American Track League--a candid review (&Much More!)

 Four days after the veil of darkness was lifted on the steps of the Capitol with the Inauguration of our first Woman Vice President (& oh yeah, Joe Biden as our 46th President!). the question must be asked--
Did the debut meet of the American Track League open the blinds to a brighter future for Track and Field in the Age of Covid---or not?

After the first event--in fact, the first throw of the first event!--we saw erased a 32 year old INdoor Record---with authority!
Ryan Crouser, hat in place, threw his 16 pound ball 74-10.50 to remove the tarnished name of Randy Barnes from the ledger of INdoor Record holders!
He gets the World Record, the American Record, the Age 28 Record, and the Meet Record!!
(His 2nd best toss also surpassed Barnes's old mark!!)

NOTE---All events in this meet are Meet Records!  So I will not be repeating myself with every result listed!  

The Women ran 2 separate races in the 300--so the results were NOT similar to when separate heats are run, with the fastest times set in order from all the heats!!

Gabrielle Thomas, the former Harvard sprinter, PR'ed by 0.06 seconds to 35.92!
She is 2nd A-T US, and 6th A-T World!!
And it's still January!!
Jenna Prandini moved up in distance, ending 2nd with her 36.68!
She is now 17th A-T US!

Shakima Wimbley (36.78), and Ashley Henderson (36.95) made this heat hot (sic!)!
In the other race, High Hurdler Keni Harrison finished in 36.83, making her 22nd A-T US!

Thomas also did the 60, ending 4th in a PR of 7.21!
Winning the event was Blessing Okagbare. time of 7.17!
Christiana Williams took Silver in 7.18, with 3rd going to Kayla White's 7.20!
White had run 7.18 in the heats, with Williams (7.18) & Okagbare (7.19) following!

The Men's Dash was dominated by Trayvon Bromell!
He took the final in 6.48--just 0.01 off his best--and the heats in 6.58!
No one--not even Divine Oduduru--was close!

Fred Kerley took the two lapper in 45.03!
Consider that the best OUTdoor time in all of 2020 was 44.91--by a High Schooler!!
Quanera Hayes had it easy in her 400--especially after Shamier Little took a tumble to the track just before the finish!
Hayes's time was 51.76!

Next to Crouser, the best mark came in the 60H when Grant Holloway tied his American Record of 7.35, remaining 2nd A-T US!
But believe it or not, he failed to add the Age 23 Record to his list!!
Holloway had sped 7.38 in his heat!!
It was a singular display of raw talent!!

Tonea Marshall tied her PR of 7.86 in her 60H final!
She's 22nd A-T US, tied with 1 other!
Christina Clemons (formerly Manning!) was 2nd in 7.88, with Tiffany Porter 3rd in 7.89!
Porter had won the heats in 7.96, with Marshall 2nd in 7.98!

Other than Crouser, the other field events were relatively mild!
Megan Clark topped Katie Nageotte in a jump off in the Pole Vault, both clearing 14-9!
(See below to find out who was sort of MIA in this event!!)
Finally, Vashti Cunningham took the High Jump with 6-2.75!

I have lots more results to report, but stay with me, for I will be analyzing the ATL meet (& concept) later in full detail!!

Athing Mu!!
An unusual name for a rare specimen of Woman!!
One week after opening her 2021 season with an 800 in 2:01.07, Mu (pronounced as MO!) outdid herself!
She DESTROYED the Collegiate Record in the 600 by about two full seconds, running 1:25.80 to win the race by 2.5 seconds!!
The old (and I do mean OLD!!) record was Delisa Walton's 1:26.56, dating from 1981--40 years ago!!!
As a Freshman at Texas A&M, Mu gets the Frosh Class Record, and the Age 18 Record!
Taking 2nd, but WAY back, was Aaliyah Miller, timed in 1:28.31.
This makes her 16th A-T Collegiate!!

But Mu had her MOjo working (Heh!), as her 2nd leg carry in the 4 X 400 Relay took only 50.93 seconds!!
Okay, so she had a running start, and Relay splits are not accurate, but come on--50.93!!
IMHO, given a 6 or 7 second per 400 slow down rate, Mu is capable of an 800 between 1:53.86 and 1:55.86!
Place her in a normal Professional 800 (INdoors!), and I strongly believe that anything slower than 1:58 should be considered cruising!!
Pray she goes for the first ever sub-2:00 INdoor 800 by a Collegiate Woman!!

The Pole Vault--as usual--produced more good marks!
Chris Nilsen went over 19-4.75!
And KC Lightfoot followed his Collegiate Record (See earlier post!) with 19-4.25!

Other fast 300's included--
Syaira Richardson running 37.63, taking the caboose position on my Collegiate DDD!
Bryce Deadmon sped his in  32.73, making him 4th A-T Collegiate!

Other stuff---
Monae Nichols LJ'ed 22-1.75, becoming 11th A-T Collegiate!
Deborah Acquah's 21-10 makes her 21st A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!
Thea LaFond Triple Jumped 47-7.75!
This gives her the National Record of the Dominican Republic!

Gleb Dudarev threw the WT 81-5.25, making him 8th A-T World, and improving his Belarus National Record!
Brandon Miller ran the 600 in 1:17.09, making him 23rd A-T Collegiate!
Laurie Barton ran  a 1000 in 2:42.51, making her 12th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!

Tripp Piperi improved his best in the INdoor SP, hitting 69-3.50!
This makes him 17th A-T Collegiate!
Monique Hardy's Frosh year is going quite well!
After a solid first comp, she broke the Frosh Class Record in her 2nd competition!!
Her mark went 69-6, about two feet better than the previous week!

Christina Schwanitz opened her season in Europe, her 62-8.50 taking the World Lead in the SP!
Another World Leader came in the Pentathlon, the mark of 4665 points belonging to Noor Vidts!!
(Um, uh, who is she??)

Following is my critique of the American Track League!!

It's 4 meets--all INdoors--and all held in the University of Arkansas's home track in Fayetteville!
The next 3 are scheduled for January 31st, February 7th, and February 14th!
They're all scheduled to be televised live on ESPN in a two hour window!

BUT--the initial reaction from experienced T&F fans on the Track and Field News Message Board--as well as on Twitter--was piss poor--and that's being polite!
I'm speaking of the TV presentation, NOT the athlete's performances!!
(See above!)

I've watched numerous meets on TV over a near 60 year period--and my opinion is that this one was "par for the course"--pardon the mixed metaphor!
No better--but no worse--than most others I've seen!

Not TV's fault, but there was no track race longer than 400 meters!
Is that the plan for the next three meets?

Other MB/Twitter complaints focused on the lack of knowledge of the announcers--except for one Woman who was a guest in the booth!
Sandi Morris had been scheduled to compete, but it was revealed she and husband Tyrone Smith incurred CoronaVirus-19 in December!
Luckily, it was mild, and both are in good health now!
But Sandi lost some time training, so decided to forego this 1st meet, and wait for Week Two!

Consensus was she did great--announcing the PV--but wasn't too knowledgeable about other events!
One thing--they rarely aimed the camera at the booth, so all we heard was her voice!

And that--the audio--was another big faux pas!
It was too low!!

I missed it (except in replays!), but Crouser's WR got the reception of a practice toss from the booth crew.
A WORLD RECORD receiving plaudits a HS Soph might get for a minor PR!!

As per normal in TV broadcasts of T&F meets, post-event interviews were held immediately after the event--thus all we got from the various winners was heavy breathing and a series of gasps!!
WAIT a bit before sticking a microphone in their faces!1
Let them recover enough to talk!!

And why did we need two hours to watch 3 field events and 8 track races--none taking more than 52 seconds??
Too much EMPTY space!!

If you truly want to be revolutionary, schedule a Two Mile or 5000 for each sex--and do NOT cut away from the race!!
Let us see every single step, and save the ads for after!!

And why wasn't Paul Swangard or Tim Hutchings or Carrie Tollefson doing the announcing!
Remember, Sandi won't be able to help you these next meets--she'll be on the runway competing!!

Okay, enough ranting!!
Was there anything good about this ATL??
Of course!!
Again, see above for all the great marks produced, including that World Record!!
And the personalities were in abundance!!
Crouser is a solid (in every sense!) presence!
Blessing Okagbare!
Katie Nageotte!
Fred Kerley!
Grant Holloway, Tonea Marshall, and Trayvon Bromell!
My God, could we ask for more!
(YES--some distance runners!!!)

You have one of the World's greatest T&F venues!
You have fantastic athletes!
You had star power announcing in Sandi Morris!

All you needed was for ESPN to respect our great sport, as they do all the others they show!
Announcers, do your homework!
(Read my blog to know what's going on in the Records and Marks departments!!)

I'll be watching--and despite all the rants on the MB's and on Twitter--you can bet all the serious (and HUNGRY!) T&F fans will also be watching the next three meets!!

Thank you for providing SOME meat for the grinder in these days of 1000's of people dying from Covid!
We now have a GREAT duo of Executives in the White House!
Can we have the same next week in Fayetteville?

See you soon!

Amazing Start to 2021 INdoors Despite Covid

 A full year--and about 400,000 American deaths from CoronaVirus-19 later--the 2021 Track & Field INdoor season has begun with a World Record, a Collegiate Record, and some sensational High School marks!!
The Tokyo Olympic Games are closer to full cancellation than ever--although the United Nations (!!!) is apparently being recruited to help save it!
Tomorrow, this nation gets a new President--ending 4 nightmare years of a man who still denies he lost the election!
Yesterday, we celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday--a few months after George Floyd was murdered by some racist cops!

Amid all this madness, somehow the elite athletes of our favorite sport are producing some incredible  marks in the very early weeks of a "season" that maybe should NOT be called a "season"!
Let's enter the venues where the action was, and see what happened!
(Please wear a mask!)

Hughes Zango had a great 2020 OUTdoor season, becoming last year's best Male Triple Jumper!
He proved it wasn't a fluke by breaking the INdoor World Record with a mark of 59-3.50!!
It's also the National Record of Burkina Faso, and the Age 27 Record!!
It happened in France!

KC Lightfoot took over as the Collegiate Record holder with his PV of 19-5.75!!
He passed Chris Nilsen's old mark by a quarter inch!
He made 3 attempts at 6.00, or 19-8.25, and feels confident he'll make that mark soon!!
He gets the Junior Class Record also!
(NOTE--The latest eTN by T&FN states that Collegiate Class Records may not be accurate, due to Covid cancelling some or all of Collegiate activity since early March of last year!  This blog will continue to recognize Collegiate Class Records.  If there's any changes, I'll adjust my Record Book, and report them here!!)
Lightfoot ranks 4th A-T US, and 14th A-T World!!

The Pole Vault--as has been the case in a few other INdoor seasons since my blog began--had a bunch of early high heights--besides Lightfoot's!!

In fact, just hours before KC's Record, Renaud Lavillenie topped 19-5 to temporarily lead the World!!
He's now 34 years old, but misses that Age Record by a few inches!
Younger brother Valentin ended 2nd at 18-9.25!

Other PV marks---
Jake Wooten and Nate Richartz both cleared 18-10.25 in Texas, with Richartz's mark being a PR.
That same meet saw Anicka Newell clear 15-5, also a PR!
In different states, Bridget Guy and Lisa Gunnarsson went over 14-10!
Gunnarsson  now ranks 12th A-T Collegiate!

Anzhelika Sidorova got the Women's World Leader with her clearance of 15-7.
Two NR's went down when Femke Pluim of the Netherlands, and Fanny Smets of Belgium both cleared 14-9.50--with Pluim getting the win!
And back on December 19th, Amanda Moll became the 10th High School girl to clear 14-0 or higher INdoors!
Her 14-0 clearance gives her the Soph Class Record, and makes her 9th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!!

With the New Balance INdoor Nationals being cancelled for the second straight year (!!), the Virginia Showcase gave up several  marks of NBIN quality!!
(The Armory is closed to T&F for the season, now being used as a vaccination center to fight Covid!!)

Topping the Showcase list was---well, gee, how do we choose??!!
But the Women's Two Mile takes that Prize, IMHO!
Sydney Thorvildson and Brynn Brown battled for the W, with Thorvildson becoming 2nd only to Mary Cain's iconic HSR!
She ended with 9:47.95, just 9.27 seconds slower than Cain.
Not taking anything away from Mary, we have to remember that Cain was racing against Tirunesh Dibaba (!!) and several other accomplished Professionals--when still 16 years old!!
This race was for HS'ers only!!
Thorvildson is now 2nd A-T HS!!
And she gets the Senior Class Record, finally taking down the historic mark of Melody Fairchild, run in 1991--30 years ago!!
Finishing in 9:51.00, Ms Brown is now 5th A-T HS, as her mark places her a mere 0.05 seconds ahead of one Katelyn Tuohy on the A-T HS INdoor list!!
BTW, Thorvildson also won the Mile, time of 4:43.90.
This makes her 22nd A-T HS!

Ever hear of Avery Lewis?
Well, I hadn't either--until the Virginia Showcase!!
Get this---
She won the 200 in 23.91.
She ran legs on the 4X200 and 4X400 Relays!
And she won the Long Jump!!

This last was THIS close to SUPER sensational!!!
Born December 21st of 2005, she JUST turned 15 years of age!
She is a Freshman!!
The Frosh Class Record WAS 19-7 for Girls INdoors!
Well, no  more!
Leaping past the old Record on ALL SIX JUMPS, Lewis crushed the Class Record by 13 inches!
And even that's not quite accurate!
Yes, as noted, she'd already broken the Record with her very first attempt!
Her next best (before the 20-8) was 20-4/75--so she actually broke THAT Record!!
Her "worst" mark of the 6 was 19-8.75!!
Other incredible facts--
She's now 13th A-T HS!
Her 20-8 is better than the Soph Class Record also!!
I saw a 4 minute interview with her--She's smart, mature, grounded, and looking ahead to better stuff--soon!!
Remember the name--Avery Lewis!!

The Girls 800 saw Juliette Whittaker run 2:02.07!
It makes her 3rd A-T HS, and is the Junior Class Record!
Roisin Willis ended 2nd in 2:04.31, but wasn't a PR.

Whittaker and Willis joined Sophia Gorriaran and Bailey Goggins on a team called United All Stars to set the World and American Junior records for the 4 X 800 Relay!
However, because it was an "all star" team, and not from one school, it doesn't count as a HSR!
Willis (lead off), Whittaker (3rd leg), and Gorriaran (anchor) all ran in the 2:05's!
But Bailey Goggins (2nd leg) took the baton from Willis sporting a broken foot!!!
You read that correctly--a BROKEN FOOT!!
She could manage just 2:20 & change--but it's a miracle she didn't have to CRAWL the entire way!!
If I get more details about that, I'll report it in my next post!
Anyway, their time of 8:37.20 would have whacked over 16 seconds off the HSR!
And more than that--much more!--if Goggins had run with her foot in one piece!!
WOW!!!

Other VA Showcase stuff--
Jaylen Slade became 2nd A-T HS with his 300 time of 32.77!
It also makes him 18th A-T US!!
But he doesn't get the Junior Class Record, as Brian Herron's HSR of 32.64 was run as an 11th Grader!
Justin Braun took 2nd with his 33.24.
This ranks him 13th A-T HS!

I don't have Records or Lists for the 500, but it was a good race!
Braun won the 500 in 1:02.67, which apparently makes him 8th A-T HS!
Right there with him, but in 2nd, came Ashton Schwartzman.
Given the exact same time, he's also 8th A-T HS, tied with Braun!

Besides the 800 & the Relay, Gorriaran won the Women's 500 in 1:12.95!
Finally (from VA), Lorenz Colbert won the 200 in 21.14.
But he'd won a race right after New Year's in 21.08!
That time makes him 13th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!

Several other important marks to mention--
Yaroslava Mahuchikh HJ'ed 6-7.50.
She gets the Age 19 Record--and now owns the INdoor Age 17, 18, and 19 records!!
It equals her PR and her National Record of Ukraine!
Ruth Usoro TJ'ed 46-10.25 competing as a Collegiate!
It makes her 2nd A-T Collegiate, and is the National Record of Nigeria!!
She also Long Jumped 21-4.25!!

In College Station, Texas A&M Frosh Athing Mu sped negative splits in a 2:01.07 four lapper!
(Splits of 60.75 and 60.32!)
She gets the Age 18 Record, the Frosh Class Record, and places on a pair of lists!
She's 5th A-T Collegiate, and 24th A-T US!
Monique Hardy smashed her old PR in the Weight Throw with her toss of 67-4.75 in Louisiana.
It leaves her about 4 inches short of the Collegiate Frosh Class Record!

T Hedeilli ran his 800 in 1:45.98!
While the eTN didn't mention this, it makes him 10th A-T Collegiate!
Steven Gardiner ran a 300 in 32.70, not a PR.
Also not his best, Jacory Patterson ran his 300 in 32.61 at the Virginia Tech meet!

Natoya Goule ran a couple of quick 600's--first in 1:26.80, then in a separate meet, in 1:25.85!
The latter is the Age 29 Record!
Back to the 300--
T Conwell sped his in 32.97, making him 8th A-T Collegiate!
He misses the A-T US list by 0.05 seconds!
Kameron Jones didn't PR, but his 600 time of 1:16.16 was solid!
So was Daniel Haugh's WT of 78-11--also not his best!

Can you believe all this happened while Donald Trump STILL believes he won a 2nd term--in a landslide??!!

See ya soon, my friends!

Will Our Sport Survive Covid?

 It's grim, dire, maybe apocalyptic.
4085 Americans died in 1 day from Coronavirus-19.
Then--even if unrelated--there was January 6th--a 21st Century Day of Infamy.
And more to come--a President's Impeachment--and a widely held belief that he is mentally ill, and dangerous in his final days in office!

But this blog is about the sport of Track and Field, Road Racing, Race Walking, and Cross Country.
Yet the Pandemic that has struck the entire world, but seems to be attacking the US most intensely now, has made our sport--as we've known it--almost unrecognizable!!

In  2020, the Olympics (THE OLYMPICS!!!) were postponed a year!
The entire OUTdoor Collegiate season was destroyed!
High Schoolers competed rarely, and then as individuals, not as part of a team.
The INdoor NCAA and NBIN were cancelled.
As were many major Marathons--although London was merely postponed till Fall!

The cancellations, etc are continuing this year!
The venerable Millrose Games--America's best INdoor Invitational--has been cancelled.
The USATF INdoor Championships--scheduled for Albuquerque in late February--were just cancelled!
There is some chatter that the INdoor NCAA meet may enter that list!
Even the Collegiate Conferences!!

Tokyo's Covid case numbers and death count has risen lately--perhaps again endangering their Olympics!!

I was making notes for my next post (after my December 31st AOY post).
I was going to look at which World Records might fall--or at least were vulnerable--this INdoor season!
(I was also going to do one for the US INdoor Records---but NOT for Collegiates and High Schoolers--their projected INdoor seasons too unpredictable!)

Then that Trump-incited treasonous insurrection happened on Wednesday!
As with any major event in my lifetime, the aftermath (in and on the Media) seemed just as devastating and horrible.
Think the Kennedy assassinations, the Challenger disaster, September 11th!!
I--and perhaps the World--were glued to their TV's or radio's--watching the horrible event played and analyzed over and over again!!
It's that way--for me--today, and every waking moment since Wednesday!

So my (and your!) favorite sport was relegated to the back burner!
Then I saw on Twitter that Kyle Merber had retired.
And today--just minutes ago--Becca (PoleVaultPower) tweeted that the former Weeks twins--Tori Hoggard and Lexi Jacobus--have both retired to pursue careers as pharmacists!!

The T&FN website lists a few meets scheduled for January 15th and 16th--all INdoors!
The American Track League says they plan 4 INdoor meets--in late January and early February!
I've heard there's a meet scheduled soon for OUTdoors where several athletes will run the distances (800 to 10000) to secure Qualifying times for the Olympic Trials--and the Olympics.
Some BIG names are listed as competing!

So WILL this sport survive--and even prosper--in 2021??
Or will every day bring more bad news about cancellations and postponements and retirements?
And of dangerous Presidents and riots and destruction in our government's sacred buildings?
And of 4085 (or more???) deaths per day from this angry and holocaustal virus??

I grimly lament these losses, these horrors!
Will the great athletes, coaches, and officials of the best sport ever overcome all this?

We must.