2010 Indoor Track & Field Conference Weekend Wrap Up

Saturday, February 28, 2010 — New conference champs in the collegiate track and field. The champions were crowned in the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Conference USA, MPSF, SEC, WAC, conference championship meets held over the weekend.

The NCAA meet is set up

With so many noteworthy performances it is difficult to know where start. Up until this point in the season not a lot matters, however the conference weekend is where it all begins.

Is this a dynasty in the making? The Lady Aggies of Texas A&M made some serious noise that will echo at the 2010 NCAA Track & Field Championships in two weeks. For the second year in a row, Gabby Mayo went about her business carving up the track, winning the 60m (7.30) and 60m hurdles (8.05) earning high point honors while helping her team to its fourth consecutive team title.

Jessica Beard wrapped up the 400m, while Porscha Lucas continued her dominance in the 200m and both claim titles in their respective events for the third straight year.  It has to be noted that Lucas lead Texas A&M’s 1-2-3 sweep of the top three spots in the women’s 200m.

Then the women’s 4 x 400 relay finished off the meet by winning for a fourth consecutive year.

“Across the board if you look at everything the team did, they really got after it today,” Aggie head coach Pat Henry said. “It’s a tough meet for us to win.  “You can have a really good team and come in here and be third or fourth, but still have a good track team at the next meet. I’m extremely pleased with the overall effort of our team.”

Already the 2009 NCAA champion in the 60-meter hurdles, Ronnie Ash added another title with his win in the 60-meter hurdles, recording a personal best 7.59. The time is the best among collegians this year and ranks fifth this year by an American on any level.  Ash helped the University of Oklahoma men’s track and field team nab the program’s 18th conference title Saturday when it won the 2010 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship

His silence is broken. Charles Clark burst onto the scene, opening up his indoor season with 20.67 winning the ACC 200 meters and registering the top NCAA time as Florida State recorded its’ eighth consecutive, ninth overall, ACC Indoor Championships title. Teammate Kimberly Williams is still on fire, leaping 46-8 1/4 inch winning the triple jump.

On his home court, Lee Emanuel was victorious in the 800, miles and DMR leading New Mexico to a fourth place finish.

Is she college track’s best all-around athlete? Queen Harrison’s record setting day gives her a strong look in the conversation. The Virginia Tech senior ran 7.94, setting a conference meet record and lowering her own school record. But the day was not over as she lowered her own school record in the 400 meters, placing second in 53.06.

The next great Oregon distance runner set the tone in Seattle.  Freshmen Jordan Hasay continues to make her mark, running 4:35.01 a three second personal record to win the women’s mile. That is a new conference meet record and of course an automatic qualifier.

The Oregon women won the MPSF title for the first time in school history with 133 points. Stanford was second with 113 points, followed by Arizona (109) and Arizona State (75).

How the west was won. Lacy Cramer lead BYU’s 1-2-3 sweep in the 800 meter running 2:05.55, ahead of teammates Nachelle Stewart 2:07.06 and Angela Wagner 2:08.90. The BYU men and women emerged victorious at the Mountain West Conference meet in Albuque, N.M.

Not to be overlooked senior Jason Colwick of Rice vaulted a crazy 5.18 meters or 17 feet, setting a Conference USA meet record in Houston and establishing himself as an NCAA title contender.

Jordan Hasay to Compete at The Home Depot Center May 16

Carson, CA (May 7, 2009) – The adidas Track Classic, one of the premier track and field meets in the country, has added two of the United States’ top high school runners to its already elite field, meet officials announced today.

Jordan Hasay, 17, a resident of San Luis Obispo, California, is already one of the most decorated American high school distance runners in history.  The 2008 High School Track & Field Athlete of the year, Hasay qualified for the 1500m final at the U.S. Olympic trials last summer and set a new high school national record of 4:14.50 in that race. One year earlier, Hasay captured the silver medal in the 1500m at the World Youth Championships.

In addition, she is a two-time Footlocker National champion, four-time California State Champion in cross country, three-time California State Champion in the 3200m, two-time USA Track & Field Cross Country junior national champion and has also been selected to three USATF Junior National teams. She will be competing in the 1500m at the adidas Track Classic.

Wyatt, 18, from Riverside, California has also enjoyed a stellar prep career.  Like Hasay, Wyatt won silver medal as a high school sophomore at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic and was the runner-up to national high school record holder Jeshua Anderson in the 300m hurdles at the California State Championships.

Last year, Wyatt was the fastest high schooler in the country in the 300m hurdles with a blistering 35.71A and placed sixth in the 400m hurdles at the 2008 adidas Track Classic, a effort he is looking to improve on in 2009.

Featuring some of the best athletes from across the globe, the adidas Track Classic has showcased track and field superstars from more than two dozen nations, including World Champions Tyson Gay, Jeremy Wariner, Allyson Felix, Meseret Defar and Veronica Campbell-Brown.

Among the biggest changes to this year’s event will be a move to an evening program that will allow for world class times in the middle and long distance races, while still taking advantage of Southern California’s warmth and the Home Depot Center’s fast track for the sprints. The meet will begin at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN2 from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. PDT.

Produced by Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc., the adidas Track Classic is the third stop on USA Track & Field’s Visa Championship Series. Tickets, from $40 (finish line) down to $10, are now available by calling Ticketmaster at 213-480-3232 or visiting www.Ticketmaster.com. For group sales, call 1-877-AEG-TICKETS. Visit the event website at www.adidasTrackClassic.com for updates and more information.

Distance Gala Weekly: April 27 - May 3

While a few meets were rescheduled due to the swine flu scare, and many states started to shift towards their state meet series’, the first weekend in May did not disappoint with fast results from around the country pouring in. This week, we wrap up the Prospect Invitational in Illinois, while highlighting many other top national performances. Prospect Invitational (IL) Every year the Prospect Invitational is widely regarded as the top track and field meet for distance runners in the state of Illinois outside of the state meet. Often is the case, the top male runners in Illinois go head-to-head, with the end results often showing numerous Illinois #1 times by the end of the evening. The evening started on an exciting note, as York (IL) battled a strong field of competition in the 4×800m relay, taking home the title in an IL #1 time of 7:50.83. York used a strong third leg to pull away from the pack, showing that they will once again contend for the state title in the event. Meanwhile, Prospect (IL) finished second in 7:53.37, despite running without one of their top 800m runners. As usual, the 3,200m run was the top individual race of the evening. Senior Steve Sulkin (York, IL) pushed the pace from the gun, running right on 9-flat pace for nearly the entire race. Sulkin was trailed by Phil Fairleigh (Cary-Grove, IL), who sat right off of Sulkin’s left shoulder lap after lap. With two laps to go Sulkin started to gap Fairleigh, and then the York star took off with 300m to go and went on to win in 9:01.11. Fairleigh finished with a huge personal best of 9:05.13. Sulkin’s senior teammate Jordan Herbert (York, IL) finished third in 9:10.38, while junior Pat Lesiewicz (Schaumburg, IL) finished fourth in 9:14.52. The 800m dash was won from the start, as senior Ryan Mangone (Barrington, IL) seemed to be shot out of a cannon, torching a first 400m in 52 seconds, then coming home in a very respectable and top Illinois time of 1:53.56. Senior Pat Morgan (York, IL) finished second in 1:55.64, while fellow senior David Way (York, IL) finished third in 1:55.83. As the meet wound down, the 1,600m run was the last distance event of the evening. With many of the top ranked runners in the state in the race, this race promised to be exciting. From the gun, Peter Callahan (North Shore Co. Day, IL) took the lead, pushing the pace through the first 400m in 62 seconds. Callahan then relinquished the lead to others in the pack and the race slowed dramatically for two laps. At the bell lap Callahan shot to the lead once again, dragging out the rest of the field, sprinting away from the field in the final 200m to win in 4:16.00. Alex Lyons (Lyons Twp., IL) finished second in 4:16.90, while Steve Sulkin finished third in 4:19.23. Prospect Invitational Meet Results Hasay Runs 4:16.80 at Payton Jordan Invitational Despite missing valuable training time in past weeks due to illness, Jordan Hasay (Mission Prep, CA) showed fine form Saturday evening at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University. Competing against many of the top professional and collegiate athletes in the U.S., Hasay finished eleventh overall in 4:16.80. Her time is the fourth fastest all-time at the prep level, giving her six of the top eleven best all-time performances, including her U.S. #1 mark of 4:14.50 set at the Olympic Trials last summer. Payton Jordan Invitational Results New U.S. #1 Times in 3,200m, mile and 800m In addition to Hasay’s U.S. #1 time in the girls 1,500m, new U.S. #1 performances were earned in the boys 3,200m and mile event, while the girls 800m dash has a new leader in the rankings. At the CNY Coaches Association Meet in New York, Chris Stogsdill (Marcellus, NY) ran a new U.S. #1 time in the boys’ mile, taking home the race win in 4:07.93. The senior, who’s committed to Iona College, outran junior Alex Hatz (Fayetteville-Manlius, NY), who finished second in a great time of 4:10.80. CNY Coaches Asso. Meet Results In the boys 3,200m, Erik Olson (Novato, CA) lowered his U.S. #1 time in the event, as he won by just over 20 seconds at the Sacramento Meet of Champions. Olson, who’s only a junior, has shown this outdoor season thus far that he is the man to beat in the event, dipping under nine minutes for the second time. Sacramento Meet of Champions Results Beating her personal best by over 1.5 seconds, Charlene Lipsey (Hampstead, NY) ran to a new U.S. #1 time in the girls 800m dash Saturday at the St. Anthony’s Invitational. The junior showed why she might just be the best 800m runner in the country this season, as she blazed to a 2:05.83 finish. St. Anthony’s Invitational Results Distance Highlights from Around the U.S. * 2008 Midwest Distance Gala 800m champion Tommy Brinn (Otsego, MI), ran quite the speedy double over the weekend. Brinn won over the span of 30 minutes the 400m dash and 800m dash at the Allegan Invitational Friday evening. Brinn took home the title in the 400m dash in 47.83, while winning the 800m dash in 1:53.09. Both were meet records. Brinn Blazes in 400/800 Double * The girls 800m is a strong event this year, with Illinois senior Stephanie Brown (Tri-Valley, IL) being one of the best in the country. On Friday evening, Brown scored a big win at the Meet of Champions in East Peoria, Illinois, winning the 800m in 2:09.89, becoming the fifth athlete to dip under the 2:10 mark this outdoor season. Brown came back later in the meet to win the 1,600m run in 5:09.47. Meet of Champions Results * The Trevor Dunbar (Kodiak, AK) continued this weekend, this time seeing the Portland-bound senior running at the Juneau Invitational. Dunbar won the 800m, 1,600m and 3,200m races, all with relative ease. Dunbar cruised to victory in the 1,600m race in 4:10.78, while winning the 3,200m in 9:10.74 and the 800m in 1:58.57 respectively. * At the Henderson Invitational earlier in the weekend, Tatnall (DE) showed why they are one of the strongest girls distance squads in the country. The squad ran a trio of runners in the 1,600m run that went 1-3-4, with Katie Buenaga, Haley Olivere and Allison Calvarese going 4:55.34, 5:06.68 and 5:07.93 respectively. The team’s top runner, Juliet Bottorff, won the 3,200m run by just over 49 seconds, cruising to a 10:27.11 victory. The top performance on the boys side was from junior Tom Mallon (Central Bucks South, PA), who won the 800m dash in 1:52.02, while leading two other teammates under 1:56 for second and third place overall. * One of the best performances to come out of the mountain region this year happened this past weekend when Evan Appel (Dakota Ridge, CO), a three-time Foot Locker finalist and Stanford-bound senior, won the 3,200m run at the Tiger Invitational with a 9:07.82 clocking, winning by 22 seconds. Additional Articles of Interest Lopez Lomong Helps Brothers Share in American Dream (Universal Sports) Interview with Top Canadian Prep Miler Jeremy Rae (Dyestat) Checking in with Matt Tegenkamp (Running Times) Brief Chat with Olympic 1,500m Medalist Nick Willis (Runner’s World) Coverage from the Payton Jordan Invitational (Runnerspace) To submit an article or results to Distance Gala Weekly please contact Scott Bush at: scott@midwestdistancegala.com The Midwest Distance Gala is one of the premier post-season high school track competitions in the United States. Through strong competition and a professional environment, the Midwest Distance Gala has continued a steady rate of growth and success. The fifth edition of the event takes place on Saturday, June 13, 2009, at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. For more information please visit the Midwest Distance Gala website at www.midwestdistancegala.com. To receive more Midwest Distance Gala info follow us on twitter. Sign up here to receive the Distance Gala Weekly via email. Distance Gala Weekly Copyright © 2009 Midwest Distance Gala, Inc. Printed with permission.

Oregon Wins Jordan Hasay

Vin Lannana and the University of Oregon Ducks showed their recruiting dominance, securing the commitment of high school distance standout Jordan Hasay.  She announced at 5 P.M. EST today that she is heading to the University of Oregon.

Hasay reached the semifinals in the women’s 1,500 at the trials and holds the national high school record in the 1,500 and is the most highly sought after prospect of 2009, pulling in scholarship offers from the nation’s top programs.

They have become a hit factory of late on the distance scene. Many worship at the alter of Galen Rupp and his electric performances but seriously the University of Oregon men are coming off back-to-back cross country national championship title and schools 6th overrall. The women’s program completed a second-straight second place showing at nationals.

The University of Oregon athletes are treated like pro athletes by the media, and the fans, and deservedly so.  Running in Eugene is like running for a professional team, the Oregon Track Club & countless other athletes train on-site, The Oregonian is among a handful of newspapers nationally with dedicated track & field beat writer, and oh yeah don’t forget it’s that Hayward Field is the home track for the U.S. Nationals for many years come.

The Mission Prep senior distance runner will be the dominant force in collegiate track & field, as a freshmen even more so than Bianca Knight was a year ago. Hasay could have picked any of the top 25 teams and turned them immediately into contenders. I don’t think that I’m overstating her potential here.

In high school, she won four CIF titles at the state meet, four Foot Locker West Regional titles and recently reigned in her second career Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship.

Hasay is making an incredible business decision. And you can’t blame her. She has the chance of becoming of the greatest college freshmen in history.  Hasay will be at the center of the track universe with coach Vin Lananna . Why do you get the feeling that when is not cramming for midterms that she will be running with the likes of Dathan Ritzenhein, learning the tricks of the trade?

Collegiate track & field is abuzz with her to heading to Oregon.  Believe me, the folks in Eugene, know how to put on a show.  The question is how quickly she progresses and how many years before she leaves the ranks of an amateur athlete and gets a shoe contract to focus all of her energies on the European track circuit.

That is the end game, right?

PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show - Episode 5

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