US Nationals - The Results are In, How Do We Look?

The US National Championships concluded yesterday and all the results are in. With the meet serving as the selection process for August's World Championships, the immediate question is - how will we do?

There are six weeks until the start of competition on August 15th - so relatively speaking its just around the corner. But plenty of time for those not yet sharp to get there, but also long enough to be difficult to perhaps hold a peak already reached. As we saw last year in Berlin running extremely well now, doesn't necessarily translate into superior performances a month and a half later in a global championships.

While I have seen several writers lamenting that some top athletes chose to use their byes (defending World Champions automatically qualify to defend their titles) and ran secondary events or single rounds; and others critical of the lack of "records" being set at the meet, I will say that athletes and coaches appear to have learned from last year's debacle in Beijing, and approached this year's championships as the key stepping stone to global titles that it truly is.

This meet closed with few casualties to injury; with those expected to make the team on the squad; and with what appears to be on paper as good a team as can be put together here in the US. Yes we have some holes to fill - some areas where we need to improve. But we will be strong and competitive in a majority of events and should do quite well in Berlin.

Following is my assessment of how the team looks leaving Eugene. Hopefully in six weeks we will look even better.


Men's Field Events

We look very solid heading into Berlin in the field. The shot put and pole vault have strong veteran performers. Christian Cantwell, Brad Walker, Reese Hoffa, and Derek Miles have all been on the big stage and have shown the ability to perform well when needed. Dwight Phillips has become extremely consistent in the long jump this year and has been regularly over 28 feet for the last month with a huge 28' 8.75" that put him in reach of the 29 foot barrier. Expect medals in Berlin in these events.

The loss of Bryan Clay put a damper on our decathlon hopes, though the young men that will go to Berlin should get valuable experience, and have the potential to get close to medal territory. Elsewhere in the field we are in growth mode and have a bit of work to do. Especially in the triple jump where we have fallen way off. Once a global power, 54' foot jumps made the team in Eugene making this one of our weaker events in the field now.


Women's Field Events

Jenn Stuczynski is a threat for gold in the pole vault. She and Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) could have a very strong battle in Berlin. Likewise discus thrower, Stephanie Brown Trafton showed that she is in form to potentially add a World title to the Olympic title she won in Beijing. Together they are our strongest hopes for medals in the field.

Though not as strong a bet, long jumper Brittany Reese has shown the potential to score in Berlin with a solid, consistent performance. Elsewhere in the field we are young and have a lot of growth ahead of us.


Men's Distances

Galen Rupp is the modern day Steve Prefontaine. He's running well right now and is showing the ability to shift gears - important in international competition. He appears to be in the best condition of his life which means we should see an improvement in his 10000 meter PR of 27:33.48. If he can cut 20 to 30 seconds off of that he can be in medal contention in what is usually a tactical race in a major.

In the 5000 Dathan Ritzenhein was a popular name prior to Rupp's emergence. Ritzenhein has experience, and is fast enough (13:16.61) to be in medal contention in Berlin as most majors often go in the 13:20/13:30 range. And Bernard Lagat is the defending champion. So we should be well represented here.

I don't see any such opportunity in the steeplechase - another event where we have fallen way off the pace compared to where we used to be.


Women's Distances

We appear stronger than we have in a while here. Jenny Barringer in the steeple; Kara Goucher in the 5000; and Amy Begley & Shalane Flanagan in the 10000 give us as strong a contingent as we have had in quite some time in the women's distance events. It is a stretch, but not impossible, that we could pick up 3 medals in these events.


Men's Middle Distances

Bernard Lagat is the defending champion in the 1500 meters. But after Lagat, this is an area where we were once strong, but now merely spectators after the first round. If the 1500 becomes tactical, perhaps one of our youngsters may have a shot to slip in. The 800 show little medal opportunity however. Symmonds and Robinson are veterans with plenty of experience. But neither seems to be fast enough to compete outside of the US. 1:44/1:45 is just not going to get us in medal contention with so many others running 1:43 and threatening 1:42.

Women's Middle Distances

Shannon Rowbury seems to be slowly rounding into form. At her best she can get in the 4:00 range and possibly medal. Kristin Wurth Thomas showed that she has a ton of heart. Another gutsy round of running in Berlin could put her in contention. And Anna Willard has the speed to be in the mix as well, having run 4:01 earlier this year and 1:59 for the half.

The 800, however, give us no such possibilities. Championship running goes around 1:56/1:57 to get into the medals and we are having difficulty getting runners under 2:00. When your miler/steeplechaser is also your leading half miler you have a problem - and we have a problem here.


Men's Hurdles

The bad news is that we lost David Oliver to injury in the high hurdles. Oliver has been among the world leaders all season. The good news is that we are very deep in this event so we will still send multiple medalist Terrence Trammell, and last year's Olympic bronze medalist David Payne.

In the long hurdles we return all three medalists from Beijing (Kerron Clement, Angelo Taylor and Bershawn Jackson) and add talented youngster Johnny Dutch. Three or four medals out of the two hurdle events is a strong possibility. We will be represented well here.


Women's Hurdles

Dawn Harper was a surprise winner in the short hurdles last year. She just won the National championship in a super time, so she won't be sneaking up on anyone this time around. Damu Cherry is a fast veteran; Ginny Powell seems to be back from injury; and Michelle Perry is the defending champion. We have a strong shot here at more than one medal.

The long hurdle race is also a strong suit. Lashinda Demu. Sheena Tosta, and Tiffany Williams form a very solid trio all of which are capable of getting to the medal stand. So we will be well represented in both hurdle events in Berlin.


Men's Sprints

After last year's fall off in Beijing our men appear ready to get back to their medal winning ways. Tyson Gay showed that he will be faster than ever as he ran a windy 9.75 in what he called a bad race (his first 100 of the season). He will be joined by Mike Rodgers, the National champion in Gay's absence and one of the hottest sprinters of the season having beaten all except Gay and Usain Bolt - including two wins over Jamaican Asafa Powell. And super vet Darvis (Doc) Patten appears to be rounding into form at the right time this year.

Speaking of super vets, Shawn Crawford did nothing short of putting on a clinic on how to run the 200 meters as he motored his way to a windy 19.73 in crushing the field for the National title. He will join Gay in the 200 in Berlin to form the hottest duo ever in the event.

Only Usain Bolt stands between Gay and a repeat of his double victory in '07. Their battles could be the most anticipated of the World Championships - and the most entertaining. Behind them Rodgers will be in strong contention for the bronze in the 100 meters and Crawford in strong position for the 200 bronze.

In the 400 there are only two questions. In what order will Lashawn Merrit and Jeremy Wariner take gold and silver, and who will take third behind them? Such is the strength of our 400 meter team. So expect a large medal haul in these events in Berlin. Three to six medals should be attainable.


Women's Sprints

Carmelita Jeter is undefeated over 100 meters this year and ran 10.72w and 10.78w at Nationals. Muna Lee was right with her in the final at 10.78w. Muna also ran well in the 200 taking second (22.13w) to defending World Champion Allyson Felix (22.02w). We'll be sending a very strong contingent in the short sprints.

In the 400, Sanya Richards looks to be as strong as ever. If she can execute after rounds in Berlin (something she has had difficulty with in the past) she a solid medal contender and is good enough to win the gold. Behind her we are young and unproven this time around. However, like the men, three to six medals is not out of the question between the three events.


With a return to strength of our sprint squads, we should see an improvement in the medal count over Beijing. We still have several areas that need to be addressed, however, if we are to reach Doug Logan's goal of 30 medals in London. Frankly I think the goal IS attainable. We've been strong in the jumps (men and women) in the past and I see no reason why we can't be again. The resurgence of Dwight Phillips is an example of just how quickly this can happen.

The middle distances baffle me. We have some excellent coaches here in the US. And if there is any area of our sport that is popular among the masses it is distance/road running. So you would think that producing the likes of Galen Rupp and Jenny Barringer would be routine. Instead they are the exception. There is no reason that our middle and long distance squads shouldn't be as strong and deep as our sprint squads. We need to work on that. If we do, 30 medals in London is definitely achievable.

This year in Berlin we will not get there, but we should be somewhere in the 20's, and that is where we should be. Berlin should see us get back to "normal". Then we can look to Daegu (2011) for improvement.

US Nationals Day Two

Day Two continued with lots of qualifying rounds, but there were several finals including the men's and women's 100 and 5000 meters.

In the women's 100 Carmelita Jeter remained unbeaten winning the title in a blazing 10.78w. The victory was not easy however, as last year's Trials winner, Muna Lee made a rush to the finish in the final 30 meters that brought her to within .001 of victory as she too crossed the line in 10.78w. They will be joined by super vet Lauryn Williams who, once again, brought her "A" Game when it mattered and ran her way onto the team after a somewhat average spring.

With Tyson Gay having run enough to secure his ticket to Berlin, Mike Rodgers continued his hot streak winning the men's event in 9.91w just ahead of fast closing Darvis Patton's 9.92w. The surprise was the 3rd place finish of Rae Edwards (10.00w) who ran solidly through the rounds and edged ahead of Travis Padgett (10.02) to gain a spot on the team. Both 100 squads appear to be strong and should form formidable 4x1 relay teams in Berlin. One of the events early favorites , Walter Dix, went down to injury in his semi and is out for the rest of the meet.

I had high hopes for the women's 5000, as several of our distance stars were originally entered. But Jenny Barringer opted to focus on the steeplechase, Shalane Flanagan was satisfied with her place on the 10000 team, and Shannon Rowbury opted to focus on the 1500. All of which left Kara Goucher as the Alpha Distance Queen in the race. Goucher went out and dominated the race, winning easily in 15:20.94 over the 15.26.92 of second place finisher Jen Rhines.

The men's race lost a bit of luster when Galen Rupp opted to just run the 5000, but Oregon Track Club members ran solidly in taking all three Berlin spots - Matt Tegenkamp (13.20.57), Chris Solinsky (13.20.82, Evan Jager (13.22.18).

Results for all events can be found here.

Today's events will feature long jumper Dwight Phillips who could be flirting with the 29 foot barrier before the day is done, and Olympic Champion Lashawn Merrit in the 400 meters. The sprinters will get right back on the track for the opening rounds of the 200 meters. And we should get a good battle between Shannon Rowbury and Anna Willard in the women's 1500 meters. Should be an exciting afternoon.

Do They Really Understand Track and Field in Oregon Outside of Eugene ?

While scanning the internet for articles on this week's National Championships, I came across an article in the Oregonian that really took me by surprise. While host city Eugene prides itself as being "Track Town USA", the primary paper in the larger City of Portland talked about the National Championships and our top athletes as if this were the opening night of a theater production!

The writer, Ken Goe, calls several athletes "arrogant and short sighted" because they are not competing in their primary events, or in some cases only one round, because they have byes to the World Championships as defending champions! He says, sarcastically that "If the people who have packed into Hayward feel cheated, well, hey, the athletes have their own careers to think about".

Clearly Mr. Goe does not follow the sport, or does not understand it. Yes this is our National Championships, and will serve to select the team that will represent the USA at the World Championships in Berlin. But what Mr. Goe is missing is just that - we are trying to select a team for the World Championships, and it is those World Championships that serves as the bigger goal for every athlete in this competition! And THAT is what all of these athletes are pointing towards - to doing their BEST not in Eugene, but hopefully in Berlin!

Mr. Goe states that "USATF CEO Doug Logan has big plans to remake the USATF in time for the 2012 Olympics. How about starting by giving the ticket-buying public and the television executives who have slotted three days of live coverage a national meet in which the sport's biggest names give an honest effort?". Evidently Mr. Goe missed the report where Mr. Logan stated that the goal is to increase our medal count at Majors!

You see, the goal is NOT about putting on a show in Eugene, but rather about putting on a show in Berlin, or London, or wherever the Olympics or World Championships happen to be. To that end, that may mean that sometimes our best hopes in certain events focus on THAT meet and not the National Championships.

Tyson Gay ran his heart out for you last year and put on a great show. And for his efforts he suffered an injury and was unable to perform at his best in Beijing. The result was "failure" in Beijing for the American sprint squad and cries of "what is wrong with American sprinting"! All of our athletes put on a show for Mr. Goe last year, and many performed poorly as a result in Beijing. So yes, those that have the ability to adjust their seasons in order to PEAK in Berlin are doing that! And that doesn't mean that the fans in Eugene won't get their money's worth.

Tyson Gay gave the fans a show on Day One as he sizzled in his appearance on the track - 9.75w the fastest run ever witnessed in Eugene! Just because Jeremy Wariner is running the 200 instead of the 400 doesn't mean we won't see a world class effort from Jeremy in THAT event - he does have a 20.19 PR and is looking to try and improve upon that! Kerron Clement in the open 400 instead of the 400 hurdles? Mr. Goe must not be aware that Clement is one of the world's best in the open event, holds the World Indoor Record in it, and many feel it may be his better event! I don't think the fans will be cheated by having him run the 400 - not at all. As a matter of fact I would suspect that while Goe touts that Galen Rupp was running the 10000 final last night, I imagine that Rupp ran just enough to win, holding something for tonight's 5000! Does that mean that Rupp "cheated" the paying fans? Absolutely not.

Goe says that Gay, Wariner, Lagat, and Clement don't recognize that this meet is a Championship meet. Perhaps it is Goe that does not recognize that this meet is NOT the center piece of the season - only a step towards it - and is taking the title "Track Town USA" a bit too seriously. These athletes are all in town and will put forth world class efforts over the next few days. More importantly, they are doing what they and their coaches feel is best for each to achieve gold in Berlin. Perhaps Goe should consult with the people of Eugene before condemning the actions of the athletes. After all, he is writing about a sporting event, not a theater opening. Yes it is a National Championship - one whose purpose is to select our World Championship squad - not to simply provide entertainment to the people of Eugene. Last year's entertaining meet certainly didn't get it right. This year the athletes are working hard to correct that. Let them and the coaches do so in peace.

US Championships Day One

The first day of any National Championship is full of qualifying rounds - and this year's US Nationals was no exception. The goal on Day One is to qualify and make it to Day Two. So typically the first day is very low key - and such was most of yesterday's competition, low key. A lot of the big news happened off the track as leading decathlete, Brian Clay, middle distance hopeful, Andrew Wheating, and leading hurdler David Oliver, were all forced to withdraw from the meet due to various injuries. Clay and Oliver were potential medal threats in Berlin, so their withdrawals will be especially missed.

With that done the focus went to the competition itself. And the spotlight was on Tyson Gay, as he came into the meet with the intent to run only one round of the 100. As the defending champion in both sprints, Gay is guaranteed passage to the World Championships and so only had to basically run here to show fitness - as rules state he must run at least once in the national meet.

In lane 2 of the first heat, Tyson's race was very interesting. A false start, caused the field to sit on the second go round and Gay was out cautiously. This was Gay's first 100 of the season and it showed for 50 meters as he ran just off the pace of the field. But like a Ferrari that's been in the garage for a while, once the carbon blew out of the pipes Tyson rocketed by the field and won going away in a sizzling 9.75w (+3.4) - 7th fastest time ever under all conditions, fastest ever seasonal debut! Gay described the race as horrible, saying "I ran a horrible race. Technically it was horrible. My focus was horrible,". And he was somewhat correct as it was far from a perfect race - though there was nothing at all horrible about the result. I can't wait for him to get sharp and "get it right"! With only two sprint races under his belt - 19.58, 9.75w - after coming back slowly from last year's injuries, its clear that Tyson will be a major force in Berlin. Video of yesterday's first round race can be seen here.

The rest of qualifying went according to form. The winds were strong most of the day, favoring the dashes, but giving some trouble to full lap races. As a result dash times were quick, others were held down a bit.

We did have four finals on the day. Brandon Roulac winning the Triple Jump (54' 8.25") and Stephanie Brown Trafton continuing her dominance in the discus (210' 9"). On the track Amy Begley upset Shalane Flanagan to win the women's 10000 (31:22.69), while Galen Rupp continued to show he is America's best hope with an easy 27:52,53 win in the men's 10000. Full results for the day can be found here.

Today's competition will feature finals in both the men's and women's 100 and 5000 meters. In the 100 meters, Carmelita Jeter will be looking to stay undefeated among the women, while we will get to see who gets paired with Tyson Gay in Berlin. Galen Rupp will be contesting the 5000, and going for a double victory. In the women's race we should be treated to a Jenny Barringer, Shannon Rowbury, Kara Goucher, Shalane Flanagan battle!

Should be another good day of competition.

US Championships Start Today

The starting lists are all set and starting at 11:00am PST with the start of the decathlon, the US Nationals opens up its weekend run. With all final declarations being in the books and heat sheets done we finally have some answers regarding who is going to do what.

Tyson Gay is entered in both sprints - drawing lane 2 in heat 1 of the 100 and lane 6 in heat 2 of the 200. I don't expect to see him in the final of either event (he has byes in both to Worlds), but perhaps we'll see single runs in both. Which could make for the fastest first round runs in meet history.

Jenny Barringer will not be running the 1500 - a bit of a let down given that she has already run 3:59.90 in the metric mile. Instead she will be running a steeplechase/5000 double. So the showdown between Barringer and Shannon Rowbury (last year's 1500 leader) won't happen - not in the 1500 anyway. Both are entered in the 5000 as Rowbury is listed to double in the 1500/5000. Now the women's 5000 is loaded with Barringer, Rowbury, Shalane Flannagann and Kara Goucher all entered! Making it one of the women's hotter events.

While we're looking at distance doubles, Galen Rupp is listed in both the 5000 and 10000. Another interesting matchup could occur in the 5000 as miler German Fernandez is listed to run the 1500/5000 double, bringing his speed up to the longer distance. Throw in Jonathon Riley (another former miler), Dathan Ritzenheim, Matt Tegenkamp and Anthony Famiglietti and the men's 5000 is as loaded as the women's. The only missing piece being Bernard Lagat, who is focusing on the 800 here for speed work, having byes in both the 1500/5000 - making Rupp a strong favorite here in my book. It could also spice up the 800!

Speaking of doubles, Allyson Felix has settled on a 100/200 double, adding some more spice to the shorter event. Long jumper Tianna Madison is also going to double in the 100 and the long jump. Felix and 400 leader Sanya Richards will meet in the 200 as Richards is listed in both the 200 and 400.

On the men's side we'll also see a 200/400 double as Xavier Carter is listed in both. But we won't see Wallace Spearmon in two events as he is focusing on the 200 this time around and is not entered in the 100. A move that could leave him a lot fresher than many other sprinters as a large number are running the 100/200 double. Could make his strong finish even more lethal! We will see 100 leader Mike Rogers among those running the sprint double - interesting as up to this year he has focused on the 100 and has had the reputation as a 60 meter man.

We'll also get an 800/1500 double as NCAA 800 champion Andrew Wheating is entered in both events.

We also get some vets that seemed retired that are entered in this meet, as I'm surprised to find Allen Johnson (110 hurdles) and Gabe Jennings (1500) entered in this meet!

At any rate we're just hours away from it all happening. Below are some links that will help you follow the meet. We should have a lot to discuss by the end of the weekend.

Meet Schedule

Start Lists

Live Streaming Video

The Inside Lane discussion forum

Track and Field News Twitter

Flotrack Twitter

US Nationals Preview - the Hurdles

Willie Davenport, Rod Milburn, Greg Foster, Roger Kingdom, Edwin Moses, Kevin Young. The US has a long a rich tradition of hurdlers in international competition. Eugene will see some fierce competition among those who want to be next in line to continue that tradition. Along with the sprint events, the hurdle events provide us with a large majority of medals in the Major meets. In Beijing we garnered three medals in the 400H alone as American athletes swept the event. Expect to see medalists emerge from the squad that leaves Eugene at the end of the weekend.


Men's 110 Hurdles

The first name that jumped out at me as I looked at the most recent list of declarations was that of Allen Johnson - former Olympic and World Champion as far back as the mid 90's. Allen is declared and apparently will be running in this meet.

While he is a part of the tradition of American medalists, he will find tough going as several young hurdlers have made their way to the top of the world's elite. Among those will be Terrence Trammell who has developed his own legacy, by winning silver medals in several international competitions, including the World Championships in Osaka. A feat matched just last year by David Payne as he won the silver in Beijing. Trammell is extremely fast with 10 flat 100 meter speed while Payne is a solid technician with a smooth race. They will have to contend with David Oliver, a powerful hurdler who has lead the world on the clock for most of the year and is still #1 among Americans (13.09). While these men have all shown their worth, the pack behind them is only a hair off and moving up rapidly. Up and comers like Dexter Faulk, Ryan Wilson, Jason Richardson, and Ronnie Ash could on any given day have that one race that could slip them into the top three.

Trammell and Oliver would appear to have a slight edge as both have PR's under 13.00, but one clipped hurdle can take you from first to fifth in the blink of an eye. Running a clean race will be important in a field this tightly bunched. Consistency should earn tickets to Berlin:

1. Terrence Trammell
2. David Oliver
3. David Payne

Watch - Ronnie Ash. The youngster from Bethune Cookman was an unknown quantity at the beginning of the year. He's improved steadily all year running his way to a 13.27 win at the NCAA Championships. He's on a roll and at his rate of improvement a clean round could slip him into the top 3 in what should be a close race.


Men's 400 Hurdles

One of the real bright spots in Beijing, was the sweep of the hurdle medals by the trio of Angelo Taylor, Kerron Clement and Berhawn Jackson. It appeared that this group would be back for Berlin but looking at the declarations just this morning Clement has scratched this event in favor of the open 400. A surprise, but perhaps fitting as Clement may be the most talented intermediate hurdler, but is often done in by poor step patterns.

This opens things up a bit for a group of young, talented hurdlers looking to break through. They will be lead by Jeshua Anderson, the former high school 300 hurdle record holder and twice NCAA Champions as a frosh and soph. Anderson is young talented and has shown to run well in big meets. Justin Gaymon is a former collegiate champ, and Johnny Dutch a medalist at this year's meet. Both are strong hurdlers with great potential. Also lurking in the field is James Carter, a strong veteran who once looked like he was ready to take the event over, but has had some down season's lately.

Jackson and Taylor should be leading the way in this event, with the race behind them fierce! The spots for Berlin could change 3 or 4 times in the final 50 meters. When the dust settles boarding the Berlin flight should be:

1. Angelo Taylor
2. Bershawn Jackson
3. Jeshua Anderson

Watch - James Carter. Carter has shown the talent in the past to be able to win this event. The question will be which Carter is entered in this meet. If it is the Carter of the past couple seasons, he'll be watching others cross the line. If it is a rejuvenated Carter (we saw a reemergence of Angelo Taylor two years ago after some down seasons) he could blow his way onto this team.


Women's 100 Hurdles

Lolo Jones was out front running away with Olympic gold - then she hit a hurdle. And just like that she was in 7th place - her outstanding season dashed by a single hurdle. Early this season she appeared to be on a path to replicate last year - minus that pesky hurdle. But cold weather at Drake resulted in a hamstring injury that has kept her off the track until this week.

While Jones hit a hurdle in Beijing, Dawn Harper came out of nowhere in that final to snatch the gold. In Lolo's absence this spring she has won several races on her own, while Beijing teammate Damu Cherry has run her way to the top of the yearly American list. This is one of the smaller fields of the meet based on the entry list, but one that is deep in talent with vets Ginnie Powell, Jenny Adams, and former two time World gold medalist and defending champion Michelle Perry all waiting to gain berths to Berlin.

Jones would be a prohibitive favorite were it not for the injury. Not having competed recently it will be hard to evaluate her until she takes the track. Harper was an unknown until she snuck onto last year's team and then won her surprise gold. The others are all hungry and looking for their break through. The crystal ball is cloudy on this one, but I can't cop out, so:

1. Lolo Jones
2. Michelle Perry
3. Damu Cherry

Watch - Ginnie Powell. Powell may be the most talented woman in the field. She has shown world class speed in the 100 when healthy - and speed is a premium in this event. She has been injured in the past season or two, but has been working her way back. If she shows up in her best form, she could put these women away.


Women's 400 Hurdles

An event that has been slow to develop this year, there are a lot of talented women entered. Lashinda Demus was in that 4th place slot last year - just missing out on a trip to Beijing. She was leading that race early and was passed very late in the race for what had appeared to be a sure ticket to the Games. She's currently leading the world this year and has run well. Vets Tiffany Williams and Sheena Tosta are two of the women that went by Demus as she faded at last year's Trials - Tosta eventually earning the silver medal in Beijing.

The best of the rest would appear to be NCAA Champion Nicole Leach - a talented hurdler that is just off the pace of the leading women. A strong race could net her a spot. It will take a bit of improvement for the other women in this field to mount a serious challenge - but its happened before. However, barring that type of improvement this week, this team should come down to:

1. Lashinda Demus
2. Sheena Tosta
3. Tiffany Williams

Watch - Nicole Leach. The NCAA champ is in a position to challenge. Chief question for her will be whether or not she has had enough rest from her exploits in Fayetteville.

US Nationals Preview - Middle Distances

An area where we once could count on medals internationally, in recent years we've come up dry. Bernard Lagat becoming an American citizen provided us with 1500 gold in Osaka in '07, but prior to that we have to go back to the 1999 World Championships to find a World Champs medalist, or even finalist as Jearl Miles Clark was 4th in the 800 and Regina Jacobs won silver in the 1500. And back to 1997 to find a men's finalist or medalist - Rich Kenah, bronze in the 800.

This from the nation that produced Jim Spivey, Mark Everett, Johnny Gray, Steve Scott, Kim Gallagher, and Jim Ryun. Among our current crop of athletes are some up and comers that I think will be able to join with Lagat to give us a strong presence in these events again.


Men's 800

The clear favorite entering the meet is Nick Symmonds. A gutsy runner with a fairly strong kick. NCAA Champion Andrew Wheating backed up his Olympic Trials 2nd place from last year with a gut wrenching, come from behind, diving win, on a bum leg at the NCAA Championships. The man he defeated, Tevan Everett, has proven to be adept at taking out the pace, and could end up in the role of "rabbit" in this meet.

US list leader, Khavedis Robinson (1:45.67), has long been thought to be the next breakthrough 800 meter man, but just keeps missing the mark. With youngsters like Wheating, Everett, and Trials 3rd placer Christian Smith coming into their own, "KD" may find making this team a bit more difficult.

!:43 is the current standard to be a contender on the international level. Symmond's PR sits at 1:44.01. Would be nice to see one or two get close to that mark, or better, this week. My best guess is a replay of the Trials final:

1. Nick Symmonds
2. Andrew Wheating
3. Christian Smith

Watch - Tevan Everett. His form broke down on him as Wheating reeled him in in Fayetteville. If the fast starting Everett can find a way to hold form, he could hold on and make this team.


Men's 1500

Leonel Manzano is the current American list leader at 3:34.14. Bernard Lagat has been our best "competitor" and possesses a PR of 3:26.34 from 2001 (when he was still competing for his native Kenya). Oregon's Matt Centrowitz appeared to be the next great miler from Oregon until he was derailed at the NCAA meet and failed to make the final. A final that was won by the one of the most intriguing competitors in this meet - Oklahoma State freshman German Fernandez, the NCAA Champion.

Fernandez has proven to be a fierce competitor in the mold of Manzano and Lagat. Though is PR is "only" 3:39.00, his mile times (3:55.02i) indicate he is capable of running faster. The other intriguing entry is former "wunderkind" Alan Webb. The American Record Holder in the mile (3:46.91) Webb has just not run well the last couple of seasons. He comes into this meet at 3:40.66 run back at the Pre meet. But in what could end up being a kicker's race, a time in that range could make the team.

This race should give us a view of how the "mile" is going to look in the US for some time to come. My picks:

1. Bernard Lagat
2. German Fernandez
3. Leonel Manzano

Watch - Matt Centrowitz. Centrowitz was looking like a sure member of the Berlin squad prior to the NCAA meet. How well he rebounds from that "failure" will say much about him. In his pre NCAA form he will challenge Fernandez and Manzano for what I see to be close spots behind Lagat.


Women's 800

An event in transition, there is no dominant force in this event. Hazel Clark was supposed to be next in line in the Clark Clan but never really met the heights of sister in law Jearl Miles Clark. She is the fastest entrant on the season as yearly list leader Anna Willard (1:59.29) has opted to run the 1500.

Chief among the challengers for the team should be two time NCAA champ Geena Gall, who won this year's title with a PR 2:00.80. She's an aggressive runner, but will really need to improve to make the team and be a factor at the next level. The really interesting entrant is Maggie Vessey - a journyman who suddenly emerged at the Pre Classic with a stunning stretch run to win and set her PR 2:00.18! A finish of that nature this week could very well net her a spot on the team.

This is an event where flipping a coin is about as good as examining the stats. My coin says:

1. Geena Gall
2. Hazel Clark
3. Maggie Vessey

Watch - Treniere Clement - Clement has the chops to make this team, but has run poorly this year. If there is a time to shake off the cobwebs this is it. If she can find her form, she's on the team.


Women's 1500

This could end up being one of the most exciting events of the entire meet. It lost a bit of luster for me with the scratch's of Jenny Barringer (this years list leader at 3;59.90) from this event to focus on the steeplechase.

There is still a lot of talent here, however, and we still have last year's leader (4:00.33) Shannon Rowbury taking the track. Her main competition should be Anna Willard, this year's leader in the 800 (1:59.29) who was 4:01.44 in the fast Prefontaine race. Christin Wurth Thomas was also in that race and finished in 4:01.72. The rest of the field is a bit back of this group. They should make up our team barring an unseen emergence from someone else. The excitement, however, will be in how close they race each other and whether or not one, or more, can dip below 4:00! After shuffling the deck I come up with:

1. Anna Willard
2. Shannon Rowbury
3. Christin Wurth Thomas

Watch - Jordan Hassay. Hassay is a high school phenom that has dominated at that level. She's not quite ready to challenge these women, But watch her as she is the next phase and could be ready by London 2012.