Only Field Events!

 As promised, here's all the Field event action that took place before the NCAA's!

And who else but Mondo Duplantis should be the headliner??
He topped the bar set at 20-0 in the Hengelo meet!
This gets him the Meet Record, and the Age 21 Record!
He's literally raised the bar in the Pole Vault, and seems ready to continue to do so!!

Let's continue with the PV!
Sondre Guttormsen (Remember him?) broke his own National Record of Norway with his clearance of 19-0.75!
Katie Nageotte's been hot lately!
She went over 15-11 in Tennessee!
Olivia Gruver took a PV in Chula Vista with 15-3.50!

In 5th place, however, Amanda Moll broke the Soph Class Record with 14-7.25!
She ranks 5th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!
Amanda also had a clearance (in another meet!) of 14-1.25!
I used her first name there for a good reason!
Her sister Hana Moll also cleared 14-1.25, making her 11th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!

Holly Bradshaw cleared 15-9.75, getting Great Britain's OUTdoor National Record!
This makes her 15th A-T World, tied with 5 others!
Roberta Bruni was 2nd with a height of 15-2.75!

Anzhelika Sidorova went over 16-1.25 at the Golden Gala meet!
No MR, as Yelena Isinbayeva has that mark set at 16-6!!
Iryna Zhuk took 2nd with a good 15-5.50!
Renaud Lavillenie showed he isn't done yet, clearing 19-0.25 in his Home nation!
Ekaterina Stefanidi topped 15-7 in a recent meet!

Other Jumps
Sha Keela Saunders LJ'ed 22-7.75 in Chula Vista!
Hughes Zango (I've seen him referred to as Fabrice also!) TJ'ed a World Leader of 57-11.75!
He gets the Burkina Faso NR!
But he misses my World DDD by 3.25 inches!
(For those new to my blog, "DDD" stands for Double Dandy Dozen, aka my Top 24 All-Time Performers list!!)

Edgar Rivera got Mexico's NR in the HJ, clearing 7-7!
In Chula Vista's Women's LJ, Jazmine Sawyers leapt 22-7.75!
She beat the 22-5.75 of Quanesha Burks!
Three Men HJ'ed 7-7.75 at the Golden Gala meet.
The winner was Ilya Ivanyuk, who beat Brandon Stone and Gianmarco Tamberi, in that order!
Mutaz Barshim could clear just 7-6.50!

Malaika Mihambo is still a threat, as she went 22-4.50 in the LJ!
Senni Salminen TJ'ed 47-7.25 for Finland's National Record!
Miltiadis Tenteglou was thought to have LJ'ed 28-2.75 a bit ago!
But most observers think that mark was vastly mismeasured!
They concluded it was maybe 8.20 metric!
Well, Tentaglou now HAS LJ'ed 8.48 (or 27-10), and there is no question about that one!!

Throws
Reggie Jagers hurled the Discus 217-0 awhile back!
Then he improved that to 222-6 in Chula Vista!
Payton Otterdahl had a SP mark of 70-0.25!

Yaime Perez got the Hengelo MR in the DT with her 216-3!
She beat Sandra Perkovic's 215-10!
Perky (My nickname for this A-T Great!!) won one in France, it measuring 216-10!
But it was the Golden Gala meet where she looked more like her old self!
Her 224-1 beat Yaime Perez's 219-3!

Alex Rose had a good DT in Florida, his 220-2  beating Fedric Dacres's 216-7!
Chuk Enechwechi had a SP win in Texas measuring 70-7.75!
Tom Walsh hit 72-2.25 in the SP in Tennessee!
Danielle Thomas-Dodd won the Women's SP there with 63-2.25!
Jessica Ramsey took 2nd with 61-7.50, while Raven Saunders was 3rd with 60-8.50!

Valerie Allman launched her DT out 222-3 at the USATF Showcase meet!
A meet in Belarus saw Abdelrahman Mahmoud hit 67-10.50 in the SP, getting Bahrain's National Record!
Auriol Dongmo broke her own NR of Portugal with her SP of 64-9.75!
That was in Spain!
In Austria, Lukas Weidheldinger had a DT of 222-4!

The Men's SP at the Golden Gala saw Leonardo Fabbrio win with 71-2.75!
Tom Walsh finished in 3rd with 70-5.25!
Daniel Stahl stayed steady, throwing the Discus 223-5 in Finland.
This meet also had Wojcieck Nowicki winning the HT with 265-0!
France's Quentin Bigot was 2nd with 261-6, a PR!
And Marcin Krukowski bettered his own National Record of Poland with his JT of 293-9!
He ranks 21st A-T World!

Malwina Kapron won the HT with 247-9!
Back in 3rd was the WR holder Anita Wlodarczyk, who could throw just 237-7!
Filip Mihaljevic had a SP of 71-11.75 in Croatia!
This broke his own Croatia NR!

In Georgia, Kord Ferguson PR'ed in the DT with 217-2!
Finally, we have a mark for my HS Heptathlon list!
Ariel Pedigo (Related to Tzuriel??) scored 5323 points, making her 16th A-T HS!

Next posts will cover the NCAA Championships--separate posts for Men & Women!
See you soon!

Before Eugene--A Distance Storm

 The NCAA Championships just ended in Eugene, and the US Olympic Trials begin in a few days!
But oh my, what transpired around the World BEFORE Eugene--especially in the Distances--was absolutely amazing!
I have TONS of material for you, so let's get started!

It began at the Hengelo meet in the Netherlands.
Sifan Hassan shattered the World Record in the 10000 by almost 12 seconds, her 29:06.82 also taking down the Age 28 Record, the Netherlands NR, and of course the Hengelo Meet Record!
She also now ranks first in a pair of Combined events lists!
In the 5000 & 10000, her 14:22.34 and 29:06.82 adds to 43:29.16.
Add her 3000 time of 8:18.49, and that C-E adds to 51:47.65!

She was by herself at the end, 2nd going to Irene Kimaris's (sp?) 30:37.24.
Right behind her came the 30:37.31 of Daisy Cherotich!
Rose Davies ended 4th in 30:54.89!
Dominique Scott-Efurd PR'ed in 8th with 31:19.89!

Hengelo is suddenly HOT for WR breaking!
Just two days later, Hassan's WR was broken by Letesenbet Gidey's amazing 29:01.03!!
Her splits were a phenomenal 14:42 and 14:19!!
It's also the Ethiopia NR, and the Age 23 Record!
And there goes those C-E records Hassan just set!!
In the 5K & 10K, her times add to 43:07.65!
Add her 8:20.27 in the 3000, and her time of 51:27.92 also ranks 1st A-T World!!

T Gebreselama (sp?) ran a great 30:06.01, but was 65 seconds back!!
She ranks 15th A-T World!
Tsehay Gemechu (sp?) took 3rd in 30:19.29!
Yelenzerf Yehuaslaw (sp?) was 4th in 30:20.77!

Both 5000's were fast also!
Gudaf Tsegay won it in 14:13.32.
She's 5th A-T World!
Her times of 3:54.38 and this 5K adds to 18:07.70--which makes her 2nd A-T World!
E Taye was close in 2nd with 14:14.09!
It's the Age 21 (!!) Record, the best 2nd Place mark, and ranks her 6th A-T World!
Senbere Teferi was 3rd in 14:15.24, for the best 3rd Place mark!
She gets the Age 26 Record, and ranks 7th A-T World!
Fantu Worku was far removed from the top trio, but her 14:29.63 in 4th was still nice!
Rachel Daniel ran 14:55.56 to get Eritrea's NR--formerly held by Weini Kelati!

Getnet Wale won the Men's race in 12:53.28.
N Melak ran 12:54.22 in 2nd!
The 10000 was even better!
Selemon Barega won it in 26:49.51!
Yamif Kejelcha was 2nd in 26:49.73!
Berihu Arigawi took 3rd in 26:50.37.
Hagos Gebrhewet followed in 26:57.16.
In 5th came Tadese Worku's 26:58.30!

It wasn't noted in the eTN, but the 1:56.67 it took for Werkwuha Getachew to win the 800 serves as Ethiopia's new National Record!
Habitam Alemu ended 2nd in 1:58.16, to be followed by Werknesh Mesili's 1:58.71.
A World Leader in the 1500 came from F Hailu's 3:57.33.
Diriba Walteja (sp?) was 2nd in 3:58.93!

I'm afraid the rest of the Distances--and all my other results--will have to be grouped by event!
There's just too much good stuff!!

Distances
In Kenya, Elias Ngeny won the 800 in a World Leading time of 1:43.84!
Hillary Biwott was 2nd in 1:44.80!
In France, Renelle Lamiti (sp?) won a two lapper in 1:58.65!
Beatrice Chebet took a close 5000 from Kalkidan Gezahegne--14:52.06 to 14:52.92!

In the 50000 meter Walk, Margarita Nikiforova (sp?) of Russia timed 4:03:07 for tthe World Leader!

At Portland's Stumptown Twilight meet, Josh Kerr blasted a 1500 in 3:31.55--the fastest time ever run in the United States OUTdoors!!
Rob Napolitano got Puerto Rico's NR with his 2nd place time of 3:35.63!
Quite a solo run by Kerr!
Eric Jenkins took the 5000 there in 13:20.18!
At the Hoka Festival of Miles meet in St Louis, Amanda Eccleston ran a World Leader of 4:30.06.
The Mile is not getting the attention it deserves in this Olympic year!!

Alex Wilson won the 800 in Prairie View TX in 1:59.92!
Jenny Simpson finished 2nd to Dani Aragon in a Tennessee 1500--4:06.18 to Aragon's 4:05.46!
In Huelva, Spain, Irene Van Der Ruijken's 3000SC time of 9:27.36 took down the Netherlands NR!
She finished 3rd!

Some quick High School times need mentioning!
John Lester toured two laps in 1:47.65, ranking him 6th A-T HS!
Gary Martin ran the Mile in 4:03.53!
But Nathan Green was faster (in a different meet!), his 4:00.97 ranking him 16th A-T HS!
Juliette Whittaker ran an 800 in 2:01.15, ranking her 7th A-T HS!
She's not yet in HS, but 8th Grader Sadie Engelhardt ran a Mile in 4:44.40!!

The Golden Gala DL, normally held in Rome, was moved to Florence this year!
Jakob Ingebrigtsen outsprinted his older opponents, his 12:48.45 smashing his own NR of Norway by about 14 seconds!
He's ranks 13th A-T World!
His times of 3:28.68 and 12:48.45 adds to 16:17.13, ranking him 6th A-T World on that Combined Events list!
Hagos Gebrehiwet was 2nd in 12:49.02!
Mo Ahmed won the Battle of the Canadians, his 12:50.12 in 3rd beating Justyn Knight's 12:51.92 in 5th!
In 4th came Mohamad Katir's 12:50.79, the new NR of Spain!!

Soufiane El Bakkali won the 3000SC in 8:08.54!
Consesius Kipruto DNF'ed!!
Just 4 days after her (then-) WR over 10K, Sifan Hassan roared to a 1500 win in Florence, time of 3:53.63!
It breaks her own Golden Gala MR!
In 2nd came Faith Kipyegon, her 3:53.91 breaking her own Kenya National Record!
It's also the best 2nd Place mark, the Age 27 Record, and ranks her 9th A-T World!
Laura Muir's 3:55.59 was only good enough for 3rd!!

Back to those Ethiopian Trials in Hengelo for a bit--
Taddese Lemi won the Men's 1500 in 3:31.90!
S Abate was 2nd in 3:32.80, with Sam Teferi next in 3:33.06!
T Tadese took the 3000SC in 8:09.27 over Abraham Semi's (sp?) 8:12.11.
The Women's race was won by Mekidas Demewuz in 9:13.63.
Second went to the 9:14.03 of L Tefera!

An 800 in France was won by Collins Kipruto in 1:43.95!
Abel Kipsang took the 1500 in 3:32.68!
In 2nd came Elliott Giles's 3:33.80!
Jemma Reekie took the Women's 800 in 1:58.41.
Mo Farah failed to run the 27:28 needed to make GB's team, his time being 27:50.64 back in 8th!
He'll apparently be allowed to try again in a few days!
But Eilish McColgan and Jessica Judd both Q'ed, their respective times being 31:19.35 and 31:20.96!

This is going to be too long for one post, so I'm going to do the rest of the running events here, then do all the Field events in my next post!!

Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce became the 2nd fastest Woman of All Time in the 100 meters, running 10.63 in Jamaica!
It breaks her own National Record, and gets the Age 34 Record as well.
It ranks her 2nd A-T World!
Natasha Morrison didn't embarrass herself in 2nd, sprinting a good 10.95!

Trayvon Bromell got a good sized PR with his 9.77 in Florida!
This ranks him 4th A-T US, and 7th A-T World!
Marvin Bracy--out of the picture awhile--came roaring back, timing 9.85 in 2nd!
This ranks him 6th A-T US, tied with 2 others, and 14th A-T World, tied with 3 others!

In the same meet, Elaine Thompson-Herah won her race in 10.87!
(She also took the 200 in 22.54!)
Recently published memoirist Tiana Bartoletta was 2nd in a solid 10.96, edging young Brianna Williams, who ran 10.97!
BTW, Tianna's book is titled "Survive & Advance"!
I've got my autographed copy arriving soon!
It's gotten rave reviews so far!!

Delilah Muhammed won the 400H in 54.50!
In Clermont FL, Isaiah Young sprinted the 100 in 9.89!
This makes him 15th A-T US, tied with 2 others!
The guy he beat was one Noah Lyles, who could run just 10.05!
In 3rd, young Jaylen Slade tied his PR of 10.09!

Also in Florida, Ronnie Baker ran a 100 in 9.99!
But it was the 200 where the headlines were made!
Erriyon Knighton's 20.11 was said to break the U18 record of Usain Bolt!
But Bolt's 20.13 was run in 2003, after he'd just turned 17.
Bolt ran 19.93 in 2004, prior to turning 18!

But because he would turn 18 that year, his time didn't count as an U18 mark--even though he WAS UNDER 18 at the time!!
Thus, Knighton's time does NOT break Bolt's age 17 Record of 19.93!
And since this blog doesn't give a shit about U18 designations, Bolt remains the Age 17 Record holder!
Knighton won't turn 18 until next January, so still can chase that Record!!
Confused??

BTW, Knighton gets the HS PRO and the HS PRO Soph Class Records.
AND he beat someone named Trayvon Bromell, who ran 20.20 in 2nd!
(See above!)

Michael Cherry won a 400 in 44.74.
Grant Holloway took the 110H in 13.10!
Brianna Williams won the 100 in 10.98!
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn  took a 100H race in 12.50!
She later ran 12.44!

Brittany Anderson PR'ed with 12.58 in the 100H, and added a 12.59!
Shamier Little ran the (then-) World Leader in the 400H, her time being 53.12!

Allyson Felix is getting ready for another Olympics run!
Her 50.66 over one lap is promising!
She beat Gabby Thomas's PR of 51.15!
Christine Mboma PR'ed in the 200 with 22.73.
She did it again with a 22.67 in Japan!
She also ran the 400 in 50.10!
Maraleidy Paulino took a 400 in 50.66
However, it was 2nd placer Cynthis Mbongo's 50.75 that got the National Record of Belgium!
But then--in another meet (in Spain), Paulino sped a lap in 49.99, breaking her own NR of the Dominican Republic!
She beat Cafir Azevedo's 50.59, but Azevedo gets Portugal's NR!!

Some good marks at the Hengelo meet!
Fred Kerley won the 400 in 44.74.
Omar McLeod won the 110H in 13.06, getting the Meet Record!
Dina Asher-Smith also got the Hengelo MR with her Century time of 10.92.

Sydney McLaughlin used a Tennessee meet to make her 2021 debut in the 400H!
Her 52.83 gets her the Age 21 Record, and the World Leader!
That's her 5th consecutive Age Record in this event!
Ages 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21!

Some good times from the youngsters--
Justin Braun won a 400 in 46.14.
He's an Ohio HS'er!
Sheri Jackson ran a 400 in 52.93.
Nothing special, you say, even for a High Schooler?
Well, what if I told you this girl is in the SIXTH GRADE??
I have no idea what that Grade's record is, but I have a feeling this mark is VERY special!!

Anthony Zambrano took the Golden Gala 400 in 44.76!
Omar McLeod bettered his Hengelo mark (See above!), running 13.01 for the Golden Gala MR!
And Dina Asher-Smith got a GG Meet Record with her 200 blaster of 22.06!
Add another fast one for JCQ (See above also!!)!
She won the Golden Gala in 12.38, getting the MR in the process!

Femke Bol continues to roll!
She broke her own National Record of the Netherlands in Florence's DL!
Her time of 53.44 beat the 54.19 by Anna Ryzhakova (sp?).
And Ryoto Yamagata got Japan's NR in the 100 with 9.95!

That's all the Running results I have for you today!
But another post with nothing but Field events will follow soon!!

NCAA Championships Preview--WOMEN

 Shoot me!
I was so involved this morning that I forgot this Preview.
The Hammer Throw is done, and some other events have begun, but I promise you this Preview is being done BEFORE I check out the results!!
(Except for the HT, but even there, I'll tell you what I WAS going to say before I knew the outcome!)
Here we go, with the same guidelines as for the Men--I'll name some key names, and say whether I think the Meet Record will fall!

Hammer Throw
We all know the Meet AND Collegiate Record fell to Camryn Rogers.
And yes, I would have said she''d win, with a  60% chance for the MR to fall!
The only person I would have been wrong about was Alyssa Wilson, who ended 10th!!

Pole Vault
Lisa Gunnarsson should win, but she's inconsistent, so her competition has a good chance to upset!
Rachel Baxter, Sydney Horn, Lauren Martinez, and Kayla Smith will be Lisa's key challengers!
The MR is safe!

Javelin Throw
Maria Obst has been steady all season, and is picked to win.
Kaylee Carter and Skyler Ciccolini are ones to watch!
No MR here either!

Long Jump
Tara Davis is one of the LOCKS of the meet, and can get the MR in the process!
I'll give her 80% chance for the MR!
But watch for Tyra Gittens, Deborah Acquah, and Jasmine Moore!

Shot Put
This is a toss-up, witth some new names to key on!
Adelaide Aquilla, Khayla Dawson, and Latavia Maines are relatively new to the Collegiate Elite circle.
Also watch for Laulaga Tausaga and Samantha Noennig.
Give the MR a 25% cchance of falling!

10000
The Men's MR was crushed yesterday, so let's knock this one down too, even though it's just 3 years old!
I'll give Mercy Chelangat and company even odds of taking it down.
That "company" includes Grace Forbes, Katy Izzo, Clare O'Brien, Haley Herberg, Abby Nichols, and Poppy Tank!
Then there's the Home Girl--Carmela Baez--who might be inspired by the fans to move with Chelangat!

Heptathlon
The key question here is how high a score Tyra Gittens gets!
I'm giving her a 75% chance of getting the MR--which is also the Collegiate Record!!
Michelle Atherleey will top 6000, but be maybe 500 points behind Gittens!
Lauren Taubert, Kaylee Hinton, Kristina Blazevica, and Erin Marsh are others to watch!

High Jump
Didn't I just mention Tyra Gittens??
Yes, in my LJ and Hept previews!
Well, put this busy woman here also!
Even give her 60% chance for a new MR!
But Rachel Glenn is chosen by T&FN to win, so give her serious attention!
Add Anna Hall, Lillian Lowe, and Abigail O'Donoghue!

Discus Throw
Is Jorinde van Klinken for real?
Was her 230 CR wind-blown?
YES!!
So give her 100% chance of destroying the MR!!
But watch for Lagi Tausauga, Shanice Love, and Alexandra Emilianov!

4X100 Relay
NO on the MR!
But LSU, USC, and Oregon should battle for the Gold!
Watch for North Carolina A&T and Florida!

1500
This could be THE event of the meet--at least depthwise!
The MR of 4:06.19 is given 60% chance of going down--but that's based on whether it turns strategic or not!
There's no super favorite here, so ALL of the following are ones to watch!
Krissy Gear, Amaris Tyynismaa, Sage Hurta, Julia Heymach, Ella Donaghu, , Whittni Orton, and Christina Aragon!

Triple Jump
The MR of Keturah Orji is given 40% chance of going down.
Give Jasmine Moore, Ruth Usoro,  Deborah Acquah, and Ruta Lasmane a shot at the podium!

3000SC
The MR is also the Collegiate Record, so let's give these women a 40% shot at it!
Courtney Wayment looks like the frontrunner here, but it could be a real fight with Joyce Kimeli, Gabe Jennings, Hannah Steelman, Aneta Konieckczyk, Katie Rainsberger, and Charlotte Prouse!

100H
The biggest question here is whether Tonea Marshall takes down the Collegiate Record!
She's just 0.05 seconds away, and she's been improving all season!!
But Ackera Nugent, Jasmine Jones, Grace Stark, and Anna Cockrell could upset if Marshall falters!

100
This is another tight event!
TT (Twanisha Terry) should be the winner, based on experience and power!
But Tamara Clark, Kemba Nelson, Symone Mason, and season shocker Cambrea Sturgis will strongly challenge!!

400
Her last name is pronounced as MO, not MU!!
Athing MU is given 99% chance of taking out the Meet Record, and similar odds of getting her own Collegiate Record!!
Her teammate Cherokee Young could be within a second of her!(That's NOT close!!)
Also watch for Kaelin Roberts, Stacey Ann Williams, Nastassha McDonald, and Talitha Diggs!

800
This event is also wide open!
But let's give it to Aaliyah Miller!
NOT the MR, just the race!
Watch for Laurie Barton, Michaela Meyer, and Gabrielle Wilkinson!

400H
Give Anna Cockrell the edge for the W.
Absolutely ZERO chance to even come close to the MR!
Brittley Humphrey and Anjanette Knight are two others to key on!

200
Some of the same names as in the 100, but give Cambrea Sturgis the edge this time!
Close--maybe VERY close--should be TT Terry, Brianna Bethel, Tamara Clark, Kynnedy Flannel, Tiana Wilson, Ang Annalus, Anavia Battle, and Favour Ofili!

5000
Mercy Chelangat and Whittni Orton have already run fast times this season!
If they repeat, the MR is in mortal danger!
Give them 60% odds of taking it down!
(I know, I'm reckless with distance predictions!  LOL)
Others to watch for are Elly Henes, Joyce Kimeli, Ella Donaghu, Julia Heymach, and Haley Herberg!

4X400 Relay
Ending the meet will be our maybe last chance to see Athing Mu as a Collegiate athlete!
(I'm thinking going Pro will happen before the Trials, but after she runs the anchor leg here!)
Her 48.5 to 49.5 anchor, however, might not be enough to top USC, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Floida, UCLA, South Carolina, Duke, or Kentucky!

Enjoy the meet, and again, many apologies for this being so late!
I promise you that, aside from the Hammer Throw, I do NOT know what's happened so far!!

See you in a few days!

NCAA Championships Preview--MEN

The first OUTdoor NCAA Championships since 2019 are upon us!
The MEN are featured today and Friday, the WOMEN tomorrow and Saturday!
Except for the Multi's--the Decathlon starts today & ends tomorrow--the Heptathlon begins Friday, and ends Saturday!
Following is a brief preview, giving some key names, and the chances the Meet Record might be broken.
I'll list the events by the order of the Finals!
Only one running final today--the 10000!
And here we go!
(My Women's Preview will follow sometime tonight or early tomorrow!)

Hammer Throw

Thomas Mardal has been the most consistant, but Gleb Dudarev is always around 240!  
Watch for Nate Bultman and Israel Oloyede.
ZERO chance for a Meet Record!

Pole Vault
Zach will win!  You choose whether it's McWhorter or Bradford!
Watch for H Al Hizam and Branson Ellis!
The MR of 19-4.75 gets 20% odds of falling!

Javelin Throw
NO Meet Record, but the winner looks to be Sondri Gudmundsson.
DJ Jonsson has a chance!

Long Jump
This should be the first of 2 Golds for JuVaughn Harrison!
The 28-0 MR has 40-60 odds of going!
Corey McLeod, Steffin McCarter, and Rayvon Allen have a slim chance for an upset!

Shot Put
This mightt be the first of 2 Wins also--for Turner Washington!
Matt Katnik, Jordan Geist, and Tripp Piperi have a bit of a shot (Sic!)!
No Meet Record!

10000
Will Wesley Kiptoo take it out in his usual insane manner?
Is Conner Mantz too hot to beat?
Abdi Nur and Edwin Kurgat also should be in the mix!
The 1979 (!!) MR of 28:01.3 CAN fall--unless it's a strategic race!
Even then, it should go--especially with Kiptoo in the race!

Decathlon
The venerable Ashton Eaton's MR is 8457--or 27 points less than Karel Tilga's recent 8484!!
But can he do it again, just weeks later?
I'll give him an 80% chance!
Ayden Owens and Markus Ballinger are good for 8000 points!

High Jump
Harrison should get this one--but the MR of 7-9.75 is far less certain!
Give him 25% odds!
Tejaswin Shankar and Darryl Sullivan might get closer than we think!

Discus Throw
The MR is 215-8, and has a GREAT chance at going down!
The man to do it is Turner Washington!
But 2 guys have recent marks (from the Prelims) which should scare Washington!
They are Francais Prinsloo and Claudio Romero!

4 X 100 Relay
People are already handing the Gold to North Carolina A&T!
But don't take your eyes off LSU, Texas A&M, Houston, Georgia, or Florida State!
Also keep an eye on that damn baton--that's the key!!

1500
Oh man!
This could be the best RACE of the meet!!
You have TWO men who have run SOLO times that are either the Collegiate Record (Yared Nuguse). or come close (Eliud Kipsang).
Then you have the best KICKER in Cole Hocker!
Add Kaleed Suliman and James West, and the race is ON!
The Meet Record of 3:35.30 is 40 years old!!

Triple Jump
This event is pretty much open-ended!
Toss a coin between Cheng Mapaya, O'Brien Wasome, Jordan Scott (a slight favorite!) and Emmanuel Ikemeje!
ZERO chance for a MR!

3000SC
No real favorites here either!

This event has the oldest MR--Henry Rono's 8:12.4 from 1978!
Probably will be here 40 years from now!!
Fitsum Seyoum MIGHT get the nod, but not really!
Watch for Ahmed Jaziri and Ryan Daunton!

110H
Jack Dunning is a virtual lock!
But Daniel Roberts's 13.06 MR is safe!
Eric Edwards, Jaylan McConnico, and Damian Thomas will challenge.

100
Another event to challenge for Best of the Meet!
Joseph Fahnbullah, Matthew Boling, Micah Williams, and Terrance Laird could require a photo to see who wins!
Hope the wind is legal.
If it is, Christian Coleman's MR of 9.82 is in danger!
Add JuVaughn Martin and Shaun Maswanganiyi, and you've got yourself a roaring salad!

400
Randolph Ross, Noah Williams, Bryce Deadmon, and Trevor Stewart are considered the favorites.
The MR of 43.61 gets 5% chance of going down!
Watch for Johnnie Blockburger as a possible surprise!
Add Jacory Patterson and Dwight St Hillaire to your watchlist!

800.
The MR should be safe!
Track & Field News picks Isaiah Jewett to win!
But I'm going with Brandon Miller.
He's PR'ed a few times this season, and has been a star since he was a HS Frosh!
Kameron Jones and Festus Lagat are ones to watch!
Devin Dixon SHOULD be a favorite for the podium, but he's been out of the picture for a couple of years!

400H
Why don't "experts" see Sean Burrell as the overwhelming favorite here?
Most say it's his technique--or lack thereof!
Yet he's fast over the flat 400--especially in Relays!
(Rai Benjamin's MR is VERY safe!!)
M Mpoke and Isaiah Levingston are the ones to chase Burrell, and maybe beat him!

200
It would be very easy for me to tell you to "See the 100 Preview above!", and let it go at that!
Because it's very likely we'll see the front line being Laird, Boling, Fahnbullah, and Maswanyaniyi again!
Add Lance Lang to the mix!
Who will come off the curve in front--and can "he" stay there??
Give the 19.73 MR even odds of falling!
And watch the wind gauge!

5000
Strategic vs Time Trial--which will it be?
Cooper Teare and Duck teammate Cole Hocker CAN get the MR of 13:18.36!!
And even in that strategic race, it could still happen!
They are that good!
If they won't lead, look for the "rabbit" to be Wesley Kiptoo!
Pat Dever, Luis Grijalva, and maybe Casey Clinger are ones to keep half an eye on!!

4 X 400 Relay
As it SHOULD, the meet (for the Men!) could end with a Meet AND Collegiate Record!!
(They're the same!)
North Carolina A&T came within 0.21 seconds of tying the CR recently!
The Usual Suspects--LSU, USC, Texas A&M, Texas, and Kenticky could challenge--for the lower rungs of the podium!

As noted at the onset, my Women's Preview will be posted before their meet starts tomorrow!

Enjoy the meet, and see you soon!

NCAA: Are Regionals Necessary?

My title asks a question many serious T&F fans have been asking since their inception.
All they do is save the NCAA Championships viewers and attendees from sitting through early rounds of races, and qualifying flights of field events!
While some great marks come from them, it means fans in Eugene will be deprived of seeing these early marks!
But this blog is here to report all quality records and marks, no matter which meet they come from!
I'll divide this report by sex, not by region!
Also divided by event!

MEN--100, 200, 400
Trevor Stewart ran the 400 in 44.55, with an earlier 44.59.
After a 44.86, Randolph Ross ran his 400 in 44.63!
Micah Williams sped the 100 in 10.00.
Bryce Deadmon ran his one lap in 44.57!

WOMEN--100, 200, 400
Athing Mu showed she's Olympic 400 material by breaking the Collegiate Record with her 2nd round 49.68!
She also gets the Frosh Class Record, and is ranked 16th A-T US!
This was after a 1st round 50.07!

Twanisha Terry sped a Century in 10.89, making her 4th A-T Collegiate!
Her earlier round was a 10.99.
Kemba Nelson ran 10.98, making her 15th A-T Collegiate, tied with 3 others!
Cambrea Sturgis was a bit of a surprise, running 10.92--after an 11.01 first round!
The 10.92 gives her the Soph Class Record, and ranks her 5th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!
Tamara Clark ran 10.98!

Clark also ran the 200 in 22.13, making her 4th A-T Collegiate!
Sturgis added a 200 in 22.26, making her 14th A-T collegiate, tied with 1 other!
Anavia Battle's 22.28 makes her 16th A-T Collegiate!
Favour Ofili's 22.30 makes her 19th A-T Collegiate!!
TT Terry added a 200 of 22.54!

Stacey Williams was the fastest 400 runner after Mu, her 50.34 making her 11th A-T Collegiate!
Other good 400 times were the 51.03 of Natassha McDonald, and the 51.04 of Talitha Diggs!

MEN--110H and 400H
Robert Dunning sped the 110H in 13.24, making him 12th A-T Collegiate!
Sean Burrell did the one lap with hurdles in 48.86!
But Isaiah Levingston was faster, his best being 48.58!

WOMEN--100H
Tonea Marshall is an LSU athlete.
Her latest PR was 12.44, just 0.01 off the venerable school record of Lolo Jones!
It's also the Senior Class Record!
She's 4th A-T Collegiate, and 13th A-T US, tied with 1 other!
Achera Nugent surprised with her 12.76!

BTW, there were no 400H times worth reporting on the Women's side!!
Ditto with the 5000's, 10000's, and 3000SC's for both sexes--with one exception!

MEN--4X100 and 4X400 Relays
North Carolina A&T ran 38.54, with Georgia close behind in 38.57!
This makes the Bulldogs 14th A-T School!
Florida State ran 38.67, and LSU finished in 38.85!

NC A&T scared the Collegiate Record with their 2:59.21!
They'll have another shot at it in Eugene!!
It makes them 3rd A-T School!
LSU ran 3:02.14.
USC's time was 3:02.85, while Texas A&M ran 3:03.12!

WOMEN--4X100 and 4X400 Relays
LSU's 42.63 led the way in the short Relay.
They beat NC A&T's 42.92.
The latter becomes 12th A-T School!
Alabama added a time of 42.97, while Florida State ran 42.99!

USC ran 42.88, while the Oregon Ducks hit the line in 42.94.
With Athing Mu anchoring in 50.07, Texas A&M's Women led the longer relay with 3:25.84!
USC ran 3:26.37.
Arkansas hit 3:27.58!
UCLA was timed in 3:28.70, while Texas ran 3:29.49!

Florida ran 3:27.51.
Alabama ran 3:28.23!
South Carolina ran 3:29.15, but it was Duke's 3:29.19 which made them 23rd A-T School!
Add in LSU's 3:28.84!!

MEN--800, 1500
The new Collegiate Record holder in the 1500--Yared Nuguse--ran 3:36.85 to reserve a spot in Eugene.
But Eliud Kipsang--after a 3:37.17 first round, sped his 1500 in 3:35.49!
This breaks his own Frosh Class Record, and makes him 4th A-T Collegiate!

Brandon Miller keeps improving over 800 meters!
He was fastest of all with a 1:45.57!
Isaiah Jewett was close with1:45.66!
Cole Hocker cruised & kicked to a 1500 in 3:38.29!

WOMEN--800 and 1500
Michaela Meyer PR'ed in the 800 in 2:00.40, making her 9th A-T Collegiate!
Amaris Tyynismaa ran 4:09.48 over 1500 meters!
She ranks 17th A-T Collegiate!
She opened in 4:11.45!

Julia Heymach almost matched the former Middle School star with her 4:09.89!
She barely beat Krissy Gear's 4:10.09 and Whittni Orton's 4:10.18!

That one longer distance exception I mentioned earlier was Gabrielle Jennings's 3000SC time of 9:40.53.
This makes her 17th A-T Collegiate!

MEN--Field Events
Despite this being just the Q round, a good Discus Throw battle was had on the Men's side!
Francois Prinsloo shocked with 216-0, giving him the Frosh Class Record.
He beat another Frosh--Claudio Romero, who hit 215-10!
Prinsloo ranks 11th A-T Collegiate, while Romero ranks 12th A-T Collegiate!

Sindri Gudmundsson threw his Javelin 261-3.
Turner Washington had a solid SP & DT double, hitting 68-0.50 and 212-10!
Emmanuel Ikemele TJ'ed 55-8.50!

WOMEN--Field Events
Jorinde Van Klinken was nowhere near her new Collegiate Record in the Discus of 230-4!
But she didn't need to be, so her 211-5 isn't anything to worry about!
That made Lagi Tausaga's PR of 207-7 look a bit better!
It makes her 9th A-T Collegiate, and 14th A-T US, tied with 1 other!

Camryn Rogers hit 236-9 in the HT!
Alyssa Wilson's best was 227-4!
Adelaide Aquilla threw the Shot 60-11.50.
Shanice Love had a DT of 200-10!
And Autavia Fluker's HT measured 229-9, which made her 14th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!

The missing events, or the ones with small amounts of marks, scream that the idea of having Regionals is wrong, and unfair to HJ'ers, PV'ers, and others with no opportunity or reason to fully display their talents!!

Well, onward to the Big Show in just over 130 hours!!
See you soon!

Doha DL Return to Form

 The return to the 2019 World Championships city was all the medicine it took to bring the wounded Diamond League system back to form!

Rai Benjamin toured a lap with hurdles in 47.38, getting the Meet Record.
Brazil's National Record was broken again by Alison Dos Santos, who is proving a consistent giant of the event!
His 47.57 makes him 22nd A-T World.
Kyron McMaster was 3rd in 47.82!

In the absence of Sha'Carri Richardson (a DNS), Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce took control, and took just 10.84 to cross the finish line!
Blessing Okagbare was 2nd in 10.90!
Tim Cheruiyot brought the 1500 World Lead down to 3:30.48!
Stew McGregor (3:31.57) and Soufiane El Bakkali (3:31.95) followed!

Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris both cleared 15-10.50 in the PV, with Nageotte getting the W.
Both claimed ties of the Meet Record!
Holly Bradshaw, Tina Sutej, Kat Stefanidi, and Iryna Zhuk all went over 15-6.50, placing in that order!
Zhuk gets the Belarus NR also!
Anzhelika Sidorova was 7th with 15-2.75!

Yulimar Rojas TJ'ed 49-8.50, beating Shaneika Ricketts (49-1.75), and Kim Williams (48-2.50).
In 5th came Keturah Orji's 47-1.75!
Michael Norman won the 400 in 44.27.
Anthony Zambrano ran 44.57 to beat 3rd placer Fred Kerley, who ended in 44.60.
Kenny Bednarek edged Andre De Grasse, 19.88 to 19.89!
Justin Gatlin's 20.49 only gave him 5th, but that time makes him the Age 39 Record holder!!

The Women's 3000SC saw Norah Tanui winning in 9:00.67.
Makalis Demewez (sp??) got Ethiopia's NR with her 9:02.52.
She's 9th A-T World!
Winfred Yavi was 3rd with 9:02.64.
She's 10th A-T World!
Hyvin Kiyeng fell over the final water jump, ending 4th in 9:07.58!
Emma Coburn opened her Steeple season with 9:08.22 in 5th.
M Mismas-Zrimsek was 6th in Slovenia's NR time of 9:16.82!

Beatrice Chebet (8:27.49), Margaret Kipkemboi (8:28.27), and Lillian Rengeruk (8:28.96) took the podium spots in the flat 3K!
Wycliffe Kinyamel won the 800 in 1:43.91.
The Women's race went to Faith Kipyegon in 1:58.26.
Natoya Goule was 2nd in 1:59.70.
Femi Ogunode won a 100 race there in 10.00.

Armin Sinancevic took the SP with his 71-9.50.
Tom Walsh threw just 70-11.75 in 2nd!
I won't explain what the WA did with the throws--it's too bizarre!!
Suffice to say, it was Valerie Allman who won the DT with her 215-1!
And the Home Hero--Mutaz Barshim--HJ'ed 7-6.50, but lost to the 7-7.75 of Ilya Ivanyuk!

The Women broke all but 1 of the Distance Meet Records at the Portland Track Festival!
But the Men had the flashiest result!

High School Senior Hobbs Kessler destroyed the HSR in the 1500 meters with his amazing 3:34.36.
The fact he ended in 5th place merely reminds me I was there when Alan Webb set the Mile and 1500 HSR's in 2001 at the Pre Classic, but ended in 5th also!!
Craig Engels PR'ed in 3:33.64 to take the win.
This makes him 17th A-T US!
A pair of Brits were next--Charlie Grice in 3:33.91, and Jake Heyward in 3:33.99!
Henry Wynne also PR'ed--time of 3:34.08.

Then, at the end of a blazing last 400, Kessler crossed the line to instant fame and adulation!
He gets the HSR, the Senior Class Record, but misses the US list by 0.25 seconds!
Lots of speculation in the past few days about his chances to go to Tokyo in a few weeks!

The deepest field goes to the Women's 800, where two women went sub-2:00 for the first time!
Canada's Gabby Stafford won it in 1:58.70.
Sabrina Southerland ran 1:58.82 in 2nd.
Kate Grace and Chanelle Price followed in 1:59.04 and 1:59.12.
Cory McGee followed in 1:59.17.
Then came Raevyn Rogers in 1:59.72.
Ms's Southerland and McGee, Welcome to the 1:59 club!!

MR's also went to Courtney Frerichs, Elise Cranny, and Jessica Hull!
Frerichs's time in the 3000SC was 9:21.13.
Val Constien was 2nd in a fine 9:25.53, making her 10th A-T US!
Great Britain's Lizzie Bird was 3rd in 9:26.73.
Veteran Mel Lawrence was 4th in 9:27.34, making her 11th A-T US!
Sara Vaughn PR'ed with her 5th place time of 9:38.52!

Cranny's 4:02.62 makes her 20th A-T US!
Dani Jones PR'ed with her 4:04.26 in 2nd!
Hull's 14:57.00 won the 5000, but not by much!
Andrea Seccefien was next in 14:57.07, with fellow Canadian Julie Ann Staehli timing 14:57.50!
Karissa Schweizer--she of 14:26.34 fame--could end only 4th in 15:00.44!
The only Men's Meet Record fell to Suguru Osako's 27:56.44!
In fourth came Galen Rupp in 28:00.37!
No MR in the Women's 10K, however, as Caroline Kipkirui won it in 31:44.06!
Molly Seidel took 3rd in a PR of 32:02.19.
She's on the Marathon team for Tokyo!

More from PTF--
Donovan Brazier won the 800 in 1:45.09!
Matthew Centrowitz was 5th in 1:46.23!
Mason Ferlic kept steady with his 3000SC win in 8:18.79!
Bernard Keter took 2nd in 8:20.46, followed by neophyte Sean McGorty in 8:22.75!
Grant Fisher took the fast heat of the 5000 in 13:19.52.
Woody Kincaid was a few seconds back in 13:24.65!
Lopez Lomong was slower--13:26.11--but he won his section!

Chula Vista was the site of the USATF Field Festival!
Jeff Henderson took the LJ with 27-6.50!
Marquis Dendy and Corey Crawford both reached 27-2.50, with Dendy taking 2nd!
Esa Brume got Nigeria's National Record with her 23-6.25!
She ranks 22nd A-T World, tied with 2 others!
Brittney Reese's best measured 23-3.50, but it was wind aided!
Her best legal effort was 22-5.
Chantel Malone's best was 23-2.50!
Rudy Winkler led some solid HT'ers with his 258-5!
Alex Young's PR of 256-11 makes him 11th A-T US!
Sean Donnelly threw 252-7!

But check this out, Field fans--
Vashti Cunningham took over the World Lead in the HJ, clearing 6-7.50 (2.02).
She is ranked 4th A-T US!
And she's just one half inch off the World list!!
Jelena Rowe was 2nd with 6-4!

And then there's Maggie Malone!!
On fire all season, she blasted the spear out 219-3, an American Record by 7 inches!
Liz Gleadle was far back with a good 207-9!

The venerable Gotzis Multi's saw Damian Warner take a very serious shot at 9000 points, missing only because his JT was a bit sub-par!
But his 8995 final score won the meet by 461 points over the 8534 of fellow Canadian Pierce LePage!!
Warner got the Age 31 Record, as well as breaking his own NR by 200 points!
He leapt 27-2 in his LJ, taking over another Canada NR!!
Thomas Van der Plaetzen's 8430 took 3rd!
Vitali Zhuk scored 8331 in 4th!

The Heptathlon went to Xenia Krizsan's 6651, the new National Record of Hungary!
It broke her own mark!
Anouk Vetter took 2nd with 6536 points.
Kendell Williams was 3rd with 6383!
Erica Bougard was a DNF!!

Other Records & Marks--
Johannes Vetter blew his Javelin 315-11 across the field!
This breaks his own Germany NR (broken earlier in his series with a 309-2), and is of course the World Leader!
Pawel Fajdek got off a solid HT, his 272-3 leading the World!
Christina Hussong threw 227-0, making her 8th A-T World!

Daniel Stahl threw his Discus 226-9, but he lost to Simon Pettersen's 227-11.
But he made up for that by winning another meet with 228-8!
It was during this series that he fouled a throw measuring 242-2, or 73.83!
The WR is 74.08, or 243-0!
No one--not even Stahl--has come so close to this mark in this century!!
How bad was the foul?
The video shows he stepped outside the ring by maybe 6 to 8 inches!
Think of a LJ measuring, say, 29-3, in which the Jumper steps maybe 6 inches over the plasticine!
Or a Women's 10.60 in the 100, but with a wind of 2.2!
Can he get the World Record?
That foul says--maybe!

In Cuba, L Povea TJ'ed 48-11.75, less than 3 inches removed from my World list!
She  went 48-10 in another meet!
Teen Leyanis Perez reached 47-6.25 in 2nd!
Jordan Diaz TJ'ed 57-3.50!
Andy Diaz went out 56-4.75!
Yaime Perez's DT sailed 226-4!
In Georgia, Katie Nageotte took over the World Lead in the PV, clearing 16-2!
She gets the Age 29 Record.
She ranks 5th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
She ranks 2nd A-T US, tied with 1 other!
Roberta Bruni PV'ed 15-5, getting Italy's NR!

The PV had to be moved INdoors because of bad weather, so make sure you note Chris Nilsen's 19-4.25 is an INdoor mark!
So is Kyle Pater's 2nd place mark of 19-0.25!

Rachel McCoy HJ'ed 6-5, making her 14th A-T US, tied with 4 others!
Maykal Masso LJ'ed 27-6.50.
Daniel Jasinski threw the Discus 221-4 in Germany!
Fanny Roos broke her own National Record of Sweden in the SP with 63-4!
Remember Jarrion Lawson?
Looks like he's back, as measured by his 27-0.75 LJ in Georgia!

Femke Bol continues to rock and roll!
She broke the Netherlands NR in the 400 with her 50.56!
Purity Rionoripu won the Prague Marathon in 2:20:14!
In Botswana, Isaac Makwala took the double, his 200 and 400 wins coming in 20.15 and 44.65!
Gift Leotlefa won a South Africa 100 in 9.94!

Emily Sisson cruised a 5000 in Massachusetts in 14:59.12.
But what happened to Molly Huddle, who was far back in 5th with 15:24.12??

Finally, on the HS front--besides Hobbs Kessler's HSR!!--
Paige Sommers broke her own HSR in the Pole Vault by clearing 14-9, adding half an inch to her OUTdoor best!

Logan Coles threw the Hammer 235-0, ranking him 19th A-T HS!
And then there's Jaylen Slade, who gets the Junior Class Record with his 10.09.
This ranks him 4th A-T HS, tied with 1 other!

I'll try to have my report on the NCAA Regionals up in a few hours!
Until then...!!

DL Fail, Buried Under "Other News"

 The initial Diamond League gathering of the 2021 season was an utter failure!
While lousy weather was mostly to blame, Gateshead proved you can't plan for good things to happen, but instead have to go with the flow, ride the tide, take what you can get when you can get it!
Luckily for this Records & Marks person, enough flowing, riding, and taking happened in other venues to make us forget Gateshead even happened!

There was Ostrava!
Where Jacob Kiplimo stepped off a 13:27 5000!
But he didn't stop, and in fact ran a second 5000 in 13:06.
Add those together, and his time of 26:33.53 gives him the Age 20 Record, and makes him 7th A-T World!
On my Combined Events list for the 3000, 5000, and 10000, his times of 7:26.64, 12:48.63, and 26:33.33 adds to 46:48.60, ranking him 4th A-T World!
In the 5000 & 10000 C-E, his times add to 39:21.96, making him 5th A-T World!
Birhanu Belew took 2nd with 27:07.49!
That's Bahrain's National Record!

Mondo & Sam put on a good performance, with Duplantis PV'ing 19-4.25 to top Kendricks's 19-2.25!
Getnet Wale took the World Lead in the 3000SC with his 8:09.47!
The day before his 19th birthday, GB's Max Burgin won the 800 in 1:44.14, the World Leader!
Another teen, Keely Hodgkinson, took the Women's 2 lapper with her PR of 1:58.89!
She beat Diriba Walteji's 1:59.79!
Johannes Vetter made a play for Athlete of the Year with yet another monster Javelin Throw!
His 309-1 is the Ostrava MR, and gives him the Age 28 Record also!

The fastest Marathon of the year was run by Titus Ikiru of Kenya in Italy.
His 2:02:57 gives him the Age 29 Record, and makes him 5th A-T World, tied with 1 other!
Reuben Kipyego's 2:03:55 in 2nd makes him 21st A-T World!
Hiwot Gebrekidan won the Women's race with the first sub-2:20 of the year!
Her 2:19:35 is just 4 seconds removed from my World list!

A pair of Throws meets held annually in Tucson threw out some remarkable marks!
They could be termed twin meets, since basically the same set of athletes compete in both, and they're separated by one day!

In the first, Jorinde van Klinken broke the Netherlands National Record in the DT with her 216-4!
Some still feel Ria Stalman held that record at over 233 feet, but many years after throwing that, she admitted to doping during that period, so the Netherlands federation stripped her of the NR!
This was an 11 foot PR for van Klinken over her recent win in the PAC-12 Conference!
And it made her 2nd A-T Collegiate!
Rachel Dincoff's 211-4 in 2nd makes her 14th A-T US!

A couple of NR's fell in the Women's Hammer Throw!
Lauren Bruce got New Zealand's NR with her 244-9 winner!
Annette Echikenwoke's 242-6 gave her Nigeria's NR!

Ryan Crouser threw what's fast becoming an "average" throw for him--74-1.75!!
He beat Tom Walsh's 71-2.75!
But Ryan decided to put it all out there (Pardon the pun!) in the 2nd meet!
His ginormous 75-6 took him to very intimate contact with the 1 or 2 marks ahead of him!
I say "1 or 2" because Randy Barnes's "WR" of 75-10.25 from 1990 is felt to be drug-induced, and thus illegal!
But it's still listed as the WR, and this blog accepts it!
Ulf Timmermann has the next best mark with his 75-8!
Thus Crouser is ranked 3rd A-T World on my list, and 2nd A-T US!
He does get the Age 28 Record!
Joe Kovacs took 2nd with his 72-3.75!
Darrell Hill (71-9.50), and Tom Walsh (70-4.25) followed!

The Men's Hammer Throw saw some list changes between the two meets!
Daniel Haugh took the opener with 257-11, making him 9th A-T US!
Sean Donnelly reached 253-0!
But in the next meet, those balls and chains really flew!

Rudy Winkler got his out to 267-2, winning by over 7 feet!
But Donnelly PR'ed with a 260-1, making him 6th A-T US!
Haugh's 259-3 makes him 10th A-T US!
Alex Young improved to 252-10, making him 13th A-T US!
And Brock Eager's 248-10 makes him 17th A-T US!

Alex Rose made his last round count, his 6th round DT of 221-4 giving him the National Record of Samoa!
It wasn't a throwing event, but the HJ's gave these meets some added spice!
Shelby McEwen cleared 7-7.75 in the first to make him 21st A-T US, tied with a mere 7 others!
Vashti Cunningham had some company in the 2nd meet, but she prevailed with 6-6.25!
Jelena Rowe PR'ed with 6-5, making her 14th A-T US, tied with 3 others!
Rachel McCoy cleared 6-4 in 3rd!

But the real shocker came from the 21 year old Dutch woman, Jorinde van Klinken!
Remember, she had already PR'ed in the Conference meet with 205 plus!
Then reached 216-4!
And now, she's suddenly the World Leader, her massive 230-4 obliterating her new NR, and the 40 year old Collegiate Record of Meg Ritchie, dating back to 1981.
Ritchie had been around 29 when she set that record!!
Critics say the wind (One described it as a "hurricane"!) made the record cheap!
Bullshit!!
In recent years, only Sandra Perkovic has topped 230 feet!!
We'll have to wait and see whether a "windless" day will limit van Klinken, and by how much!!
But she is now a very serious contender for the podium in Tokyo!!
BTW, she also gets the Junior Class Record!
She's less than two feet removed from my World list!!
In 2nd was another rising star, the former Kansas U Jamaican, Shadae Lawrence!
Her 219-11 gave her Jamaica's NR!
Kelsey Card showed she might be returning to form with her 207-3 in 3rd!

In a meet in Spain, Yulimar Rojas came so close to the WR, many are now saying they're ready to hand it to her!
Her TJ off 50-7.50 (15.43) looked easy in the video I saw!
It gives her the Age 25 Record, breaks her own Venezuela NR, and makes her 2nd A-T World!
Ana Peletier was far back, hitting 46-6 in 3rd!

Unless I'm reporting a HS only meet, I normally wait until the end to mention good HS marks!
But at the New York meet, some HS'ers rose above and beyond!
Sifan Hassan had defeated Nikki Hiltz in the Pro 800, running 2:01.52.
Hiltz was also under 2:02.

But then they had a B race.
Three HS girls ran, trying for a Trials Q time!
There were older women in the race, but kicking hard off the final turn, Roisin Willis galloped to a fantastic 2:00.78, making the Junior 4th A-T HS!
Second went to another HS Junior, Juliette Whittaker, whose 2:01.34 makes her 8th A-T HS!
Sophia Gorriarian--who was seen as the favorite by some among the trio, ended in 5th with a still good 2:02.93!

I'll group the remainder by event, as I've been known to do lately!!

Sprints & Hurdles
Ostrava saw Fred Kerley beat the Super Vet Justin Gatlin in the 100, 9.96 to 10.08 at Ostrava.
Kenny Bednarek is proving very consistently fast, winning Ostrava's 200 in 19.93.
Kirani James took the 400 in 44.74!
In her first ever European race, Sha'Carri Richardson got the Ostrava Meet Record winning in 22.35 over 200 meters!
At the USATF Open in Fort Worth, Allyson Felix showed she still has steam by cruising a 400 in 50.88.
The Age 35 record is 50.14!
Mike Cherry was fast there also, hitting the line in 44.37, his best ever!
At the adidas Boost Games, on an elevated track laid out along Boylston Street in Boston, Isaiah Young won the 100 in 9.94!
In a separate race, HS PRO Erriyon Knighton set HS PRO Records for his 10.16, also getting the HS PRO Soph Class Record!
Races over 150 meters were run, with Jereem Richards and Lynna Irby winning with times of 14.75 and 16.53!
Other times from Boston were--
Jerome Blake taking the straight 200 in 19.89!
Alison Dos Santos taking the 200H in 22.12.
Aleia Hobbs winning the 100 in 11.05!
Grant Holloway cruising to 13.20 in the 110H!
Kendra Harrison running the 100H in 12.49.
And Shaunae Miller-Uibo taking the 200 in 22.08!

Finally, Marileidy Paulino broke her own National Record of the Dominican Republic with her 50.25!
This was in Spain!

Throws
Those meets in Tucson saw a good group of female Americans in the Hammer Throw!
Gwen Berry won it with 251-11.
Brooke Andersen was 2nd with 250-6, followed by DeAnna Price with 248-11.
Janee Kassanavoid reached 247-8, making her 5th A-T US!
Annette Echikenwoke also threw 247-8 in 5th, breaking her own National Record of Nigeria!

Maggie Malone got a Javelin Throw PR with her 209-4.
This makes her 4th A-T US!
Ariana Ince was 2nd with 202-3!

Felip Miheljevic had a SP win in Ostrava with 70-9.75!
The top 2 Polish Women HT'ers are slowly getting in shape.
Malwina Kapron beat Anita Wlodarczyk, 245-2 to 238-7, although Wlodarczyk took just 3rd place!
Christin Hussong had a pair of good meets, reaching first 218-4, then 219-8 in the JT!
Michal Haratyk had a SP of 72-9 in Poland!
Clemens Prufer threw the Discus 221-2 in Germany!

Rudy Winkler preceded his bigger HT (See above!) with a 261-5 in Texas.
Maggie Malone also showed earlier progress, her JT reaching a then-PR of 205-8, which then made her 5th A-T US!
Fedrick Dacres won the DT at the first Tucson meet with 216-3.
Jessica Woodard PR'ed in the SP in Tucson with 62-3-75, making her 17th A-T US!
Woodard also won the other Tucson meet with a lesser toss of 61-10.25!
She beat Jessica Ramsey's 61-1.50!
Curtis Thompson took the JT with his 267-2!

In Austria, Lukas Weidheldinger won the DT with a solid 224-6!
Johannes Vetter had another JT of 305-9 in Germany.
Pawel Fajdek won a HT competition in Spain with a good 267-9!
He beat the 260-11 of Wojcieck Nowicki!
In Germany, Bob Bertemes won a SP with 71-2.75!
Finally, on the HS scene, Katelyn Fairchild threw the Javelin 175-4, making her 9th A-T HS!!

Other News (from my title!)
Marcin Lewandowski won the Ostrava 1500 in 3:35.67!
Saying he would chase the legendary WR of Daniel Komen in the 3000 meters (7:20.67), Josh Cheptegei came up way short, but still winning in 7:33.24!
Paul Chelimo's 7:41.69 took a far back 2nd!

Hughes Zango continues to dominate the Men's TJ, reaching 56-05.25!
(BTW, you probably already know that Christian Taylor will NOT be going to Tokyo, as he's recovering from surgery!)

At the Trials of Miles in NYC, where those HS girls ran those fast times reported above, we also saw the following--
Alexina Wilson PR'ed in the 3000SC, her 9:32.69 ranking her 20th A-T US!
In the 1500, Danielle Aragon won it in 4:07.66!
Mary Cain was entered in that race, but DNS'ed at the last minute!
She'll be doing some commentary for a meet featuring distances this weekend!!
Hoping she'll provide some insight into what's happening with her!
This was the first meet she would have run since the 2020 INdoor season!

That Boston meet held a pair of Road 600's!!
On a straight course!
Winners were Marco Arop in 1:15, and Natoya Goule in a really quick 1:24!
She beat the 1:26's of the Wilson's, Ajee and Allie!!

In Spain, Lemlem Hailu took the 5000 in 15:02.27!
In 2nd was Genzebe Dibaba in her first completed race of 2021.
Her time was 15:09.61!

Okay, my friends, what to say about that Gateshead Diamond League meet?
I will grant you the weather--namely strong winds blowing AGAINST runners during most of the sprint races--was the main reason I'm calling the meet a "fail"!
Readers of this blog over the past 7 years know I'm not a big fan of the entire DL concept!
Running for wins and points (and money!) derail serious attempts at fast times in most cases!
These meets--or many of them--were once highly popular and respected Invitationals!
World Records and other super incredible marks came from those Invites!!
Stands were packed, and top stars begged to be included!
They had a spectacular history!

Then the old IAAF (now WA) got the idea to make this a series of meets in which to gain points towards winning the final ultimate prize!
Bye bye to WR's and list-making marks!
Hello to strategic races!
Field events were also affected, but more from exclusion than less than top tier performances!
The Hammer Throw and the 10000 had to find other venues, other meets!

Suffice to say, I see the failure of the Gateshead DL due more to its very concept than the awful weather!
Would I feel differently if the meet had been held elsewhere, or with better conditions?
Yes and no.
I think the sprints would have seen more normal results!
But the points and wins idea would still prevail!

That said, I'll take a brief look at what DID occur there!
In the most anticipated match-up, Dina Asher-Smith won a loaded Women's 100 in 11.35, AGAINST a wind of 3.1.
She beat Sha'Carri Richardson, who ran 11.44.
One observer said he thought Richardson eased up halfway through, and he thinks she might have felt something amiss!
She later dropped out of the upcoming Doha field!
Sam Kendricks and Mondo Duplantis were limited in the PV to 18-10 and 18-2.50, respectively!
Kenny Bednarek fought against a wind of 3.0 to run the 200 in 20.35!
It didn't affect distance runners as much!
Jakob Ingebrigtsen took the 1500 in 3:36 and change, and Mohamed Katir won the 5000 in 13:08.52!
One DL down, and who cares how many to go!!

Before I go, we need to honor a iconic athlete from over 50 years ago!
Lee Evans died at the age of 74 a few days ago!
He won Gold Medals in the Olympics, set World Record both INdoors and OUTdoors!
His powerful posture took him over dirt and wood tracks faster than anyone before him!
Legendary was his INdoor rivalry over 600 yards with Martin McGrady!
His 43.86 (beating the 43.97 of Larry James) saw the 43's enter the World 400 meter picture in a big way!
He spent many years coaching and living in Nigeria!
He is greatly missed!

See you in a few days with NCAA Regionals results and other goodies!

SEC, PAC-12, Track Meet & More

 With 17 pages of notes, we need to get down to it!
Because of the volume of material, I'll divide it into event groups again!

100, 200, 400
Trayvon Bromell won the Track Meet in Irvine CA with ease, time of 9.92.
Lamont Jacobs ran 9.95 in Italy for the National Record!
Dina Asher-Smith opened her season with a 200 in 22.56.
Terrance Laird doubled at the SEC with 19.82 in the 200, and a windy (3.2) 9.80 in the Century!
The 200 is the SEC Meet Record.
Joseph Fahnbullah ended 2nd in 20.05, but had company!
Matt Boling and Lance Lang took 3rd and 4th, both in 20.06!

Noah Williams took a loaded SEC 400 in 44.37.
Bryce Deadmon PR'ed in 44.50 for 2nd.
He ranks 19th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!
Elijah Godwin ran 44.61 in 3rd!
Kendell Ellis ran 50.30 to take the Track Meet 400!

Anavia Battle won the Big 10 200 in 22.54!
Kynnedy Flannel outdid Battle in the Big 12 with 22.47!
That was in her heat!
She won the final in 22.66!
Twanisha Terry took a double at PAC-12, with 11.10 and 22.72!
She had strong winds, but Tamara Clark impressed at the SEC with 10.87 (2.7) and 21.89 (4.1)!

And saving the best for last, we loved seeing Athing Mu's performances at SEC!
She opened with 50.04 in her heat!
She followed with 49.84 in the final.
And ended with a relay leg of 49.96!
(See below for the Relays!)
The 49.84 is the Meet Record, and ranks her 3rd A-T Collegiate!
She's 14th A-T US, tied with 2 others.
In the US Combined Events for the 400 & 800, her times of 49.84 and 1:57.73 adds to 2:47.57.
She's 2nd A-T US here!
Natassha McDonald took 2nd in the final with a good 50.91.

800, 1000, 1500, Mile
Centro is back!
Matthew Centrowicz had begun the year slow, but after using a 54.23 last 400 to finish his 3:35.26 winner at the Track Meet, I'd say he's on the way to Tokyo!
GB's Kate Snowden took the Track Meet's 1500 in 4:02.98.
Kate Grace ran 4:03.54 in 2nd, with Jessica Hull next in 4:04.16.
Melissa Bishop-Nriagu was 5th in 4:04.42!
But Shannon Rowbury needs work after an 11th place finish in 4:09.70!

A good 800 saw Laura Muir win the Track Meet in 1:58.71.
Allie Wilson continued progressing with 1:59.68 in 2nd!
Elle Purrier tip-toed into the 1:59's with 1:59.99 in 5th!
Her 1:59.99 and 3:58.36 adds to 5:58.35 for 7th A-T US on my Combined Events list!
Jesus Gomez of Spain ran the 1000 in 2:15.99!
Mohamed Katir won the 1500 in 3:33.62, beating the 3:34.24 of Aldi Saaed!

Yared Nuguse used his heat at the ACC to take down the Collegiate Record in the 1500!
His 3:34.68 is also the Junior Class Record and the Meet Record!
He won the final in 3:40.66!
Kameron Jones took the ACC 800 in a Meet Record 1:45.47!
The PAC-12 saw Isaiah Jewett front run his 800 win in 1:45.16, just missing Joachim Cruz's 1984 MR!!
Cooper Teare eased to the 1500 win in 3:39.81.
Former High School phenom Brandon Miller broke through at the SEC, PR'ing in his heat at 1:46.06, then improving to 1:45.95 in the final!

Eliud Kipsang tried a Nuguse (See above!) by speeding through his SEC 1500 heat in 3:36.60!
He won the final also in 3:37.99!
His heat time is the Meet Record!
Some good Women's races at the ACC!
Laurie Barton won the 800 in 2:00.70, and got the Meet Record!
She's 14th A-T Collegiate!
Lindsey Butler was 2nd in 2:01.32!
Knocked OFF my Collegiate list was Joetta Clark's 2:01.15, dating from 1984!
Michaela Meyer won a tight 1500 in 4:09.78!
It's the ACC Meet Record, but she misses the Collegiate list by 0.04 seconds!
Maudie Skyring took 2nd in 4:09.99, with Elly Henes taking Bronze in 4:10.23!
Katelyn Tuohy ended 7th in 4:13.45 after a heat of 4:12.55!

Sage Hurta soloed to the PAC-12 800 tape in 2:01.53!
I'll end this section with a quick HS Mile!
Mia Barnett took the Track Meet HS Mile in 4:39.41.
She's 14th A-T HS!
Far back in 2nd came 8th Grader Sadie Englehart, who ran 4:46.25!

3000, 5000, 10000, 3000SC
The Track Meet featured the distances!
Zouhair Talbi took the Men's 10000 in 27:20.61.
The Moroccan beat Emmanuel Bor's 27:22.80!
Bor is 14th A-T US!
Joe Klecker was 3rd in 27:23.44, which makes him 15th A-T US!
Conner Mantz took 4th in 27:41.16.
This makes him 16th A-T Collegiate!
Mo Ahmed took the 5000 in 13:18.49!

Sifan Hassan said adieu to the chasing masses on her way to a solo 14:35.34 in the Track Meet 5000!
But those "masses" weren't exactly crawling!
Josette Norris ran a solid 14:51.42 to rank 9th A-T US!
Rachel Schneider was right behind in 14:52.04, to rank 11th A-T US!
Emily Sisson improved to 14:53.64, to rank 12th A-T US!
Kate Van Buskirk ran an impressive Canada time of 14:59.80!
Natasha Rogers ended 9th in 15:04.95!
Whittni Orton's 15:12.91 makes her 6th A-T Collegiate!
Taken FROM my Collegiate list was Patti Sue Plumer, who ran 15:00.00 in 1989!!

In another section, Allie Ostrander didn't win, but her 15:18.45 was good!
Maggie Montoya, still reeling from her involvement in that Boulder massacre, ran 15:31.86!
Andrea Seccefian destroyed Canada's National Record in winning the Track Meet 10000 in 31:13.94!
Ednah Kurgat took 2nd in 31:21.65!
Sara Hall was right behind in 31:21.90, making her 23rd A-T US!
Makena Morley ran 31:25.19 in 4th, ahead of Amy Eloise-Markovic's 31:25.91, and Jessica Judd's 31:25.98!
Sally Kipyego was 8th in 31:30.25!

Imagine running a 5000 in 13:01.68.
Now imagine that your previous best was about 45 seconds slower!!
Mark Lomokut of Kenya did just that!
He beat a known quantity in Selemon Barega, who ended  in 13:02.47!
Jenna Magness got the Big 10 Meet Record in the 5000 with her 15:28.82.
The PAC-12 Women's 3000SC saw a couple of additions to my list!
Aneta Konieczek got the Meet Record with her 9:36.74!
It makes her 7th A-T Collegiate!
Katie Rainsberger, who just began her Steeple career a month ago, ran 9:38.84 in 2nd, ranking her 12th A-T Collegiate!

Julia Heymach surprised with her 5000 win in Meet Record time of 15:40.74--breaking the legendary Amy Skieresz mark from 1997!
Carmela Baez took care of the 10000 MR with her 32:38.73!
The SEC Women's Steeple was also interesting!
Joyce Kimeli led from the gun, and had a big lead.
Then she faded, and Krissy Gear hit a higher gear (Sic!), leading her to the tape in 9:38.62.
Her Meet Record makes her 12th A-T Collegiate!
Kimeli finished in 9:47.32!
Mercy Chelangat got both MR's with her 5000 in 15:45.32, and her 10000 in 32:13.13.
The latter mark makes her 22nd A-T Collegiate!

Let's move to some field events for a bit!
SP, DT, JT, HT
Payton Otterdahl's SP of 70-7.75 won the Track Meet from Nick Ponzio's 70-2.50!
Sean Donnelly PR'ed in the HT with his 255-6, which makes him 10th A-T US!
Wojciech Nowicki's HT measured 255-3 in Poland!
Gleb Dudarev won the Big 12 Hammer Throw with a modest 244-9!
Nathan Bultman reached 239-11 to win the PAC-12 Hammer!
Thomas Mardel threw 245-4 to take the HT at SEC!
DJ Jonsson won the SEC Javelin Throw with a lob of 256-1!
He's a Mississippi State Frosh!

Lagi Tausaga won the Big 10 Discus Throw with her 203-8!
Jorinde Van Klinken took the PAC-12 DT with her 205-4.
This makes her 14th A-T Collegiate!
Canadian Camryn Rogers took the HT with 236-11.
Emma Robbins, an LSU Frosh, took the SEC HT with her 220-4 PR!

Latavia Maines's SP of  61-4.75 set the SEC Meet Record, and makes her 11th A-T Collegiate!
And Adelaide Aquilla smashed her previous best with her SP of 62-8.75!
The Ohio State Junior is ranked 4th A-T Collegiate, and 14th A-T US!
Khayla Dawson wasn't bad in 2nd, her 60-3.25 making her 17th A-T Collegiate!

LJ, TJ
Brittney Reese LJ'ed 22-3.75 to win the Track Meet!
Keturah Orji won a meet in Azuza with her LJ of 22-2.50!
At the Big 12, you had to ignore the longest jump to determine who would get the Meet Record!
Steffen McCarter's 27-4.75 was the longest jump, but was wind aided!
Second placer Rayvon Allen had the best legal jump, his 26-10.50 tying the Meet Record at the Big 12!
D Mapaya (sp?) TJ'ed 55-9.75 to get the Big 12 MR!
It also ranks him 22nd A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!

JuVaughn Harrison was trying for a double win, but was stymied by Carey McLeod's 27-4.50, which ranks him 14th A-T Collegiate, tied with 2 others!
Harrison, who had passed rounds 4 & 5, tried to top McLeod in round 6, but reached just 27-0.50!
Jada Seaman's 21-6.50 gave her the ACC Meet Record!
Ruta Lasmani moved way up on the Collegiate Triple Jump list with her 46-7.25!
It's the ACC Meet Record, and ranks her 7th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!

Leah Moran tied the Big 10 MR with her TJ of 44-6!
Tara Davis is becoming VERY steady near 23 feet, as she won the Big 12 LJ with another 22-10.50!
It's the MR, of course!
She also ran 12.90 in the 100H in her heat, and won the final in 13.02!
Ruth Usoro's TJ of 46-1.50 ties the Big 12 MR!
She also LJ'ed 21-8 for 2nd place there!

And then we have Jasmine Moore!
She keeps improving, with her latest TJ PR being 47-2.50!
She gets the Frosh Class Record (again!!), and ranks 3rd A-T Collegiate, and 4th A-T US!
Her 22-5 and 47-2.50 adds to 69-7.50!
She's 2nd A-T US on that Combined Events list!
Deborah Acquah took 2nd with 46-4.25!
This makes her 11th A-T Collegiate!
Third went to Natrick Hooper's 45-8, which makes her 20th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!

100H, 110H, 400H
Omar McLeod won the Track Meet with 13.11 in the 110H!
Devon Allen sped 13.26 in 2nd, with WR holder Aries Merritt 6th in 13.96!
Jaylan McConico of Iowa got the Big 10 MR with his 110H time of 13.23!
He's 11th A-T Collegiate!
It had an aiding wind of 2.7, but Robert Dunning still impressed with his time of 13.15!
M Mpoke edged Sean Burrell in the 400H, 48.89 to 48.92!

Anna Cockrell had a good double at the PAC-12 meet!
She won the 400H in 54.77!
This makes her 21st A-T Collegiate!
She beat Shae Anderson's 55.21 PR!
Cockrell also took the 100H in 12.79!
Tonea Marshall PR'ed in the 100H, her 12.52 winning her heat at the SEC!
She also took the final, but in a windy 12.62!
The 12.52 ranks her 6th A-T Collegiate, tied with 1 other!
She's 19th A-T US, tied with 1 other!

HJ, PV, Multi's
Vashti Cunningham HJ'ed 6-5 to win the meet in Azuza!
Jelena Rowe topped 6-4, but misses my US list by a quarter inch!
Anicka Newell cleared 15-1 in the PV in Azuza!
And Ashtin Zamzow scored 6291 in Azuza, making her 20th A-T US!
Brenton Foster HJ'ed 7-5.25 for the ACC Meet Record!
Ayden Owens scored 8238 for the Big 10 MR!
He ranks 17th A-T Collegiate!

JuVaughn Harrison HJ'ed 7-8.75 as part of his double at SEC (See above!)
It's the SEC Meet Record, and makes him 2nd A-T Collegiate, tied with 3 others!
It ranks him 7th A-T US, tied with 3 others!
Darryl Sullivan was good also, clearing 7-7.75, making him 9th A-T Collegiate, tied with 3 others!
Keaton Daniel, a Kentucky Frosh, PV'ed 18-8.25 at SEC!
He's 23rd A-T Collegiate, tied with 11 others!!
Branson Ellis cleared 18-9.25 in the Southland Conference, making him 18th A-T Collegiate, tied with 4 others!

Kyle Garland scored 8196 to win the SEC Decathlon!
This makes him 23rd A-T Collegiate!
Michelle Atherley scored 6019 points to win the ACC Heptathlon!
Rachel Glenn, a South Carolina Frosh, swept over the HJ bar at 6-2.25 to win at SEC
Nastassja Campbell PR'ed in the PV to win SEC at 14-10.75!
She ranks 15th A-T Collegiate!
Three cleared 14-8.25 to follow Campbell!
Lisa Gunnarsson and Lauren Martinez were tied for 2nd, with Kayla Smith relegated to 4th!
Martinez and Smith rank 23rd A-T Collegiate, tied with each other!

Sydney Horn won the Big South meet with a Vault of 14-6.75!
Finally (in this grouping!!), we have Tyra Gittens and her spectacular win at SEC in the Heptathlon!!
Her score of 6418 points was enough for the Meet Record, and the National Record of Trinidad and Tobago!!
It also makes her 3rd A-T Collegiate!!
Anna Hall scored 6117 in 2nd!
But Gittens had other accolades to celebrate!
Her 6-4.75 HJ in the Heptathlon ranks her 7th A-T Collegiate, tied with 6 others!
And she LJ'ed 22-10 for another MR.
This one ranks her 4th A-T Collegiate!!

Relays
Still with me, my friends??
This section wraps things up!!
Whew!!
Purdue's 39.30 is the Big 10 Meet Record!

LSU took the SEC 4X100 in 38.87!
Kentucky edged Texas A&M in the longer race, 3:01.71 to 3:01.73!
The winner became 22nd A-T School!
Houston's 42.84 won the American Conference, making them 11th A-T School!
Oregon took the PAC-12 Women's 4X100 in 42.87.
USC was 2nd in 42.99!
LSU won the Women's 4X100 at SEC in 42.52.
And last, but not least, we have Athing Mu anchoring Texas A&M's 4X400 team to 3:26.17 with a split of 49.96!!
Florida was 2nd in 3:28.33.
South Carolina was 3rd in 3:28.63!

Two brief announcements--one happy, one sad!
Lee Evans has died at age 74!
He was, and still is, one of the A-T greats of our sport, not only for his brilliant running, but for his coaching in Africa, and his never-ending support for Black Lives Matter, before BLM became what it is today!
His INdoor races at 600 yards against Martin McGrady were legendary.
His best 400 of 43.86 would be leading the world this year!!
He will be missed!

On a happier note, Mary Cain--long suffering under the evil machinations of Alberto Salazar--is back!!
She'll be racing Friday in the NY Qualifier in a 1500!
I wish this woman the best, no matter what she runs!!

See you soon!

Golden Games lead Strong Week

 They were called the USATF Golden Games.
They were called part of the Mt SAC Relays.
Whatever its name, it was the best T&F meet since the 2019 Doha World Championships!
(It WAS part of Mt SAC, so the following includes many Mt SAC Meet Records!!)

Rai Benjamin reduced the World Leader in the 400H from 48.6 to 47.13!
But he had some company in a guy unheard from recently--Kyron McMaster!
Benjamin gets the Meet Record, while McMaster's 47.50 is a PR by 0.04 seconds, and improves his British Virgin Islands National Record!
He's 18th A-T World!
Alison Dos Santos was fast also--47.68!
It's Brazil's NR, but he misses the World list by 0.02 seconds!!

Sha'Carri Richardson is being hailed as a "lock" for Gold in Tokyo, and her performance here gave that idea a lot of weight!
Her heat was merely 10.74, which crushed the Mt SAC MR!!
She ran "only" 10.77 in the final, but note she ran against a wind of 1.3!!!
Experts said it was worth at least a 10.69!
Still a good time, 11.08 took 2nd (Javianne Oliver), while Morolake Akinosun also ran 11.08, but in a heat!
Oh yes, Oliver ran 10.97 in her heat!!

It wasn't a MR, but Darrell Hill threw the Shot Put 73-3.50.
Josh Owatunde PR'ed in 2nd with 71-1.50!
He missed the US list by less than 2 inches!

Chris Nilsen got a World Leader and a Mt SAC MR with his PV of 19-4.75!
Elle Purrier is by far the fastest cow milking person in the world!!
Her 3:58.36 makes her 6th A-T US, and is the Meet Record!
Gabby Dubus-Stafford was over 2 seconds behind, most of it gained by Purrier in the final straightaway!
Her time was 4:00.69!
Close to the Canadian was Shannon Osika's 4:00.73!
This makes her 12th A-T US!!
In my Combined Events for the 1500 & 5000, Purrier's 3:58.36 and 14:58.12 adds to 18:56.48.
This makes her 8th A-T US!

The Women's 800 ('s) were great!
The "B" race (!!) saw Kate Grace beat Brenda Martinez, 1:59.72 to 1:59.87!
But what would the "A" race bring?

This!
A British and Canadian foursome took the first 4 spots!
Jemma Reekie's PR of 1:58.27 is the Mt SAC Meet Record!
Laura Muir was 2nd in 1:58.46.
Third went to Canadian Melissa Bishop-Nriagu in 1:58.62.
Fourth was Brit Adelle Tracey, her new PR being 1:59.50!
Raevyn Rogers followed in 1:59.66.
Then Heather McLean matched first race winner Grace's time!
Sinclaire Johnson broke 2 for the first time with 1:59.91.
And just missing was Allie Wilson with 2:00.01!
Wow!

Courtney Frerichs also got a Meet Record, winning the 3000SC in 9:27.70--call it a rust buster or a tempo run for her!!
Leah Falland ran 9:28.72 in 2nd, with Marisa Howard 3rd in 9:29.65!
She's now 15th A-T US!
Grayson Murphy finished 5th, but her 9:33.79 makes her 23rd A-T US!
And that gives Val Constien the caboose position on my US list with her 9:35.73!

The Women's Hurdles races both saw good races and fast times!
Shamier Little broke open the World Lead in the 400H with her 53.65!
It's also the MR, but 2nd placer Gianna Woodruff also made news!
Her 54.70 gives her Panama's National Record! 

Kendra Harrison took care of business (and Tobi Amusan & Company) in the 100H with her 12.48!
Cindy Sember (formerly Ofili) PR'ed in 12.53.
Amusan was 3rd in 12.61, a time which Dewynne Charleton matched in 4th!
Charleton's is the National Record of the Bahamas!
Then came "rookie" High Hurdler Syd the Kid McLaughlin!
She's been PR'ing all year, but her 12.65 here really whacked it down--by 0.22 seconds!
Her 12.65 and 52.20 adds to 64:85, expanding her leads in my Combined Events lists for the World and US!!

Kat Stefanidi also got a Mt SAC MR (Ho hum!) with her PV of 15-9!
Katie Nageotte and Olivia Gruver both cleared 15-5, with Nageotte getting 2nd!

Let's run down the rest of what I have by event group, including the remainder of what happened at Mt SAC!

100-200-400
Some marks from the Pure Athletics Elite meet I missed last post are the 20.55 in the 200 by LaShawn Merritt!
Also a measly 10.78 by Elaine Thompson-Herah!
Cravon Gillespie took the Mt SAC 100 in 9.96 over the 9.99 of Isaiah Young!
(BTW, all times are legal, unless I specify they're windy!)
Noah Lyles got another Mt SAC Meet Record with his 200 in 19.90!
Kenny Bednarek competed well, ending in 19.94!

In another 200 race at the USATF meet, Erriyon Knighton took 0.01 seconds off his HS PRO Record (& Soph Class HS PRO Record) by winning his section in 20.30!
Michael Norman made an appearance, cruising a 44.40 to win the 400 over Michael Cherry's 44.86!
Tons of speculation over what Super Veteran Allyson Felix would run ended with her wind-aided 22.26 (2.1 wind) behind Gabby Thomas's 22.12!
If that had been legal, she wouldn't have come close to Merlene Ottey's Age 35 record of 21.93!!

The MEAC had a double winner in the 100 and 200, with NC A&T's Javonte Harding running 10.21 and 20.21.  
Not bad for one of the "minor" Conferences!
Also at MEAC, we saw Randolph Ross speed 44.60  to win the one lapper!

Some odd distances were run at a German meet!
Pavel Maslak took the 150 in 15.74, while his 33.25 in the 300 matched the winner's mark!
A fish out of water was one Malaika Mihambo, who also took on the 150 and 300 in the Women's races!
Her times were pretty good for a 23+ foot Long Jumper!
She ran 17.44 and 37.47!
Christin Hering ran the 600 there in 1:26.61.
Finally, in a HS race, Conner Washington turned a 200 in 20.39, making him 14th A-T HS!!

800, 1500, 5000, 10000, Marathon
First, a small correction!
The West Coast Relays were in Clovis, not Fresno!
Marco Arop ran an 800 in 1:44.76.
In a separate meet, Bryce Hoppel's 800 took 1:45.43.
But Hoppel improved to 1:44.94, his negative splits being an impressive 53.6 and 51.3, at Mt SAC!
Also at Mt SAC, Ollie Hoare won a quick 1500 in 3:33.19!
He beat out Justyn Knight's 3:33.41 in the final straight!

Evan Jager ran over half of the 3000SC, but apparently was just pacing eventual winner Sean McGorty, not intending to finish!!
He did his job well, as McGorty's first ever Steeple beat out Jager's initial SC (from 2012), running 8:20.77!
Daniel Michalski followed in 8:21.25.
Obdi Ali was 3rd in 8:22.67!
Hicham Buchicha took over the World Lead in the 3000SC with his 8:15.88!

Mason Ferlic cruised a 5000 at Mt SAC in 13:24.34!
The Women's race went to Julie Anne-Staehli's 15:02.34.
Laura Galvan, who PR'ed recently in 15:11 plus, took another 9 seconds off that, her 15:02.48 being Mexico's new NR!
Back in the pack came the venerable Molly Huddle, jogging 15:23.24.

But then followed Maggie Montoya.
Everyone knows her story by now.

She was working at the pharmacy when the shooter started his massacre in Boulder!
She was interviewed later by Anderson Cooper for 10 minutes, a truly heartrending 10 minutes!
She took time out to recover--or try to!
The Mt SAC 5000 gave us beautiful proof that the strong and the courageous can overcome life's most tragic moments, as she ended her first race back with a time of 15:25.81, a more than 10 second PR!!
Welcome back, Maggie!!

A great Men's 1500 race took place in the Oregon Twilight meet!
A bit of an upset, as Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame edged out the speedy Duck duo of Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker!
Nuguse ran 3:35.96, making him 7th A-T Collegiate!
(BTW, as a reminder, I have completely separate lists for INdoor and OUTdoor, so if these places on lists are different than what T&FN says, it's because they do NOT separate the seasons, with their "absolute" lists!!)
Teare's 3:35.97 makes him 8th A-T Collegiate!
Hocker's 3:36.47 makes him 15th A-T Collegiate!
The Women's race was won by Whittni Orton in a non-PR time of 4:10.09!

A Portugal meet saw a few fast 10K's!
Rhonex Kipruto won the Men's race in 27:11.01.
But in the Women's race, Gudef Tsegay ran the fastest debut track 10000 ever!
Her 29:39.42 makes her 6th A-T World.
On my Combined Events list for the 3000, 5000, and 10000, Tsegay's 8:25.13, 14:46.22, and 29:39.42 adds to 52:50.77.
She is 8th A-T World there!
(But she'll run a much faster 5000 someday!)
In my C-E for the 5000 & 10000, her times add to 44:25.67.
She's 8th A-T World there also!
In 2nd was a surprising Kalkidan Gezehegne!
If you recall, she holds the Age 18 Record INdoors for the Mile, her 4:24.10 being run in 2010!
And there is SOME talk of a possible miscount of laps for Gezahegne--that she still had a lap to go--but this has NOT be substantiated!!
So for now, Gezahegne's 29:50.77 stands, and makes her suddenly 7th A-T World!!

The Japan National Record in the 3000SC fell to Rijayi Miura (sp??), time of 8:17.46!
Eliud Kipchoge won a marathon in the Netherlands on April 18th!
His time of 2:04:30 is the Age 36 Record!
(The Age 37 Record is Ken Bekele's 2:01:41!!  You think Kipchoge can get that next year??)
A bit of HS stuff--
Nico Young's brother Lex Young ran a 3200 in 8:43.71.
Too bad it wasn't over the full Two Miles!
He's just a 10th Grader!!
Mia Barnett won the Women's 3200 in 10:01.18!
Brynn Brown doubled--in the 1600 and 3200--with times of 4:41.29 and 9:58.77!
Finally (in the distances!), we have Hobbs Kessler doubling in the 800 (1:49.67) and 3200 (8:54.42)!
In the latter race, his last 200 was a breezy 25.6!!
No, no, it wasn't wind-aided--I was just trying to sound cool--so to speak!

LJ, TJ, PV, HJ
Still with me??
I didn't want to put out two posts, so this is longer than normal!
In Georgia, Jasmine Moore TJ'ed 46-10!
This makes her 4th A-T Collegiate, and 7th A-T US!
It's also the Frosh Class Record!
Her 22-5 in the LJ and the 46-10 adds to 69-3 for the Combined Events LJ-TJ list!
She's 3rd A-T US here!
Tatiana Marsh was 2nd with 44-8!

Morgann LeLeux PV'ed 15-3.50!
Alina McDonald PV'ed 14-10.
Will Claye TJ'ed 56-3.25!
Kim Williams Triple Jumped 47-11.75 for the Mt SAC Meet Record!
She beat Keturah Orji's 47-2.25!
In Texas, Jeron Robinson HJ'ed 7-6.50!
So did Ushan Perera, but his 7-6.50 gave him Sri Lanka's NR!!
Hughes Zango TJ'ed 57-1.
That was in France.

Yulimar Rojas got the World Lead in the TJ with her 49-8.25!
That was in Spain!
Mutaz Barshim HJ'ed 7-6.50!
That meet ended with him tied with Naoto Tobe (sp??)!
(No jump off??)
In HS news, Conner McClure got the HS Leader in the PV with his 17-3.

SP, DT, JT, HT (and Relays!)
We lead with the best Women's Javelin Throw in at least 10 years!
Maria Andrejczyk hurled the spear out 234-3.
It's the National Record of Poland, and makes her 3rd A-T World!
Second went to Christina Hussong's 218-0, also a good mark for May!

Jillian Shippee had a HT of 225-2.
This makes her 24th A-T Collegiate!
Maggie Malone got a JT of 199-10!
Mason Finley's Discus sailed out 217-10!
Arman Sinencevic's SP of 71-9.50 is the National Record of Serbia!
Kord Ferguson's DT of 209-2 won Gold at the Golden Games!

Maggie Ewen's 63-4.75 beat Danielle Thomas-Dodd's 62-0.50 to win the Mt SAC event!
Gwen Berry won the HT there with 241-10!
But she later threw 246-10!
Ryan Crouser Put the Shot like--well, Ryan Crouser, hitting the ground at 74-5.50!
Felicia Johnson--Haven't heard from her in awhile!!--PR'ed to 63-9.75, making her 11th A-T US!

At the European Throws meet, Johannes Vetter reached 298-11 with the Javelin.
The marks weren't anything to speak of, but Anita Wlodarczyk made her first appearance since 2019 in the HT, taking 2nd with 237-5 behind Countrywoman Malwina Kapron's 238-11.

Bryce Foster matched his earlier 71-1 in the Shot Put!
And in the Relays, I should mention that USC's winning 42.63 and 3:29.72 times are Duel Meet Records!
Those of course were in the USC-UCLA Duel meet!

And that's it, folks!!
See you in a few days with all the Conference Results!
And much more!

Things are Getting Serious

With the Collegiate Conferences already beginning, and the Olympic Trials now less than seven weeks away, and with a meet coming on Sunday that has a field of entrants too incredible and lengthy to list here, we have to admit that things are getting serious in our favorite sport!
But this past weekend provided a lot of evidence toward that conclusion!
So much, in fact, that I'm going to present all of it by event group!

100, 200, 400
The wind gauge may have failed, but apparently Fred Kerley's 9.91 is being accepted as valid!
The Florida race makes him 17th A-T US, tied with 2 others!
In the same meet, Jamaica's Natasha Morrison sped her 100 in 10.87, after a heat of 10.98!

Another Florida meet saw Trayvon Bromell run a World Leading 100 of 9.88!
Divine Oduduru ran simply divine in the 200, timing 19.88!
(Couldn't resist!)
JuVaughn Martin, who shocked with his recent 9.94, wasn't so shocking this time, clocking 20.22 in the half lap!
In the 400, Trevor Stewart's 44.52 took care of Randolph Ross's 44.69!

In yet another Florida meet, Hannah Cunliffe timed 11.07, her fastest 100 in awhile!
It had an aiding wind of 2.5, but Blessing Okagbare's 22.03 still was pretty good!

Vernon Norwood won the LSU Invite 400 in 44.64!
Also at LSU, Aleia Hobbs won the 100 in 11.01.
Arkansas Soph Tiana Wilson ran 51.21 in the 400!

A Texas meet saw  Jenna Prandini use a 2.1 wind to run 22.22 in the 200!
She also won the 100 in 11.16, wind legal!

An Arizona meet saw Micah Williams PR in 10.03!
This was against a wind of 1.0!!
The USC-UCLA duel meet had a good Women's 400, with Kaelin Roberts edging Shae Anderson, 51.14 to 51.16!
You might recall Ms Anderson ran the 300H in HS in 40.31 in 2017, 8th A-T HS!

Bingtian Su sped a Century in 9.98 in his home nation!
A couple of HS'ers impressed!
Jaylen Slade sprinted a 200 in 20.20, making him 5th A-T HS!
He also had a pair of fast--but windy--100's!
His heat pf 10.03 used a 2.7 wind!
The final of 10.04 had a 2.1 wind!
And Shawnti Jackson doubled in 11.28 and 23.15!
Her 100 heat was 11.13, but had a large wind of 3.6!

800, 1500, Mile
Jack Salisbury had a mile of 3:56.22, making the Georgetown Junior 15th A-T Collegiate!
The Trials of Miles meet in Kansas saw Mexico's Jesus Lopez surprise with his NR of 1:44.40!
Michael Rhoades was 2nd in 1:45.22.
The venerable West Coast Relays in Fresno saw a great Women's Collegiate 1500!
Krissy Gear's 4:09.00 outlasted Whittni Orton's 4:09.31.
Gear is 13th A-T Collegiate, while Orton is 16th!
Katelyn Tuohy led the race through about 1200, but faded to a 9th place mark of 4:14.56!

At that SoCal duel meet, Isaiah Jewett's 800 of 1:45.80 is the new duel meet record!
A Chula Vista race saw Melissa Bishop-Nriagu win the 800 in 1:59.04!

All other Distances
Ahmed Jiziri ran a Collegiate Leading 3000SC of 8:32.92 at the Kansas meet!
Laura Galman won the 5000 there in 15:11.35.
She's from Mexico!
The West Coast Relays saw a fast 10000!
Abdi Nur, a Somalian running for Northern Arizona, won in 27:47.27, making him 19th A-T Collegiate!
Second was Blaise Ferro's 27:56.30!

Courtney Wayment ran a Collegiate Leading 3000SC of 9:31.27, also in Fresno!
She's 5th A-T Collegiate, and 18th A-T US!!
Cut OFF my Collegiate list was Elle Purrier, who we don't normally think of as a Steepler!
Her 9:43.65 dated from 2017!
That was a great Distances meet, as Elly Henes timed 15:18.75 in the 5000, making her 11th A-T Collegiate!
Elle Donaghu timed 15:29.42 in 2nd, with Charlotte Prouse a close 3rd in 15:29.60!

The Ethiopian Championships were run at altitude, but Gudef Tsegay still timed 14:49.7!
She beat the WR holder, Letesenbet Gidey, who stopped the clock at 14:56.7!
It was at 3200 meters, but still worth a mention--Charlotte Bednar timed 9:59.34!
(Add those extra 18.688 meters, please!!)
Finally, in Stockholm, a very deep field of 10K Women saw the World Lead go to Sheila Kiprotich's 30:45.81!
Second went to Joan Chelimo's 30:46.51!
Eva Cherono ran 30:49.73 in 3rd, while Irene Cheptai took 4th in 30:51.39!
Several others ran under 31:12!!
The Men's race went to Isaac Kimeli's 27:22.76!

Hurdles
Grant Holloway took a Florida 110H in 13.22, after a heat of 13.26!
Heptathlete Taliyah Brooks sped the 100H in 12.73!
A Texas race saw Kendra Harrison win the 100H in 12.48.

Second went to Tara Davis's 12.75!
At the USC-UCLA duel meet, Anna Cockrell doubled in the 100H (12.79), and 400H (55.59)!

Relays
The UO Women's squad took Arizona's 4X100 in 42.97!
USC took both duel meet Relays with times of 42.63 and 3:29.72!
The World Relays--minus the US, Jamaica, and other good Relay nations--took place in Poland!
South Africa took the 4X100 in 38.71.
But Brazil and Italy ran 38.45's in the heats!
Germany's Men took the 4X200 in 1:22.43!
The Netherlands won the 4X400 final in 3:03.45, but won their heat in 3:03.03!

The Women's races went to Italy in 43.79--after the Netherlands ran their heat in 43.28--Poland in 1:34.98, and Cuba in the 4X400 in 3:28.41, after a heat of 3:27.90!
Poland was 2nd in 3:28.81.
A forgettable meet, as no one ran a longer leg than 400 meters!!

HJ, LJ, TJ, PV
Morgann LeLeux cleared 14-11 in Louisiana.
Rachel Glenn, a South Carolina Frosh, HJ'ed 6-3.25, making her 22nd A-t Collegiate, tied with 4 others!
Bridget Guy got an OUTdoor PR of 15-5.50, making her 7th A-T US, tied with 1 other!
JuVaughn Harrison, also known as quite the Long Jumper, went over 7-6.50, missing the Collegiate HJ list by one half inch!
Lisa Gunnarsson and Nastassia Campbell both topped 14-8.25 in the PV, with Gunnarsson getting the win!

Tara Davis is proving very consistent in the LJ, leaping 22-10.50 in Texas!
Mikeisha Welcome got a warm welcome for her TJ of 45-0.25!
She's an Oklahoma Frosh from Canada!
(I love name play!!)

In Chula Vista, Kat Stefanidi PV'ed 15-1.50!
HS'er Tyus Wilson HJ'ed a list leading 7-3!

SP, DT, JT, HT, and the Multi's
Daniel Haugh continued the good Hammering by Americans with his PR of 256-1.
This makes him 10th A-T US!
Denzel Comenentia was 2nd with 249-11.
Claudio Romero took 2nd, but his DT of 206-1 missed the Frosh Class record by 16 inches!
He's a Virginia Frosh!

Khayla Dawson shocked with a SP blast of 62-0.50 in Indiana!
The Indiana Senior is 6th A-T Collegiate, and 17th A-T US!!
Joe Kovacs exploded out to 74-6.50, yet it wasn't his PR!!
But he does get the Age 31 Record!

Sade Olatoye whipped the Hammer out 229-3, making her 15th A-T Collegiate!
Turner Washington doubled in the SP and DT with marks of 68-3 and 216-7!
Alyssa Wilson tripled (SP, DT, HT) in the USC-UCLA duel, her best mark being her 229-5 HT!
Canada's Sarah Mitton had a SP of 61-4.25!
Valerie Allman threw the Discus 214-11.

Diego Del Real took the Mexico National Record in the HT out to 258-2!
A Multi's meet in Italy saw two National Records!
Maria Vicente won with Spain's NR of 6304 points!
Kate O'Connor nailed Ireland's NR with her 6297 points in 2nd!

See you next week with all the major results--in detail as always!