It's called the Prefontaine CLASSIC for a reason.
Because I can't remember there ever being an edition of this meet that was NOT classic, in the most classical sense of that word.
Poor grammar aside, here are the reasons why tonight's and tomorrow's edition WILL be....um, classic!
Event by event, day by day.
Friday, May 29
Men's DT
The Meet Record is Ben Plucknett's 234-0 from 1983.
You can pretty much forget that mark being bettered here.
I say that, even though both Gerd Kanter and Pietr Malachowski have PR's better than the MR.
Those two should battle it out for the win.
But watch for Eloan Hadadi to spoil the party.
Women's LJ
Another great mano-a-mano (Or should this one be womano-a-womano? LOL) will be between Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese.
I would give this one to Reese without hesitation, but for one glaring flaw she has.
She tends to foul...and foul....and foul....then rips a 7.00 meter jump that blows her competition away.
Nerve-shattering, but always thrilling for her fans.
Expect nothing less tonight!
But watch for a possible upset by Canada's Christobel Nettey or England's Shara Proctor.
BTW, the Meet Record is held by Marion Jones, her 23-11.75 from 1998.
Women's 800
This isn't the "BIG" race.
That's tomorrow. (See below!)
But this "B" affair ain't so bad.
Not when Maggie Vessey's in it!
What she chooses to wear should be reason enough to watch this one.
(Tonight's part of the meet is available on a USATF-TV webcast--and it's FREE!)
Joining Vessey is my favorite tweeter & blogger, Phoebe Wright.
Also in the mix should be Charlene Lipsey and LaTavia Thomas.
Women's HS 200
Candace Hill should be the clear favorite tonight.
Just a 10th Grader, she's on the verge of breaking the 23 second barrier.
But she has some competition, in the faces of Diamond Spaulding and Symone Mason, both of whom also have low-23 PR's.
Men's HS 200
Watch Ryan Clark MOVE!!
He's the "stud" of this OUTdoor season so far!
But watch also for the INdoor "stud" of 2015, Rai Benjamin.
He's also been HOT this year, both INdoors AND OUTdoors.
He recently ran the 400H in 50.45. (See a previous post!)
Men's SP
The Meet Record is Christian Cantwell's 73-1.25 from 2010.
He's one of the men in tonight's battle, but don't expect him to break his own MR.
This event is LOADED!! (I'll be saying that a LOT in this preview!!)
Besides Cantwell, other Americans are Ryan Whiting, Reese Hoffa, and Joe Kovacs, the latter of whom seems best able to get that MR.
Add David Storl and Tomasz Majewski, and you've got one Hell of a field!
Women's HS Mile
Another "loaded" field!
The only Miler missing isn't eligible for HS Miles anymore.
Alexa Efraimson is a Professional now.
(See my preview of tomorrow's 1500 for more on Alexa!)
But what we DO have is incredible!
Start with Stephanie Jenks and Ryen Frazier.
Then add Colorado-ans (??) Katie Rainsberger and Jordyn Colter.
And Lauren Gregory.
The last ingredient for a "classic" race is 4:16 girl Christina Aragon!
Can they break the HSR of 4:35.24?
Will the race find several going sub-4:40?
Watch this one, folks!
Men's HS Mile
No Grant Fisher or Matt Maton!
However, this race DOES have Mikey Brannigan!
And he's HOT (in the running sense, ladies!!).
Set to join him are Sam Ritz and Elijah Armstrong, the latter possibly better known as a 5000 man!
Men's 5000
This race isn't in Saturday's Main Program for one reason (IMO): TV doesn't like races longer than 4 minutes!
That said, Galen Rupp is set to open his 2015 OUTdoor season here!
What can he do?
The American Record is 12:53.60, and the Meet Record is Mo Farah's 12:56.98 from 2012.
Albert Rop, Ibrahim Jeilan, Isaiah Koech, and Edwin Soi should be at or close to the front.
Collis Birmingham and Lawi Lalang are other foreigners who might contest Rupp.
Bernard Lagat should SHATTER the Age 40 record (13:43!!), but by how much?
Other Americans are Ryan Hill, German Fernandez, and Trevor Dunbar.
Men's 10000
Labled by many as THE race of the meet (at least on the Men's side!), it's all up to one man: Mo Farah.
Or maybe it's REALLY up to Geoff Kamworor!!
He's never gone sub-27:00, but he seems determined to shove MoBot to the ranks of the defeated!
Can he push the pace hard enough to limit the sting of Farah's last 400 kick?
Will the race go sub-26:30?
A WORLD Record??
NOPE!
But it very well COULD be a PR for Mo....in 2nd or 3rd place!!
Paul Tanui and Kenneth Kipkemoi could also mix it up.
Cam Levins is seeking the Canadian Record and a sub-27:00 time.
Zane Robertson is going after the National Record of New Zealand (27:41).
Other Americans are Brian Schrader, Hassan Mead, and Diego Estrada.
And that wraps tonight's activity.
But hang on to your hats (or whatever you want to hang on to! LOL), because here is what you can expect tomorrow!
Women's TJ
The MR is held by Olga Saladuha,her 49-1.75 from 2011.
She's in the field, along with the woman who is now RED HOT!!
Her name is Caterine Ibarguen!
Yekaterina Koneva is also here.
Everyone else, maybe especially the lone American (Amanda Smock), should have stayed home!
Men's PV
Renaud Lavillenie.
That's all, folks!
Brad Walker's 2008 MR of 19-9.75 may not be long for this world!
The best thing about Renaud, IMHO, is that he tries for the WR in almost every meet!
How many athletes do that....or CAN do that??
His brother, Valentin, will also be there, as well as Lavillenie's main rival, Raphael Holzdeppe.
Men's International Mile
This is, by any other name, the "B" race.
But this field, for what it is, is LOADED!! (I told you I'd be using that word a lot!! LOL)
Australian Ryan Gregson will be joined by a field of Americans most meet directors would BEG for!
They include Will Leer, Lopez Lomong, Andy Wheating, Garrett Heath, Pat Casey, Mac Fleet, and Ben Blankenship!
Choose your winner, folks!
Women's 400
Forgive me for being repetitive, but this Pre Classic race has a....CLASSIC field of Americans.
Consider this as a Summit Meeting of a quartet of USA All-Time Greats!!
We have Natasha Hastings, Francena McCorory, Allyson Felix, and a woman known to everyone as SRR, aka Sanya Richards-Ross.
And every one of them SEEMS to be in top shape.
The Meet Record of Ana Guevara (49.34 in 2003) could be in jeopardy!
Another American, Phyllis Francis, could surprise.
And NEVER discount the Jamaicans, who are represented by Novlene Williams-Mills and Stephanie McPherson!!
Should be a GREAT race!
Men's 800
Daniel Rudisha is injured, so won't be here.
He says it's not seriious.
But what IS serious is the field of Nijel Amos, Mohammed Aman, Adam Kszczot, Alfred Kipketer, Ferguson Cheruiyot, and Taouflik Makhloufi!
The American side has Charles Jock, who ain't exactly dead meat!!
The Meet Record is Amos's 1:43.63 from last year's edition!
Men's HJ
Bogdan Bondarenko isn't here, but Mutaz Barshim is.
If conditions are right, a 2.40+ jump is VERY likely!
Other 2.40+ jumpers are Derek Drouin, Andriy Protsenko, and Ivan Ukhov.
Americans doing battle are Jesse Williams and Eric Kynard.
The MR is Barshim's 7-10.50 from 2013.
Men's 400H
Maybe the weakest field of the meet.
Or maybe I should say that the entire EVENT is in a slump!!
Yet the MR of 47.91 (by Bershawn Jackson from 2005!) could be broken.
Bershawn--10 years after his MR!!--is back.
Other Americans are Michael Tinsley and Johnny Dutch.
But watch for Jehue Gordon, Javier Culson, and most interesting, the young Jamaican, Jaheel Hyde!
Men's 3000SC
First question: Will Jairus Birech take the field under 8:00?
Second question: Will Evan Jager be right there with him?
The MR is "just" 8:03.54 (by Consesius Kipruto in 2013).Sub-8:00 men Paul Koech, Ezekiel Kemboi, and Birech are in the field.
Another to watch is Abel Mutai, whose PR is 8:01.67.
The American Record is Jager's 8:04.71.
Women's International 100
Again, this so called "B" race has a good field, with some interesting side stories.
For one, English Gardner is coming back to her "home" track at the U of O!
Barbara Pierre showed great promise a year or 3 ago.
Is she ready to compete again with the top girls?
Ditto with Kim Duncan, who perhaps is better at 200 meters!
You also have Brazil's (and all of South America's!!) record holder, Ana Lemos, whose PR is 11.01.
Don't leave out the veteran's veteran, Kelly Ann Baptiste, who surprisingly is just 28 years young!!
Last but not least, you have the "slowest" (in terms of PR's!) in the field, High School Professional Kaylin Whitney, who is all of 17 years old!!
She's been better at 200 this season (so far!), but she's due for a fast 100, so watch for her!
Women's JT
The MR is by Christina Obergfoll, 222-1 from 2013.
That mark is vulnerable here.
Besides Obergfoll, you have 236-2 woman Mariya Abakumova, and "comebacking" American Kara Winger (formerly Patterson).
But don't overlook Barbora Spotakova, even though she BOMBED in her most recent meet!!
Women's 100
Okay, here we go again!
This event is CLASSIC!!
In fact, this field is CLASSICALLY classic!!
Forget the MR of 10.70 by Carmelita Jeter in 2011.
(Although, given PERFECT conditions, it CAN go down!!)
Any words I choose to describe this field can't come close to the greatness they represent, so I'll just list the entrants! (In alphabetical order....to be fair! LOL)
Murielle Ahoure
Michelle Lee Ahye
Tianna Bartoletta
Tori Bowie
Carmelita Jeter
Blessing Okagbare
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (aka SAFP)
Elaine Thompson
Will the World Championships field be any better??
Men's 100
The MR is Steve Mullings's 9.80 from 2011.
With Tyson Gay leading the pack, that record could go....if the Eugene winds are just right!
But watch for Mike Rodgers, Nesta Carter, James Dasaolu, Richard Thompson, and Ryan Bailey.
Then you have the Ancient Warrior, Kim Collins, here also!
He recently SHATTERED the Age 39 record with a 10.03 time.
Can he take it south of 10.00 on this VERY fast track?
Men's 400
It SHOULD come down to a last straightaway battle between LaShawn Merritt and Kirani James.
But Merritt has been slow (pun intended! LOL) to come around this year.
The MR is held by the legendary Michael Johnson, his 43.92 dating from 2000!
But don't overlook Isaac Makwala, who could upset both of the superstars!
Another Age Record could fall here.
Chris Brown has already got the Age 36 record, with his earlier 44.76.
Can he go faster here?
Women's 800
The MR is Francine Niyonsaba's 1:56.72 from 2013.
This race has the best US field---maybe EVER!!
Check out these names:
Brenda Martinez
Ajee Wilson
Chanelle Price
Alysia Montano
Yes, the last named is BAAACCCKKKK!!!!
Now a Mama, she seems ready to do her usual 55-56 opening lap, then hang tough the rest of the way against a great field!
Throw Yekaterina Poistagova, Eunice Sum, Janeth Jepkosgei, Abeba Aregawi, and Lynsey Sharp into the mix, and you've got yourself a RACE!!
Men's 110H
With no one yet going sub-13.00 this year, this is a relatively weak event....on the surface.
But you have some NAMES here.
They include Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, Orlando Ortega, Aleec Harris, David Oliver, and the WR holder, Aries Merritt.
The MR is Oliver's 12.90 from 2010.
Women's 5000
Will Genzebe Dibaba, holder of FOUR World Records INdoors, go after the WR here??
She SAID she will!
But saying it, and DOING it, are two entirely different babies!!
Almaz Ayana, who recently ran 14:14.32 (For comparison, Dibaba's INdoor WR is 14:18!!), was SUPPOSED to be in this race!
But someone---and some are saying it was the Ethiopian federation!!---took her from the entry list!
Sad!
It COULD have been quite a race!
The MR is just 14:33.96, which Vivian Cheruiyot ran in 2011.
Sally Kipyego is fast, as are Viola Kibiwot, Sentajeha Ejigu, and American Record holder Molly Huddle.
Then you have Faith Kipyegon, who won the 2012 WJC 1500, but whose 5000 track debut is THIS race!
Can she run as fast over 12.5 laps as over 3.75?
We'll see.
Other Americans are Marielle Hall and Gabe Grunewald.
Alexi Pappas is also listed, but I believe she's in this as the rabbit!
If she is, she has her work cut out for her, trying to keep up with, let alone lead, Genzebe Dibaba!!
Good luck with THAT!!
(BTW, Jordan Hasay was also supposed to be in this race, but she came up with some sort of injury.)
Men's 200
Justin Gatlin
Okay, that's a wrap!
Just kidding! (Or was I??)
If you go by the Twitterverse (and several other sources!), Gatlin is perhaps T&F's most REVILED personage!
So, even though the Eugene crowds are normally lenient with their "boo's", you might expect to hear a few when he's introduced.
Will Gatlin win?
YES....barring some disaster!!
Nickel Ashmeade and Isaiah Young should be his main rivals.
Walter Dix's 19.72 from 2010 is the Meet Record.
Women's 1500
Another fierce rivalry happens here!
While Jenny Simpson's collection of medals and fast times is clearly superior to Shannon Rowbury's, it was their race in Zurich last summer which set the stage for this "rivalry".
Have you seen the video of that race, especially the finish?
Simpson won, 3:59.92 to 3:59.93, but as she crossed the finish line, Rowbury came up on her inside and ALMOST nipped her!
While she didn't NIP her, she CLIPPED her (or so it seemed!), and down both went, CRASHING to the track in one cringe-worthy moment!!
Hopefully, both will stay on their feet this time!! LOL
Because they'll HAVE to, as 3:57+ girl Sifan Hassan is here too!
Helen Obiri's 2014 MR of 3:57.05 could be broken!
And if it is, will Simpson be the one to do it, thus breaking Mary Slaney's 1982 AR of 3:57.12??
Or is Shannon ready to take over the power position on the American front?
Mercy Cherono, Axumawit Embaye (I just LOVE that name!!), Hannah England, Laura Weightman, and Zoe Buckman are the other foreigners in the race.
Other Americans are Aisha Praught, Treniere Moser, Katie Mackey, and Emma Coburn.
Oh yes, almost forgot!
HS Professional Alexa Efraimson, now all of 18 years old, is also here!
She ran 4:09.43 at Mt SAC as her OUTdoor season "rust-buster".
Then she proceeded to break her 800 best---TWICE---first by just 0.03 seconds, then with a solid 2:01.13! (She won both races!!)
Her coach, Mike Hickey, once said she was ready to go 3:59, but more recently has said it's more likely she'll run 4:02, after a slight setback this past winter.
If she runs that time, she'll be the American Junior record holder, beating....Mary Cain!!
(For my "brilliant" editorial on Cain's departure from NOP to return home to Bronxville NY, see my previous post, "That Bronxville Girl"!! LOL)
Men's Bowerman Mile
This race always ends the Pre meet, as it should, as Bill Bowerman was Steve Prefontaine's coach while he was at UO.
The Meet Record is Ayanleh Soulaiman's 3:47.32 from last year.
This CLASSIC field has at least SEVEN who have broken 3:50.
Silas Kiplagat
Collins Cheboi
Aman Wote
James Magut
Silas Kiplagat
Abdelati Iguider
Asbel Kiprop
Then you have a couple of Americans who would LOVE to be towed to a sub-3:50 time.
They are America's best, Leo Manzano, and Matthew Centrowitz!
This should be the perfect way to end a truly CLASSIC (sic!!) meet!!
Tonight's events, as noted, will be livestreamed FREE by USATF-TV!!
You can bet I will be watching!
Will you?
Friday, May 29, 2015
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
That Bronxville Girl
Bob Dylan cut a song in the late 80's called "Brownsville Girl".
A long song, but there wasn't much to it, IMO.
But this one line might be the perfect intro to my little "editorial" about Queen Mary:
"Then she told us how times were tough and 'bout how she was thinkin' of bummin' a ride back to from where she started."
Mary Cain is from Bronxville (NY), not "Brownsville (TX)", but that sentiment Old Bobby sang years ago sort of fits.
If you haven't heard Mary has left Oregon to return to "where she started", then you're blind, deaf, and dumb! (Or just don't care about Mary Cain!)
Yes, Ken Goe wrote that she left NOP--though is still a member of the group---to return home to Bronxville.
Now, why should this NOT be a story worthy of FIVE full pages (a few minutes ago, but growing FAST!!) of comments on Let's Run's MB?
1. School at Portland U is done, and kids ending their freshman year normally go home...even if "home" is 3000 miles away!
2. Her boyfriend is still in NY, and kids her age usually want to be close to their S.O.'s.
3. She's always been close to her parents, and she missed them.
So what's the big deal then?
After all, others have left NOP (or other OR groups) recently--Dathan Ritzenhein and Kara Goucher, for example.
But Mary has been a "STAR" since her frosh year at Bronxville HS.
She's NEWS---no matter if it's good or bad!
So here's MY take on this sudden move.
It goes back to something Alberto Salazar said amidst the firestorm that was Mary's INdoor campaign of 2013.
She was destroying HSR's left and right, so he was asked what HE had done to make that happen.
I'll never forget his reply:
"I didn't make Mary. She was already made (when I started working with her)."
He began coaching Cain because he saw a major talent who had a few flaws in her running form, which he felt he could correct..
And supposedly he did--especially with her arm swing & carriage.
But let's look at a timeline of her "progress" with NOP.
1. She's shattering Class records in her Freshman and Sophomore years, INdoors and OUTdoors, culminating in her obliterating Jordan Hasay's great 4:14.50 in the Barcelona WJC.
2. Salazar calls her, and they hook up as athlete and coach, though during her Senior year in Bronxville, she lives there and trains under John Henwood's guidance. (Henwood is Salazar's East Coast assistant!)
3. Her 2013 season is absolutely PHENOMENAL, as she breaks TEN HSR's within 5 months time! She even makes the final at the Moscow WC's!!
4. She decides to turn Pro and move to Portland to start college at the University of Portland. She even announces she has a boyfriend named Benito.
5. While she runs okay INdoors in 2015--though FAR from her 2013 standards!--she's obviously having problems, which only seem worse in her 3 OUTdoor races.
So WHAT happened?
Go back to what Salazar said, that I quoted above.
"I didn't make her. She was already made."
That's IT!!
Whatever her HS coach---whose name I don't even know!--did got her to that point.
It wasn't Salazar's "magic", or the correction of her running form flaws.
She broke all those records using her years of experience WITH HER HIGH SCHOOL COACH----not Salazar (or Henwood).
She had built a momentum in her first 2 years of HS (BEFORE Salazar called her!) that carried over to her 2013 Junior year!
It's like if you become a success in ANY sport under one coach---then a new coach is hired, but the momentum the athlete already has in high gear is credited to the new coach---when he/she had almost nothing to do with it!
Salazar didn't "make" Mary Cain---she was already "made".
The main gist I get from reading all 5 pages of Let's Run's (& T&FN's lesser amount of) comments is this:
1. Most feel it's a weight problem. She's changing from a girl to a woman, and her woman's body has slowed her down. She's gained maybe 10 pounds.
2. She's homesick, and misses Benito.
3. The Salazar (and NOP) way of doing things is too intense. She's a loose fun happy girl, and couldn't handle/didn't mesh with....NOP's and (especially!!) Salazar's intensity.
I've been highly critical of Alberto for a long time.
(Read my "Open Letter to Alberto Salazar" post from right after the USATF INdoor fiasco of 2014!)
His personality grinds on me.
But it's not just his personality.
It's his training methods.
At first, I was stupified watching (on Flotrack) the post-race workouts he had his charges do last year (2014) during INdoors.
Remember?
AFTER they broke some record or other, Salazar took them to another track (from Boston U to Harvard, I believe!) and do a workout.
For Galen Rupp--who had just broken an AR in the 2 Mile--he had him do FIVE 1 Milers, with the last one in 4:01.
For Cain--who had just broken a 1000 or Mile record--he had her do a 3 mile tempo at 5:30 per mile, then do four 800's in 2:20, then four 400's, all at 60 or faster--last one in 57!.
(Jordan Hasay, Treniere Moser, and Cam Levins did similar workouts!)
Maybe it's just me, but I don't recall knowing (or hearing of) ANYone who did anything post-race but jog (cool down).
Not even elite Professional athletes!
Until Salazar started advertising HIS methods!
They were fun to watch, but I now see them as ONE of the reasons why (possibly!) Mary left NOP.
In recent years---maybe ALWAYS!!--we've seen or heard stories of other teen girl prodigies (and even a BOY prodigy or two!) who just suddenly disappear from everyone's radar.
Then you begin wondering....Where ARE they?
In this blog, I had a post a year or so ago asking where 3 girls were---Wesley Frazier, Cayla Hatton, and Natosha Rogers.
Each had phenomenal success in either HS or College---then basically disappeared!!
There have been many others.
Whatever happened to Brianna Jackucewicz, whose 16:43.02 INdoor 5000 came as a SEVENTH grader?
That's just one example.
Injury?
Burnout?
Too many body changes?
Eating disorders?
Boyfriend, pregnancy, a new life away from running?
There are lots of reasons why a young girl---or ANYone!!---suddenly is not the same athlete as she/he once was.
I don't know what happened to Mary.
Until (and unless) SHE herself decides to "come clean" about her decision to leave NOP, we can only speculate.
But there HAVE been success stories of young athletes who have succeeded DESPITE their bodily changes, DESPITE whatever's happening in their social life, DESPITE moving far from home to a totally new environment!
Let us hope and pray that this outstanding young athlete---and PERSON!!!---is able to find her way back.
And she doesn't need Salazar's help!
After all, she was "already made"!!
A long song, but there wasn't much to it, IMO.
But this one line might be the perfect intro to my little "editorial" about Queen Mary:
"Then she told us how times were tough and 'bout how she was thinkin' of bummin' a ride back to from where she started."
Mary Cain is from Bronxville (NY), not "Brownsville (TX)", but that sentiment Old Bobby sang years ago sort of fits.
If you haven't heard Mary has left Oregon to return to "where she started", then you're blind, deaf, and dumb! (Or just don't care about Mary Cain!)
Yes, Ken Goe wrote that she left NOP--though is still a member of the group---to return home to Bronxville.
Now, why should this NOT be a story worthy of FIVE full pages (a few minutes ago, but growing FAST!!) of comments on Let's Run's MB?
1. School at Portland U is done, and kids ending their freshman year normally go home...even if "home" is 3000 miles away!
2. Her boyfriend is still in NY, and kids her age usually want to be close to their S.O.'s.
3. She's always been close to her parents, and she missed them.
So what's the big deal then?
After all, others have left NOP (or other OR groups) recently--Dathan Ritzenhein and Kara Goucher, for example.
But Mary has been a "STAR" since her frosh year at Bronxville HS.
She's NEWS---no matter if it's good or bad!
So here's MY take on this sudden move.
It goes back to something Alberto Salazar said amidst the firestorm that was Mary's INdoor campaign of 2013.
She was destroying HSR's left and right, so he was asked what HE had done to make that happen.
I'll never forget his reply:
"I didn't make Mary. She was already made (when I started working with her)."
He began coaching Cain because he saw a major talent who had a few flaws in her running form, which he felt he could correct..
And supposedly he did--especially with her arm swing & carriage.
But let's look at a timeline of her "progress" with NOP.
1. She's shattering Class records in her Freshman and Sophomore years, INdoors and OUTdoors, culminating in her obliterating Jordan Hasay's great 4:14.50 in the Barcelona WJC.
2. Salazar calls her, and they hook up as athlete and coach, though during her Senior year in Bronxville, she lives there and trains under John Henwood's guidance. (Henwood is Salazar's East Coast assistant!)
3. Her 2013 season is absolutely PHENOMENAL, as she breaks TEN HSR's within 5 months time! She even makes the final at the Moscow WC's!!
4. She decides to turn Pro and move to Portland to start college at the University of Portland. She even announces she has a boyfriend named Benito.
5. While she runs okay INdoors in 2015--though FAR from her 2013 standards!--she's obviously having problems, which only seem worse in her 3 OUTdoor races.
So WHAT happened?
Go back to what Salazar said, that I quoted above.
"I didn't make her. She was already made."
That's IT!!
Whatever her HS coach---whose name I don't even know!--did got her to that point.
It wasn't Salazar's "magic", or the correction of her running form flaws.
She broke all those records using her years of experience WITH HER HIGH SCHOOL COACH----not Salazar (or Henwood).
She had built a momentum in her first 2 years of HS (BEFORE Salazar called her!) that carried over to her 2013 Junior year!
It's like if you become a success in ANY sport under one coach---then a new coach is hired, but the momentum the athlete already has in high gear is credited to the new coach---when he/she had almost nothing to do with it!
Salazar didn't "make" Mary Cain---she was already "made".
The main gist I get from reading all 5 pages of Let's Run's (& T&FN's lesser amount of) comments is this:
1. Most feel it's a weight problem. She's changing from a girl to a woman, and her woman's body has slowed her down. She's gained maybe 10 pounds.
2. She's homesick, and misses Benito.
3. The Salazar (and NOP) way of doing things is too intense. She's a loose fun happy girl, and couldn't handle/didn't mesh with....NOP's and (especially!!) Salazar's intensity.
I've been highly critical of Alberto for a long time.
(Read my "Open Letter to Alberto Salazar" post from right after the USATF INdoor fiasco of 2014!)
His personality grinds on me.
But it's not just his personality.
It's his training methods.
At first, I was stupified watching (on Flotrack) the post-race workouts he had his charges do last year (2014) during INdoors.
Remember?
AFTER they broke some record or other, Salazar took them to another track (from Boston U to Harvard, I believe!) and do a workout.
For Galen Rupp--who had just broken an AR in the 2 Mile--he had him do FIVE 1 Milers, with the last one in 4:01.
For Cain--who had just broken a 1000 or Mile record--he had her do a 3 mile tempo at 5:30 per mile, then do four 800's in 2:20, then four 400's, all at 60 or faster--last one in 57!.
(Jordan Hasay, Treniere Moser, and Cam Levins did similar workouts!)
Maybe it's just me, but I don't recall knowing (or hearing of) ANYone who did anything post-race but jog (cool down).
Not even elite Professional athletes!
Until Salazar started advertising HIS methods!
They were fun to watch, but I now see them as ONE of the reasons why (possibly!) Mary left NOP.
In recent years---maybe ALWAYS!!--we've seen or heard stories of other teen girl prodigies (and even a BOY prodigy or two!) who just suddenly disappear from everyone's radar.
Then you begin wondering....Where ARE they?
In this blog, I had a post a year or so ago asking where 3 girls were---Wesley Frazier, Cayla Hatton, and Natosha Rogers.
Each had phenomenal success in either HS or College---then basically disappeared!!
There have been many others.
Whatever happened to Brianna Jackucewicz, whose 16:43.02 INdoor 5000 came as a SEVENTH grader?
That's just one example.
Injury?
Burnout?
Too many body changes?
Eating disorders?
Boyfriend, pregnancy, a new life away from running?
There are lots of reasons why a young girl---or ANYone!!---suddenly is not the same athlete as she/he once was.
I don't know what happened to Mary.
Until (and unless) SHE herself decides to "come clean" about her decision to leave NOP, we can only speculate.
But there HAVE been success stories of young athletes who have succeeded DESPITE their bodily changes, DESPITE whatever's happening in their social life, DESPITE moving far from home to a totally new environment!
Let us hope and pray that this outstanding young athlete---and PERSON!!!---is able to find her way back.
And she doesn't need Salazar's help!
After all, she was "already made"!!
Monday, May 25, 2015
A short report
With a couple of World Challenge meets, lower division Collegiate Conferences, and some big HS State meets, I thought this weekend would have seen MUCH more record and high list action than we saw.
Remember a post from last year titled something like "That Moby Dick Moment"? (Can't remember the actual title, and too lazy to look it up!)
Well, we've just experienced another one!
Meaning, it was a VERY quiet weekend before an upcoming one that SHOULD (WILL!!) provide me with enough material to (maybe!) call for multiple posts!
(See below for some details on this!)
However quiet it was, there WERE some good marks.
One correction first.
I reported that Marquis Dendy's winning TJ at the SEC (56-11.25) was a legal jump.
Sorry, but it was wind-aided.
I've removed it from my Collegiate list.
However, he did have a legal jump of 55-8.50, which is his OUTdoor PR, and puts him in at 22nd on the Collegiate list, tied with 1 other.
He was taken OFF my US list!
Move over, Kaylin Whitney?
In a CIF meet, Lauren Rain Williams, a soph (just like Whitney was last year!), sped a 200 in 22.68.
It had an aiding wind of 3.2 that negates the mark for list purposes.
However, according to a couple of sources, it's the 5th fastest time under "all conditions", which includes wind-aided marks.
Whatever the case, it's an EXCELLENT time!!
Will she follow Whitney into the Pro ranks?
BTW, speaking of Ms Whitney, the new Pro had her first overseas meets AS a Pro!
In the 2nd meet, she faced Veronica Campbell-Brown!
Out of lane 2.
VCB won in 22.68, but Whitney surprised by finishing 2nd in 23.06, her fastest time as a Pro!
There are a few other legal sprint times to report.
Marvin Bracy broke through the 10 second barrier, running the 100 in 9.95.
This satisfied the many people who have considered Bracy the next great American sprinter!
And it makes him 22nd A-T US, tied with 6 others!
Dafne Schippers also broke through a barrier--the 11 second kind.
Her 10.94 set a new National Record for the Netherlands!
And it beat Dina Asher-Smith's 11.02.
The 19 year old Brit set the National Record of Great Britain with her time.
Another NR for the Netherlands was Sifan Hassan's 1000 time of 2:34.68.
That race (in the Hengelo meet) had some depth, as the first 9 all ran under 2:40.
Anita Hinriksdottir ran 2:36.63 for the Age 19 record.
It's also the new National Record of Iceland.
Jenny Meadows ran it in 2:36.13 for the Age 34 record.
Speaking of Age 34 records, another one was set by Fabiana Murer in the PV, as she vaulted 15-3.
In a different meet, American Melinda Withrow, vaulted 15-1.
She's now 12th A-T US, tied with 6 others.
She has an interesting story, which in some ways resembles that of Demi Payne.
As with Payne, she was good, but not great in HS and in her early college years.
After college, Withrow basically disappeared, only starting to compete again recently.
She'd never broken 14 until this year.
And now she's over 15---at age 30!
The only difference with Payne (as far as I know!) is that Withrow is not a new mother!
Speaking of PV'ers, the Weeks twins competed in a Heptathlon together.
After 6 events, Lexi was leading by a few points.
In the 800, Tori beat Lexi, 2:19.47 to 2:19.81.
However, she came up ONE point short of beating her sister, the final scores being 4481 and 4480!!
In a Throwers meet, Dani Bunch got a big PR in the SP, throwing it 61-11.75.
She's now 10th A-T US!
Sean Furey got a PR in the JT with his 270-11.
He moves from 18th to 15th on the A-T US list!
Elena Bruckner threw the Discus out to 182-8, for 10th A-T HS.
(I have SOME doubts about this mark, as another meet 8 days later saw her throw just 152+.)
Kiah Hicks had a 196-7 Discus Throw, making her 24th A-T Collegiate!
Aldan Tooker ran the 3000SC in 9:06.37 for 12th A-T HS!
Bella Burda won the NY State 3000 in 9:37.31.
But that wasn't the big news from that race, as Burda was probably favored to win.
The BIG news came from that incredible SEVENTH Grade girl, Katelyn Tuohy!
Can't remember her place in the race (5th??), but she ran 9:48.44!!
I have no idea what the record is for 7th Grade girls, but this MUST be very close to the "record"!
And it fits in very well with her recent 4:58.40 Mile (See my earlier post!).
Given a last 218 meters at about the same pace, she would have a Two Mile time of UNDER 10:30!!
And there you have it---a short report!
But check out what's coming!
Tomorrow is the Ostrava meet, which besides Usain Bolt, includes MANY great athletes.
Then come the Collegiate Regionals, East and West.
And on May 29th and May 30th is the Prefontaine DL!!
The latter has such a GREAT field (in EVERY event!) that I MIGHT do a preview post prior to the Friday night session!
If not, I'll surely do a HUGE post covering this always-great meet in DETAIL!!
See you soon----if not sooner!!
LOL
Remember a post from last year titled something like "That Moby Dick Moment"? (Can't remember the actual title, and too lazy to look it up!)
Well, we've just experienced another one!
Meaning, it was a VERY quiet weekend before an upcoming one that SHOULD (WILL!!) provide me with enough material to (maybe!) call for multiple posts!
(See below for some details on this!)
However quiet it was, there WERE some good marks.
One correction first.
I reported that Marquis Dendy's winning TJ at the SEC (56-11.25) was a legal jump.
Sorry, but it was wind-aided.
I've removed it from my Collegiate list.
However, he did have a legal jump of 55-8.50, which is his OUTdoor PR, and puts him in at 22nd on the Collegiate list, tied with 1 other.
He was taken OFF my US list!
Move over, Kaylin Whitney?
In a CIF meet, Lauren Rain Williams, a soph (just like Whitney was last year!), sped a 200 in 22.68.
It had an aiding wind of 3.2 that negates the mark for list purposes.
However, according to a couple of sources, it's the 5th fastest time under "all conditions", which includes wind-aided marks.
Whatever the case, it's an EXCELLENT time!!
Will she follow Whitney into the Pro ranks?
BTW, speaking of Ms Whitney, the new Pro had her first overseas meets AS a Pro!
In the 2nd meet, she faced Veronica Campbell-Brown!
Out of lane 2.
VCB won in 22.68, but Whitney surprised by finishing 2nd in 23.06, her fastest time as a Pro!
There are a few other legal sprint times to report.
Marvin Bracy broke through the 10 second barrier, running the 100 in 9.95.
This satisfied the many people who have considered Bracy the next great American sprinter!
And it makes him 22nd A-T US, tied with 6 others!
Dafne Schippers also broke through a barrier--the 11 second kind.
Her 10.94 set a new National Record for the Netherlands!
And it beat Dina Asher-Smith's 11.02.
The 19 year old Brit set the National Record of Great Britain with her time.
Another NR for the Netherlands was Sifan Hassan's 1000 time of 2:34.68.
That race (in the Hengelo meet) had some depth, as the first 9 all ran under 2:40.
Anita Hinriksdottir ran 2:36.63 for the Age 19 record.
It's also the new National Record of Iceland.
Jenny Meadows ran it in 2:36.13 for the Age 34 record.
Speaking of Age 34 records, another one was set by Fabiana Murer in the PV, as she vaulted 15-3.
In a different meet, American Melinda Withrow, vaulted 15-1.
She's now 12th A-T US, tied with 6 others.
She has an interesting story, which in some ways resembles that of Demi Payne.
As with Payne, she was good, but not great in HS and in her early college years.
After college, Withrow basically disappeared, only starting to compete again recently.
She'd never broken 14 until this year.
And now she's over 15---at age 30!
The only difference with Payne (as far as I know!) is that Withrow is not a new mother!
Speaking of PV'ers, the Weeks twins competed in a Heptathlon together.
After 6 events, Lexi was leading by a few points.
In the 800, Tori beat Lexi, 2:19.47 to 2:19.81.
However, she came up ONE point short of beating her sister, the final scores being 4481 and 4480!!
In a Throwers meet, Dani Bunch got a big PR in the SP, throwing it 61-11.75.
She's now 10th A-T US!
Sean Furey got a PR in the JT with his 270-11.
He moves from 18th to 15th on the A-T US list!
Elena Bruckner threw the Discus out to 182-8, for 10th A-T HS.
(I have SOME doubts about this mark, as another meet 8 days later saw her throw just 152+.)
Kiah Hicks had a 196-7 Discus Throw, making her 24th A-T Collegiate!
Aldan Tooker ran the 3000SC in 9:06.37 for 12th A-T HS!
Bella Burda won the NY State 3000 in 9:37.31.
But that wasn't the big news from that race, as Burda was probably favored to win.
The BIG news came from that incredible SEVENTH Grade girl, Katelyn Tuohy!
Can't remember her place in the race (5th??), but she ran 9:48.44!!
I have no idea what the record is for 7th Grade girls, but this MUST be very close to the "record"!
And it fits in very well with her recent 4:58.40 Mile (See my earlier post!).
Given a last 218 meters at about the same pace, she would have a Two Mile time of UNDER 10:30!!
And there you have it---a short report!
But check out what's coming!
Tomorrow is the Ostrava meet, which besides Usain Bolt, includes MANY great athletes.
Then come the Collegiate Regionals, East and West.
And on May 29th and May 30th is the Prefontaine DL!!
The latter has such a GREAT field (in EVERY event!) that I MIGHT do a preview post prior to the Friday night session!
If not, I'll surely do a HUGE post covering this always-great meet in DETAIL!!
See you soon----if not sooner!!
LOL
Monday, May 18, 2015
Shanghai fizzles-Collegiates sizzle
In a nutshell, that's basically it!
While there were SOME great marks in Shanghai, this 2nd DL of 2015 essentially fizzled!
(Like Stockholm and Rome did last year!)
But the day (weekend!) was saved by many thrilling Collegiate Conference performances (and team battles!).
But I have to begin with Almaz Ayana's sensational run over 5000 meters in Shanghai!
She followed a pacer through 3K in 8:36--which is 14:20 pace.
But Ethiopian Ayana picked up the pace, even though she would eventually finish 26 seconds ahead of 2nd place!
By herself, she ran steady 66-67's, finishing in the third best-ever time of 14:14.32.
What was best about it was that it was never hyped!
Meaning that in pre-meet talk, NOTHING was said about her going for a fast time.
None of that bullshit "I'm going for the WR!"---which almost never happens!!
She just went out there and ran fast---then ran even faster!---and wound up becoming 3rd A-T World!
Simple.
And definitely NO fizzle!
BTW, it's the Shanghai Meet Record.
And she came from 6th A-T World down to that 3rd!
Oh yes, forgot to mention that the first two on that list?
They're also Ethiopian, so no National Record!
(Or Age 23 record either!!)
Only 3 other events produced list or record changing marks.
Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou PV'ed 15-6.25 for a new Greece National Record.
She moves from 20th A-T World, tied with 3 others, to 16th, tied with 1 other.
Mutaz Barshim HJ'ed 7-9.75, out-jumping Bogdan Bondarenko for the Shanghai Meet Record.
And China's Huihui Lu threw the Javelin 210-2, also a Shanghai Meet Record.
And that was basically it from Shanghai!
And they call that a DIAMOND League meet?
Ha!
The US Collegiate scene was another story altogether!
And a guy named Tevin Hester set the stage!
His wind-aided 9.87 was the fastest 100 of the day!
(Would've broken the CR, if legal!)
But even though not acceptable, there WERE a couple of sub-10's that DO make my DDD!!
Andre De Grasse, the Canadian attending USC, tore up the track at the PAC-12 meet at UCLA.
He ran 9.97 in the 100, beating Ato Boldon's 10.03 from 1996 for the Meet Record!
This makes him 9th A-T Collegiate, tied with 5 others!
But he also ran solid 200's.
His heat was a 20.03
This makes him 12th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others.
It's also the National Record of Canada.
Then he ran 20.05 in the final!
The other sub-10 was a shocker.
Bryce Robinson suddenly emerged (He wasn't listed in T&FN's initial Top 10 NCAA Formchart!) to run 9.99.
This makes him 16th A-T Collegiate, tied with 3 others.
What it does also is take OFF my Top 24 list a legend!
Frankie Fredericks mark from 1989 is no longer a DDD-worthy mark!!
And neither is a mark by James Sanford, dating from 1980!!
He too is OFF my list!
And Mr Hester?
He also had a wind-LEGAL 200 of 20.18.
Speaking of the sprints, the SEC meet had quite a spectacular 4X100 Relay.
The Women's team from Texas A&M set the SEC Meet Record with their time of 42.61.
But they were followed closely by Florida's 42.72.
They move from the 7th fastest School to 3rd.
The 4th place spot was taken by Kentucky, whose 42.85 moves them from 10th A-T School to 6th!
FOUR schools running between 42.61 and 42.85 in one race!
That's the SEC for you!!
But the great marks weren't limited to the track.
Keturah Orji (as reported in my last post!) was beaten in the LJ by Quenesha Burks, but she prevailed in her signature event, the Triple Jump.
Her winning jump of 46-4.25 was initially reported as having 0.0 wind!
But that was soon changed to a +2.7, thus negating her first 46 footer for record or list purposes!
She did, however, have a legal jump of 45-5, which is her OUTdoor PR.
And it made her the Collegiate Frosh Class Record holder!
She moves from 19th A-T Collegiate to 14th, tied with 1 other.
And she moves onto the US list, taking 20th place, tied with 3 others!
As in Doha, the Men's SEC Triple Jump produced quite a battle.
Latario Collie's 56-4.50 was good.
It makes him 9th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others.
But it was Marquis Dendy's 56-11.25 which prevailed for the SEC Meet Record.
It makes him 4th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other.
It also makes him 15th A-T US!
BTW, speaking of that Doha TJ, I forgot to tell you that Christian Taylor's 2nd place mark of 59-2.25 is the best 2nd Place mark ever!!
Kendra Harrison exploded from a 12.7 girl all the way to 12.50, setting an SEC Meet Record!
It moves her from 6th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, to 3rd.
And it moves her from 21st to 15th on the A-T US list!
The ACC had quite the meet too.
(See my previous post for earlier marks from there!)
Shakima Wimbly?
Who's she?
She's another who came out of nowhere (at least to my limited range of knowledge!) to suddenly be "a contender" (As they said in "Rocky"! LOL) at the NCAA.
But will she double?
She should, as she ran the 200 in 22.43, making her 19th A-T Collegiate.
And she added a 400 of 50.84, which makes her 22nd A-T Collegiate.
Both are ACC Meet Records!
Natoya Goule ran a solid 800 time of 2:01.32 to garner the ACC Meet Record.
But no PR!
And Notre Dame's Women's 4X400 team ran 3:31.17 for yet another ACC Meet Record.
Shamier Little ran a World-leading (and PR time of) 54.68 in the 400H.
This moves her from 23rd to 16th on the A-T Collegiate list.
Kyra Jefferson suddenly became the fastest Collegiate 200 woman this year, running a great 22.39.
She's now 15th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other.
Katelyn Daniels threw the Discus 193-10 for the Big 10 Meet Record.
Adding to the list of 6000+ scores in the Women's Heptathlon (See my previous post!) was Jess Herauf's score of 6014 points.
It's the Big 10 Meet Record.
And it makes her 22nd A-T Collegiate!
To indicate just how LOADED the 2015 Women's Collegiate Heptathlon is, note that Herauf's mark removed FROM my list---another mark from 2015!!
The PAC-12 meet, in addition to Andre DeGrasse's sprint double, had some other highlights.
Raevyn Rogers won the 800 in 2:01.67, garnering the Collegiate Frosh Class record in the process.
Shelby Houlihan was supposed to have a great duel with Stanford's freshman Elise Cranny.
But Cranny faded on the last lap to 4th, while Houlihan finished in 4:11.06 for the PAC-12 Meet Record.
USC's Women's 4X100 team won the race in 43.10, another PAC-12 Meet Record.
But they narrowly lost to Oregon's Ducks, who won the meet, 185 to 182!!
A meet in Europe (I believe!) produced a National Record for South Africa.
Anasdo Jobodwana sprinted 200 in 20.06 for his NR.
A couple of relatively new Pro's produced some interesting results.
Abbey D'Agostino decided against running at the Hoka One-One meet.
Instead, she stayed home in Massachusetts and ran in a "Twilight" meet, soloing to victory in the 1500, time of 4:13.91.
She won by about 8 seconds!
Emily Liparei was 3rd in 4:22+.
But even better---MUCH better!!--was 18 year old Alexa Efraimson's 800 time of 2:01.13.
This was at the Portland meet, a "last chance" affair that took place last night.
Her training mate (and 2:03 800 girl) Makayla Fricker paced her through about 600 meters, but it was all Alexa's show.
Her splits were approximately 60 and 61, and she finished strong, indicating a potential for getting into the 1:59's.....soon!!
And she's the new HS PRO 800 meter record holder too!!
Of course, she had only one mark and person to beat--Mary Cain!!
Oh yes, almost forgot!
This puts her on the 2015 OUTdoor Top 10 list for the WORLD!!
But on the AMATEUR High School front, there were some outstanding marks!
Lexi Weeks PV'ed 14-2.
She remains 3rd A-T HS, but now she's not tied with anyone!
Rai Benjamin, perhaps better known for his INdoor exploits over 400 and 300 meter flat races, ran the 400H in 50.45, making him 18th A-T HS!
With his great 400 speed, he's on target to go under 50 seconds...soon!
Bobby Colantonio threw a PR in the HT, his mark of 243-7 moving him from 11th to 7th on the A-T HS list!!
Kendall Sheffield blazed through the 110H in 13.42.
He's now 18th A-T HS, tied with 1 other.
Jordyn Colter broke the Colorado state record in the 800 with her 2:04.56.
She's 21st A-T HS.
And Ryan Clark sprinted the 100 in 10.26, making him 23rd A-T HS, tied with 1 other.
Well, I THINK that's a wrap on the fizzle and sizzle of this past weekend!
(If I find enough other marks worthy of my lists, I might produce another post in a day or two.
Otherwise, my next post won't be until this coming weekend!)
Enjoy this, and see you soon!!
While there were SOME great marks in Shanghai, this 2nd DL of 2015 essentially fizzled!
(Like Stockholm and Rome did last year!)
But the day (weekend!) was saved by many thrilling Collegiate Conference performances (and team battles!).
But I have to begin with Almaz Ayana's sensational run over 5000 meters in Shanghai!
She followed a pacer through 3K in 8:36--which is 14:20 pace.
But Ethiopian Ayana picked up the pace, even though she would eventually finish 26 seconds ahead of 2nd place!
By herself, she ran steady 66-67's, finishing in the third best-ever time of 14:14.32.
What was best about it was that it was never hyped!
Meaning that in pre-meet talk, NOTHING was said about her going for a fast time.
None of that bullshit "I'm going for the WR!"---which almost never happens!!
She just went out there and ran fast---then ran even faster!---and wound up becoming 3rd A-T World!
Simple.
And definitely NO fizzle!
BTW, it's the Shanghai Meet Record.
And she came from 6th A-T World down to that 3rd!
Oh yes, forgot to mention that the first two on that list?
They're also Ethiopian, so no National Record!
(Or Age 23 record either!!)
Only 3 other events produced list or record changing marks.
Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou PV'ed 15-6.25 for a new Greece National Record.
She moves from 20th A-T World, tied with 3 others, to 16th, tied with 1 other.
Mutaz Barshim HJ'ed 7-9.75, out-jumping Bogdan Bondarenko for the Shanghai Meet Record.
And China's Huihui Lu threw the Javelin 210-2, also a Shanghai Meet Record.
And that was basically it from Shanghai!
And they call that a DIAMOND League meet?
Ha!
The US Collegiate scene was another story altogether!
And a guy named Tevin Hester set the stage!
His wind-aided 9.87 was the fastest 100 of the day!
(Would've broken the CR, if legal!)
But even though not acceptable, there WERE a couple of sub-10's that DO make my DDD!!
Andre De Grasse, the Canadian attending USC, tore up the track at the PAC-12 meet at UCLA.
He ran 9.97 in the 100, beating Ato Boldon's 10.03 from 1996 for the Meet Record!
This makes him 9th A-T Collegiate, tied with 5 others!
But he also ran solid 200's.
His heat was a 20.03
This makes him 12th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others.
It's also the National Record of Canada.
Then he ran 20.05 in the final!
The other sub-10 was a shocker.
Bryce Robinson suddenly emerged (He wasn't listed in T&FN's initial Top 10 NCAA Formchart!) to run 9.99.
This makes him 16th A-T Collegiate, tied with 3 others.
What it does also is take OFF my Top 24 list a legend!
Frankie Fredericks mark from 1989 is no longer a DDD-worthy mark!!
And neither is a mark by James Sanford, dating from 1980!!
He too is OFF my list!
And Mr Hester?
He also had a wind-LEGAL 200 of 20.18.
Speaking of the sprints, the SEC meet had quite a spectacular 4X100 Relay.
The Women's team from Texas A&M set the SEC Meet Record with their time of 42.61.
But they were followed closely by Florida's 42.72.
They move from the 7th fastest School to 3rd.
The 4th place spot was taken by Kentucky, whose 42.85 moves them from 10th A-T School to 6th!
FOUR schools running between 42.61 and 42.85 in one race!
That's the SEC for you!!
But the great marks weren't limited to the track.
Keturah Orji (as reported in my last post!) was beaten in the LJ by Quenesha Burks, but she prevailed in her signature event, the Triple Jump.
Her winning jump of 46-4.25 was initially reported as having 0.0 wind!
But that was soon changed to a +2.7, thus negating her first 46 footer for record or list purposes!
She did, however, have a legal jump of 45-5, which is her OUTdoor PR.
And it made her the Collegiate Frosh Class Record holder!
She moves from 19th A-T Collegiate to 14th, tied with 1 other.
And she moves onto the US list, taking 20th place, tied with 3 others!
As in Doha, the Men's SEC Triple Jump produced quite a battle.
Latario Collie's 56-4.50 was good.
It makes him 9th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others.
But it was Marquis Dendy's 56-11.25 which prevailed for the SEC Meet Record.
It makes him 4th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other.
It also makes him 15th A-T US!
BTW, speaking of that Doha TJ, I forgot to tell you that Christian Taylor's 2nd place mark of 59-2.25 is the best 2nd Place mark ever!!
Kendra Harrison exploded from a 12.7 girl all the way to 12.50, setting an SEC Meet Record!
It moves her from 6th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other, to 3rd.
And it moves her from 21st to 15th on the A-T US list!
The ACC had quite the meet too.
(See my previous post for earlier marks from there!)
Shakima Wimbly?
Who's she?
She's another who came out of nowhere (at least to my limited range of knowledge!) to suddenly be "a contender" (As they said in "Rocky"! LOL) at the NCAA.
But will she double?
She should, as she ran the 200 in 22.43, making her 19th A-T Collegiate.
And she added a 400 of 50.84, which makes her 22nd A-T Collegiate.
Both are ACC Meet Records!
Natoya Goule ran a solid 800 time of 2:01.32 to garner the ACC Meet Record.
But no PR!
And Notre Dame's Women's 4X400 team ran 3:31.17 for yet another ACC Meet Record.
Shamier Little ran a World-leading (and PR time of) 54.68 in the 400H.
This moves her from 23rd to 16th on the A-T Collegiate list.
Kyra Jefferson suddenly became the fastest Collegiate 200 woman this year, running a great 22.39.
She's now 15th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other.
Katelyn Daniels threw the Discus 193-10 for the Big 10 Meet Record.
Adding to the list of 6000+ scores in the Women's Heptathlon (See my previous post!) was Jess Herauf's score of 6014 points.
It's the Big 10 Meet Record.
And it makes her 22nd A-T Collegiate!
To indicate just how LOADED the 2015 Women's Collegiate Heptathlon is, note that Herauf's mark removed FROM my list---another mark from 2015!!
The PAC-12 meet, in addition to Andre DeGrasse's sprint double, had some other highlights.
Raevyn Rogers won the 800 in 2:01.67, garnering the Collegiate Frosh Class record in the process.
Shelby Houlihan was supposed to have a great duel with Stanford's freshman Elise Cranny.
But Cranny faded on the last lap to 4th, while Houlihan finished in 4:11.06 for the PAC-12 Meet Record.
USC's Women's 4X100 team won the race in 43.10, another PAC-12 Meet Record.
But they narrowly lost to Oregon's Ducks, who won the meet, 185 to 182!!
A meet in Europe (I believe!) produced a National Record for South Africa.
Anasdo Jobodwana sprinted 200 in 20.06 for his NR.
A couple of relatively new Pro's produced some interesting results.
Abbey D'Agostino decided against running at the Hoka One-One meet.
Instead, she stayed home in Massachusetts and ran in a "Twilight" meet, soloing to victory in the 1500, time of 4:13.91.
She won by about 8 seconds!
Emily Liparei was 3rd in 4:22+.
But even better---MUCH better!!--was 18 year old Alexa Efraimson's 800 time of 2:01.13.
This was at the Portland meet, a "last chance" affair that took place last night.
Her training mate (and 2:03 800 girl) Makayla Fricker paced her through about 600 meters, but it was all Alexa's show.
Her splits were approximately 60 and 61, and she finished strong, indicating a potential for getting into the 1:59's.....soon!!
And she's the new HS PRO 800 meter record holder too!!
Of course, she had only one mark and person to beat--Mary Cain!!
Oh yes, almost forgot!
This puts her on the 2015 OUTdoor Top 10 list for the WORLD!!
But on the AMATEUR High School front, there were some outstanding marks!
Lexi Weeks PV'ed 14-2.
She remains 3rd A-T HS, but now she's not tied with anyone!
Rai Benjamin, perhaps better known for his INdoor exploits over 400 and 300 meter flat races, ran the 400H in 50.45, making him 18th A-T HS!
With his great 400 speed, he's on target to go under 50 seconds...soon!
Bobby Colantonio threw a PR in the HT, his mark of 243-7 moving him from 11th to 7th on the A-T HS list!!
Kendall Sheffield blazed through the 110H in 13.42.
He's now 18th A-T HS, tied with 1 other.
Jordyn Colter broke the Colorado state record in the 800 with her 2:04.56.
She's 21st A-T HS.
And Ryan Clark sprinted the 100 in 10.26, making him 23rd A-T HS, tied with 1 other.
Well, I THINK that's a wrap on the fizzle and sizzle of this past weekend!
(If I find enough other marks worthy of my lists, I might produce another post in a day or two.
Otherwise, my next post won't be until this coming weekend!)
Enjoy this, and see you soon!!
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Super Weekend: Doha & CR (Part 1)
What a LOADED 4 days of T&F we're experiencing!
There's TWO Diamond League meets, one already done!
And ALL the MAJOR Collegiate Conferences, their 1st day or two in the bag!
There's some BIG High School State meets.
And there was that STORMY Hoka One One affair!
Because I already have--as of this morning, BEFORE the start of today's activities--more than 4 full pages of GREAT records and marks to report, I decided to break up the weekend into 3 parts.
The first part--this one--will cover the Doha DL, the Hoka 1-1 meet, the first day or 2 of most of the big College Conference results, plus whatever else I found!
The second part will cover the Collegiate scene, with the Conferences' final days results in detail!
The third part will cover the Shanghai DL, plus whatever was left out of the first 2 parts!
Whenever a MAJOR Record is set---meaning either a WR, US Record, CR, or HSR--I must lead with that, no matter how great the other marks are!
And Sandi Morris--half of that Dynamite Duo of female Collegiate PV'ers, the other half being Demi Payne---well, she's done it again!!
In this bouncy game of CR trading, Morris is the latest to take the lead.
In the always exciting SEC meet--which ain't over!!--Morris broke Payne's OUTdoor CR with her vault of 15-5.75.
She was all alone after 14-6, and proceeded to make 15-1.75, then the record height.
It's the SEC Meet Record, the former record held by former CR holder Tina Sutej!
It's the OUTdoor Collegiate Senior Class record.
She moves from 2nd to 1st on the Collegiate list.
She moves from 9th to 4th on the A-T US list.
AND she finally enters the WORLD list in 17th place, tied with 2 others!!
Let's stick to that SEC meet for a bit.
In the Women's HJ, a great battle took place between Leontia Kallenou and Jennelle Scheper.
In the end, Scheper prevailed, her winning height of 6-5 also the SEC Meet Record.
She moves from 6th A-T Collegiate, tied with 5 others, to 5th, tied with 1 other.
Kallenou's 6-4 jump doesn't change her place on the Collegiate list (She's still 15th!), but she's no longer tied with anyone!
The SEC Multis produced 2 great marks!
Maicel Uibo improved his Decathlon PR to 8326 points, winning VERY easily!
It's the SEC Meet Record.
And it moves him from 11th to 4th on the A-T Collegiate list!
Erica Bougard had her Day of Days in the Heptathlon, scoring 6250 points for the relatively easy win over Kendell Williams, who came within 15 points of her PR with 6003 points.
Bougard's mark is also the SEC Meet Record.
And she moves up a whopping 19 (!!) places on the A-T Collegiate list, from 23rd to 4th!
And she moves onto the US list, placing 17th there.
Big 10 Conference Meet Records were set by Chuk Enekwechi in the HT, his mark being 238-9.25, and by Stephanie Richartz, who PV'ed 14-4.
Shelbi Vaughan got a solid PR in the Discus Throw, her mark being 211-8.
While she remains 6th A-T Collegiate, her mark moves her from 14th to 11th on the A-T US list!
Never heard of her---or at least can't remember her name--but Carolina Carmichael improved her PV up to 14-9 at the American Athletic Conference, a meet also unknown to me!!
Anyway, she moves from 21st A-T Collegiate, tied with 6 others, all the way to 6th, tied with 4 others!
And assuming she's an American citizen (Haven't had time to research it---will change this later, if needed!), she's now 20th A-T US, tied with 6 others!!
What a year for the PV!!
Brooke Pleger inched up (literally!!) the Collegiate HT list....sort of.
She did improve her PR to 228-8.75, but it doesn't change her Collegiate list status.
It DOES move her up one place on the US list, however, from 18th to 17th!
The Atlantic Coast Conference got 2 new MR's.
Continuing the onslaught of Women's Collegiate 6000+ scores in the Heptathlon this year, Xenia Rahn scored 6057 points for the ACC MR.
It also makes her 14th A-T Collegiate!
Irena Sediva got the other ACC Meet Record, her JT of 192-5 spearing the mark....so to speak! LOL
She moves up a place on the A-T Collegiate list, from 10th to 9th.
It also breaks her own Collegiate Soph Class record!
Kaitlin Petrillose, who WAS having a pretty rough year, got the Big 12 MR with her PV of 14-6.
Quanesha Burks surprised Keturah Orji in the SEC Long Jump, not only winning, but jumping 22-5.25 for 6th place on the A-T Collegiate list!
It's also the Collegiate Soph Class record!
And it ties the one and only Britney Reese's SEC Meet Record!!
Hannah Carson threw the Javelin 184-11 for 21st A-T Collegiate!
She's finally making up for those dreary HS years she had!
Well, those College kids weren't the only ones making history this Wild Weekend!
The Professionals---1 or 2 of "College age"--were also in the game!
The initial DL meet of 2015, in Doha, Qatar, gave us LOTS of GREAT marks, and a shock or two (or 3!).
Jasmin Stowers.
What a FANTASTIC year she's having!
I've dubbed it a "Brianna Rollins 2013-style" year.
Remember?
Well, Stowers is well on her way to matching--or surpassing!--what Rollins did 2 years back!
She won the Doha 100H race in a blazing 12.35.
It's the Meet Record!
It's the Age 23 record, breaking her own mark!
She moves from 5th to 3rd on the A-T US list.
And she moves from 11th A-T World, tied with 2 others, to 7th!
Not to mention she beat--among others!--2012 Olympic Champion Sally Pearson!
BTW, 2nd in this race was Sharika Nelvis, who is ALSO having a good year!
Her time of 12.54 is a BIG PR, and makes her 17th A-T US, tied with 1 other!
Dawn Harper-Nelson inexplicably finished LAST in this race, in 13.24!!
I didn't see the race, so have no idea what happened to her!
It seems no matter how fast he runs, Justin Gatlin just can't out-run controversy!
His 100 time of 9.74 notwithstanding, he continues to be subjugated to hate-filled remarks.
One Twitter person said (paraphrased) that "50% hate him, and 50% despise him"!
Nice.
Anyway, that 9.74 easily won the Doha 100, setting the Meet Record!
It's also the Age 33 record.
But his placings on the US (2nd) and World (5th) lists remains the same!
Personally, I think this hatred of Gatlin should STOP!
He's done the time, so back off!!
He's a good person who did something bad....and paid for it with 4 years off his career!
I like the guy!
Kim Collins continues to rock and roll....and sprint fast!
He ran 10.03 in the 100 to DESTROY Troy Douglas's Age 39 record!!
The Triple Jump doesn't get much love.
But the Battle Royal that ensued in Doha in the Men's event brought a LOT of love their way!
Pablo---or is that Pedro?---Pichardo is from Cuba.
But that didn't keep him from his MISSION in Doha.
He hopped, skipped & jumped out 59-3, for the longest leap in years!
But he almost didn't win!
Because Christian Taylor, who lives in Florida, just across some water from Cuba, almost got him with his PR of 59-2.25!!
Pichardo's 59-3 is the Age 21 record!
He breaks his own National Record of Cuba.
It's the Doha Meet Record!
And he moves from 6th to 3rd on the A-T World list!
Taylor's 59-2.25 moves him from 3rd to 2nd on the A-T US list!
He's just two inches from the American Record!!
He remains in 5th place on the A-T World list!
Allyson Felix ran one of her fastest 200's--especially for this early in the year!.
Her 21.98 shattered the Doha Meet Record.
She beat Muriele Ahoure, and 17 year old new American HS Pro Kaylin Whitney (who finished in 8th place, time of 23.24, in her first International race as a Pro!), among others!
I'm not sure if there's anyone else who has done this, but Felix now holds THREE Doha Meet Records!!
Her 100 from 2012, and her 400 from 2008, plus this year's 200, are all Doha MR's!!
Does anyone know if anyone else---male or female---holds this distinction??
Bershawn Jackson's 48.09 in the 400H is the new Doha MR.
Luiza Gega's non-winning (Dawit Seyaum won in 4:00+!) 4:02.63 is the National Record of Albania.
Reese Hoffa nabbed his own Age 37 record in the SP, hitting 69-10.75.
Shara Proctor tied her own National Record of Great Britain with her Long Jump of 22-10.
(Tianna Bartoletta won the event!)
That Hoka One One Distance Festival---formerly the Oxy High Performance meet---was SO promising!!
The fields the sponsor had collected were, in some cases, equal to or better than some seen at the USATF meets!!
The list of GREAT American (and a very few foreign!) names was practically endless!
And all of them wanted--at the very least!--to get Qualifying times for the USATF meet and/or the WC's!!
Then the skies opened up and the God of Thunder roared!
But that only excuses what happened in the latter part of the meet.
(More on that in a minute!)
The first few races, while okay by "normal" standards, were quite inferior when you consider the athletes raison d'etre for being there!!
That said, a few good marks evolved.
But the only Meet Record was set by Stephanie Garcia in the 3000SC.
Her winning time was 9:37.19.
She was in the 4th Section of the 800 (Supposed to be the slowest, with the least speedy runners!), but HS Professional Alexa Efraimson WON that section with a time faster than in Section 3!
But her time of 2:03.23, while a PR by 0.03 seconds, does NOT break Mary Cain's HS Pro 800 record!!
Alexa looked like she could have held her own in the 2 faster sections, running very strongly, with a very good kick!!
Maggie Vessey beat Jenny Simpson in Section 2 (Why were they in Section TWO???), 2:00.70 to 2:00.79.
Vessey wore a white--and rather BRIEF--uniform, but while beautiful and fashionable, she's also having a good solid year so far!
Simpson kicked from back in the pack to ALMOST beat her!
Treniere Moser of NOP won the "fast" section....in 2:01.67!!
And she was the ONLY NOP person to perform well.
Shannon Rowbury didn't win either of her two races, the 800 or 1500.
And Mary Cain?
Oh God!
Remember this meet in 2013, when it was the Oxy High Performance meet?
Remember the Women's 1500, won by Katie Mackey in 4:04.60?
(Mackey won this year too, but about 3 seconds slower!)
Remember seeing Mary Cain, then just barely 17 years old, sprint from 6th or 7th on the final curve to get 2nd in the HSR of 4:04.62??
Well, THAT Mary Cain is NOT THIS Mary Cain!!
Nowhere near!!
She went immediately to the back of the 12 woman pack.....and remained there, just barely edging out Cory McGee to avoid LAST place!!
Her time was AGAIN---for the 3rd time this year--in the 4:15+ range!
WHAT is WRONG with this now 19 year old woman?
SOMEthing is!
After Leo Manzano won the first section of the 1500, the storm---NOT normal in SoCal!!--hit with a vengeance!
Torrential rain, plus thunder and lightning, first delayed the meet, then forced (??) the organizers to cancel it.
That meant that some other VERY fast 1500 guys, and a few VERY good 5000 folks didn't get to race!!
Among them were Galen Rupp and Buze Diriba!
Cam Levins and Kara Goucher, among many others, also didn't get to race!
(And I have no idea if Alberto Salazar had his NOP crew do a post-meet hard workout, as is their normal routine!! LOL)
Well, let's end this post with another new mark, my usual Kayla Montgomery report, plus some "old" news.
The new mark is the 1:48.07 HS 800 time by Donavan Brazier.
This makes him 8th A-T HS.
Word is he negative split the race, passing 400 in 55+!!
Kayla finished her 2nd ever 10000, but it was about 2 whole minutes slower than her PR of 35:49.
At the Atlantic Sun Conference meet, she finished 6th in 37:53.20.
But she was leading after about 6 laps!
Then something happened, as her steady 80+ laps ended with a 107 second lap!!
Whatever caused her to slow that much ended, as she returned to speedier laps---but in the 90's, not 80's!--and scored 3 points for her team! (Two other Lipscomb runners finished ahead of her!)
I'm still a HUGE fan of this remarkable young lady!!
At the Sun Belt Conference meet a few days ago, Clayton Vaughn sprinted the 100 in 9.93 (wind of 1.7).
He's suddenly now 4th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others.
And he makes the US list too, in 17th, tied with 3 others!
Bria Matthews TJ'ed 43-5.50 to become 7th A-T HS.
Deakin Volz PV'ed an OUTdoor PR of 17-8, which moves him from 16th A-T HS, tied with 2 others, to 15th, tied with 1 other!
Remember me mentioning SEVENTH Grader Katelyn Tuohy?
She'd run a 1200 leg of a DMR in 3:36.09.
Well, it turns out she's run a pretty fair Mile too!
Her 4:58.40 MILE time (NOT 1600!!) in the NY State meet (She finished in 5th place!!) breaks Mary Cain's 7th Grade NY State record!
I didn't even know Cain was RUNNING in the 7th grade!
I thought she was still on the SWIM team !!
Anyway, Tuohy is certainly one to watch!!
Before I end this, I have some corrections to make!
It wasn't Eleanore Thompson who ran that 10.92 earlier this year.
It was Elaine Thompson!
And her time wasn't 10.94 in last week's Jamaica meet, it was 10.97.
Well, that concludes Part ONE of my trilogy from this weekend.
I'll probably have Part 2 sometime tomorrow--after the end of the PAC-12 Conference meet.
(All the other major conferences end today!)
That post will have ALL the great records and marks from the College scene!!
The 3rd part will probably come either late Sunday or early Monday, and will feature the Shanghai DL, plus whatever I might miss from the other venues!
Yes, it's a SUPER Weekend---and this report is just the beginning!!
There's TWO Diamond League meets, one already done!
And ALL the MAJOR Collegiate Conferences, their 1st day or two in the bag!
There's some BIG High School State meets.
And there was that STORMY Hoka One One affair!
Because I already have--as of this morning, BEFORE the start of today's activities--more than 4 full pages of GREAT records and marks to report, I decided to break up the weekend into 3 parts.
The first part--this one--will cover the Doha DL, the Hoka 1-1 meet, the first day or 2 of most of the big College Conference results, plus whatever else I found!
The second part will cover the Collegiate scene, with the Conferences' final days results in detail!
The third part will cover the Shanghai DL, plus whatever was left out of the first 2 parts!
Whenever a MAJOR Record is set---meaning either a WR, US Record, CR, or HSR--I must lead with that, no matter how great the other marks are!
And Sandi Morris--half of that Dynamite Duo of female Collegiate PV'ers, the other half being Demi Payne---well, she's done it again!!
In this bouncy game of CR trading, Morris is the latest to take the lead.
In the always exciting SEC meet--which ain't over!!--Morris broke Payne's OUTdoor CR with her vault of 15-5.75.
She was all alone after 14-6, and proceeded to make 15-1.75, then the record height.
It's the SEC Meet Record, the former record held by former CR holder Tina Sutej!
It's the OUTdoor Collegiate Senior Class record.
She moves from 2nd to 1st on the Collegiate list.
She moves from 9th to 4th on the A-T US list.
AND she finally enters the WORLD list in 17th place, tied with 2 others!!
Let's stick to that SEC meet for a bit.
In the Women's HJ, a great battle took place between Leontia Kallenou and Jennelle Scheper.
In the end, Scheper prevailed, her winning height of 6-5 also the SEC Meet Record.
She moves from 6th A-T Collegiate, tied with 5 others, to 5th, tied with 1 other.
Kallenou's 6-4 jump doesn't change her place on the Collegiate list (She's still 15th!), but she's no longer tied with anyone!
The SEC Multis produced 2 great marks!
Maicel Uibo improved his Decathlon PR to 8326 points, winning VERY easily!
It's the SEC Meet Record.
And it moves him from 11th to 4th on the A-T Collegiate list!
Erica Bougard had her Day of Days in the Heptathlon, scoring 6250 points for the relatively easy win over Kendell Williams, who came within 15 points of her PR with 6003 points.
Bougard's mark is also the SEC Meet Record.
And she moves up a whopping 19 (!!) places on the A-T Collegiate list, from 23rd to 4th!
And she moves onto the US list, placing 17th there.
Big 10 Conference Meet Records were set by Chuk Enekwechi in the HT, his mark being 238-9.25, and by Stephanie Richartz, who PV'ed 14-4.
Shelbi Vaughan got a solid PR in the Discus Throw, her mark being 211-8.
While she remains 6th A-T Collegiate, her mark moves her from 14th to 11th on the A-T US list!
Never heard of her---or at least can't remember her name--but Carolina Carmichael improved her PV up to 14-9 at the American Athletic Conference, a meet also unknown to me!!
Anyway, she moves from 21st A-T Collegiate, tied with 6 others, all the way to 6th, tied with 4 others!
And assuming she's an American citizen (Haven't had time to research it---will change this later, if needed!), she's now 20th A-T US, tied with 6 others!!
What a year for the PV!!
Brooke Pleger inched up (literally!!) the Collegiate HT list....sort of.
She did improve her PR to 228-8.75, but it doesn't change her Collegiate list status.
It DOES move her up one place on the US list, however, from 18th to 17th!
The Atlantic Coast Conference got 2 new MR's.
Continuing the onslaught of Women's Collegiate 6000+ scores in the Heptathlon this year, Xenia Rahn scored 6057 points for the ACC MR.
It also makes her 14th A-T Collegiate!
Irena Sediva got the other ACC Meet Record, her JT of 192-5 spearing the mark....so to speak! LOL
She moves up a place on the A-T Collegiate list, from 10th to 9th.
It also breaks her own Collegiate Soph Class record!
Kaitlin Petrillose, who WAS having a pretty rough year, got the Big 12 MR with her PV of 14-6.
Quanesha Burks surprised Keturah Orji in the SEC Long Jump, not only winning, but jumping 22-5.25 for 6th place on the A-T Collegiate list!
It's also the Collegiate Soph Class record!
And it ties the one and only Britney Reese's SEC Meet Record!!
Hannah Carson threw the Javelin 184-11 for 21st A-T Collegiate!
She's finally making up for those dreary HS years she had!
Well, those College kids weren't the only ones making history this Wild Weekend!
The Professionals---1 or 2 of "College age"--were also in the game!
The initial DL meet of 2015, in Doha, Qatar, gave us LOTS of GREAT marks, and a shock or two (or 3!).
Jasmin Stowers.
What a FANTASTIC year she's having!
I've dubbed it a "Brianna Rollins 2013-style" year.
Remember?
Well, Stowers is well on her way to matching--or surpassing!--what Rollins did 2 years back!
She won the Doha 100H race in a blazing 12.35.
It's the Meet Record!
It's the Age 23 record, breaking her own mark!
She moves from 5th to 3rd on the A-T US list.
And she moves from 11th A-T World, tied with 2 others, to 7th!
Not to mention she beat--among others!--2012 Olympic Champion Sally Pearson!
BTW, 2nd in this race was Sharika Nelvis, who is ALSO having a good year!
Her time of 12.54 is a BIG PR, and makes her 17th A-T US, tied with 1 other!
Dawn Harper-Nelson inexplicably finished LAST in this race, in 13.24!!
I didn't see the race, so have no idea what happened to her!
It seems no matter how fast he runs, Justin Gatlin just can't out-run controversy!
His 100 time of 9.74 notwithstanding, he continues to be subjugated to hate-filled remarks.
One Twitter person said (paraphrased) that "50% hate him, and 50% despise him"!
Nice.
Anyway, that 9.74 easily won the Doha 100, setting the Meet Record!
It's also the Age 33 record.
But his placings on the US (2nd) and World (5th) lists remains the same!
Personally, I think this hatred of Gatlin should STOP!
He's done the time, so back off!!
He's a good person who did something bad....and paid for it with 4 years off his career!
I like the guy!
Kim Collins continues to rock and roll....and sprint fast!
He ran 10.03 in the 100 to DESTROY Troy Douglas's Age 39 record!!
The Triple Jump doesn't get much love.
But the Battle Royal that ensued in Doha in the Men's event brought a LOT of love their way!
Pablo---or is that Pedro?---Pichardo is from Cuba.
But that didn't keep him from his MISSION in Doha.
He hopped, skipped & jumped out 59-3, for the longest leap in years!
But he almost didn't win!
Because Christian Taylor, who lives in Florida, just across some water from Cuba, almost got him with his PR of 59-2.25!!
Pichardo's 59-3 is the Age 21 record!
He breaks his own National Record of Cuba.
It's the Doha Meet Record!
And he moves from 6th to 3rd on the A-T World list!
Taylor's 59-2.25 moves him from 3rd to 2nd on the A-T US list!
He's just two inches from the American Record!!
He remains in 5th place on the A-T World list!
Allyson Felix ran one of her fastest 200's--especially for this early in the year!.
Her 21.98 shattered the Doha Meet Record.
She beat Muriele Ahoure, and 17 year old new American HS Pro Kaylin Whitney (who finished in 8th place, time of 23.24, in her first International race as a Pro!), among others!
I'm not sure if there's anyone else who has done this, but Felix now holds THREE Doha Meet Records!!
Her 100 from 2012, and her 400 from 2008, plus this year's 200, are all Doha MR's!!
Does anyone know if anyone else---male or female---holds this distinction??
Bershawn Jackson's 48.09 in the 400H is the new Doha MR.
Luiza Gega's non-winning (Dawit Seyaum won in 4:00+!) 4:02.63 is the National Record of Albania.
Reese Hoffa nabbed his own Age 37 record in the SP, hitting 69-10.75.
Shara Proctor tied her own National Record of Great Britain with her Long Jump of 22-10.
(Tianna Bartoletta won the event!)
That Hoka One One Distance Festival---formerly the Oxy High Performance meet---was SO promising!!
The fields the sponsor had collected were, in some cases, equal to or better than some seen at the USATF meets!!
The list of GREAT American (and a very few foreign!) names was practically endless!
And all of them wanted--at the very least!--to get Qualifying times for the USATF meet and/or the WC's!!
Then the skies opened up and the God of Thunder roared!
But that only excuses what happened in the latter part of the meet.
(More on that in a minute!)
The first few races, while okay by "normal" standards, were quite inferior when you consider the athletes raison d'etre for being there!!
That said, a few good marks evolved.
But the only Meet Record was set by Stephanie Garcia in the 3000SC.
Her winning time was 9:37.19.
She was in the 4th Section of the 800 (Supposed to be the slowest, with the least speedy runners!), but HS Professional Alexa Efraimson WON that section with a time faster than in Section 3!
But her time of 2:03.23, while a PR by 0.03 seconds, does NOT break Mary Cain's HS Pro 800 record!!
Alexa looked like she could have held her own in the 2 faster sections, running very strongly, with a very good kick!!
Maggie Vessey beat Jenny Simpson in Section 2 (Why were they in Section TWO???), 2:00.70 to 2:00.79.
Vessey wore a white--and rather BRIEF--uniform, but while beautiful and fashionable, she's also having a good solid year so far!
Simpson kicked from back in the pack to ALMOST beat her!
Treniere Moser of NOP won the "fast" section....in 2:01.67!!
And she was the ONLY NOP person to perform well.
Shannon Rowbury didn't win either of her two races, the 800 or 1500.
And Mary Cain?
Oh God!
Remember this meet in 2013, when it was the Oxy High Performance meet?
Remember the Women's 1500, won by Katie Mackey in 4:04.60?
(Mackey won this year too, but about 3 seconds slower!)
Remember seeing Mary Cain, then just barely 17 years old, sprint from 6th or 7th on the final curve to get 2nd in the HSR of 4:04.62??
Well, THAT Mary Cain is NOT THIS Mary Cain!!
Nowhere near!!
She went immediately to the back of the 12 woman pack.....and remained there, just barely edging out Cory McGee to avoid LAST place!!
Her time was AGAIN---for the 3rd time this year--in the 4:15+ range!
WHAT is WRONG with this now 19 year old woman?
SOMEthing is!
After Leo Manzano won the first section of the 1500, the storm---NOT normal in SoCal!!--hit with a vengeance!
Torrential rain, plus thunder and lightning, first delayed the meet, then forced (??) the organizers to cancel it.
That meant that some other VERY fast 1500 guys, and a few VERY good 5000 folks didn't get to race!!
Among them were Galen Rupp and Buze Diriba!
Cam Levins and Kara Goucher, among many others, also didn't get to race!
(And I have no idea if Alberto Salazar had his NOP crew do a post-meet hard workout, as is their normal routine!! LOL)
Well, let's end this post with another new mark, my usual Kayla Montgomery report, plus some "old" news.
The new mark is the 1:48.07 HS 800 time by Donavan Brazier.
This makes him 8th A-T HS.
Word is he negative split the race, passing 400 in 55+!!
Kayla finished her 2nd ever 10000, but it was about 2 whole minutes slower than her PR of 35:49.
At the Atlantic Sun Conference meet, she finished 6th in 37:53.20.
But she was leading after about 6 laps!
Then something happened, as her steady 80+ laps ended with a 107 second lap!!
Whatever caused her to slow that much ended, as she returned to speedier laps---but in the 90's, not 80's!--and scored 3 points for her team! (Two other Lipscomb runners finished ahead of her!)
I'm still a HUGE fan of this remarkable young lady!!
At the Sun Belt Conference meet a few days ago, Clayton Vaughn sprinted the 100 in 9.93 (wind of 1.7).
He's suddenly now 4th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others.
And he makes the US list too, in 17th, tied with 3 others!
Bria Matthews TJ'ed 43-5.50 to become 7th A-T HS.
Deakin Volz PV'ed an OUTdoor PR of 17-8, which moves him from 16th A-T HS, tied with 2 others, to 15th, tied with 1 other!
Remember me mentioning SEVENTH Grader Katelyn Tuohy?
She'd run a 1200 leg of a DMR in 3:36.09.
Well, it turns out she's run a pretty fair Mile too!
Her 4:58.40 MILE time (NOT 1600!!) in the NY State meet (She finished in 5th place!!) breaks Mary Cain's 7th Grade NY State record!
I didn't even know Cain was RUNNING in the 7th grade!
I thought she was still on the SWIM team !!
Anyway, Tuohy is certainly one to watch!!
Before I end this, I have some corrections to make!
It wasn't Eleanore Thompson who ran that 10.92 earlier this year.
It was Elaine Thompson!
And her time wasn't 10.94 in last week's Jamaica meet, it was 10.97.
Well, that concludes Part ONE of my trilogy from this weekend.
I'll probably have Part 2 sometime tomorrow--after the end of the PAC-12 Conference meet.
(All the other major conferences end today!)
That post will have ALL the great records and marks from the College scene!!
The 3rd part will probably come either late Sunday or early Monday, and will feature the Shanghai DL, plus whatever I might miss from the other venues!
Yes, it's a SUPER Weekend---and this report is just the beginning!!
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Calm before the storm? Really??
In just 5 days, the Diamond League season begins in Doha, with the Shanghai version 2 days later.
Even before that, the Hoka One One distance affair has me salivating, with its incredible list of entrants!
It's scheduled for the day before Doha!
(Which explains why the entry lists for the DL's are missing most American distance people!)
Anyway, THIS weekend has been anything but calm!
We have 2 MAJOR records to report, as well as lots of other great marks!
Madison Wiltrout's story is fascinating!
She's a HS Soph, and just shattered the HSR in the Javelin Throw.
But listen to this!
She only took up the Javelin in 2014!!
That's right--last year!
She threw it 151-1, which is good for a frosh, though not the Class Record.
Know how she learned how to throw it?
Her Mom looked up the How-To on You Tube!
Well, she learned VERY quickly.
A week or so ago, she upped her PR to 168-5--which I reported, of course!
But now she's added 17 feet 3 inches to that mark, as she got a spectacular first throw out to 185-8 for the HSR, breaking Haley Crouser's 181-2 from 2012.
This is also the Soph Class Record!
She moves from 11th A-T HS, tied with 1 other, to 1st.
If she were in College, and not just a 10th Grader, she'd rank 20th A-T Collegiate!!
But it gets better!
Because she DOES rank 21st All-Time United States!!
Have I already said she's just a High School Sophomore??
LOL
Well, leave it to Demi Payne not to be one-upped by such a toddler!
She broke her own OUTdoor Collegiate PV record with 15-5.50 at her Conference meet!
It's also the Collegiate Senior Class record.
She moves from 6th to 4th on the A-T US list.
AND--she becomes 19th A-T World, tied with 3 others!!
But the good news doesn't stop there!
Matthew Maton, who just turned 19 a month ago, became HS'er Number 6 to break 4:00 for the Mile!
At the Oregon Twilight, he finished 3rd in 3:59.38, to become the 3rd fastest HS'er of A-T!
All that said, I need to comment on this!
Sorry.
But the majority of T&FN and Let's Run MB commentors agree with me.
He's 19, an age when about 99% of athletes are well into their Frosh year at College---and a few are even Sophs!!
Jack Shepard's HS Track book lists Age Records for HS'ers.
It says a LOT that he includes Ages 14 through 18---ONLY!!
While I congratulate him on running so fast, his mark should be measured in perspective.
It's the weakest of all the HS sub-4's!
In the same race, UO's Eric Jenkins and Will Georghegan made my A-T Collegiate Mile list!
Jenkins ran 3:57.09, making him 20th A-T Collegiate.
Georghegan ran 3:57.53 for 22nd A-T Collegiate!
The Mile--sadly!--isn't run much OUTdoors by Collegians anymore.
Besides the 2 new Ducks, only 5 other Collegians are on my list from this century!
And there's several marks from the 1960's on there, as well as the 70's and 80's!
Pedro Pichardo of Cuba TJ'ed out to 58-10.25 to become 6th A-T World!
He missed the Age 21 record by 1 inch!!
But it's the new National Record of Cuba!
Michael Lihrman is getting better in the HT, after his VERY successful INdoor season with the WT.
He improved to 247-0, which moves him from 17th to 11th on the Collegiate list!
And he becomes 15th A-T US!!
At the Jamaica Invitational, Jasmine Stowers showed her 12.40 100H wasn't a one-off fluke.
She ran 12.39, winning easily.
It breaks her own Age 23 record.
She remains 5th A-T US.
But she moves from 13th A-T World to 11th, tied with 2 others!
The wind was the 2.0 max!
Also in Jamaica, Shaunae Miller beat SAFP, among others, in the 200, running the Bahamas National Record time of 22.14.
In an IWC meet in Japan, the Women's JT produced 2 great marks!
Liz Gleadle broke her own Canada National Record, throwing the spear 212-8.
And Brittany Borman was right behind her.
Her 212-5 moves her from 3rd to 2nd on the A-T US list!!
It was a 9 foot improvement on her PR!
There were several other GREAT marks from the 2 International meets.
While none of them make any of my lists, or break any records, they're all interesting and worth reporting.
Asafa Powell beat Ryan Bailey in the 100, running the super fast time of 9.84.
Well, super fast, considering it happened on May 9th!
Eleanor Thompson proved her 10.92 wasn't a fluke, as she won the Jamaica 100 in 10.94, beating, among others, Allyson Felix, who ran 11.09.
Sanya Richards-Ross got under 50, winning the Jamaica 400 in 49.95.
Of course, she had that World Relays leg of 48.79!!
Fran McCorory ran just 50.73 in 2nd!
(She'd split 49.27 in the Bahamas!)
In the Japan meet, Sally Pearson won her first non-Australian meet of 2015 in 12.66, beating Queen Harrison's 12.75.
Bogdan Bondarenko missed his 3 tries at 2.41 (7-10.75), but won at 2.37 (7-9.25), the best so far in 2015.
LaShawn Merritt was beaten in the 400 by Al-Masrahi, 44.59 to 44.80.
Catherine Ibarguen's TJ of 48-9.50 won the day, and best mark of 2015.
Aisha Praught finished just 3rd in the Japan 1500, but her PR time of 4:05.52 bodes VERY well for a BIG improvement in the 3000SC, which I assume will remain her specialty!
Besides Wiltrout's and Maton's marks, High Schoolers produced other good stuff!
Matt Katnik improved his SP best out to 72-3.
He moves from 14th to 10th on the A-T HS list.
Candace Hill had a solid day, sprinting the 100 in a non-PR time of 11.34, then running a PR of 23.05 in the 200.
She becomes 23rd A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
She's not yet a High Schooler.
In fact, she's not yet an 8th Grader!!
SEVENTH Grade phenom Katelyn Tuohy ran the 1200 meter opening leg of a HS team's DMR, being clocked in the official split of 3:36.09.
That's basically sub-4:50 Mile pace!
In the SEVENTH Grade!!
And Mikey Brannigan won a 3200 in 8:42.92.
If the race had been just 18 meters longer, his Two Mile time would make my A-T HS list!
Too bad it does NOT!
Back to the Collegiate scene for a bit.
Darrell Hill improved his SP best to 68-5.25.
He moves from 20th to 18th on the A-T Collegiate list.
And Kayla Montgomery had a poor day at the "office".
Her 3000 time of 10:25.73 got her just 12th place--in a field of 14!
Her Conference meet is next week, where I think she'll be running the 10000, though I'm not certain of this.
Whatever she DOES run, I will report it here!
In the Manchester (England) Road 10K, Bernard Lagat finished 3rd, running the Age 40 Road record of 27:48.
Stephen Sambu won the race in 27:30.
Betsy Saina won the Women's race in a close battle with Gemma Steel and Edna Kiplagat.
Their respective times were 31:48, 31:55, and 31:57.
If Lagat had run the same time on a TRACK, he would have DESTROYED Martti Vainio's Age 40 WR of 28:30 by a full 42 seconds!!
(I tweeted him saying that, and he favorited my tweet!! LOL)
As noted at the beginning of this post, NEXT weekend's schedule is HUGE!!
TWO DL's, plus the Hoka One One meet, which PROMISES to be incredible!!
Not to mention all the MAJOR Collegiate Conference meets (Big 12, Big 10, PAC 12, and SEC, for starters!!), and several HS State meets!
I have a feeling it may take MORE than one post to cover it all!!
See you soon!!
Even before that, the Hoka One One distance affair has me salivating, with its incredible list of entrants!
It's scheduled for the day before Doha!
(Which explains why the entry lists for the DL's are missing most American distance people!)
Anyway, THIS weekend has been anything but calm!
We have 2 MAJOR records to report, as well as lots of other great marks!
Madison Wiltrout's story is fascinating!
She's a HS Soph, and just shattered the HSR in the Javelin Throw.
But listen to this!
She only took up the Javelin in 2014!!
That's right--last year!
She threw it 151-1, which is good for a frosh, though not the Class Record.
Know how she learned how to throw it?
Her Mom looked up the How-To on You Tube!
Well, she learned VERY quickly.
A week or so ago, she upped her PR to 168-5--which I reported, of course!
But now she's added 17 feet 3 inches to that mark, as she got a spectacular first throw out to 185-8 for the HSR, breaking Haley Crouser's 181-2 from 2012.
This is also the Soph Class Record!
She moves from 11th A-T HS, tied with 1 other, to 1st.
If she were in College, and not just a 10th Grader, she'd rank 20th A-T Collegiate!!
But it gets better!
Because she DOES rank 21st All-Time United States!!
Have I already said she's just a High School Sophomore??
LOL
Well, leave it to Demi Payne not to be one-upped by such a toddler!
She broke her own OUTdoor Collegiate PV record with 15-5.50 at her Conference meet!
It's also the Collegiate Senior Class record.
She moves from 6th to 4th on the A-T US list.
AND--she becomes 19th A-T World, tied with 3 others!!
But the good news doesn't stop there!
Matthew Maton, who just turned 19 a month ago, became HS'er Number 6 to break 4:00 for the Mile!
At the Oregon Twilight, he finished 3rd in 3:59.38, to become the 3rd fastest HS'er of A-T!
All that said, I need to comment on this!
Sorry.
But the majority of T&FN and Let's Run MB commentors agree with me.
He's 19, an age when about 99% of athletes are well into their Frosh year at College---and a few are even Sophs!!
Jack Shepard's HS Track book lists Age Records for HS'ers.
It says a LOT that he includes Ages 14 through 18---ONLY!!
While I congratulate him on running so fast, his mark should be measured in perspective.
It's the weakest of all the HS sub-4's!
In the same race, UO's Eric Jenkins and Will Georghegan made my A-T Collegiate Mile list!
Jenkins ran 3:57.09, making him 20th A-T Collegiate.
Georghegan ran 3:57.53 for 22nd A-T Collegiate!
The Mile--sadly!--isn't run much OUTdoors by Collegians anymore.
Besides the 2 new Ducks, only 5 other Collegians are on my list from this century!
And there's several marks from the 1960's on there, as well as the 70's and 80's!
Pedro Pichardo of Cuba TJ'ed out to 58-10.25 to become 6th A-T World!
He missed the Age 21 record by 1 inch!!
But it's the new National Record of Cuba!
Michael Lihrman is getting better in the HT, after his VERY successful INdoor season with the WT.
He improved to 247-0, which moves him from 17th to 11th on the Collegiate list!
And he becomes 15th A-T US!!
At the Jamaica Invitational, Jasmine Stowers showed her 12.40 100H wasn't a one-off fluke.
She ran 12.39, winning easily.
It breaks her own Age 23 record.
She remains 5th A-T US.
But she moves from 13th A-T World to 11th, tied with 2 others!
The wind was the 2.0 max!
Also in Jamaica, Shaunae Miller beat SAFP, among others, in the 200, running the Bahamas National Record time of 22.14.
In an IWC meet in Japan, the Women's JT produced 2 great marks!
Liz Gleadle broke her own Canada National Record, throwing the spear 212-8.
And Brittany Borman was right behind her.
Her 212-5 moves her from 3rd to 2nd on the A-T US list!!
It was a 9 foot improvement on her PR!
There were several other GREAT marks from the 2 International meets.
While none of them make any of my lists, or break any records, they're all interesting and worth reporting.
Asafa Powell beat Ryan Bailey in the 100, running the super fast time of 9.84.
Well, super fast, considering it happened on May 9th!
Eleanor Thompson proved her 10.92 wasn't a fluke, as she won the Jamaica 100 in 10.94, beating, among others, Allyson Felix, who ran 11.09.
Sanya Richards-Ross got under 50, winning the Jamaica 400 in 49.95.
Of course, she had that World Relays leg of 48.79!!
Fran McCorory ran just 50.73 in 2nd!
(She'd split 49.27 in the Bahamas!)
In the Japan meet, Sally Pearson won her first non-Australian meet of 2015 in 12.66, beating Queen Harrison's 12.75.
Bogdan Bondarenko missed his 3 tries at 2.41 (7-10.75), but won at 2.37 (7-9.25), the best so far in 2015.
LaShawn Merritt was beaten in the 400 by Al-Masrahi, 44.59 to 44.80.
Catherine Ibarguen's TJ of 48-9.50 won the day, and best mark of 2015.
Aisha Praught finished just 3rd in the Japan 1500, but her PR time of 4:05.52 bodes VERY well for a BIG improvement in the 3000SC, which I assume will remain her specialty!
Besides Wiltrout's and Maton's marks, High Schoolers produced other good stuff!
Matt Katnik improved his SP best out to 72-3.
He moves from 14th to 10th on the A-T HS list.
Candace Hill had a solid day, sprinting the 100 in a non-PR time of 11.34, then running a PR of 23.05 in the 200.
She becomes 23rd A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
She's not yet a High Schooler.
In fact, she's not yet an 8th Grader!!
SEVENTH Grade phenom Katelyn Tuohy ran the 1200 meter opening leg of a HS team's DMR, being clocked in the official split of 3:36.09.
That's basically sub-4:50 Mile pace!
In the SEVENTH Grade!!
And Mikey Brannigan won a 3200 in 8:42.92.
If the race had been just 18 meters longer, his Two Mile time would make my A-T HS list!
Too bad it does NOT!
Back to the Collegiate scene for a bit.
Darrell Hill improved his SP best to 68-5.25.
He moves from 20th to 18th on the A-T Collegiate list.
And Kayla Montgomery had a poor day at the "office".
Her 3000 time of 10:25.73 got her just 12th place--in a field of 14!
Her Conference meet is next week, where I think she'll be running the 10000, though I'm not certain of this.
Whatever she DOES run, I will report it here!
In the Manchester (England) Road 10K, Bernard Lagat finished 3rd, running the Age 40 Road record of 27:48.
Stephen Sambu won the race in 27:30.
Betsy Saina won the Women's race in a close battle with Gemma Steel and Edna Kiplagat.
Their respective times were 31:48, 31:55, and 31:57.
If Lagat had run the same time on a TRACK, he would have DESTROYED Martti Vainio's Age 40 WR of 28:30 by a full 42 seconds!!
(I tweeted him saying that, and he favorited my tweet!! LOL)
As noted at the beginning of this post, NEXT weekend's schedule is HUGE!!
TWO DL's, plus the Hoka One One meet, which PROMISES to be incredible!!
Not to mention all the MAJOR Collegiate Conference meets (Big 12, Big 10, PAC 12, and SEC, for starters!!), and several HS State meets!
I have a feeling it may take MORE than one post to cover it all!!
See you soon!!
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Ultimates in Distance Relays?
With the 2nd World Relays fresh in our memories, I got to thinking about what the ULTIMATE Relay World Records could be.
It's difficult to guess at Sprint Relay ultimates, for a couple of reasons.
1. You can't really get accurate split times, given the running starts, and each team's varied use of the passing zone.
2. There's the NECESSITY for PERFECT passes, which rarely, if ever....errr....comes to pass!! LOL
So I'm going to take a look, for both Men and Women, at what's possible for the following Relays:
Distance Medley (DMR)
4X1500
4X1Mile
I'll look at this mainly from the POV of the United States, but will offer a guess about a team from, say, Kenya.
Here goes, Men first.
DMR (9:15.50)
Four guys from 1 nation just ran the DMR in 9:15.50.
Could we see---in the next few years---a time of UNDER 9 minutes?
And if so, what would it take?
Matthew Centrowitz 2:45.00 (2:45.00)
LaShawn Merritt 43.50 (3:28.50)
Duane Solomon 1:42.50 (5:11.00)
Leo Manzano 3:48.00 (8:59.00)
Unrealistic?
Sure.
(Well, maybe!)
So let's look at what it would take for a 9:04.00 time, which would still shatter the WR by 11.50 seconds!
Centro 2:47 (2:47)
Merritt 44.00 (3:31)
Solomon 1:43 (5:14)
Manzano 3:50 (9:04)
Okay, so what about the chances of a Women's team crashing through the 10 minute barrier....a full 36.51 seconds below the recent WR?
I'd say it's CURRENTLY impossible!!
Here's the best current American 4-some, running their best times!
Rowbury 3:08 (3:08)
SRR 48.7 (3:56.7)
Montano 1:57.3 (5:54.0)
Simpson 4:13 (10:07.0)
The time for Rowbury is based on her 2:00 800 speed, combined with her 3:59 1500 PR.
Simpson's time would be an extension of her 3:57 1500, with 16 seconds added for the last 100)
But while not breaking a MAJOR barrier, it still DESTROYS the new WR by 29.5 seconds!!
And BTW, I could create 2 or 3 (or 4 or 5??) US teams---all different from each other---no repeat use of athletes!----and ALL of them would at least break the current WR----easily!!
4X1500 (14:22.22)
That WR was by a pretty loaded Kenyan quartet at the 2014 World Relays.
But can a US team break it?
And could they break through the 14 minute barrier?
I'm saying----right now----NO!!
BUT....they CAN run about 14:06, which would break the WR by 16.2 seconds!
Ben Blankenship 3:33.0 (3:33.0)
Centro 3:31.0 (7:04.0)
Will Leer 3:32.0 (10:36.0)
Manzano 3:30.0 (14:06.0)
Could a top Kenyan team run faster?
AND get through to a 13+ time?
YES!
Ron Kwemboi 3:28.8 (3:28.8)
Caleb Ndiku 3:29.5 (6:58.3)
Silas Kiplagat 3:27.6 (10:25.9)
Asbel Kiprop 3:27.7 (13:53.6)
You could ADD 1.50 seconds per leg (Kwemboi-3:30.3....Ndiku-3:31.0.....Kiplagat-3:29.1....Kiprop-3:29.2) and get a final time of 13:59.60!!
The Women's 4X1500 WR is Kenya's 16:33.58 from the 2014 World Relays.
Everyone said that team could have run MUCH faster, if pushed----which they were NOT!
The US team ran the AR time of 16:55.33.....also a time that could EASILY have been bettered!
But can ANY team get into the 15's---go below 16:00?
YES!
Even a US team made up of CURRENTLY active athletes.
Morgan Uceny 4:00.06 (4:00.06)
Anna Willard 3:59.38 (7:59.44)
Shannon Rowbury 3:59.49 (11:58.93)
Jenny Simpson 3:57.22 (15:56.15)
They could each slow down by 0.84+ seconds, and still go under 16 minutes.
But of course, that's not realistic, right?
So let's see what that same team would need for a 16:04.
Uceny would go out in a 4:02.
Willard might also get a 4:02.
Rowbury and Simpson would then need to run their 1500's in 4:00 each (with maybe Rowbury at 4:01 and Simpson doing 3:59).
Doable, yes.
Probable, no.
But how MANY American teams could break that WR of 16:33?
SEVERAL!
My Top 24 list for the USA lists 10 women with times of 4:04.62 or faster.
I have no idea how many CURRENTLY ACTIVE American women there are with times of at least 4:08.25 (one-fourth of 16:33!!) down to Mary Cain's aforementioned 4:04.62, which is 24th on my list!!
But I'd guess there's enough for maybe FOUR (or even FIVE!!) teams, including the 10 from the Top 24 already mentioned.
But even if you slowed that 4-some down by a full five seconds each, you'd still get a time of 16:16, which would smash the Kenyan WR by 17 seconds!!
Now let's look at the 4XMile.
And YES, there's a listed 4XMile Relay record for Women!!
(I'll get to that in a minute!)
The current WR for the Men is Ireland's 1985 mark of 15:49.08.
That's an average of 3:57.27 per leg!
Come on, folks, how many US teams----let alone Kenyan!----could be created with athletes capable of a 3:57 mile?
Here's my US team, with their current PR's.
(I'm NOT putting Bernard Lagat on this team, even though he's run 3:48.38 as an American citizen. He'd be 5 or 6 seconds slower now!)
(All times are OUTdoor times, so Galen Rupp's INdoor time of 3:50.92 is NOT included here!!)
Andy Wheating 3:51.74 (3:51.74)
Lopez Lomong 3:51.45 (7:43.19)
Leo Manzano 3:50.64 (11:33.83)
Centro 3:50.53 (15:24.36)
That breaks the current WR by 24.72 seconds, or an average per mile of 3:51.09!!!
Could a top Kenyan team break THAT mark?
Yes!
I don't have a lengthy Kenyan All-Time list, so I'll give the first 2 runners times of 3:50.0 each.
Then you add Kiprop and Kiplagat, with their PR's of about 3:48, and you've got a final time of 15:16.0!!
Again, how many US (or Kenyan!!!) teams could be created that would SMASH Ireland's WR to pieces?
MANY!!
Easily!!
So how about the Women?
I had to look it up to find a WR 4XMile by the female gender.
Want to guess what it is?
Based on my research, it is held by a COLLEGIATE team from the University of Oregon.
They ran it in 18:39.58 in 1985....30 years ago!!
And it was done on May 3rd----probably at that year's Oregon Twilight meet, though I'm not sure!---so it's almost EXACTLY 30 years ago!!
Kathy Hayes, Leann Warren, and Claudette Groendaal, three of UO's biggest EVER stars, comprised 3 of the 4 legs.
(Not totally related here, but if you want to see a GREAT movie about that 1985 Women's team----and the 2011 UO Women's team, featuring such athletes as English Gardner and Jordan Hasay, please seek out the DVD of "We Grew Wings". It's available on Amazon, I believe! I own it, and it's WONDERFUL!!)
Anyway, back to WR possibilities for the 4XMile Relay for Women!!
E-A-S-Y!!!
That's just approximately 4:39.89 for each (FULL) Mile leg!
If you made up a team of the 4 best High School Milers from recent years----those still active---you'd get a time of about 18:14 (Maybe Sarah Feeny or Wesley Frazier at 4:39, then Elise Cranny at an estimated 4:28--based on her 1500 PR!--then Alexa Efraimson at 4:24--again based on her 1500 best---then Mary Cain's 4:21---a time based on her 4:04 time at 1500, adding a 17 second last 109 meters!!), which bests the UO time by about 25 seconds!
Anyway, there's a few DOZEN teams from the US---or at least it's SEEMING that way recently!!---which could run (pun intended!) that record into the ground!!
With a team of Cain, Rowbury, Martinez, and Simpson, you could probably get a time of UNDER 17:20!!!
That's a full one minute and 19 seconds better than UO's mark!!
That's 4:20 per Mile, but their 1500 splits enroute would be "only" about 4:03 each---well within the capabilities of those 4 runners. Well, maybe not Cain----YET!! But you get the picture!!
So there you have it.
Three different Relays---or six, 3 for each gender!---with WR's being an ironclad certainty!!
Before I close, I'd like to correct a couple of athlete identity errors I made in my World Relays report a few days ago!
In the Men's 4X200, the baton pass foul-up did NOT involve Justin Gatlin, as I'd stated!
It happened with the 2nd and 3rd runners, Isaiah Young and Curtis Mitchell.
Gatlin ran a GREAT anchor, even though the US team had already caused a DQ!
Also, it was NOT Gatlin who faced Usain Bolt down the stretch of the 4X100.
It was Ryan Bailey!
(BTW, much has been made of his post-race imitation of Bolt's stance, and him basically dissing The Great One! It's all over the internet and the fine folks at Let's Run!! LOL)
Gatlin ran the 2nd leg of that final!
Here's some other new info from the Bahamas.
Chris Brown, age 36, ran his anchor for the home team in 44.17!!
Jeremy Wariner ran the heat and final for the US 4X400 team.
His times were good---44.87 and 44.80.
Natoya Goule, normally an 800 runner, ran her 400 leg in 51.72.
Watch out for her at the NCAA's!!
Phyllis Francis ran 49.74 in the heats for the US team!
And Nigeria's winning time in that shocking Women's 4X200 was a National Record--their time being 1:30.52.
Before I close, here's more new marks worth noting!
(And one correction!)
The correction is about Jessica Furlan, who ran the 3000SC at Payton Jordan in 9:39.20.
I'd said she was from the US!
She's not.
She's a Canadian, so her time is OFF my US list!!
Conor McCullough threw the Hammer to a PR of 248-11.
He moves from 17th to 7th on the A-T Collegiate list!
And he's now on the US list, at 11th, but tied with 1 other.
Brittany Smith has a new SP best---62-2.50!
She remains 9th A-T US, but she's no longer tied with 2 others!!
Brooke Pleger improved her HT best to 228-0.
She moves from 11th to 9th on the A-T Collegiate list.
And she moves from 21st to 18th on the US list!!
Finally, while NOT a PR, Kara Winger (formerly Patterson!) threw the Javelin 218-1 last weekend!
That's just 7 inches from her American Record!
(And she had 3 more throws at around 207, making this her best-EVER series!!)
Next post will be on Sunday.....or early Monday.
It's difficult to guess at Sprint Relay ultimates, for a couple of reasons.
1. You can't really get accurate split times, given the running starts, and each team's varied use of the passing zone.
2. There's the NECESSITY for PERFECT passes, which rarely, if ever....errr....comes to pass!! LOL
So I'm going to take a look, for both Men and Women, at what's possible for the following Relays:
Distance Medley (DMR)
4X1500
4X1Mile
I'll look at this mainly from the POV of the United States, but will offer a guess about a team from, say, Kenya.
Here goes, Men first.
DMR (9:15.50)
Four guys from 1 nation just ran the DMR in 9:15.50.
Could we see---in the next few years---a time of UNDER 9 minutes?
And if so, what would it take?
Matthew Centrowitz 2:45.00 (2:45.00)
LaShawn Merritt 43.50 (3:28.50)
Duane Solomon 1:42.50 (5:11.00)
Leo Manzano 3:48.00 (8:59.00)
Unrealistic?
Sure.
(Well, maybe!)
So let's look at what it would take for a 9:04.00 time, which would still shatter the WR by 11.50 seconds!
Centro 2:47 (2:47)
Merritt 44.00 (3:31)
Solomon 1:43 (5:14)
Manzano 3:50 (9:04)
Okay, so what about the chances of a Women's team crashing through the 10 minute barrier....a full 36.51 seconds below the recent WR?
I'd say it's CURRENTLY impossible!!
Here's the best current American 4-some, running their best times!
Rowbury 3:08 (3:08)
SRR 48.7 (3:56.7)
Montano 1:57.3 (5:54.0)
Simpson 4:13 (10:07.0)
The time for Rowbury is based on her 2:00 800 speed, combined with her 3:59 1500 PR.
Simpson's time would be an extension of her 3:57 1500, with 16 seconds added for the last 100)
But while not breaking a MAJOR barrier, it still DESTROYS the new WR by 29.5 seconds!!
And BTW, I could create 2 or 3 (or 4 or 5??) US teams---all different from each other---no repeat use of athletes!----and ALL of them would at least break the current WR----easily!!
4X1500 (14:22.22)
That WR was by a pretty loaded Kenyan quartet at the 2014 World Relays.
But can a US team break it?
And could they break through the 14 minute barrier?
I'm saying----right now----NO!!
BUT....they CAN run about 14:06, which would break the WR by 16.2 seconds!
Ben Blankenship 3:33.0 (3:33.0)
Centro 3:31.0 (7:04.0)
Will Leer 3:32.0 (10:36.0)
Manzano 3:30.0 (14:06.0)
Could a top Kenyan team run faster?
AND get through to a 13+ time?
YES!
Ron Kwemboi 3:28.8 (3:28.8)
Caleb Ndiku 3:29.5 (6:58.3)
Silas Kiplagat 3:27.6 (10:25.9)
Asbel Kiprop 3:27.7 (13:53.6)
You could ADD 1.50 seconds per leg (Kwemboi-3:30.3....Ndiku-3:31.0.....Kiplagat-3:29.1....Kiprop-3:29.2) and get a final time of 13:59.60!!
The Women's 4X1500 WR is Kenya's 16:33.58 from the 2014 World Relays.
Everyone said that team could have run MUCH faster, if pushed----which they were NOT!
The US team ran the AR time of 16:55.33.....also a time that could EASILY have been bettered!
But can ANY team get into the 15's---go below 16:00?
YES!
Even a US team made up of CURRENTLY active athletes.
Morgan Uceny 4:00.06 (4:00.06)
Anna Willard 3:59.38 (7:59.44)
Shannon Rowbury 3:59.49 (11:58.93)
Jenny Simpson 3:57.22 (15:56.15)
They could each slow down by 0.84+ seconds, and still go under 16 minutes.
But of course, that's not realistic, right?
So let's see what that same team would need for a 16:04.
Uceny would go out in a 4:02.
Willard might also get a 4:02.
Rowbury and Simpson would then need to run their 1500's in 4:00 each (with maybe Rowbury at 4:01 and Simpson doing 3:59).
Doable, yes.
Probable, no.
But how MANY American teams could break that WR of 16:33?
SEVERAL!
My Top 24 list for the USA lists 10 women with times of 4:04.62 or faster.
I have no idea how many CURRENTLY ACTIVE American women there are with times of at least 4:08.25 (one-fourth of 16:33!!) down to Mary Cain's aforementioned 4:04.62, which is 24th on my list!!
But I'd guess there's enough for maybe FOUR (or even FIVE!!) teams, including the 10 from the Top 24 already mentioned.
But even if you slowed that 4-some down by a full five seconds each, you'd still get a time of 16:16, which would smash the Kenyan WR by 17 seconds!!
Now let's look at the 4XMile.
And YES, there's a listed 4XMile Relay record for Women!!
(I'll get to that in a minute!)
The current WR for the Men is Ireland's 1985 mark of 15:49.08.
That's an average of 3:57.27 per leg!
Come on, folks, how many US teams----let alone Kenyan!----could be created with athletes capable of a 3:57 mile?
Here's my US team, with their current PR's.
(I'm NOT putting Bernard Lagat on this team, even though he's run 3:48.38 as an American citizen. He'd be 5 or 6 seconds slower now!)
(All times are OUTdoor times, so Galen Rupp's INdoor time of 3:50.92 is NOT included here!!)
Andy Wheating 3:51.74 (3:51.74)
Lopez Lomong 3:51.45 (7:43.19)
Leo Manzano 3:50.64 (11:33.83)
Centro 3:50.53 (15:24.36)
That breaks the current WR by 24.72 seconds, or an average per mile of 3:51.09!!!
Could a top Kenyan team break THAT mark?
Yes!
I don't have a lengthy Kenyan All-Time list, so I'll give the first 2 runners times of 3:50.0 each.
Then you add Kiprop and Kiplagat, with their PR's of about 3:48, and you've got a final time of 15:16.0!!
Again, how many US (or Kenyan!!!) teams could be created that would SMASH Ireland's WR to pieces?
MANY!!
Easily!!
So how about the Women?
I had to look it up to find a WR 4XMile by the female gender.
Want to guess what it is?
Based on my research, it is held by a COLLEGIATE team from the University of Oregon.
They ran it in 18:39.58 in 1985....30 years ago!!
And it was done on May 3rd----probably at that year's Oregon Twilight meet, though I'm not sure!---so it's almost EXACTLY 30 years ago!!
Kathy Hayes, Leann Warren, and Claudette Groendaal, three of UO's biggest EVER stars, comprised 3 of the 4 legs.
(Not totally related here, but if you want to see a GREAT movie about that 1985 Women's team----and the 2011 UO Women's team, featuring such athletes as English Gardner and Jordan Hasay, please seek out the DVD of "We Grew Wings". It's available on Amazon, I believe! I own it, and it's WONDERFUL!!)
Anyway, back to WR possibilities for the 4XMile Relay for Women!!
E-A-S-Y!!!
That's just approximately 4:39.89 for each (FULL) Mile leg!
If you made up a team of the 4 best High School Milers from recent years----those still active---you'd get a time of about 18:14 (Maybe Sarah Feeny or Wesley Frazier at 4:39, then Elise Cranny at an estimated 4:28--based on her 1500 PR!--then Alexa Efraimson at 4:24--again based on her 1500 best---then Mary Cain's 4:21---a time based on her 4:04 time at 1500, adding a 17 second last 109 meters!!), which bests the UO time by about 25 seconds!
Anyway, there's a few DOZEN teams from the US---or at least it's SEEMING that way recently!!---which could run (pun intended!) that record into the ground!!
With a team of Cain, Rowbury, Martinez, and Simpson, you could probably get a time of UNDER 17:20!!!
That's a full one minute and 19 seconds better than UO's mark!!
That's 4:20 per Mile, but their 1500 splits enroute would be "only" about 4:03 each---well within the capabilities of those 4 runners. Well, maybe not Cain----YET!! But you get the picture!!
So there you have it.
Three different Relays---or six, 3 for each gender!---with WR's being an ironclad certainty!!
Before I close, I'd like to correct a couple of athlete identity errors I made in my World Relays report a few days ago!
In the Men's 4X200, the baton pass foul-up did NOT involve Justin Gatlin, as I'd stated!
It happened with the 2nd and 3rd runners, Isaiah Young and Curtis Mitchell.
Gatlin ran a GREAT anchor, even though the US team had already caused a DQ!
Also, it was NOT Gatlin who faced Usain Bolt down the stretch of the 4X100.
It was Ryan Bailey!
(BTW, much has been made of his post-race imitation of Bolt's stance, and him basically dissing The Great One! It's all over the internet and the fine folks at Let's Run!! LOL)
Gatlin ran the 2nd leg of that final!
Here's some other new info from the Bahamas.
Chris Brown, age 36, ran his anchor for the home team in 44.17!!
Jeremy Wariner ran the heat and final for the US 4X400 team.
His times were good---44.87 and 44.80.
Natoya Goule, normally an 800 runner, ran her 400 leg in 51.72.
Watch out for her at the NCAA's!!
Phyllis Francis ran 49.74 in the heats for the US team!
And Nigeria's winning time in that shocking Women's 4X200 was a National Record--their time being 1:30.52.
Before I close, here's more new marks worth noting!
(And one correction!)
The correction is about Jessica Furlan, who ran the 3000SC at Payton Jordan in 9:39.20.
I'd said she was from the US!
She's not.
She's a Canadian, so her time is OFF my US list!!
Conor McCullough threw the Hammer to a PR of 248-11.
He moves from 17th to 7th on the A-T Collegiate list!
And he's now on the US list, at 11th, but tied with 1 other.
Brittany Smith has a new SP best---62-2.50!
She remains 9th A-T US, but she's no longer tied with 2 others!!
Brooke Pleger improved her HT best to 228-0.
She moves from 11th to 9th on the A-T Collegiate list.
And she moves from 21st to 18th on the US list!!
Finally, while NOT a PR, Kara Winger (formerly Patterson!) threw the Javelin 218-1 last weekend!
That's just 7 inches from her American Record!
(And she had 3 more throws at around 207, making this her best-EVER series!!)
Next post will be on Sunday.....or early Monday.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
World Relays--It had Everything!
You want beautiful beaches, exotic foods, unreal music, and HAPPY people?
Then you came to the right place--if you went to Nassau, The Bahamas for the 2nd edition (but not annual!) of the IAAF World Relays.
Or is your taste merely for the elegance and thrills our sport provides?
Again, you came where you'll find just that--and more.
Like, for instance, the amazing incredible unbelievable INSANELY maddening INCOMPETENCE of United States sprint relay teams, whether they be Men's or Women's.
Two prime examples came in the 4X200 Relays.
(Or, as the British announcers labeled them, the "two lap" relays!)
Let's take the Men first.
You had what might have been a (or THE) classic showdown of the entire meet.
It was going to be Jamaica (with Usain Bolt anchoring) against the US, with Justin Gatlin anchoring.
But it was announced that Bolt wouldn't be running.
Rumor was that he was tired (or hurt?) from running 2 legs--heat and final--of the 4X100 the previous day!
Anyway, the race began.
When it came to the 3rd hand-off, Gatlin took off, but without the baton.
The attempt(s) to get it into his hand all failed, with it finally dropping to the track--in Jamaica's lane!
So Gatlin moves over to get it, and finally does, then returns to his lane (I THINK!!), and takes off.
Granted, he sped down the final straight like a bat out of Hell, but he couldn't catch Jamaica.
Then, of course, he got the news the US was DQ'ed!
The Women's foul-up (I'd LOVE to use that "other" F word, but I'm trying to keep my blog relatively clean!) was worse!
I mean it!
It was worse.
Oh heck, I'm going to say it.
The pass (attempt) from Jeneba Tarmoh to Allyson Felix was a total FUCK-UP!!!
(Whew!!)
Tarmoh comes sprinting toward Felix, well ahead of everybody else, the US a sure winner.
But either Felix waited too long to take off, or took off too early.
I couldn't figure it out.
Whatever the case, the stick either (A) wasn't released into Felix's hand properly, or (B) Felix hadn't grabbed it tightly enough.
Whose fault it was doesn't really matter.
What happened immediately after this failed pass attempt made the Three Stooges slapstick routines look (Heh!) like child's play!!
Or, if you want to be "nice", you could say it looked like a botched ballet routine with a couple of VERY stoned people!!
Watch the replay---which I'm sure have already gone viral on YouTube!--and tell me what YOU think!
(I couldn't help but be reminded of that OTHER Tarmoh-Felix controversy, when they allegedly tied for 3rd place in the 2012 Olympic Trials 200!)
Well, enough of the F-ups!
Let's get to the professional track portion of the meet.
The distance events provided us with 2 World Records, and 3 American Records!
The 4X800's, run last year, were faster, but were somewhat less competitive.
The Women's race came on Saturday, and it didn't disappoint.
From the gun, the US led, with Chanelle Price running 2:01.30.
It looked like she played it safe the first 400 or more, before taking control.
Then Maggie Vessey, Track's Fashionista (but wearing the more conservative USA uniform!) took off, running a strong looking 2:00.92.
I think she ran even paced laps, doing two 60's.
She handed off to Molly Ludlow , who tore through a 1:59.50, before handing off to new Mom Alysia Montano!
She's BAAAACCCKKKK!!!
Mama ran like the Alysia of old!
Not sure, but I think her first lap was close to 56, which in the "olden days" (pre-pregnancy), was normal for Track's Flower Girl.
Her split was a fine 1:58.90, and the US's winning WR and AR and MR time was 8:00.62.
With better competition---heck, with ANY competition!!--they almost certainly would've dipped under 8 minutes!
But 2nd place, Poland, finished 11 seconds back!!
But they did set a National Record of 8:11.36.
As did Cuba, with their time of 8:15.84.
And so did Jamaica, running 8:16.04.
Where was Kenya?
They ran 8:33 and change!
Why, I'll never know!
The American Men won their race almost as easily, by 4 or 5 seconds, in 7:04.84, which is a Meet Record.
The time was just 2 seconds off the AR, but averaging 1:46.21 in early May, while running basically alone, is pretty good.
It's sort of unfair to add the Meet Records to the list of records broken in the DMR's, since they didn't run them last year, so these became automatic MR's.
That said, you CAN be proud to say that WORLD and American Records were broken--by both genders!
Let's start with the Men.
Their record breaking was unexpected, unlike the Women.
Look at my preview, where I said the US Men would win, but would NOT get the WR.
Thankfully, I was wrong on the latter point.
It started slower than was needed for a WR, as Kyle Merber ran just 2:53.6 for his 1200.
Brycen Spratling did his 400 in a pedestrian (for a relay leg!) 46.0.
But Brandon Johnson ripped his 800 in a great 1:44.8.
Then the fun began!
Remember the Penn Relays Men's 4X1Mile Relay, when Ed Cheserek and Jordan Williamz came to a STOP, daring the other to take the lead, thus killing any chance of an American and Collegiate Record?
Well, right after the hand-off, Kenya's Tim Cheruiyot was caught by US anchor Ben Blankenship.
Then Blankenship stared over at Cheruiyot---and practically STOPPED--nodding his head at Tim to take the lead.
Finally, Cheruiyot blinked, and took off.
I mean, he TOOK OFF!!
His first lap (of the 1600 leg) was reportedly timed in 51.9.
That's right, I said 51.9!!!
Whatever the real numbers, he opened up a 50 meter gap.
But Blankenship remained calm, before catching Cheruiyot on the 3rd lap.
His leg was timed in a FAST 3:51.2, reportedly the fastest 1600 relay leg EVER!!
The US ran 9:15.50, nipping Kenya's old WR by just 0.06 seconds!
Kenya didn't run slow, as their time was 9:17.20.
(And this was without the "big guns" of either team--such as Asbel Kiprop or Matt Centrowitz!)
Australia finished 3rd in 9:21.52, also a decent time, getting good legs from Ryan Gregson and the Penn Relays hero, Jordan Williamz.
In last place, a full 1:26 behind Germany, came Papua New Guinea, who ran 10:50.63, a time that the Villanova Women's team beat with their former WR and CR time of 10:48.38 back in 1988!!
The Women's DMR ran 10:36.50.
I'm thinking about writing a post on possible relay times--maybe soon, maybe not--so I won't go into why I think their time, while GREAT, COULD be a whole lot faster!!
Whatever the case, their time beat Villanova's (see above) OUTdoor WR by almost 12 full seconds.
And it beat the NB-US team's INdoor WR, set a few months ago, by about 6 seconds.
Treniere Moser led off with a 1200 of 3:18.38.
SRR, running like the SRR of old, ran the 400 in 50.12.
Ajee Wilson reliably ran her 800 in 2:00.08, before giving the baton to Moser's NOP teammate, Shannon Rowbury, who jogged her 1600 in 4:27.92.
They got the Meet Record, of course, as well as the other 2 records!
(Not to mention a $50,000 bonus check!!)
Behind them came 3 teams who also got National Records.
Kenya's NR was 10:43.35.
Poland's was 10:45.32.
And Australia's (minus Zoe Buckman!) was 10:46.94.
I said SRR was back.
Yes, she is!!
In the Women's 4X400 final, she ran the 3rd leg in a blazing 48.79!!
She handed off to Fran McCorory, who went almost as fast with her 49.27.
Phyllis Francis started things off with a 51.3, and Natasha Hastings also got under 50 with her 49.93.
Final time--a Meet Record--was 3:19.39!!
(A bit different team ran 3:24.05 in the heats!)
The "B" race of the Women's 4X100 was interesting.
Especially the final leg.
It pitted 39 year old Bahaman veteran Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie against 19 year old 2014 World Junior Championships star for Ecuador, Angela Tenorio.
It LOOKED like an easy win for the home team, as F-M had a 4 or 5 meter gap on Tenorio at the hand-off.
But Tenorio sped down the track, just nipping the superstar by a hair--or less!!
The teams were both given times of 44.14, but the slo-mo replay of the finish showed Tenorio HAD beat her!
In the "A" race, Jamaica beat the US fairly easily, although in a slow time (42.14), relatively speaking.
Last year's MR was 41.88!
This also came down to a solid match-up on the last leg.
Or what was HOPED to be solid!
Jamaica ran without Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (all weekend!!), while the US had a solid foursome.
(Although this race came AFTER that 4X200 fiasco, so US fans were sweating buckets!!)
Anyway, that leg pitted two all-star vets against each other, Veronica Campbell Brown and Carmelita Jeter.
And VCB won.
By a few tenths of a second!!
(And already, people are talking about Jeter being washed up!! We'll see, I guess!)
The Men had a featured duel too.
Usain Bolt against Justin Gatlin.
Or I should say, that piece of paper you just threw in the trash had a "featured duel" on it!
In actuality, the US was too far ahead for even Mr Bolt to put a dent in their lead.
The US beat Jamaica with a Meet Record time of 37.38.
BTW, that Women's 4X200 talked about earlier?
Nigeria beat Jamaica, even though the latter had the services of VCB!
In the heats for the Men's 4X100, Barbados broke their National Record, running 38.85.
They then broke that record in the final, time of 38.70.
However, that latter time does NOT make my Top 24 list!!
The Dominican Republic also got a National Record, time of 38.94., also in a heat.
The final race of the 2 day affair (And I have little doubt there were some "affairs" going down in this beautiful island nation this weekend!!) was the Men's 4X400.
And it was a doozie!
The US won with the time of 2:58.43.
Second was the Bahamas, who ran 2:58.91.
Belgium--with the 3 Borlee brothers!--broke their National Record with their time of 2:59.33.
What gave US fans more pleasure than the win was seeing the strong leg run by none other than the much besieged (by critics!) vet of the 400 wars, Jeremy Wariner.
He ran a reported 44.80.
Not as fast as Tony McQuay's 2nd leg of 44.00, but still indicative of a possibly good strong year by this always-shades wearing dude!
David Verburg led off with 44.91, then came McQuay and Wariner, who handed off to LaShawn Merritt, who ran a slow (for him!) 44.72 on the anchor!
All in all, this meet is one I hope to see become an ANNUAL affair (sorry!).
They're not holding it next year, but will return (to the Bahamas again!!) in 2017.
Not only do I hope it becomes a meet held every year, I'd like to see it become like the World Marathon Majors (sort of), meaning that they would have FOUR (or 3 is okay) meets a year, with teams competing in all 3, with points allotted and everything.
I don't really have the details of my idea, but I definitely think this fabulous meet MUST become a mainstay of the Track World's schedule!
I LOVE IT!!!
Then you came to the right place--if you went to Nassau, The Bahamas for the 2nd edition (but not annual!) of the IAAF World Relays.
Or is your taste merely for the elegance and thrills our sport provides?
Again, you came where you'll find just that--and more.
Like, for instance, the amazing incredible unbelievable INSANELY maddening INCOMPETENCE of United States sprint relay teams, whether they be Men's or Women's.
Two prime examples came in the 4X200 Relays.
(Or, as the British announcers labeled them, the "two lap" relays!)
Let's take the Men first.
You had what might have been a (or THE) classic showdown of the entire meet.
It was going to be Jamaica (with Usain Bolt anchoring) against the US, with Justin Gatlin anchoring.
But it was announced that Bolt wouldn't be running.
Rumor was that he was tired (or hurt?) from running 2 legs--heat and final--of the 4X100 the previous day!
Anyway, the race began.
When it came to the 3rd hand-off, Gatlin took off, but without the baton.
The attempt(s) to get it into his hand all failed, with it finally dropping to the track--in Jamaica's lane!
So Gatlin moves over to get it, and finally does, then returns to his lane (I THINK!!), and takes off.
Granted, he sped down the final straight like a bat out of Hell, but he couldn't catch Jamaica.
Then, of course, he got the news the US was DQ'ed!
The Women's foul-up (I'd LOVE to use that "other" F word, but I'm trying to keep my blog relatively clean!) was worse!
I mean it!
It was worse.
Oh heck, I'm going to say it.
The pass (attempt) from Jeneba Tarmoh to Allyson Felix was a total FUCK-UP!!!
(Whew!!)
Tarmoh comes sprinting toward Felix, well ahead of everybody else, the US a sure winner.
But either Felix waited too long to take off, or took off too early.
I couldn't figure it out.
Whatever the case, the stick either (A) wasn't released into Felix's hand properly, or (B) Felix hadn't grabbed it tightly enough.
Whose fault it was doesn't really matter.
What happened immediately after this failed pass attempt made the Three Stooges slapstick routines look (Heh!) like child's play!!
Or, if you want to be "nice", you could say it looked like a botched ballet routine with a couple of VERY stoned people!!
Watch the replay---which I'm sure have already gone viral on YouTube!--and tell me what YOU think!
(I couldn't help but be reminded of that OTHER Tarmoh-Felix controversy, when they allegedly tied for 3rd place in the 2012 Olympic Trials 200!)
Well, enough of the F-ups!
Let's get to the professional track portion of the meet.
The distance events provided us with 2 World Records, and 3 American Records!
The 4X800's, run last year, were faster, but were somewhat less competitive.
The Women's race came on Saturday, and it didn't disappoint.
From the gun, the US led, with Chanelle Price running 2:01.30.
It looked like she played it safe the first 400 or more, before taking control.
Then Maggie Vessey, Track's Fashionista (but wearing the more conservative USA uniform!) took off, running a strong looking 2:00.92.
I think she ran even paced laps, doing two 60's.
She handed off to Molly Ludlow , who tore through a 1:59.50, before handing off to new Mom Alysia Montano!
She's BAAAACCCKKKK!!!
Mama ran like the Alysia of old!
Not sure, but I think her first lap was close to 56, which in the "olden days" (pre-pregnancy), was normal for Track's Flower Girl.
Her split was a fine 1:58.90, and the US's winning WR and AR and MR time was 8:00.62.
With better competition---heck, with ANY competition!!--they almost certainly would've dipped under 8 minutes!
But 2nd place, Poland, finished 11 seconds back!!
But they did set a National Record of 8:11.36.
As did Cuba, with their time of 8:15.84.
And so did Jamaica, running 8:16.04.
Where was Kenya?
They ran 8:33 and change!
Why, I'll never know!
The American Men won their race almost as easily, by 4 or 5 seconds, in 7:04.84, which is a Meet Record.
The time was just 2 seconds off the AR, but averaging 1:46.21 in early May, while running basically alone, is pretty good.
It's sort of unfair to add the Meet Records to the list of records broken in the DMR's, since they didn't run them last year, so these became automatic MR's.
That said, you CAN be proud to say that WORLD and American Records were broken--by both genders!
Let's start with the Men.
Their record breaking was unexpected, unlike the Women.
Look at my preview, where I said the US Men would win, but would NOT get the WR.
Thankfully, I was wrong on the latter point.
It started slower than was needed for a WR, as Kyle Merber ran just 2:53.6 for his 1200.
Brycen Spratling did his 400 in a pedestrian (for a relay leg!) 46.0.
But Brandon Johnson ripped his 800 in a great 1:44.8.
Then the fun began!
Remember the Penn Relays Men's 4X1Mile Relay, when Ed Cheserek and Jordan Williamz came to a STOP, daring the other to take the lead, thus killing any chance of an American and Collegiate Record?
Well, right after the hand-off, Kenya's Tim Cheruiyot was caught by US anchor Ben Blankenship.
Then Blankenship stared over at Cheruiyot---and practically STOPPED--nodding his head at Tim to take the lead.
Finally, Cheruiyot blinked, and took off.
I mean, he TOOK OFF!!
His first lap (of the 1600 leg) was reportedly timed in 51.9.
That's right, I said 51.9!!!
Whatever the real numbers, he opened up a 50 meter gap.
But Blankenship remained calm, before catching Cheruiyot on the 3rd lap.
His leg was timed in a FAST 3:51.2, reportedly the fastest 1600 relay leg EVER!!
The US ran 9:15.50, nipping Kenya's old WR by just 0.06 seconds!
Kenya didn't run slow, as their time was 9:17.20.
(And this was without the "big guns" of either team--such as Asbel Kiprop or Matt Centrowitz!)
Australia finished 3rd in 9:21.52, also a decent time, getting good legs from Ryan Gregson and the Penn Relays hero, Jordan Williamz.
In last place, a full 1:26 behind Germany, came Papua New Guinea, who ran 10:50.63, a time that the Villanova Women's team beat with their former WR and CR time of 10:48.38 back in 1988!!
The Women's DMR ran 10:36.50.
I'm thinking about writing a post on possible relay times--maybe soon, maybe not--so I won't go into why I think their time, while GREAT, COULD be a whole lot faster!!
Whatever the case, their time beat Villanova's (see above) OUTdoor WR by almost 12 full seconds.
And it beat the NB-US team's INdoor WR, set a few months ago, by about 6 seconds.
Treniere Moser led off with a 1200 of 3:18.38.
SRR, running like the SRR of old, ran the 400 in 50.12.
Ajee Wilson reliably ran her 800 in 2:00.08, before giving the baton to Moser's NOP teammate, Shannon Rowbury, who jogged her 1600 in 4:27.92.
They got the Meet Record, of course, as well as the other 2 records!
(Not to mention a $50,000 bonus check!!)
Behind them came 3 teams who also got National Records.
Kenya's NR was 10:43.35.
Poland's was 10:45.32.
And Australia's (minus Zoe Buckman!) was 10:46.94.
I said SRR was back.
Yes, she is!!
In the Women's 4X400 final, she ran the 3rd leg in a blazing 48.79!!
She handed off to Fran McCorory, who went almost as fast with her 49.27.
Phyllis Francis started things off with a 51.3, and Natasha Hastings also got under 50 with her 49.93.
Final time--a Meet Record--was 3:19.39!!
(A bit different team ran 3:24.05 in the heats!)
The "B" race of the Women's 4X100 was interesting.
Especially the final leg.
It pitted 39 year old Bahaman veteran Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie against 19 year old 2014 World Junior Championships star for Ecuador, Angela Tenorio.
It LOOKED like an easy win for the home team, as F-M had a 4 or 5 meter gap on Tenorio at the hand-off.
But Tenorio sped down the track, just nipping the superstar by a hair--or less!!
The teams were both given times of 44.14, but the slo-mo replay of the finish showed Tenorio HAD beat her!
In the "A" race, Jamaica beat the US fairly easily, although in a slow time (42.14), relatively speaking.
Last year's MR was 41.88!
This also came down to a solid match-up on the last leg.
Or what was HOPED to be solid!
Jamaica ran without Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (all weekend!!), while the US had a solid foursome.
(Although this race came AFTER that 4X200 fiasco, so US fans were sweating buckets!!)
Anyway, that leg pitted two all-star vets against each other, Veronica Campbell Brown and Carmelita Jeter.
And VCB won.
By a few tenths of a second!!
(And already, people are talking about Jeter being washed up!! We'll see, I guess!)
The Men had a featured duel too.
Usain Bolt against Justin Gatlin.
Or I should say, that piece of paper you just threw in the trash had a "featured duel" on it!
In actuality, the US was too far ahead for even Mr Bolt to put a dent in their lead.
The US beat Jamaica with a Meet Record time of 37.38.
BTW, that Women's 4X200 talked about earlier?
Nigeria beat Jamaica, even though the latter had the services of VCB!
In the heats for the Men's 4X100, Barbados broke their National Record, running 38.85.
They then broke that record in the final, time of 38.70.
However, that latter time does NOT make my Top 24 list!!
The Dominican Republic also got a National Record, time of 38.94., also in a heat.
The final race of the 2 day affair (And I have little doubt there were some "affairs" going down in this beautiful island nation this weekend!!) was the Men's 4X400.
And it was a doozie!
The US won with the time of 2:58.43.
Second was the Bahamas, who ran 2:58.91.
Belgium--with the 3 Borlee brothers!--broke their National Record with their time of 2:59.33.
What gave US fans more pleasure than the win was seeing the strong leg run by none other than the much besieged (by critics!) vet of the 400 wars, Jeremy Wariner.
He ran a reported 44.80.
Not as fast as Tony McQuay's 2nd leg of 44.00, but still indicative of a possibly good strong year by this always-shades wearing dude!
David Verburg led off with 44.91, then came McQuay and Wariner, who handed off to LaShawn Merritt, who ran a slow (for him!) 44.72 on the anchor!
All in all, this meet is one I hope to see become an ANNUAL affair (sorry!).
They're not holding it next year, but will return (to the Bahamas again!!) in 2017.
Not only do I hope it becomes a meet held every year, I'd like to see it become like the World Marathon Majors (sort of), meaning that they would have FOUR (or 3 is okay) meets a year, with teams competing in all 3, with points allotted and everything.
I don't really have the details of my idea, but I definitely think this fabulous meet MUST become a mainstay of the Track World's schedule!
I LOVE IT!!!
The Good (and Bad) of Payton Jordan
There's good news....and there's bad news.
It was the best of times, and the worst of times.
Those two (probably mis-quoted) statements pretty much sum up what happened at the latest Payton Jordan distance festival.
You had some GREAT results, and then you had some (more than expected!) people would rather forget.
So let's see what happened yesterday, shall we?
The Women's races were far more productive than the Men's, at least as far as top marks went.
For example, 15 women went sub-15:20 in the 5000, and 15
went sub-32:00 in the 10000.
Sally Kipyego, as expected, won the 5000 in 14:57 and change.
Not a PR--not even close!--but an easy win against a deep field.
Betsy Saina PR'ed, just missing the 14's.
But how about Nicole Tully!
Remember her 4:28 INdoor DMR leg that Brenda Martinez barely beat?
Well, now she's a 5000 woman, as her 15:05.58 places her 22nd A-T US!!
Another who impressed was the mostly unsung Jessica Tonn of Stanford, who mostly has been in the shadow of Aisling Cuffe.
But with Cuffe sidelined this year, Tonn roared forward with the 9th A-T Collegiate mark of 15:18.85!
That cut her best by 14 seconds!
She's a Pro now, but Marielle Hall got a PR also, with her 15:09.90.
Further back, with mixed results, were the following:
Dominique Scott ran 15:32.55 in 18th place!
It's a PR, but after a GREAT season, INdoors and OUT so far, more was expected.
That said, she missed the Collegiate DDD by just 1.52 seconds!
Erin Finn ran her 2015 fastest, a 15:32.88.
Her previous 2015 best was 15:41.
But her PR is 15:26.08 from last year.
She has a good excuse--she's returning from injury!
But what about Abbey D'Agostino?
You COULD say the same about her as was said about Finn.
But she's been a Pro for almost a full year now, and while this was her "Pro rust-buster", it surely left Abbey D fans disappointed!
She was just 21st in the race!
Lisa Uhl's first race in awhile wasn't exactly hot!
She ran just 16:31.38 in 11th place in her section.
But she tweeted later that she was satisfied, and was looking forward to faster times!
Then there's Alexa Efraimson.
Talk about good AND bad--or best AND worst!
She was in a different section than the ones just mentioned.
But most races had rabbits, so Alexa followed right behind her.
They were going at 5:00 mile pace, and Alexa looked like she was just loping, and was on her way to a FAST time.
She passed 3200 meters in about 10:01.
Then, as happened in a couple of road races she ran last fall, she faded BADLY towards the end.
Her final time was 16:09.44, which means her final mile was about 5:30.
Word is she was VERY wobbly after crossing the line!
That said, on the OVERALL HS list (meaning the combined amateur-pro list!), her time is the 7th best ever!!
She DOES get the HS PRO record, but she's the ONLY HS Pro who's run the distance on the track, soooo....!!
She finished in 19th place!! (Remember, she was LEADING through 2 miles!!)
The Women's 3000SC changed the Collegiate list in big ways!
Courtney Frerichs, who had run 9:49 a week or 2 ago, improved that by about 17 seconds, running a great 9:32.12.
She moves from 24th A-T Collegiate all the way into 3rd!!
Only Jenny (Barringer) Simpson and Emma Coburn are ahead of her!
And she's now 12th A-T US!!
Right behind her came Colleen Quigley's 9:33.63.
That was a 5 second improvement on her PR.
She moves up one spot on the A-T Collegiate list, from 5th to 4th!
She also moves from 16th to 13th on the A-T US list!!
Jessica Furlan's 9:39.20 makes her 18th A-T US!!
(Aisha Praught, who I deemed the favorite in my preview post, ran 9:40+, not a PR!)
The Women's 10000 was deep and fast--although not as fast as last year!
Susan Kuijken won the main section in 31:31 and change.
It was her first track 10K!!
And she beat 14:50 5K gal Buze Diriba!!
There were TWO "races within races" here!
The one I did NOT expect was the chase for the Canadian National Record of 31:44.
Well, I DID expect Lanni Marchant to go after it, as i stated in my preview post.
And she ran a great time of 31:46+, which missed the record by 2 seconds!
But not to worry.
Another fast Canadian, Natasha Wodak, took care of it!
She ran 31:41.59 for the record!
Apparently, they worked together most of the way, before turning it into a RACE!
(Now THAT is the way to get a record!!)
The other "race within a race" was for the Collegiate Record!
Alas, the 3 main contenders didn't even try!!
They stayed with the slowish pace of 15:50 at the half, before deciding to start running.
In the end, Lisa Uhl's CR remained on the books, but it was Emily Sisson (Natch!) who led the Collegiate trio.
Her 31:38.03 is now 4th A-T Collegiate!
And she moves into 21st place on the US list!
Next in line came Brit Kate Avery, an Iona senior, whose 31:41.44 gives her the 5th slot on the Collegiate list.
Then we have Emma Bates, who most loudly proclaimed her intentions to go after the record.
She did improve her PR by a few seconds, running 32:13.28.
This moved her from 12th to 8th on the A-T Collegiate list.
But she finished just 18th in the race!
She tweeted today that she fell in the shower before the race, which slowed her down!
Emily Infeld finished right behind the other Emily (Sisson!), running a solid 31:38.71.
This makes her 23rd A-T US!!
Alexi Pappas had a good first track 10K, running 32:02.22, although she finished just 16th in the big race!
Natosha Rogers's comeback race wasn't too promising, although she too is apparently satisfied with it!
She ran just 33:42.11, and finished in 33rd place!!
I touted Megan Goethals as the favorite in her 10K section.
Well, she had problems too!
She finished just 24th, running 33:20.01.
(She too tweeted she was OK with her race!)
Before I turn to the Men, let's look at the Women's 1500.
The best result came from a High School Junior!
And it was NOT Katie Rainsberger, as I said in my preview!
It was Christine Aragon, from Montana, who ran 4:16.36 from basically out of nowhere--although she ran a 4:42 in the 1600 last year!
This makes her 5th A-T HS!!
The first 4 are Mary Cain, Alexa Efraimson, Elise Cranny, and Jordan Hasay!!
She's in EXCELLENT company!!
Katie ran a good race, however, time of 4:23.28, but finished just 11th in her section!
Speaking of Cranny, remember I said in the preview that she's been hot and cold this year?
Well, here she was COLD!
She ran just 4:16.22 for 11th in her race.
Phoebe Wright was 2nd in her race, but ran a good 4:14.80.
Her PR of 4:08 is from 2011, and she's mainly an 800 runner, so this wasn't bad!
The 2 Steeplers ran good in their speed tests over 1500 meters!
In fact, Shalaya Kipp WON her section, hitting an okay 4:14.34 PR.
Bridget Franek finished 5th in her race, running 4:16.68.
Lauren Wallace won her section, running 4:14.67.
Oh, and Collier Lawrence won her Steeplechase section in 9:50.37.
I brought in Lawrence here, instead of placing her with the other SC women, for a reason.
She's with Oiselle.
And so are Lauren Wallace and Shalaya Kipp!!
So that makes THREE Oiselle women who WON their races!!
Not bad for a "small" company catering to women in a hippie-ish sort of way!!
Well, the men weren't entirely inert at Payton Jordan.
Just a bit less overwhelming than the women were!
As with Aragon's race (See above!), maybe the best result came from a HS'er!
Grant Fisher (Who else?) ran the 1500 in 3:42.89.
While he was a few places behind the winner, his time makes him 5th A-T HS!!
The previous week, he'd run 3:46.15, which was then his OUTdoor PR, and which missed the A-T list by just 0.06 seconds!
Well, no need to worry about THAT anymore!!
The other 1500 guys?
Well, let's just say that 3:38's are okay, but not earthquake material, especially in a meet like the PJ!
(The "fast" section was actually a wee bit slower than the 2nd section, which is supposed to be slower!!)
Nick Symmonds ran only 3:44 in his first OUTdoor outing, after a winter of beer miles and other silly stuff (like getting his memoir published---which I've read and highly recommend!!).
Kemoy Campbell didn't win the main section of the 5000, but his 13:20.39 is good for 11th A-T Collegiate.
(I'll have to do some research to find out if that is the National Record of Jamaica also!)
Lopez Lomong didn't win either, his 13:21.32 giving him 9th place!
Nor did highly touted (by yours truly!) Norwegian Henrik Ingebrigtsen.
His 13:27.10 gave him just 11th place!
Jason Witt's 27:54.25 in the 10000 makes him 20th A-T Collegiate!
Stanley Kebenai beat Dan Huling in the 3000SC, running 8:23.93.
He moves up a notch on the Collegiate list, from 18th to 17th.
But more important, he gets the Meet Record!
Tabor Stevens also makes the Collegiate list, in 23rd!
He ran 8:26.81.
Removed FROM the list was former star Brian Diemer, whose mark dated from 1983!
Another Meet Record was set by 800 runner Boris Berian.
He ran 1:45.30 for the win.
Brannon Kidder ran 1:45.58, missing the Collegiate list by 0.27 seconds!
The Women's 800 was won by Chrishuna Williams of Arkansas in 2:01.61.
She misses the A-T Collegiate list by just 0.18 seconds!!
I'm saving the first day results from the World Relays for my post on that meet, coming later today (after the second day's races end!).
But I have several marks from other meets, both from this weekend and from a week or so ago to report.
Here they are!
Shawn Barber's done it AGAIN!!
He's now vaulted 19-4.75, up a half-inch on his former OUTdoor PR.
This of course is a new National Record of Canada!
(Quite a productive day for Canada, eh? See the report on Natasha Wodak above!)
It's also the Collegiate Soph Class record, surpassing his own!
And while it doesn't move him up the Collegiate list, it does....in a way!
You see, his previous mark was tied with 1 other.
Now he stands alone in 2nd place on the list!
Oh yes, forgot to mention his mark leaves him just 0.75 inches from making the World list!!
Mondo Duplantis continues to break his own HS Frosh Class record!
His latest upped his old best by 3 inches, as he flew over 17-4.
This leaves him just 2 inches away from making the A-T HS list!
Remember, he's in the 9th grade!!
Tori Bliss went past Raven Saunders on the OUTdoor Collegiate list, tossing the SP out to 60-8!
She's now 7th A-T Collegiate!
And 20th A-T US!!
Cut OFF my Top 24 list?
Raven Saunders!
(Small world!)
Also in the SP, Jeneva Stevens hit 61-3.
This moves her up one spot on the US list, from 18th to 17th.
Darrell Hill threw the ball out to 68-2.50, making him 21st A-T Collegiate!
DeAnna Price got her Hammer out 222-2, moving her from 21st to 19th on the A-T Collegiate list!
John Amponah threw the Javelin 267-8, for 11th on the A-T Collegiate list.
It's also the National Record of Ghana!
Carlos Davis got a DT of 214-4, moving him from 18th to 13th on the A-T HS list!
I don't include any Shuttle Hurdle Relay records in my Record Book.
Maybe I should, because BOTH World Records were broken last week!!
The Men's 4X110H Relay WR is now 52.94.
It's also the American Record, as the team was called USA Blue.
Who was on it?
Oh, just Jason Richardson, Aleec Harris, Aries Merritt, and David Oliver!
That's an average of 13.23+ per leg!!
The Women's team was also called USA Blue.
Brianna Rollins, Dawn Harper-Nelson, Queen Harrison, and Kristi Castlin ran their 4X100H race in the World (and American) Record time of 50.50.
They averaged about 12.62 per leg!!
Both races took place at the Drake Relays!
Wilson Kipsang's London Marathon time of 2:04:47 is the Age 33 record!!
It's not often that HS'ers run track 5000's outside of the New Balance meets (INdoors or OUT!).
So it was a welcome sight seeing a good time out of Audrey Belf in April!
She ran it in 16:29.68, making her 17th A-T HS!
I'll end this tome with more Women's 1500 results---but not from Payton Jordan!
Destiny Collins, the main stud on the stud Great Oaks girl's distance factory, finished 2nd in a race against Collegians and Pro's at the Steve Scott meet.
Her time was 4:23.85, very close to what Katie Rainsberger ran at PJ. (See above!)
Leah O'Connor, who ran that 4:27.18 mile INdoors, now has a 1500 time that pretty much matches it in quality!
She ran 4:11.04 in a meet in Ohio, beating the 2nd place girl by about 10 seconds.
So it was basically a solo time trial!
She misses the Collegiate list by just 0.25 seconds!
BTW, this time was faster than anything run at Payton Jordan!!
Last but certainly not least, Mary Cain was suddenly (and unexpectedly!) entered in the Oregon State University High Performance meet, held Friday.
And she WON!!
That's the good news.
The "bad" news is that she ran just 4:15.42!
I don't know what her final 100 or 150 was like, but her last 400 was just 66.96.
Definitely NOT a "Mary Cain" finish!!
She was paced for the first 1200 by Geena Lara!
Shortly afterwards, she ran the first 10 minutes of the 5000.
I have no idea if this was an intentional DNF, or planned.
(Keep in mind her coach's penchant for having his athletes do double duty--running either 2 races a few minutes apart, or giving them torturous workouts minutes after they break some record or other!!)
To be fair, Mr Salazar said in an interview after the meet that she was training hard, it was windy, and that she would be "in 4:07 shape" by June!
Well, that's nice, Al, but 4:07 AIN'T gonna get you too far when it comes to the WC Trials!!
Not sure, but I believe she (and NOP) will be at the Oxy meet in 2 weeks!
(Or is that next week??)
Almost forgot!
Mary turned 19 years old today!
Happy Birthday, Ms Cain!!
Before I close, here's my Kayla Montgomery report!
And like this post's title states, there's both good and bad stuff!
She (and several Lipscomb teammates!) flew west to run in the aforementioned meet at Oregon State.
Two Lipscomb girls ran in the mid-16:20's in the 5000, finished just 14 or so seconds behind winner Waverly Neer of UO!!
But Kayla had a slight hip problem---nothing serious---which caused her coaches to pull her out of the 10K just past the halfway point!
She was off the pace she wanted also, so they decided to save her for Conference in a couple of weeks.
Before the meet, the coaches said she was ready to run in the 34's!!
Remember, she ran her first 10K recently in 35:49!!
So she's apparently in GREAT shape!!
BTW, her race started just 85 minutes after Mary Cain's race.
There were the 2 5000's in between.
So I'm wondering if Kayla and Mary met---maybe even jogged together a bit!!
Well, as noted above, I'll have my complete and detailed account of all the World Relays action later today!
See you then!
It was the best of times, and the worst of times.
Those two (probably mis-quoted) statements pretty much sum up what happened at the latest Payton Jordan distance festival.
You had some GREAT results, and then you had some (more than expected!) people would rather forget.
So let's see what happened yesterday, shall we?
The Women's races were far more productive than the Men's, at least as far as top marks went.
For example, 15 women went sub-15:20 in the 5000, and 15
went sub-32:00 in the 10000.
Sally Kipyego, as expected, won the 5000 in 14:57 and change.
Not a PR--not even close!--but an easy win against a deep field.
Betsy Saina PR'ed, just missing the 14's.
But how about Nicole Tully!
Remember her 4:28 INdoor DMR leg that Brenda Martinez barely beat?
Well, now she's a 5000 woman, as her 15:05.58 places her 22nd A-T US!!
Another who impressed was the mostly unsung Jessica Tonn of Stanford, who mostly has been in the shadow of Aisling Cuffe.
But with Cuffe sidelined this year, Tonn roared forward with the 9th A-T Collegiate mark of 15:18.85!
That cut her best by 14 seconds!
She's a Pro now, but Marielle Hall got a PR also, with her 15:09.90.
Further back, with mixed results, were the following:
Dominique Scott ran 15:32.55 in 18th place!
It's a PR, but after a GREAT season, INdoors and OUT so far, more was expected.
That said, she missed the Collegiate DDD by just 1.52 seconds!
Erin Finn ran her 2015 fastest, a 15:32.88.
Her previous 2015 best was 15:41.
But her PR is 15:26.08 from last year.
She has a good excuse--she's returning from injury!
But what about Abbey D'Agostino?
You COULD say the same about her as was said about Finn.
But she's been a Pro for almost a full year now, and while this was her "Pro rust-buster", it surely left Abbey D fans disappointed!
She was just 21st in the race!
Lisa Uhl's first race in awhile wasn't exactly hot!
She ran just 16:31.38 in 11th place in her section.
But she tweeted later that she was satisfied, and was looking forward to faster times!
Then there's Alexa Efraimson.
Talk about good AND bad--or best AND worst!
She was in a different section than the ones just mentioned.
But most races had rabbits, so Alexa followed right behind her.
They were going at 5:00 mile pace, and Alexa looked like she was just loping, and was on her way to a FAST time.
She passed 3200 meters in about 10:01.
Then, as happened in a couple of road races she ran last fall, she faded BADLY towards the end.
Her final time was 16:09.44, which means her final mile was about 5:30.
Word is she was VERY wobbly after crossing the line!
That said, on the OVERALL HS list (meaning the combined amateur-pro list!), her time is the 7th best ever!!
She DOES get the HS PRO record, but she's the ONLY HS Pro who's run the distance on the track, soooo....!!
She finished in 19th place!! (Remember, she was LEADING through 2 miles!!)
The Women's 3000SC changed the Collegiate list in big ways!
Courtney Frerichs, who had run 9:49 a week or 2 ago, improved that by about 17 seconds, running a great 9:32.12.
She moves from 24th A-T Collegiate all the way into 3rd!!
Only Jenny (Barringer) Simpson and Emma Coburn are ahead of her!
And she's now 12th A-T US!!
Right behind her came Colleen Quigley's 9:33.63.
That was a 5 second improvement on her PR.
She moves up one spot on the A-T Collegiate list, from 5th to 4th!
She also moves from 16th to 13th on the A-T US list!!
Jessica Furlan's 9:39.20 makes her 18th A-T US!!
(Aisha Praught, who I deemed the favorite in my preview post, ran 9:40+, not a PR!)
The Women's 10000 was deep and fast--although not as fast as last year!
Susan Kuijken won the main section in 31:31 and change.
It was her first track 10K!!
And she beat 14:50 5K gal Buze Diriba!!
There were TWO "races within races" here!
The one I did NOT expect was the chase for the Canadian National Record of 31:44.
Well, I DID expect Lanni Marchant to go after it, as i stated in my preview post.
And she ran a great time of 31:46+, which missed the record by 2 seconds!
But not to worry.
Another fast Canadian, Natasha Wodak, took care of it!
She ran 31:41.59 for the record!
Apparently, they worked together most of the way, before turning it into a RACE!
(Now THAT is the way to get a record!!)
The other "race within a race" was for the Collegiate Record!
Alas, the 3 main contenders didn't even try!!
They stayed with the slowish pace of 15:50 at the half, before deciding to start running.
In the end, Lisa Uhl's CR remained on the books, but it was Emily Sisson (Natch!) who led the Collegiate trio.
Her 31:38.03 is now 4th A-T Collegiate!
And she moves into 21st place on the US list!
Next in line came Brit Kate Avery, an Iona senior, whose 31:41.44 gives her the 5th slot on the Collegiate list.
Then we have Emma Bates, who most loudly proclaimed her intentions to go after the record.
She did improve her PR by a few seconds, running 32:13.28.
This moved her from 12th to 8th on the A-T Collegiate list.
But she finished just 18th in the race!
She tweeted today that she fell in the shower before the race, which slowed her down!
Emily Infeld finished right behind the other Emily (Sisson!), running a solid 31:38.71.
This makes her 23rd A-T US!!
Alexi Pappas had a good first track 10K, running 32:02.22, although she finished just 16th in the big race!
Natosha Rogers's comeback race wasn't too promising, although she too is apparently satisfied with it!
She ran just 33:42.11, and finished in 33rd place!!
I touted Megan Goethals as the favorite in her 10K section.
Well, she had problems too!
She finished just 24th, running 33:20.01.
(She too tweeted she was OK with her race!)
Before I turn to the Men, let's look at the Women's 1500.
The best result came from a High School Junior!
And it was NOT Katie Rainsberger, as I said in my preview!
It was Christine Aragon, from Montana, who ran 4:16.36 from basically out of nowhere--although she ran a 4:42 in the 1600 last year!
This makes her 5th A-T HS!!
The first 4 are Mary Cain, Alexa Efraimson, Elise Cranny, and Jordan Hasay!!
She's in EXCELLENT company!!
Katie ran a good race, however, time of 4:23.28, but finished just 11th in her section!
Speaking of Cranny, remember I said in the preview that she's been hot and cold this year?
Well, here she was COLD!
She ran just 4:16.22 for 11th in her race.
Phoebe Wright was 2nd in her race, but ran a good 4:14.80.
Her PR of 4:08 is from 2011, and she's mainly an 800 runner, so this wasn't bad!
The 2 Steeplers ran good in their speed tests over 1500 meters!
In fact, Shalaya Kipp WON her section, hitting an okay 4:14.34 PR.
Bridget Franek finished 5th in her race, running 4:16.68.
Lauren Wallace won her section, running 4:14.67.
Oh, and Collier Lawrence won her Steeplechase section in 9:50.37.
I brought in Lawrence here, instead of placing her with the other SC women, for a reason.
She's with Oiselle.
And so are Lauren Wallace and Shalaya Kipp!!
So that makes THREE Oiselle women who WON their races!!
Not bad for a "small" company catering to women in a hippie-ish sort of way!!
Well, the men weren't entirely inert at Payton Jordan.
Just a bit less overwhelming than the women were!
As with Aragon's race (See above!), maybe the best result came from a HS'er!
Grant Fisher (Who else?) ran the 1500 in 3:42.89.
While he was a few places behind the winner, his time makes him 5th A-T HS!!
The previous week, he'd run 3:46.15, which was then his OUTdoor PR, and which missed the A-T list by just 0.06 seconds!
Well, no need to worry about THAT anymore!!
The other 1500 guys?
Well, let's just say that 3:38's are okay, but not earthquake material, especially in a meet like the PJ!
(The "fast" section was actually a wee bit slower than the 2nd section, which is supposed to be slower!!)
Nick Symmonds ran only 3:44 in his first OUTdoor outing, after a winter of beer miles and other silly stuff (like getting his memoir published---which I've read and highly recommend!!).
Kemoy Campbell didn't win the main section of the 5000, but his 13:20.39 is good for 11th A-T Collegiate.
(I'll have to do some research to find out if that is the National Record of Jamaica also!)
Lopez Lomong didn't win either, his 13:21.32 giving him 9th place!
Nor did highly touted (by yours truly!) Norwegian Henrik Ingebrigtsen.
His 13:27.10 gave him just 11th place!
Jason Witt's 27:54.25 in the 10000 makes him 20th A-T Collegiate!
Stanley Kebenai beat Dan Huling in the 3000SC, running 8:23.93.
He moves up a notch on the Collegiate list, from 18th to 17th.
But more important, he gets the Meet Record!
Tabor Stevens also makes the Collegiate list, in 23rd!
He ran 8:26.81.
Removed FROM the list was former star Brian Diemer, whose mark dated from 1983!
Another Meet Record was set by 800 runner Boris Berian.
He ran 1:45.30 for the win.
Brannon Kidder ran 1:45.58, missing the Collegiate list by 0.27 seconds!
The Women's 800 was won by Chrishuna Williams of Arkansas in 2:01.61.
She misses the A-T Collegiate list by just 0.18 seconds!!
I'm saving the first day results from the World Relays for my post on that meet, coming later today (after the second day's races end!).
But I have several marks from other meets, both from this weekend and from a week or so ago to report.
Here they are!
Shawn Barber's done it AGAIN!!
He's now vaulted 19-4.75, up a half-inch on his former OUTdoor PR.
This of course is a new National Record of Canada!
(Quite a productive day for Canada, eh? See the report on Natasha Wodak above!)
It's also the Collegiate Soph Class record, surpassing his own!
And while it doesn't move him up the Collegiate list, it does....in a way!
You see, his previous mark was tied with 1 other.
Now he stands alone in 2nd place on the list!
Oh yes, forgot to mention his mark leaves him just 0.75 inches from making the World list!!
Mondo Duplantis continues to break his own HS Frosh Class record!
His latest upped his old best by 3 inches, as he flew over 17-4.
This leaves him just 2 inches away from making the A-T HS list!
Remember, he's in the 9th grade!!
Tori Bliss went past Raven Saunders on the OUTdoor Collegiate list, tossing the SP out to 60-8!
She's now 7th A-T Collegiate!
And 20th A-T US!!
Cut OFF my Top 24 list?
Raven Saunders!
(Small world!)
Also in the SP, Jeneva Stevens hit 61-3.
This moves her up one spot on the US list, from 18th to 17th.
Darrell Hill threw the ball out to 68-2.50, making him 21st A-T Collegiate!
DeAnna Price got her Hammer out 222-2, moving her from 21st to 19th on the A-T Collegiate list!
John Amponah threw the Javelin 267-8, for 11th on the A-T Collegiate list.
It's also the National Record of Ghana!
Carlos Davis got a DT of 214-4, moving him from 18th to 13th on the A-T HS list!
I don't include any Shuttle Hurdle Relay records in my Record Book.
Maybe I should, because BOTH World Records were broken last week!!
The Men's 4X110H Relay WR is now 52.94.
It's also the American Record, as the team was called USA Blue.
Who was on it?
Oh, just Jason Richardson, Aleec Harris, Aries Merritt, and David Oliver!
That's an average of 13.23+ per leg!!
The Women's team was also called USA Blue.
Brianna Rollins, Dawn Harper-Nelson, Queen Harrison, and Kristi Castlin ran their 4X100H race in the World (and American) Record time of 50.50.
They averaged about 12.62 per leg!!
Both races took place at the Drake Relays!
Wilson Kipsang's London Marathon time of 2:04:47 is the Age 33 record!!
It's not often that HS'ers run track 5000's outside of the New Balance meets (INdoors or OUT!).
So it was a welcome sight seeing a good time out of Audrey Belf in April!
She ran it in 16:29.68, making her 17th A-T HS!
I'll end this tome with more Women's 1500 results---but not from Payton Jordan!
Destiny Collins, the main stud on the stud Great Oaks girl's distance factory, finished 2nd in a race against Collegians and Pro's at the Steve Scott meet.
Her time was 4:23.85, very close to what Katie Rainsberger ran at PJ. (See above!)
Leah O'Connor, who ran that 4:27.18 mile INdoors, now has a 1500 time that pretty much matches it in quality!
She ran 4:11.04 in a meet in Ohio, beating the 2nd place girl by about 10 seconds.
So it was basically a solo time trial!
She misses the Collegiate list by just 0.25 seconds!
BTW, this time was faster than anything run at Payton Jordan!!
Last but certainly not least, Mary Cain was suddenly (and unexpectedly!) entered in the Oregon State University High Performance meet, held Friday.
And she WON!!
That's the good news.
The "bad" news is that she ran just 4:15.42!
I don't know what her final 100 or 150 was like, but her last 400 was just 66.96.
Definitely NOT a "Mary Cain" finish!!
She was paced for the first 1200 by Geena Lara!
Shortly afterwards, she ran the first 10 minutes of the 5000.
I have no idea if this was an intentional DNF, or planned.
(Keep in mind her coach's penchant for having his athletes do double duty--running either 2 races a few minutes apart, or giving them torturous workouts minutes after they break some record or other!!)
To be fair, Mr Salazar said in an interview after the meet that she was training hard, it was windy, and that she would be "in 4:07 shape" by June!
Well, that's nice, Al, but 4:07 AIN'T gonna get you too far when it comes to the WC Trials!!
Not sure, but I believe she (and NOP) will be at the Oxy meet in 2 weeks!
(Or is that next week??)
Almost forgot!
Mary turned 19 years old today!
Happy Birthday, Ms Cain!!
Before I close, here's my Kayla Montgomery report!
And like this post's title states, there's both good and bad stuff!
She (and several Lipscomb teammates!) flew west to run in the aforementioned meet at Oregon State.
Two Lipscomb girls ran in the mid-16:20's in the 5000, finished just 14 or so seconds behind winner Waverly Neer of UO!!
But Kayla had a slight hip problem---nothing serious---which caused her coaches to pull her out of the 10K just past the halfway point!
She was off the pace she wanted also, so they decided to save her for Conference in a couple of weeks.
Before the meet, the coaches said she was ready to run in the 34's!!
Remember, she ran her first 10K recently in 35:49!!
So she's apparently in GREAT shape!!
BTW, her race started just 85 minutes after Mary Cain's race.
There were the 2 5000's in between.
So I'm wondering if Kayla and Mary met---maybe even jogged together a bit!!
Well, as noted above, I'll have my complete and detailed account of all the World Relays action later today!
See you then!
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