Day 4 NCAA Champs, German Fernandez - Oklahoma State

NCAA Day 4, German Fernandez - Oklahoma State from PreRaceJitters on Vimeo.

German Fernandez wins his first individual NCAA title running 3:39, to win the 1,500 meters.

Day 4 NCAA Quotes

Provid2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
John McDonnell Field - June 10-13, 2009
Fayetteville, Ark.

Day 2 – Thursday, June 11, 2009

Ngonidzashe Makusha, Florida State, Men’s Long Jump
“It’s a blessing just to be here after tearing my quad earlier in the season. I can’t thank my coaches enough for getting me here. It’s been a crazy ride, but we won it. Just to be sitting in the position again. It’s a blessing”

Kimberly Williams, Florida State, Women’s Long Jump
“It was nerve-racking after fouling on my first two attempts I went into that last jump with a clear mind. The thought of fouling again never really entered my head. I just knew I had to go out there and do what I’m capable of.”

Mariam Kevkhishvili, Florida, Women’s Shot Put
“Last year was great, but to come back to the NCAAs and repeat as national champion is greater than anything I could’ve imagined. It was great.”

Ryan Whiting, Arizona State, Men’s Shot Put
“It feels good to win my first outdoor crown. I had two indoor titles coming into this meet and really wanted that first outdoor. From here I’m just going to keep at it and hopefully end up in Berlin vying for a world championship.”

NOTE: Whiting is the 12th male student-athlete in NCAA history to win both the indoor and outdoor shot put titles in the same year.

Ashton Eaton, Oregon, Men’s Decathlon
“Coming into the day I felt pretty good. I was upset with the way I performed in the pole vault, I know I’m better than that. I tried to channel some of that frustration into the 1500. [Mateo] Sossah is a great runner, and he was close in the standings going into that final event so I knew I had to dig deep.”

Danette Doetzel, Providence, Women’s 10,000 meters
“I’ve been training really hard, and I knew I was in shape coming in. I was looking forward to this race, but really tried to take it easy early on. The pace came back to me in the last two kilometers or so, and I just took over and was able to hang on.”

Galen Rupp, Oregon, Men’s 10,000 meters
“We all tried to stay upbeat with the weather situations and all, and I knew this was going to be a tough race. It was obvious that [Chelanga and Forrest] wanted to set an honest pace, but I held on and knew just what I had to do and the right time to do it.”

Day 3 – Friday, June 12, 2009

Brianne Theisen, Oregon, Women’s Heptathlon
“I had two bad throws in the javelin, and knew if I was going to pull this thing off I needed to improve. As soon as it came out of my hand on that third throw I knew it was a good one, and it was like a weight was off my shoulders. I knew that if I was leading going into the 800 I would be in great shape.”

Stevi Large, Akron, Women’s Hammer
“I had a big throw on my first throw, and I didn’t really know whether or not it would hold up. It was a downer to wait out the rain delay, and I wasn’t feeling as great when we came back out. Watching those last few throws was scary, and I’m just glad my mark held up.”

Marcel Lomnicky, Virginia Tech, Men’s Hammer
“I’m happy with the win, but I think I could have thrown a little better. Coming in, I knew what I wanted to throw and I didn’t meet that expectation. I’ll continue to work and get back at it again next season.”

Jason Colwick, Rice, Men’s Pole Vault
“Today was amazing. The weather was perfect, and I wanted to try to come out and defend my indoor title. I didn’t do very well at conference, but regionals went well and today went really well. It feels great.”

Destinee Hooker, Texas, Women’s High Jump
“I can sum it up by just saying ‘it’s a blessing.’ It’s a blessing to come out here and compete, but to win my fourth title it truly is a great feeling to have. I think I got a good rest after redshirting last year, and was ready to come off that strong.”

Rachel Yurkovich, Oregon, Women’s Javelin
“I wanted it really bad, and I wasn’t going to be satisfied with that first throw. I don’t really know where those distances came from, they were huge PRs. Right time to peak, I guess.”

Kylie Hutson, Indiana State, Women’s Pole Vault
“The rain delay kind of scared us all, no one knew what to expect. When I finally got on the runway I had to keep telling myself to be big and keep my shoulders back. I couldn’t let any nerves or frustrations keep me from being my best so I had to talk my way through it.”

Scott Sellers, Kansas State, Men’s High Jump
“It’s been an up and down year for me performance-wise, but to sweep both the indoor and outdoor is awesome. I would’ve liked to have jumped a little higher, but I can’t complain with a national championship.”

Chris Hill, Georgia, Men’s Javelin
“I’ve been hurt, and wasn’t really the favorite I don’t think coming into the competition. It’s nice to just be able to go out and compete without having that bulls eye on your back. The whole family showed up to watch me, so it was really special to be able to win this in front of all of them..”

Texas A&M, Women’s 4×100-meter relay
(Gabby Mayo, anchor) “I had no idea how fast it was. We knew we wanted to break a record, and we did it. We’re so happy with that—so happy. Two more races to go, but this one feels really good.”

Florida, Men’s 4×100-meter Relay
(Jeremy Hall, anchor) “I saw Texas A&M out of the corner of my eye when I got the baton, so my immediate goal was to hold them off. Once it was in my hands, I had my eyes set on the finish line and that national championship. We knew we were capable of this when the season started, and it great to see all that hard work pay off.”

Jennifer Barringer, Colorado, Women’s Steeplechase
“This was an exciting win. I’m happy to have it behind me. It’s tough to come in and be a heavy favorite. I just had to keep my mind right and go out there and take care of business. It felt great.”

Kyle Perry, BYU, Men’s Steeplechase
“I knew if everything went right I could win it. I didn’t think I would go sub-8:30 after finishing fourth at the regional. I fought through some injuries earlier in the outdoor season, and faced some days where this didn’t seem possible. But I’m here.”

Alexandria Anderson, Texas, Women’s 100 meters
“I didn’t start as well as I wanted to. After the first 10 meters I was where I wanted to be and was able to move up. It feels great to finally get an individual national championship. All the seniors come out here knowing they have one last shot, so it’s now or never.”

Trindon Holliday, LSU, Men’s 100 meters
“I didn’t get the start I wanted, but I pulled even at about 50 meters and was able to keep accelerating. I’ve been second and third in this event in the past, so I really wanted to come out and have a good showing in my final outdoor meet. Let’s try to do it again indoors.”

Nicole Leach, UCLA, Women’s 400-meter hurdles
“The time wasn’t exactly where I wanted it to be, but a win is a win. It felt like any other race. It never really occurred to me that it was for a national title. I just went out and ran my race.”

Jeshua Anderson, Men’s 400-meter hurdles
“It’s been rough since that injury at Mt. Sac (Relays). The hamstring has just started feeling better. I felt like I was pretty much in control the whole way, but it was a tough race. Tougher than last year, but not surprising.”

Angela Bizzarri, Illinois, Women’s 5,000 meters
“The pace was slow at the beginning and I think that really worked in my favor. My original plan was to, no matter where I was, run that last mile under 4:50. I don’t know how well that would have worked out with a quicker pace, but it favored me the way it turned out. National champion—wow.”

Galen Rupp, Oregon, Men’s 5,000 meters
“It was tactical to say the least. I was pretty tired but I knew if I slipped, even one position, that’s two points that could cost us the team title. I wanted to make sure I held up my end for the team.”

NOTE: Galen Rupp is the first NCAA distance runner to ever capture five national titles in a single season (Indoor, Outdoor, Cross Country)

Day 4 – Saturday, June 13, 2009

Martin Maric, California, Men’s Discus
“I wasn’t really happy with any of my throws in the final until that last one, but my preliminary stuff was awesome. I’m glad to have the national championship, but I really need to find some consistency with my throws. But if that’s all I have to be concerned with I think I’m in good shape.”

D’Andra Carter, Texas Tech, Women’s Discus
“I tried not to get too bogged down with the fact that this was a national championship event. When everything was culminating at the end and I knew I had a shot to win, it all came to me at once. I had to stay composed and let it fly. It feels so great to finally be a national champion.”

Will Claye, Oklahoma, Men’s Triple Jump
“It’s a blessing to even be here. I can’t explain the feeling. To go out and get that 56 (feet) felt great. At that point I knew I had a great shot to win it, it was just a matter of hoping, praying and waiting.”

Kimberly Williams, Florida State, Women’s Triple Jump
“It was a pretty tough weekend. This was the first time I’ve jumped all four days (with the long jump) and I took all of my jumps in each round, so today I just had to refocus and concentrate. I had to adjust for the wind so that my steps were right, but I’m very happy with this win.”

Joanna Atkins, Auburn, Women’s 400 meters
“I was nervous about having to do it from lane eight. I had to stay calm and relaxed and just run the way I know I’m capable of. That was a tough lane draw, and you hear people say that’s it’s hard to win it from out there. It’s possible.”

Jonathan Borlee, Florida State, Men’s 400 meters
“That was a great race for me to run a PR and win the race, so I’m happy with that. Running with (brother) Kevin is great for us because we can push each other in practice and keep getting better.”

Geena Gall, Michigan, Women’s 800 meters
“I wanted to wait and see what was going to happen with the pack. The leaders went out fast like I thought they would, and I think it was favorable for me. I have a national championship and a PR so I’m happy with it.”

Andrew Wheating, Oregon, Men’s 800 meters
“I had to work for that one. The last 300 meters were tough, and I had to kind of grit it out. We got the 10 points, that’s all that really matters.”

Porscha Lucas, Texas A&M, Women’s 200 meters
“Coach has just been telling us to do what we do. After we picked up eight points in the 400, I knew I needed to hold up my end and come out and win this to keep us in the hunt.” I did what I could—I gave it everything I had.”

Charles Clark, Florida State, Men’s 200 meters
“I knew I had to get out quick, because my last 100 or so hasn’t been great. I got out of the blocks well and knew as soon as we turned the corner that I had the best shot to bring it home. I guess it was with about 20 meter to go that I knew I had it.”

Tiffany Ofili, Michigan, Women’s 100-meter hurdles
“Yesterday didn’t go the way I wanted to at all, but I did what I had to do to get into the final. Today was a new day and I knew if I kept my composure and ran the way I knew I could I would be fine.”

Ronnie Ashe, Bethune Cookman, Men’s 110-meter hurdles
“I knew Jason [Richardson] was going to come out hard. I think he may have slipped out of the blocks a little bit, and that was the only window I needed. It feels good to defend my indoor title against a field like this. I knew I had to bring my A-game, and I did.”

Susan Kuijken, Florida State, Women’s 1,500 meters
“That last 300 was crazy. I started to open it up and looked back and realized everyone else was coming. It seemed a little early, but I felt good and turned it on. This is awesome.”

German Fernandez, Oklahoma State, Men’s 1,500 meters
“The conditions weren’t great, I thought it was little humid when the race started. I wanted to be sure and set and set and honest pace, though. It turned out to be a great race and a great finish. I was just thinking ‘you’re almost there, don’t quit now’ down the front stretch, and I was able to hold off the field. Wow, great race.”

Texas, Women’s 4×400-meter relay
(Chantel Malone, anchor) “Coach told me this morning that I was going to anchor. We are a young team, but being a sophomore I felt like I had the experience to get it done. I got the baton with about a seven-meter lead, and knew that if I could hang on, we’d be national champions. Age doesn’t really matter as much as experience in this race. We are young, but experienced, and I think we showed that.”

Charles Clark, Florida State, Men’s 4×400-meter relay
(Charles Clark) “We knew we had to win it to have a shot at the team title. Everything else was going to take care of itself, but we absolutely had to win it. We won it, but credit (Texas) A&M for coming up big as well. I think we’re all happy with this title, though.”

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show with Shannon Rowbury

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2008 Beijing Olympian Shannon Rowbury discusses the 2009 season with Jay Hicks and John W. Davis.  The 1,500 meter runner also discusses the recent changes to her training camp, her upcoming Carlsbad 5k run, and the demands of shopping for a new house.

-2009 82nd Clyde Little Texas Relays
-Tyson Gay’s fall season injury
-German Fernandez’s finish at World XC Championships

Special thanks to Shannon Rowbury.

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show…where the real playas come to hang out!

Weekend Thoughts: Cold weather dampers times

Photo courtesy of Danny Wariner.

Men’s Collegiate Ranking | Women’s Collegiate Ranking | World Rankings

There was one sub-21 second 200 meters at the UTA Invitational on Saturday, Jeremy Wariner fired off 20.83 seconds in a race including runner up Sanjay Ayres of Jamaica. Wrapped in long tights, Reggie Witherspoon made an appearance in the 400 meters, taking the cold weather conditions to get in a day of work. After running the 800 meter last week, pro runner Angel Perkins opened up her women’s 400 m hurdle meter season at UTA by winning in a wide margin of victory.

The cold and windy condition dampened the performance marks of athletes at the UTA Invitational. Professional runners Darvis “Doc” Patton, Marshevet Hooker, Aries Merritt and Darold Williamson cancelled their race appearances for Saturday at the University of Texas at Arlington.

What kind of shape is one of America’s top options to rival Usain Bolt? At a recent adidas promotional event – Gay revealed that he suffered a knee injury and plans on returning for the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.

Collegiate Ranks

Weather affected other meets – the second day of the Yellow Jacket Invitational and FSU Relays were cancelled due to inclement weather conditions.

You could probably say that the LSU Relays came out the winner. Despite cold and windy race conditions – I can only assume that with warmer weather that even faster times would have been produced.

The LSU men’s defense of their 4×100 meter relay NCAA title began this weekend by barely holding off the Baylor Bears in the narrowest of victories. Trindon Holiday edged Trey Harts in a photo finish by one one-thousandth of a second, 39.696 to 39.697.  The Baylor 4×400 meter relay streak extends to 37 races at the LSU Relay running 3:04.93 – winning by over four seconds ahead of TCU in 3:08.63.

Watch out for St. Augustie’s Josh Scott, running at 46.13 this past weekend at the Raleigh Relays while also leading his mile relay to victory in 3:05.95 seconds.

LSU’s Samantha Henry set a meet record 11.37 in the 100 meters in the prelims and over teammate Kenyanna Wilson. In the finals, Wilson prevailed in 11.42 over teammates Henry in 11.59.

In a precursor to Texas Relays, the women’s 4×100 saw LSU run 44.07 ahead of TCU in 45.02 seconds.

In the 100 meter hurdles Tenaya Jones of LSU ran 13.89, finishing second in the race after LSU alum Jessica Ohamaja in 13.41.  Brandon Byram, Michael Ray Garvin, Charles Clark and Maurice Mitchell of FSU passed the stick around in 39.56 at the FSU Relays to win the 4×100 meter relay.  Powered by a +6.0 wind, Terrell Wilks ran 10.23 in the 100 meters at the FSU Relays.

As Oklahoma State University starts the outdoor season the squad will be without German Fernandez for at least some of the season, as he recovers from a foot injury.  Saturday, the OSU freshmen finished 11th (24:13) at the World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan. Fernandez produced the top non-African performance in the race.

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show with Tasha Danvers

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This week, Great Britain’s Tasha Danvers joins Jay Hicks and John W. Davis to discuss her unlikely story of earning an Olympic bronze medal in the 400 meter hurdles in Beijing, her six degrees separation in the track & field and the inspiration behind her latest ventures which include the Tasha Danvers internet radio shows.

That and much more on the latest episode of PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show.

-Galen Rupp NCAA Interview
-Tasha Danvers
-Tasha Danvers’ Internet Radio Show - Real Women, Real Talk, Real Speed
-Tasha Danvers’ Internet Radio Show - Building on Bronze

Special thanks to Tasha Danvers.

“PreRaceJitters Track & Field Radio Show, where the real playas come to hang out.”

Rupp named Athlete of the Week

The University of Oregon’s Galen Rupp has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after setting the American Indoor record in the men’s 5,000 meters Friday at the 2009 Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.

A 2008 Olympian, Rupp’s time of 13 minutes, 18.12 seconds in the men’s 5,000m broke four records, the American indoor record, the collegiate indoor record and the American collegiate and Oregon record. The previous American record of 13:20.55 was set by Doug Padilla in 1982, four years before Rupp was born. The previous collegiate record of 13:20.4 was set in 1981 by Suleiman Nyambui.  In that same race, Rupp’s coach, Alberto Salazar, set the American collegiate and Oregon record of 13:22.6.

Elsewhere, Trevor Barron smashed the American junior record in the men’s 20 km Race Walk, crossing the line in 1:37:49. The previous record of 1:42:15 was set in 1990 by Philip Dunn.

Now in its eighth year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on the USATF website. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2009 USATF Athlete of the Week Winners: January 6, Mason Finley; January 13, Amber Campbell; January 20, Josh Cox; January 27, German Fernandez; February 3, Ashton Eaton; February 10, Shalane Flanagan; February 17, Galen Rupp.

Courtesy of USA Track & Field.

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show - Episode 7

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Keflezigki, Brown take open titles at USA Cross Country Championships

DERWOOD, Md. - 2004 Olympic men’s marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi (San Diego, Calif.) won his third national cross country title while Emily Brown (Minneapolis, Minn.) won her first at the USA Cross Country Championships on Saturday at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood, Maryland.

Defending junior men’s champion German Fernandez (Stillwater, Okla.) won his second consecutive title and Neely Spence (Shippensburg, Pa.) won the junior women’s 6 km.

In addition to the national titles up for grabs, the open and junior men and women qualified to represent Team USA at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships March 28 in Amman, Jordan.

Keflezighi jumped to an early lead in the open men’s 12 km, leading a chase pack of five after the first 2 km loop. The pack included Beijing 10,000 meter Olympian Jorge Torres (Boulder, Colo.), 2008 U.S. cross country team member Ed Moran (Williamsburg, Va.) and 2008 NCAA 5,000 meter champion Bobby Curtis (Ardmore, Pa.), with Olympic steeplechaser Anthony Famiglietti (Knoxville, Tenn.) beginning to lose contact.

Over the next three laps, Keflezighi extended his lead to as much as eight seconds with Torres and Curtis taking charge of the chase pack. Heading into the final lap, Keflezighi began to slow slightly as former University of Wisconsin All-American Tim Nelson (Portland, Ore.) joined Torres and Curtis as the trio closed the gap slightly.

Over the final kilometer, Nelson continued to close on Keflezighi and going into the final 150 meters, looked like he might have the momentum to take the win but Keflezighi kept a watchful eye on him and held Nelson off by a step for his second USA title of 2009.

In the kick to the finish, Curtis pulled clear of Torres for third with Moran, and Ryan Vail (Gresham, Ore.) rounding out the top-six, qualifying for the Team USA Cross Country Squad.

Brown cruises to open women’s title
The open women’s 8 km saw Brown and Team USA Minnesota teammate Katie McGregor working together to open a small gap on the field after 2 km. Approaching 3 km, Brown began to pull away from McGregor.

Over the final three laps, Brown looked easy and as she continued to extend her lead as McGregor stepped off the course at 4 km. In the race for second, local favorite Julie Culley (Arlington, Va.), ran 27:30 to qualify for her first U.S. team while Kathy Newberry (Williamsburg, Va.) finished third in 27:40 to qualify for her fifth U.S. Cross Country team. Completing the qualifiers for Team USA, Delilah DiCrensco (New York, N.Y.) finished fourth in 27:43 with Rebecca Donaghue (State College, Pa.) and Samia Akbar (Herndon, Va.) running 27:46 and 28:02 for fifth and sixth respectively.

Junior Women
In the junior women’s 6 km race, Allie McLaughlin (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took the early lead, opening up a 20 meter gap on the field at 2 km. Going into the final lap, Shippensburg State freshman Neely Spence (Shippensburg, Pa.), the 2008 NCAA Divdision II cross country runner-up had pulled even with McLaughlin and began open a lead that gave her a national title and a berth on her first U.S. Cross Country Team, running 20:43 to finish 14 seconds ahead of Ashley Brasovan (Wellington, Fla.). Rounding out the Team USA qualifiers for Amman were Alex Dunne (San Clemente, Calif.), McLaughlin in 21:10, Sara Vaughn (Tulsa, Okla.) and Katja Goldring (Los Angeles, Calif.).

Junior Men
As expected, the first three laps of the junior men’s 8 km saw defending champion Fernandez, Stanford freshman Chris Derrick (Naperville, Ill.) and Oregon freshman Luke Puskedra (Eugene, Ore.) taking brief turns in the lead.

Going into the final lap Fernandez started to press and pull away from Puskedra and Derrick and cruised to his second U.S. title in 23:20. During the final kilometer Derrick overtook Puskedra for the runner-up position, running 23:39. Puskedra was timed in 23:53 while the Team USA qualifying positions were rounded out by Ryan Hill (Hickory, N.C.) in 24:35, Patrick Dupont (Fairport, N.Y.) and Francisco Medrano (Lafayette, Ind.).

Masters Championships
National championships were also decided for masters men and women at 8 km with titles on the line in five-year age groups beginning at age 40 and up.

The masters men’s 8 km was led by USATF National Club Cross Country masters champion Simon Gutierrez (Alamos, Colo.) in 25:15, taking the 40-44 age-group title and Carmen Ayala Troncoso (Austin, Texas) took the masters women’s 8 km in 30:10, winning the 45-49 age-group.

Additional masters titles were also won in the following age-groups: 40-44 - Lisa Goldsmith (Nederland, Colo.); 45-49 - John Carroll (Weschester, Pa.); 50-54 - Brian Pilcher (Ross, Calif.) and Dorothy Beckett (Columbia, Md.); 55-59 - James Robinson (Rochester, N.Y.) and Kathryn Martin (Northport, N.Y.); 60-64 - Terry Delph (Coopersburg, Pa.) and Ann Hirn (Portmouth, Va.); 65-69 - Thomas Jennings (Ft. Washington, Pa.) and Mary -Louise Michaelson (New York, N.Y.); 70-74 - Thom Weddle (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Judith Smythe (Boulder, Colo.); 75-79 - Jerry Lewis (Reston, Va.).

Highlights of the 2009 USA Cross Country Championships will be televised on February 15 during ESPN coverage of the Tyson Invitational. The championships will consist of six cross country championship races for men’s and women’s categories with national titles on the line for junior, masters and open divisions. The nation’s premier cross country event, the Championships featured $47,000 in prize money.

For more information on the 2009 USA Cross Country Championships visit www.usatf.org.

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show - Episode 5

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