentioned Malwina Kopron's 252-1 HT mark just below that of Anita Wlodarczyk's!
But they were NOT in the same meet!
Kopron's mark, in fact, set the World University Games Meet Record!!
Most of you probably know this already, but Pierre Ambroise-Bosse was badly beaten up in an alley outside a bar by 3 thugs!
He was forced to drop from the Brussels meet, and end his season, because of it!
One of the suspects has been arrested!!
WHY did this happen?
Robbery?
Or just plain psychotic hateful behavior towards an innocent human being!!
Come back strong, Pierre!!
The rest of September will be a busy one for this blog!
Left on the calendar are--
New Haven USATF 20000 Meters Championship, featuring Galen Rupp, in just 2 days!
The David Torrence Memorial Mile, as part of the greater-Hoka One One set of Miles, on the 6th!
(Deep fields here---both Men and Women!)
DecaNation and the Great City Games (& Half-Marathon!) on the 9th!
The LOADED 5th Avenue Mile on the 10th!!
Talence's Multi's fest on the 16th & 17th!
The Berlin Marathon on the 24th!
And a pair of early XC features--Minnesota's Roy Griak races and Oregon's Bill Dellinger Invite--both in late September!
Oh yes, just remembered another early XC result of note---
Grace Ping won her first race of the season!
Ho hum.
But she has a younger sister!!
Can't recall her name, but she took 3rd behind her older sibling!!
This was apparently against older HS'ers!
Also coming this month are my Collegiate & HS wrap-ups, which center around my AOY picks!!
See you soon!
No more of my rants at weak DL's---at least not until May of 2018!
(Although the usual May DL's---Doha, Shanghai, and Eugene---are normally among the best!!)
This one began with a BANG!!
On the day before the meat of the meet began!
Ryan Crouser returned---to form, that is!--opening the SP with a 73-4!!
He added a 72-11.75 in the 3rd!
Then came the HUGE shocker of round 6!
Having thrown just 69-9.75 (4th round!), when Darrell Hill came into the ring, no one expected what was to come!
Hill's PR stood at 71-10.75 from earlier this year!
But in round 6, he added about 21 inches to that mark, his 73-7.50 becoming the new Van Damme Meet Record!
He's now 13th A-T World!
And suddenly---heh!---King of the HILL!!
(Couldn't resist! LOL)
Joe Kovacs was 3rd with 70-11.25, with David Storl (70-5.25) and Tomas Stanek (70-2.25) next!
But it was Tom Walsh's 70-1.75 that made some history!
It's the best 6th Place mark!
But more importantly, this makes the 1st competition with SIX athletes at 70 or more feet!!
The Women's 5000 and 400 races produced some list-revising marks!
Helen Obiri won the longer race in 14:25.88.
But in 2nd came Caroline Kipkirui's 14:27.55, which makes her 9th A-T World!!
Senbere Teferi ran 14:32.03 in 3rd, but no PR.
In 4th was Margaret Kipkemboi's 14:32.82, which misses my A-T list by 0.91 seconds!
Next came Beatrice Chepkoech---in her first track 5000!!--time of 14:39.33!!
Not a bad debut for the infamous Steeple fumbler!!
Susan Krumins's 14:51.25 in 9th was a 2 second PR, continuing a solid summer in this event!
But it was Eilish McColgan's 14:48.49 in 8th that opened eyes!
Not only was it her initial dip into the 14's (!!), but when you realize that her Mother (Liz McColgan) had run 14:59.56 about a quarter century ago, you see the genesis of the Best Ever Mother-Daughter 5000 combo in history!!
Their times add to 29:48.05!
(As someone sardonically said---Unless the Dibaba's Mom turns out to have been a stud also, this baby stands as Number One!)
Oh, BTW, knocked OFF the World list was one Faith Kipyegon, her 14:31.95 from 2015 now GONE!
(I have a feeling she'll return to the list--soon!)
In the one-lapper, Shaunae Miller-Uibo (aka SMU) was clearly in first entering the 2nd curve.
But the slower-starting Salwa Naser was clearly charging forward the fastest.
Coming into the straight, it was a two-woman race!
Running almost side-by-side (They were in lanes 6 & 7!), SMU had to work it to edge ahead, then blaze over the line in 49.46--just 0.02 off her PR!
Naser didn't let up, as she and her dread-braided hair flew to yet another PR (her FOURTH in the past 4 weeks, beginning with her London heat time of 50.57!)!
Her 49.88 broke her own National Record of Bahrain!
It was NOT an Age 19 record, but it brought her progress to a full second over her best at the end of 2016!!
Another youngster--though now Age 20--surprised some in winning the Men's 200--and beating the London WC winner!!
Noah Lyles sped 20.00, just nipping the 20.01 of Ameer Webb and the 20.02 of Ramil Guliyev!
Not bad for a guy who missed making TeamUSA in this event!
As has become common in these much-ballyhooed DL's, there were other good--even GREAT--marks, but still not quite what you'd expect from such a prestigious event!
Here's the rest of Brussels---
Sandra Perkovic unwound to 225-9 in the DT, easily beating Dani Stevens!
Ivana Spanovic took the LJ, but NO ONE reached even 22 feet, Spanovic's winning mark being 21-11.75!!
Taking a mediocre 4th & 5th were Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese!!
Elijah Manangoi didn't impress in the 1500, his winner timed at 3:38.97!
Neither did Yohan Blake with his 10.02 winner in the 100.
Delilah Muhammed just beat Zuzana Hejnova in the 400H, 53.89 to 53.93!
Sergey Shubenkov added another win to his list, his 13.14 in the 110H beating the 13.17 of Orlando Ortega, Aries Merritt's 13.20, and Devon Allen's 13.24!
Elaine Thompson won the 100, but her time of 10.92 was nowhere near her PR.
However, she beat the 10.93 of Marie Josee Ta Lou!!
Nijel Amos took the 800 in 1:44.53.
Andrius Gudzius took the DT with his 223-7.
Christian Taylor--again having said he wanted the WR--TJ'ed 57-4.75--missing Jonathan Edwards's WR by just a tad!!
Making it a habit, Mariya Lasitskene again won the HJ--this time at 6-7.50--though she took 3 attempts at 6-9.75!
Also making a habit of winning, Greece's Ekaterina Stefanidi beat her chief American foe, Sandi Morris, in the PV!
Morris and Alysha Newman cleared 15-7, with Newman tying her National Record of Canada!
But they could go no higher!
Stefanidi went on to clear 15-11, then missed her 3 tries at 16-1.75!!
The Men's 3000SC was a 3-person race---until the final water jump!!
Evan Jager led the race, with Consesius Kipruto and Soufiane El Bakkali for company!
But Jager then stumbled, falling, leaving it to the others to duel for the win!
Kipruto's 8:04.73 just beat El Bakkali's 8:04.82!
Jager got up to finish in 8:11.71.
El Bakkali missed the World DDD by 0.37 seconds!
The Women's 1500 also became a two-person race!
Sifan Hassan was on the inside of Faith Kipyegon almost the entire last lap, but Kipyegon edged ahead in the last 50 meters, her 3:57.04 prevailing over Hassan's 3:57.22.
Jenny Simpson was about 9th with 800 to go---not her usual M.O.!
(Heh---more like SIR Mo!!!)
Moving too late to make a difference, she finished just 6th in 4:00.70!
The final event of this Belgian meet had a "bad omen"-type result!
The famed Borlee Brothers were all entered--in a relatively weak field---made to order for a possible 1-2-3 Borlee (& Belgian!) finish!
Not to be!
Liguelin Santos took the W in 45.67, with the B-Boys taking slots 4, 5, and 6!!
I'm on Twitter a lot!!
(Too much!!)
But it's there where I see TFRSS's compiled results of various T&F meets (during the Collegiate season)---and Cross Country results!!
And yes, the latter have begun to dribble (POUR!!) in!!
A few worth mentioning---
In the Michigan Open, Nick Willis--a long ago Michigan grad from New Zealand--decided to step in--as part of a longer workout!
But workout or not, for a guy of his caliber to take just 5th was a bit of a shocker!
He was about 10 seconds behind the winner!!
Gina Serena beat Jamie Morrissey in the Women's race, 17:00 to 17:10.
And in the Aggie Invite, Texas's Destiny Collins--a star alum of the loaded Great Oaks CA squad--won her first Collegiate XC race, her 14:05 prevailing over the 4100 meter course!
In a previous post, I mentioned Malwina Kopron's 252-1 HT mark just below that of Anita Wlodarczyk's!
But they were NOT in the same meet!
Kopron's mark, in fact, set the World University Games Meet Record!!
Most of you probably know this already, but Pierre Ambroise-Bosse was badly beaten up in an alley outside a bar by 3 thugs!
He was forced to drop from the Brussels meet, and end his season, because of it!
One of the suspects has been arrested!!
WHY did this happen?
Robbery?
Or just plain psychotic hateful behavior towards an innocent human being!!
Come back strong, Pierre!!
The rest of September will be a busy one for this blog!
Left on the calendar are--
New Haven USATF 20000 Meters Championship, featuring Galen Rupp, in just 2 days!
The David Torrence Memorial Mile, as part of the greater-Hoka One One set of Miles, on the 6th!
(Deep fields here---both Men and Women!)
DecaNation and the Great City Games (& Half-Marathon!) on the 9th!
The LOADED 5th Avenue Mile on the 10th!!
Talence's Multi's fest on the 16th & 17th!
The Berlin Marathon on the 24th!
And a pair of early XC features--Minnesota's Roy Griak races and Oregon's Bill Dellinger Invite--both in late September!
Oh yes, just remembered another early XC result of note---
Grace Ping won her first race of the season!
Ho hum.
But she has a younger sister!!
Can't recall her name, but she took 3rd behind her older sibling!!
This was apparently against older HS'ers!
Also coming this month are my Collegiate & HS wrap-ups, which center around my AOY picks!!
See you soon!
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