USATF Surprises Many

Can you wait a minute--while I eat my words?
In my Preview, I spoke a LOT about those athlete No-Shows (or MIA's!), seeming to think this would lessen the meet's quality!
Well, if you insist, it DID!
But then again, maybe who DID show up made up for those "losses".

Can't think of anyone who could have made the Men's 60 any better!
After all, when you smash your own World Record--and do so with only a fair start & 1st half of the race--well, the numbers speak for themselves!

Christian Coleman--less than 1 year out from Usain Bolt's retirement--has permission to wear a shirt that says "Usain WHO?" on its front!
His 6.34 either smashed Mo Greene's 6.39 WR---or Coleman's own (but debated) 6.37!
I choose the latter!
After a 6.42 semi--where he let up before the tape--Coleman survived a false start recall--then did what he does best--MOVE HIS ASS!!

Besides the World and American Records, he broke his own Age 21 record, and Greene's Meet Record!!
He of course remains 1st A-T World and US!

But Ronnie Baker wasn't standing still!
In fact, it was only in the last 20 meters where Coleman pulled ahead--narrowly!!
Baker's 6.40 snags the Age 24 Record!
He moves from 5th A-T US, tied with 3 others, to 3rd!
And on the World list, he moves from 8th, tied with 6 others, to 3rd!!
Add Mike Rodgers's 3rd place time of 6.50--which gave him the Age 32 Record---and you had yourself an A+ race!!

At 5000+ feet of altitude, you might expect fast sprint times!
And yes, ALL of them produced!

Jarret Eaton--who post-race proved he should be on Dancing with the Stars--took care of a quality field with ease!
After a heat in 7.53, it was Devon Allen's 7.52 which took Fastest Semi title!
But the final was all Eaton!
His 7.43 continued a string of fast 2018 times!
It moves him from 18th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to 11th, tied with 1 other.
He's now 20th A-T World, tied with 4 others!

Second went to Aries Merritt, whose 7.46 is his best post-kidney transplant!!
He had to be that quick, as Devon Allen sped to a 7.49, which makes him 22nd A-T US!!
Knocked OFF the World DDD were two hurdle icons--
Greg Foster's and Mark McKoy's 7.44's, both of which came in 1991.

The Women's 60H was even better!
The talk pre-race was about if Kendra Harrison might threaten the World Record of 7.68!
After all, she'd already tied the American Record of 7.72--and that wasn't at altitude!

The heats went to Christina Manning's 7.84, with Harrison next at 7.87.
Sharika Nelvis ran 7.91.
(I'll report on the 9th place finisher later!!)
Things sped up a bit in the semi's--led by Harrison's 7.77, with Manning at 7.80, and Nelvis running 7.83!

Then came the final--which sent Lolo Jones into a little frenetic tizzy!!
With Harrison taking a cautious start, she fell behind Nelvis, who blasted from the blocks!
But as the meters wore down, it became a battle!
At the tape, the time of 7.70 flashed for all to see!
Nelvis had just sent Ms Jones into the realm of FORMER American Record holder!
(BTW, the little kerfuffle was about Jones's tweet, saying that SHE was the REAL AR holder, as Nelvis's time was Altitude-aided!!  Oh, come on, Lolo!!  LOL)

Anyway, her time is the new Age 27 Record, as well as the USATF Meet Record, and of course (Get a life, Lolo!!) the American Record!
She moves from 7th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to the Top!
And she moves from 19th A-T World, tied with 4 others, to 2nd!!

Harrison equaled her 7.72 PR in 2nd!
However, Nelvis's advance led to Harrison actually FALLING a spot!
She moves from 2nd A-T US, tied with Jones, to 3rd, where she's again tied with Jones!
Manning--another who's having a great 2018 season--got a PR by 0.04 seconds---to 7.73!
She moves from 6th to 4th on the A-T US list!
She moves from 14th A-T World, tied with 1 other, to 5th, tied with 2 others!

Queen Harrison finally got into the 7's--her 7.91 taking 5th!

The other sprint race--the Women's 60--at first lamented the DNS by Tori Bowie--who was thought to be America's best hope for Birmingham's WC's!
So after her DNS--(Don't know the reason!!)--the commentator's said it was anybody's race!
Maybe they didn't pay much attention when Javianne Oliver sped to a 7.11 heat--winning by several meters!!
This made her 20th A-T US, tied with 5 others!
But only temporarily!!

In the final, she led from the gun, and there was no looking back!
Her tremendous 7.02 smashed her PR of hours earlier by 0.09 seconds!!
She moves from 20th A-T US, tied with 5 others, to 6th, tied with 3 others!
And she enters the World list as well--at 17th A-T, tied with 6 others!
She won by 0.17 seconds!!

Think the Field Events were left behind?
Think again--especially if your eyes were turned to the Pole Vault---BOTH of them!!

The Men's was supposed to go to Sam Kendricks--despite his having lost a few to some European stars!!
But here, no one else was present who had cleared the 19 foot barrier!

That is, until Scott Houston got over the bar set at 19-1.50!!
He'd already PR'ed at the 18-11.50 bar, which both Kendricks and Mike Arnold also cleared!
Houston, who is 27 years old, is now 13th A-T US!!
He took a pair of tries at 19-3.50, missing both!

KC Lightfoot, a HS'er going against the Pro's, cleared the opening height (for everyone!!) of 17-7.75!
He didn't get over any others, but this one moves him from 14th A-T HS, tied with 2 others, to 8th!

But it was the Women's event which set the arena on FIRE!!
(Figuratively speaking, that is!!  LOL)

And it was left to the "3rd best American of 2018" to take the Top of the Podium!
After Meagann LeLeux went out after her 15-1.50 PR clearance, it was left to Sandi Morris, Jenn Suhr, and Katie Nageotte to finish the race to the Top!
LeLeux's mark moves her from 23rd A-T US to 13th, tied with 1 other!

Suhr waited until 15-1.50 to open!
Getting that, she passed to 15-5.50, which she missed once!
She then made 15-7.25 & 15-9.25 on 1st tries.
She took 1 shot at 15-11.25, then missed twice more at 16-1.25!
She took 3rd!
But as a consolation prize, she SMASHED Stacy Dragila's Age 36 Record by almost 2 whole FEET!!

Morris, coming in off a back ache problem, seemed 100% healthy here!!
She missed once at 15-1.50, but then cleared all before 2 misses at 15-11.25!
One of those might be blamed on her late call to officials to pass--which was rejected because of its tardiness!!
She then got over on her 3rd try, before missing her trio at 16-1.25!

Then there's Ms Nageotte--who No-Heighted her previous meet!
(See earlier post!)
She, um, sort of turned things around in Albuquerque!!

Perfect through 14-5.25, 14-9.50, 15-1.50, she then passed (as all 3 leaders did!!) 15-3.50--before continuing on her "No Hitter"!!
After another 1st time clearance at 15-5.50, she moved into PR territory!!
At 15-7.25, equaling her PR, she stood at 5th A-T US, and 16th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Her next bar--15-9.25--moved her from 5th US to 4th, tied with 1 other!
On the World DDD, she moved from 16th, tied with 1 other, to 11th, tied with 2 others!

After clearing 15-11.25 (on 1st try!!), she'd moved from 4th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to 4th, but with no ties!
Finally, with the bar set at 16-1.25, she took her pole, sprinted down the runway--having already won the meet--and fish-tailed over---on her first attempt!!
THREE PR's---plus a tie at 15-7.25!!
What can one say??

BTW, this final clearance gave her 3rd A-T US, and 4th A-T World!!
You might say Nageotte is THE rising (sic!) star of 2018's PV!!

Other USATF events were good---either with solid marks or with great battles!
A summary follows--

The Women's Pentathlon lived up to its pre-meet hype!
But even though Kendell Williams's 4508 fell far short of her best, her new training partner--Erica Bougard--kept things hopping!
Starting with an INdoor Pentathlon record of 7.98 in the 60H, she followed with a 1.89 HJ, a SP of 12.76, only to fall off American Record pace with a 6.20 LJ!
(If she'd matched her PR of 6.44, she might have gotten it!!)
Her 800 in 2:13.77 left her the winner with 4760 points!!
She moves from 7th A-T US to 2nd!!
She missed the World list by just 15 points!!
Alex Gochenour took 3rd with her 4405, while the "mysterious" (See earlier post!) Emilyn Dearman scored 4260 points in 4th!
She misses the US list by 41 points!

The Men's Heptathlon came down to the 1000, as Jeremy Taiwo, Devon Williams, and Wolf Mahler were VERY close after 6 events!
It was Taiwo's fast K that gave him the win with 5935 points, over Mahler's 5923, and Williams's 5842!

The WT's went to Conor McCullough and DeAnna Price!
McCullough's 78-2.75 was enough to turn back Alex Young's 77-1.75, and Sean Donnelly's 76-11.75!
Ms Price PR'ed, her 80-5 giving her the Age 24 Record!
But she remains 5th A-T on both the US and World lists!!
Second went to Jeneva Stevens's 79-6--just one-half inch off her PR!
The WR & AR holder--Gwen Berry--ended 3rd with 78-6.25!
But in 4th came a relative unknown (At least to me!!)--Tiffany Okieme!!
She's 24 years old, and has an OUTdoor HT best of just 190-7!!
But her 76-10 here makes her 13th A-T US, and 17th A-T World!!
(Will her HT improve as much??)

Brittney Reese took the LJ with a couple of 22-7 jumps--in rounds 3 & 5!
Second went to Quanesha Burks's 21-10.
The Men's LJ went to Jarrion Lawson's 5th round 27-6!
Marquis Dendy was Silver with his 26-11.75!

The Men's TJ saw a good fight between Will Claye and Chris Carter!
Claye's 56-8.50 prevailed over Carter's PR of 56-5.25!
This moves him from 16th A-T US, tied with 1 other, to 14th!
The Women's event went to Tori Franklin--as expected!
But maybe NOT expected was this Oiselle athlete's PR of 46-5.25!!
This moves her from 12th A-T US to 5th!!
Andrea Geubelle was 2nd with her 45-2.25!

The 800's were solid--at least up front!!
In fact, the Women's best mark came in the HEATS!!
Raevyn Rogers took it out in 57.44, edging into AR possibilities--but then eased off with a 62.55!
But her 1:59.99 (!!) moves her from 20th A-T US to 13th!!
Ce'aira Brown's 2:01.43 PR took 2nd!
This makes her 23rd A-T US!
Kaela Edwards also made the US list (In the heats!!), her 2:01.49 becoming my US DDD's caboose!
Charlene Lipsey and Ajee Wilson also dipped under 2:02!!

In the final, they slugged it (as in Banana Slug!!) at 62.30 for the first 2 laps!
Despite a 28.04 last go-round, Rogers was unable to catch Wilson--with Ajee's 2:01.60 beating Rogers's 2:01.79!

Donavan Brazier's race was against the clock!!
Leaving everyone behind, he again JUST missed Johnny Gray's venerable 1:45.00 AR--his 1:45.10 taking one tick of the watch off his previous best!
His 1:45.10 smashed the USATF Meet Record, but he remains 2nd A-T US, and 18th A-T World!
Drew Windle took 2nd with 1:46.29!
Clay Murphy had failed to make the final!

The Walks went to Nick Christie and Maria Michta-Coffey, respective 3K times of 12:09.96 and 13:00.53!
MMC won by 33 seconds.
Back in 6th came HS'er Lauren Harris, whose 14:32.37 came nowhere near Taylor Ewart's earlier reported time of 13:45.0!
(See previous post!)

The rest---
The Distance races were Double Dippers for Shelby Houlihan and Paul Chelimo!
Houlihan's times of 9:00.08 and 4:13.07---using a strong last lap in both--were enough to hold off all challengers!
Katie Mackey's 9:01.68 sends her to England---and after making her 1st TeamUSA---she said (in a post-race interview--loudly!!) "It's about FUCKING time!!"
(Shades of Shalane Flanagan in NYC!)
Emma Coburn was 3rd in 9:01.85!
Sara Vaughn, the popular 3-time Mom & full-time Realtor, tried to steal the show in the 1500!
Charging from well back to take the lead with 400 to go, she wound up a drained 4th in 4:13.96!
Colleen Quigley and Shannon Osika took spots 2 & 3!

Chelimo's 7:57.88 kept Shadrack Kipchirchir's 7:58.42, and Ryan Hill's 7:58.69 in tow!
He did it with a last 200 of 26.04!!
Then he jogged the 1500 in 3:42.91 for his 2nd title!
No WC Q's here!!

Fred Kerley got knocked out of rhythm on the 2nd lap's 1st curve, and could finish just 5th!
Michael Cherry won, time of 45.53!
He misses the US list by 0.09 seconds!!
Kerley had run the fastest heat time--45.18!
HS'er Brian Herron was a DNS for unknown reasons!
The Women's 400 was a tight battle--run over 2 separate time trial heats!
In the first, Phyllis Francis led with her 51.19!!
But in the 2nd, Courtney Okolo's 51.16 was just enough to nail the W!
Shakima Wimbley's 51.17 took 2nd, while Georganne Moline's 51.39 took 4th!
Quanera Hayes was 5th, time of 51.46, while Super Vet Natasha  Hastings's 52.20 handed her 7th place!

The SP's were taken by Ryan Whiting and a Miss Danielle Hill!
The marks--67-9 for Whiting, and 59-4.75 were nothing to brag about!
But Ms Hill's winning was a bit of a shock--to me!!
In my Preview post, I completely ignored her!
You see, I had no idea that she was the former Dani BUNCH!!
Erin Farmer PR'ed with 59-0 in 2nd, with Jeneva Stevens taking the Bronze!

Erik Kynard was solid in the HJ--winning at 7-6.50, then trying 3 times at 7-7.75!
Vashti Cunningham left Inika McPherson and Nicole Greene behind, winning at 6-5.50--then missing 3 times at 6-7!!

Earlier, I referred to the 9th place finisher in the heats of the Women's 60H!
That was Emily Sloan, the HS'er who had run a time of 8.21 a week ago!
(See previous post!)
Well, she improved to 8.07 here!
This moves her from 12th A-T HS all the way to 2nd!!
But her 8.15 in the semi's left her out of the final!

And THAT, dear readers, is a WRAP---at least for the USATF meet!!
This is already WAY too long for me to even BEGIN to report all the rest of the stuff I've gathered!
So, stay tuned for a SECOND post---hopefully within a few hours!!

See you soon!!