Friday, June 15, 2018

2018 Previews--USATF Jrs & NBN

When I put my OUTdoor Schedule post together in March, I wasn't sure of the dates for the USATF Junior Championships--the meet that would mostly determine the teams we sent to the World Juniors in Tampere, Finland!
T&FN had said they were June 14th to the 16th!
Well, they were close!
For that meet--AND the New Balance Nationals (aka the US High School Championships!) cover the exact same 3 days--starting today, June 15th, and going through Sunday, the 17th!
The USATF meet is in Indianapolis, the NBN, as per normal, is in Greensboro, North Carolina!
The USATF meet is open to any athlete of the proper age, whether in HS or College (mostly Frosh!), while the NBN is entirely HS'ers!

Conflicts?
Hell YES!!
There ARE at least two "name" athletes (Tzuriel Pedigo and KC Lightfoot) entered in BOTH meets!
A comment on the T&FN MB said that's possible, since their events (at the 2 meets) are on different days!
Still, they'll have to travel a few hundred miles to compete in both!

Then there's the question of choice--and NO, I'm NOT talking about the " Pro-choice or Pro life argument!!
The question here is--Do I want to go to the World Juniors--or end my competitive year at NBN??
(Or choose neither--as in the cases of Lynna Irby, Sydney McLaughlin, and others!)

The difference between the INdoor version of the NB meet and its OUTdoor counterpart is in the seriousness with which top athletes take these meets!
Seems (to me, at least!) they see the INdoor version as more important!
(Or maybe it's because it's more toward the beginning of their OUTdoor season--and they're still in top shape from a busy INdoor season!!)

Whatever the case, the 2018 editions of these meets have been DILUTED to the point where even the truncated schedule of meets like Brooks PR might see more marks per capita find their way to my Record Book than its MUCH larger sister meet!!

Yet we ARE speaking of athletes possibly representing their country in a prestigious meet like the World Juniors--or vying for a "National Championship" medal (or HSR!!) while facing top competitors from around the nation--sort of T&F's version of the NXN and Footlocker XC meets!!
So without further ado, let's take a peek at WHO will be WHERE, and whether they have ANY chance to break the Meet Record--at either meet!

First, a few guidelines--
This is NOT a comprehensive Preview of either meet!
I am NOT providing a Schedule for either meet, nor providing MR's for EVERY event!!
In fact, SOME events will not be considered at all!
These are the Relays, the Emerging Elite events at NBN, and the SP, DT, and HT for the Men at either meet!
Why?
Because those 3 throwing events use "Junior" implements, NOT either the HS weights used exclusively in US High Schools (the 12 pound SP, for example), or the weights used by the Pro and Collegiate set!
My Record Book doesn't have lists for those Junior weights, nor do I agree with their use--in ANY venue!
It just confuses record keeping too much, and that is harmful to our sport, IMHO!
(The Women don't have that problem, as they use Pro weight implements from Frosh year in HS on through their entire career!!  Sexism in reverse!!)
If I don't mention an event (besides those Men's throws!), it's because that event at either meet lacks any "name" prospects to even come close to the MR!!
That does NOT mean that some "shocker" won't rise out of nowhere and make history!!
It happens!
That why these meets (especially the NBN!!) thrill & excite us every year--whether INdoors or OUTdoors!

First, the USATF Juniors!

MEN
We will see KC Lightfoot--the best HS PV'er NOT named Mondo!
With a PR of 18-5, he is more than a foot behind Mr Duplantis, but has a LONG string of 18 footers in 2018!
He's a SOLID bet for the MR of 18-2!
Zach Bradford's PR also reaches 18 feet--EXACTLY!!--but that limits his chances to top the podium here!
Cole Riddle might solve this riddle--if KC or Zach falter!

Tzuriel Pedigo (See above!) is here, and has been consistent over 230 feet!
But the MR is 238-4, so he'll have to pop a biggie if he wants his name in the Record Book!

Remember Trentavis Friday?
(Whatever happened to him, anyway?)
His MR of 10.00 in the 100 is beatable, and Anthony Schwartz SUPPOSEDLY has the wheels & the engine to beat it!
But his best is "just" 10.09, so he'll have to pull a "Candace Hill" to get the Record!
Austin Kratz is good, but he's no Mr Schwartz!
Both will toe the line here!

The MR for the 39 inch 110H is 13.24.
Joseph Anderson has little chance to get it, but put him as your best bet!

Cooper Teare ran 13:46 for 5000 this season, so the MR of 13:55.7 is in trouble!
But will this be yet another tactical race--just to make the team?

On Saturday, Cory Poole will be in the 400H, but the MR of 49.28 is a BIG stretch for his current talent level!
Josh Hoey ran 1:47 INdoors, and has gone a second slower OUTdoors, but the MR of 1:46.97 is a HUGE ask!!
I'm ASSUMING they'll use the Junior weight implements for the Decathlon's throws (except the Javelin!), so the MR for that event is 8016 points!
(It's 7599 if Pro weights are used!!)
Kyle Garland is very good, but he's not yet in that kind of points territory!

Sunday brings us to the HJ, where Nate Patterson recently topped 7-4!
However, the MR is 7-5.25, so he'd have to add 1.25 inches to even tie that mark!
It's possible!
Brian Herron is here, but while he had a GREAT INdoor season, he's yet to show much OUTdoors!
Even if he had, however, the MR of 45.01 over 400 meters is well beyond his current talent level!
Cooper Teare (See above!) had a good year as a College Frosh, so the MR in the 1500 of 3:42.8 is within his scope!
However, we all know how those distance races in Championship meets play out!
S-L-O-W-L-Y!!

Finally, we return to Anthony Schwartz (and Austin Kratz) for the 200!
SOME day--but not SUN day!!--he will run 20.15 (the MR) or faster!!
Yet many believe he CAN jump from a 20.40's guy to a 20.10'er!!
Be exciting to watch!

WOMEN
The Women have a MUCH longer list of MR possibles here!
Today, the JT Meet Record of 175-0 finds itself in siege against the likes of Madison Wiltrout, Dana Baker, and Skylar Ciccolini!
The DT Meet record of 198-0 is probably safe, even though we have Alyssa Wilson and Shelby Moran here!
The 100 MR of 11.09 will face the frontal attack of 10.99'er Twanisha Terry!
Add Tamara Clark to that list!
The 3000SC MR of 10:14.67 has Kristen Fahy, who has run 10 seconds faster!!

Saturday brings us the LJ, where Tara Davis will try to reach the MR of 21-9!
She's done that a few times--in HS and College--so stands a decent chance here!
Add Jasmine Moore, but she's better in the TJ!
Alyssa Wilson recently got a HT PR of 219-9 (See earlier post!), but she'd have to attach almost 4 feet to her ball and chain to get the 223-6 MR!
Jillian Shippee could surprise!
Katherine Isenberger is a 6-1.25 HJ'er, but the MR is 6-2.75!

Then there's the 800!!
THAT Meet Record could very well be SMASHED--and by THREE Women!!
Sammy Watson and Avi Tal Wilson-Perteete will vie with HS sensation Caitlin Collier (who has run faster OUTdoors than either this season!!) for the 2:02.91 MR!

Tia Jones recently said she wants her own HSR of 12.84 to fall here--and that SHE be the one to do it!!
However, she has yet to break 13 again since her Freshman year--when she ran that time!!
But Tara Davis has!
Although not recently!
Chanel Brissett (12.75 PR!) is here also!
The 5000 MR of 15:56.84 is probably JUST outside the reach of Callie Logue or Emily Venters!
That said, one to watch is HS'er Marlee Starliper!
She won't win, but all she needs to make my DDD is to run 16:31.4!!
Even if the race is a MoBot, she stands a good chance to do it!

Sunday is a busy one, as most of it is finals!
The 10K Track Walk has THE 2 best US HS Walkers here--Taylor Ewart and Lauren Harris!
Will be VERY exciting seeing if they can get the MR of 50:24.46!
Considering both are capable of times in the 49's--and maybe the 48's!--that MR needs a Restraining Order for its protection!!

Rachel Baxter is likely to top the MR of 14-1.25 in the PV!
Jasmine Moore will have to duplicate her WINDY 45 foot TJ in order to get the MR (and HSR!) of 44-11.75!
The multi-talented thrower--Alyssa Wilson--is back in the SP, but she hasn't neared her HSR of 58-1 yet this year, so the MR of 57-7.75 is probably out of reach!
The 400 has 3 good sprinters--Arria Minor, Symone Mason, and Taylor Manson, but SRR's MR of 50.69 is WAY beyond their current talents!
(Now, if Syd McLaughlin or Lynna Irby were here....!!)

The Heptathlon MR is ripe for the picking by new HSR holder (Record SHATTERER!!!) Anna Hall.
The MR is 5600, while Hall's HSR is 5798!
You do the math!
Sterling Lester--as noted in a previous post--will have to have a good JT to get even 5500 points!
Her best is 5298!

Caitlin Collier returns for the 1500!!
If she's rested from the 800 (See above!), she'll have a crack at the MR of 4:14.74--held by Miss Mary Cain!!
Rachel McArthur will also give chase!
The 200 finds Arria Minor back from the 400 (See above!).
But Tamara Clark and Lauren Rain Williams probably have a better shot at the 22.49 MR!!
"Better", but nowhere near perfect!!
We end this USATF Preview with the 3000, where Callie Logue will be the best Collegiate in the race!
Yet most eyes might be on the stud HS trio of Marlee Starliper, London Culbreath, and the only HS Woman who can be named in the same breath as Katelyn Tuohy--Katelynn Hart!
Can any of them top Kate Murphy's MR of 9:10.51??
How many permutations of "Kate" or "Katelyn" ARE there???
LOL

Now, as for my NBN Preview, I can promise you it will NOT take up as much space as the above!!
(BTW, did I forget to tell you that you can watch all 3 days of the NBN for FREE---via Runner Space??  You have to pay to watch the USATF meet, however!!)

The NBN's Friday Men's schedule begins (for us here!) with the Mile, where we have recent 4:04 guy Cameron Ponder trying for the 4:02.01 MR (and maybe the 3:46.0 for 1500 enroute!).
Tyrese Cooper--noted recently more for his alleged "criminal" activities than for his exploits on a track!!--is here!!
He'll be in the 200 (MR of 20.41) and 400 (MR of 45.38)!
And he has a good chance at BOTH!!
(But behave yourself, Mr Cooper!!  LOL)
Jonah Hoey--younger brother of Josh (See above!)--will NOT break the MR of 1:48.01--nor may he even win--but he'll be fun to watch!
Mr Ponder is back for the Two Mile--on different days!
He'll have as company (at least at the start!) Drew Hunter's brother--Jacob!
But the MR of 8:34.40 (and 7:59.83 for 3000 enroute) feel pretty safe, despite his 4:04 Mile wheels!
Ryan Oosting was sort of a star in HS, but is probably outside the range of the MR in the 5000 of 14:11.61.
Besides, there's that dreaded MoBot disease going around....!!!

KC Lightfoot (See above!) is here for his 2nd (or 1st??) PV contest of the weekend!
And the MR here of 17-8.50 is a MUCH easier target for his 18-5 talents!
Only a NH will prevent its falling!!
They throw the 12 pounder in the SP at NBN, but the 76-0 MR is out of the sights of Tyson Jones or Pat Piperi--Tripp's brother!!
Another dual-meet contender is the above-named Tzuriel Pedigo!
Here, the MR is 239-9!

The NBN Women's list of "names"--as at the USATF Jrs--is longer here also!
And we begin with one of the two biggest names in the 100 and 200--the incredible Frosh named Tamari Davis!!
Her amazing 200 speed of 22.48 should see the MR of 22.94 die a VIOLENT death!!
Even in the 100, her 11.25 PR could nip the MR of 11.27!
And she's just a HS FROSH!!
Kynnedy Flannel--who has one of my favorite NAMES in T&F--is here to follow Ms Davis to the finish line--well behind, most likely!!

The MR of 2:02.76 in the 800 should survive the 2:06'ish talents of Gabby Wilkinson and Athing Mu!
(I'm saving the Mile for last!!  LOL)
In the Two Mile (NOT the 3200, Thank you, NB, very much!!), Kelsey Chmiel and Emily Covert should do battle!
But recent times by Chmiel are FAR removed from her 2017 PR of 9:18!
The MR is 9:54.22!

The 100H has Jasmin Jones, Emily Sloan, Grace Stark, and the more-famous Kori Carter-namesake--Kori Carter to face each other--and the 13.01 MR!
The 400H?
Well, Ms's Sloan and Carter return here--BUT!!!--the MR of 54.22 is held by one Sydney McLaughlin!!
GOOD luck, Ladies!!!

Brooke Rauber will face the dual-talented Walker/Runner Taylor Ewart (See above!) in the RUNNING 2000SC!!
The MR of 6:34.69 COULD be in jeopardy!
The 4 X Mile Relay (the ONLY Relay I'm mentioning here!) sees Kelsey Chmiel leading her Kinetic Running team out of NY!
But can she produce a low-4:40's leg to carry her team to the MR of 19:58.07?
And yes, I said the 4 X MILE Relay, NOT the 4 X 1600!!

The field events have a few known entities--
Jenna Rogers in the HJ (MR of 6-2)
Reagann LeLeux in the PV (13-9)
Titiana Marsh and Kynnedy Flannel in the LJ (MR of 22-5 is 100% safe!!)
Ms Marsh again in the TJ (44-1.25)
And Payden Montana in the DT (179-7)!

As for that Mile--
We will see the redoubtable Ms Katelyn Tuohy--still a HS Soph, and not yet 16 years old--challenge the CLOCK--not any of her "opponents"!!
Her recent 2-day double of 9:09 and 4:14 in the 3000 and 1500 at her NY State meet (See previous post!) speaks loudly for a probable attack on the 1982 HSR of Polly Plumer--4:35.24!
Tuohy has built a reputation this year (INdoors & OUT!) of being a TOTALLY dedicated frontrunner!!
Her INdoor 5000 of 15:37 saw her 1st 3000 run at 15:20 pace!
She began her INdoor 3000 of 9:05 with a 2:57 initial K--same as her OUTdoor 9:09!!
IF she remains on course, we COULD see a first 440 of 66, then an 880 of 2:14 or so, then a 1320 of 3:22 or faster!!
IF that's what we get, watch for a REAL challenge to a sub-4:30 time!!
But even a MUCH slower 2:18 at the "half" would give her a great chance to FINALLY remove Ms Plumer's name from the Record Book!!

Enjoy the weekend--and WATCH the NBN (It's FREE, remember!!).
You won't regret it!

See you soon!



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