Sprinters, Now is Your Time

Once upon a time (a long time ago) when I took typing in high school, there was a practice phrase that we used that said, “now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country”. That phrase could be well suited to American sprinters as we seem to be a bit short on top of the line sprinters these days. As I sit waiting for the start of the national championships, I can count on one hand the sprinters that I know can make a global final and have the ability to medal once they get there – Tyson Gay (100/200), Wallace Spearmon (200) and Walter Dix (100/200). That’s not to say that we don’t have others capable of making a final, but the chance that they do is dependant upon the circumstances of the day – and medaling is a crap shoot.

Last summer, and through this spring, we’ve seen massive improvement in our middle and long distance corps. Jennifer Barringer, Anna Pierce, Kristen Wurth Thomas, Matt Tegenkamp, Galen Rupp, Dathan Ritzenhein and Chris Solinsky among others have made huge improvements in their races. So much so that some, primarily our middle distance women, have put themselves in a position to make finals and potentially medal – while the others are now within smelling distance of doing the same. Now it’s time for our sprinting counterparts on the men’s side to step up their game in similar fashion.

For decades we’ve taken it for granted that we will go into the Olympics and World Championships with enough fire power to take at least two, and sometimes three, medals in these events. Be it with dual medalists like Jim Hines/Charlie Greene, Carl Lewis/Calvin Smith, or Michael Johnson/Jeff Williams. Or complete sweeps as with Carl Lewis/Kirk Baptiste/Thomas Jefferson, and Shawn Crawford/Bernard Williams/Justin Gatlin. The US has always been in the gold medal hunt with the solid potential to pick up one or two more per event. The recent improvement of Caribbean sprinters has been marked by a similar decline in American sprinting. Putting us in a less advantageous position when attempting to make the medal stand.

Now I’m sure that some would say that saying we are declining in the sprints might be a stretch or misuse of words. Especially since we have as many sub10 sprinters today as we have had in the past, as well as athletes running in the 20.00 to 20.20 range. However, the standards have dropped dramatically over the past couple of seasons. Winning a medal in today’s sprints take efforts of 9.8x and 19.8x – to win bronze. The same efforts that three or four majors ago would have sufficed for gold! With our competition improving it is imperative that we improve at the same rate. And so far only a few of our athletes have been able to keep pace.

Ironically it was the last “off” season in 2006 that things began to speed up. In 2006 Asafa Powell (JAM) twice ran 9.77 to tie the then WR in the 100 and had seven races under 9.90. Tyson Gay had his first serious season in the 100 running a best of 9.84 – with three marks under 9.90. Xavier Carter (US) became the #2 man all time in the 200 at that point with his 19.63 – the fastest since the WR race of 1996 – and two others ran under 19.70 during the season ( Americans Wallace Spearmon, 19.65, and Tyson Gay 19.68). Since then we’ve seen Powell drop to 9.72, Gay to 9.69/19.58, Walter Dix(US) drop to 19.69 (20.25 in ‘06, 20.18 the season before) and Usain Bolt (JAM) leap frog over everyone to 9.58/19.19 (after no previous marks in the 100 and a best of 19.88 in ‘06).

So with this being an off season, I’m hoping that once again we can find a few sprinters that will step up their game and join the upper echelon in the sprint game – much the same way that we saw a rush of improvement in our middle and long distance runners last year. Anyone looking to jump start their career could get a head start in that direction this week in Des Moines. With Tyson Gay our only true gold medal threat at either sprint distance on the men’s side there is plenty of room for ambitious sprinters to make a move into a spot on the team for Daegu, London and/or Moscow. That path starts in Des Moines.

US Nationals – Keep an Eye on the Collegians

Without a World Championships or Olympic Games berth on the line, this year’s national championships could see a number of individuals choose to focus on things like making money, letting nagging injuries heal, or simply train through nationals while focusing on meets later in the season. If so we could see several top level athletes choose to skip the national championships with the only real gain being the title of “National Champion”. So it’s not surprising that we’ve already heard that Tyson Gay won’t be competing in Des Moines and names such as Kerron Clement, Sanya Richards and Lashinda Demus are missing from the preliminary start lists. 

With that being the case, this year’s meet could be a good time to keep an eye on young emerging talent. Athletes that could be the back bone of the US team heading into the global championship cycle of Daegu ‘11 / London ‘12 / Moscow ‘13. For example the last ”off” season of 2006 was Nick Symmonds’ big breakthrough season before he made the US teams for Osaka, Beijing and Berlin.

Prime candidates would be some of the athletes from the recently completed NCAA Championships that are looking to see how they stack up against their counterparts on the next level. So with that in mind here are some youngsters that I feel bear watching at this week’s meet.

 

Ryan Whiting – Shot Put

Whiting is coming off a double win in the shot put and discus at the recently completed NCAA Championships. His winning put of 72’ 1” was just shy of the collegiate record and makes him #2 in the world entering the meet. Whiting was very consistent as a collegian throwing the shot over 70 feet in 10 meets during his career. He will take to the field in Iowa against veterans such as reigning World Indoor and Outdoor Champion Christian Cantwell. Whiting could be the next in a long line of top floight shot putters from the US. This meet could give us a glimpse into his future.

 

Christian Taylor – Long Jump / Triple Jump

Christian Taylor is another collegiate champion who will be taking a shot against the big boys. Taylor won the NCAA triple jump title with a leap of 56’ 1”w and had a legal jump of 55’ 10.25”. He becomes an immediate contender in an event that has been suffering here in the US. With the world’s top jumpers leaping in the 57 to 58 foot range we need someone to step up and be competitive – Taylor could be the guy.  He has bests of 56’ 4.5”, 26’ 4.75” and is a 45.34 quarter miler – he has serious talent. Competing for Florida he’s also had relay duty, but here he will be focusing on the jumps so will be interesting to see just how far he may leap. I think he may be able to compete in that 57 foot range by the time the next set of championships comes along.

 

Johnny Dutch – 400 Hurdles

Dutch heads to Des Moines having pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the NCAA championships by defeating 2 time defending champion Jeshua Anderson. His defeat of Anderson came two weeks after improving his PR to 48.12 and becoming the #4 all time collegiate hurdler – giving validation to his recent improvement. He will get his toughest test to date going up against Olympic and  World Championship bronze medalist Bershawn Jackson as well as collegiate nemesis Jeshua Anderson who will be looking to avenge his NCAA loss. We are not lacking in this event internationally but it’s been a while since we’ve had some “new blood” enter the fray. We will see how Dutch matches up against the vets.

 

Queen Harrison – 100 / 400 Hurdles

Queen proved to be a fitting first name for Ms Harrison as she won BOTH hurdle events at the NCAA meet in sizzling fashion with times of 12.67 & 54.55. She stated during interviews in Eugene that she likes both events and is entered in both in Des Moines. Her toughest test may come in the shorter event where international vets Lolo Jones and Damu Cherry lie in wait. In the 400 hurdles she’ll get to go against veteran Sheena Tosta – whom she edged out at the Trials in ‘08. While we’re fairly deep in the short hurdles, it would be nice to see a bit of new blood in the 400 event.

 

Jordan Hasay – 1500 Meters

In 2008 Hasay competed in this meet as a high schooler and made the final. This year she shows up as a college freshman who took charge in the NCAA championships as the third place finisher after taking charge mid race and nearly pulling off the upset. Watching Hasay for me is less about seeing if she can win, than it is about watching her growth. I have little doubt that she is going to become a middle distance mainstay for the US. It’s not a question of “if” but a matter of “when”. This meet should be one more stepping stone for Hasay.

 

Ronnie Ash – 110 Hurdles & Jeshua Anderson 400 Hurdles

I put Ash and Anderson together because their stories are the same. Both were heavily favored in their events at the NCAA meet and both suffered upsets. They both bear watching because they have potential to be among out best in their events, and a single loss doesn’t lessen that potential. It will be interesting, however, to see how they respond to their upset losses here in Des Moines. How they compete will give us a glimpse at their character. We already know that both have talent. Now we will get to see how they respond to adversity.

 

Some combination of these youngsters will be representing us internationally over the next few seasons. This meet will be a chance for us to get to know them.

US Track & Field Needs to Regain it’s Swagger

The latest volley between the leadership of US Track & Field  and our coaches focused on the “embarrassment” that some coaches have brought upon the sport in this country – at least from the point of view of USATF. The one thing that they got right is that we should be embarrassed here in the United States – but not because of the actions of any particular coaches or athletes. I say that because when an athlete or coach “goes down” the embarrassment is on the individual. These are ADULTS making adult decisions – individuals that are responsible as such for the decisions that they make as well as the subsequent consequences.

No different than any other working environment when a colleague goes down for some sort of negative activity – embezzlement, harassment, DUI, etc. You don’t like the “company” name being associated, but you also know that the “company” was not responsible for the actions of the individual. In the event that the actions of the individual did real damage to the company (as in the case of let’s say embezzlement) you review the situation to see how/why it occurred and what you as a company could have done to detect/deter/prevent the action. But surely you don’t feel perpetually “embarrassed” by what occurred.

What should cause embarrassment, however, is poor performance by your company. If your company puts out an inferior product, you should be embarrassed. If your company puts out a product that is consistently outsold, you should be embarrassed. If your company is being out performed by smaller companies with fewer employees, fewer resources, and less access to capital, you should be embarrassed. And if your company was once a solid #1 world wide, but has slipped precipitously towards the middle of the pack, you should be embarrassed.

So USATF SHOULD be embarrassed, because we are putting out an inferior product. We are being consistently outsold by other sports when it comes to filling the stands. We are being out performed by Caribbean, African, and European nations in every aspect of the sport be it direct results on the track, the development of major world class events, the development of world class stadiums and tracks, or the hosting of global major events – yet we have more human & economic resources in this country.

We were once THE preeminent power in the world when it comes to track and field – now we’re just one of the bunch. We haven’t completed a relay in the last four tries in a global event – let alone won a race. We sent athletes out on the track in the last Olympic Games with “USA” handwritten on their bibs! It took us almost 40 years to go from the 28 minute barrier to the 27 minute barrier in the 10000 meters. We currently have ONE male sprinter guaranteed to make a 100 meter final in a major – if we can get him to the starting line in one piece. We are uncompetitive in half of the field events on the big stage and winning a medal on the track at anything above 400 meters is a crap shoot. THESE are the things that should be causing us (our leadership) alarm!

So while I can appreciate the continued mention of drugs and how embarrassed our CEO is that some things happened in the past, that is but one of MANY things that need his attention. And frankly that’s why WADA and USADA are in place – to weed out the drug riff raff. Perhaps those are the organizations that Mr. Logan should be employed by – as he can then focus on what seems to be his passion. Because the focus of the CEO of USATF should be on trying to restore the swagger back to US track and field. To that end here are some things that I think our leadership should be attacking with vigor:

 

Fundraising and Capital Development

This sport has become all about MONEY. If you have it you can run meets that can afford to pay the steep appearance fees that today’s athletes demand. It has become clear that individual meets have had difficulty in this area. Our governing body should be able to provide assistance to ensure that our meets have the caliber of athletes necessary to attract crowds and have international appeal. To that end we should be looking to develop a broader base of partnerships within the business community to assist in the growth and development of the sport in this country. If Visa can be a sponsor then so can American Express and Mastercard. Telecommunication companies should be a natural fit, as should technology companies. I can think of many others, but you should get the picture by now.

 

Meet Development

We have TWO meets in this country that truly qualify as “world class” – the New York and Eugene Diamond League events. No disrespect to the others out there, but the rest are primarily relay type “domestic” meets with a plethora of others involved outside of “elite” athletes – and we need those meets too. However, we’ve lost our global presence in the sport. We need events that bring in the best the sport has to offer to help sell the sport to the masses; present a higher profile to the world on the face of US track & field; and to give OUR athletes money making opportunities here at HOME as well as on foreign soil. So to that end we need at least another two to four world class meets with here in the US. Preferably in locations like Los Angeles, Atlanta, Berkeley (representative of the SF area) and somewhere in Florida (UNF or Miami) – covering the East and West Regions. In addition, we MUST look at the development of a facility here in the United States that is capable of hosting the World Championships. Probably in one of the aforementioned areas, because we need a major metropolitan area capable of hosting the athletes and media of the world. Since its inception in 1983, the US has NEVER hosted a World Championships while a country the size & economy of Spain has hosted two!

 

Coaching Development

We have some of the world’s best coaches residing right here in the US – IMHO. However, we are a large and diverse nation – a nation with lots of untapped human potential. We have a large high school program and a large youth program. But there is a disconnect between taking these young people from being teen athletes to moving them up to the next level. We rely on the college system to do that work for us. But these coaches – while among the best in the world – are beholden to their schools FIRST, and to the development of professional level athletes second. We need to be looking at ways to take the terrific coaches that we already have – the Salazars, Smith’s, Kersee’s, et al – and create programs where perhaps they can work with and mentor others so that we can multiply their knowledge across the country.

 

Athlete Development Programs

Once we get a sufficient number of coaches “trained” we need to take a look at how to get them together in some sort of regional/area training sites/centers. Yes I know we have a couple of “centers” already. But they are not nearly enough nor do they adequately serve the athletes in the way the athletes need to be served. We have to get to where the athletes are – not continually attempt to make them come to us. We also need to run “youth camps” taking high school level kids and putting them in touch with our elite coaches. For example, young sprinters with John Smith and Brooks Johnson or young distance runners with Alberto Salazar to begin mentoring them early and get them started properly. Just suggestions, but the basic premise is that we need to be providing our young athletes with top level coaching assistance early in their careers and in some sort of systematic environment.

 

National Relay Structure

Our failures in the past two majors in the short relays have been well documented – four relays, four incomplete events. While this is the worst set of performances we’ve had on the global stage in any single, let alone two year period, the handwriting has been on the wall for some time. Going back to the mid 90’s we’ve had several squads that have either botched handoffs and failed to get the stick around the track, or simply under performed dramatically. Gone are the days of simply taking the first four finishers at nationals and running the socks off the rest of the world. We now need to get the right individuals together and perfect the art of relay running. This means we must look at developing some sort of national relay structure – something more comprehensive than taking the first four Trials finishers and introducing them to each other upon arrival at the Olympic Village. We need to look at how the team is selected and put together, as well as getting them together with some regularity to work on relay technique.

 

Anti Drug Program

Simply put we need to accelerate and expand the “Project Believe” program that was started two years ago. It should become a mandatory program for all athletes that wish to participate on National Teams. I say “wish to participate” because we should not wait until an individual makes a national team to enroll them and get them started. Program enrollment should be made available on an ongoing basis and should be heavily suggested to anyone taking part in a national championship.

 

I’m not going to pretend that these are all the answers to our problems. I just put them out there as topics that are clear issues that the sport needs to address here in the US. We’ve lost our international swagger and need to get it back – and it’s not going to happen by pointing fingers at those that we feel have embarrassed us. I believe that if you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem. So, I share my thoughts on how we can improve. Finger pointing isn’t going to win us any medals or regain our global stature. Gathering together the resources that we have will, however. So at the very least we need to take a good look at how we are using what we have, and look at ways to do things better. After all that’s supposed to be the American way – it’s how businesses regain their swagger.

Coaches Registry Latest Misstep of USATF Leadership

When discussing “Leadership” from a management perspective, it is often defined as the ability to motivate a group of people towards a common goal. Once again USATF management has shown that it is sorely lacking in this skill set. The latest drama emanating from the head office is the “’Coaches Registry” that has been dropped in the laps of America’s coaches.

Now, on the surface, the idea of a Coaches Registry I believe is a good one. As a matter of fact I thought that the lead organization of the sport in this country was already collecting this data on our coaches. I think that would be a tremendous aid in working towards the “30 medal goal” in major championships. Such a collection of data would be very useful in trying to match up athletes on the brink of success with coaches that possibly might be able to help them get “over the hump”. Especially in areas where we have been absent from the medal stand for some time.

So when individuals started to talk to me about this situation I was actually somewhat surprised to find out that such a “registry’ is not already in existence! Because my initial reaction was, “what is everyone so upset about, don’t we already have a coaches registry?”. What I discovered, however, is that a registry apparently doesn’t exist. So it’s clearly about time that the sport develop one. Unfortunately, it’s been the delivery of the concept to the coaches, and the rationale for the need of a registry, where “leadership” has dropped the ball.

For starters, I have to ask why this has taken so long to come to fruition given that apparently the idea for the registry was first presented in 2006 with the underlying goal of “weeding out” those coaches that USATF deems to be “bad actors”. A sentiment that was recently reiterated to the coaching community in a letter from the director of coaching which read:

“As a colleague,

I want you to be aware that credentialing at the outdoor championships is dependent on Coaches belonging to the Coaches Registry, new program started in 2010. Please go to the following site to expedite your membership to the Coaches Registry. While sign up will be available in Des Moines, I urge you not to wait if you anticipate having a coaching credential.

http://www.usatf.org/groups/Coaches/registeredcoaches/index.asp

The  registry is an effort  to validate coaches who participate in USATF programs and to eliminate those coaches who have brought disgrace to our sport. It is the right step in the right direction. The program is still in its infant stage, but we must start to separate ourselves from the unethical characters who bring our great profession down in the eyes of the public. Hope to see you in Des Moines.”

Now, I’m against the use of PEDs and “bad coaches” as much as anyone, but everything that we do can’t be based on trying to eliminate “bad coaches”. Bad coaches will surface and should be dealt with accordingly. Especially if the sport is doing the kind of drug testing and monitoring of programs that it should be doing. Simply focus on running the sport properly and the wheat will be separated from the chaff – we don’t need a special program to get rid of coaches. Besides, there is no test to detect which coaches are giving their athletes PEDs! If a coach is providing athletes with “banned substances” the only test that will detect that is a drug test. And once a coach has athletes that begin to test positive EVERYONE knows! Putting coaches into a registry is NOT going to identify “bad apple” coaches. Nor is having coaches “register” on the eve of the National Championships. If we have a problem with a coach, we’re not going to find out until AFTER the meet is over! Which makes me question the whole methodology of USATF’s attempt at creating this registry. Especially when according to the leadership of the USTFCCCA they have not been invited to participate in its development.

More importantly, the development of a registry should be a “service” that USATF provides (and coaches shouldn’t be charged, we don’t charge athletes for their drug tests) not to identify “drug” coaches, but to protect the youth that the sport serves. Because USATF is not only responsible for our “elite” athletes but oversees all of our youth programs. And to discover that we have been allowing coaches to work with our kids WITHOUT having done background checks on them is the height of irresponsibility on the part of USATF and appalling. If we are more concerned with whether or not a coach might embarrass the US by coaching an athlete that comes up “positive” than we are about putting our kids in the hands of potential pedophiles, drug pushers or individuals with other unsavory backgrounds, then the priorities of our leadership is in serious question!

Given the size and breath of our youth program here in the United States a background check should be MANDATORY upon signing any documents related to coaching at any and every level of USATF programs! To discover that this hasn’t been the policy is simply appalling. THIS is why we need a registry, and this is what we should be talking to all of our coaches and program leaders about. It’s a service that is LONG overdue.

The leadership of the sport is supposed to be leading the our coaches and athletes towards a common goal. The only goal that I’ve seen stated from the Office Of USATF CEO Doug Logan since he took over the helm in 2008 was that he wants to see us win 30 medals in London (2012). Yet towards that goal we’ve dropped our relay program (and the baton in 4 out of 4 major races); we’ve gotten rid of coaching education programs; and now we’re attempting to created a quasi coaches registry whose intent is not the safety of our youth but the identification of coaches that apparently may embarrass our head office. We’ve had more comments about how appalled our CEO is that Trevor Graham ever coached for the US and how disgusted he is with Lashawn Merritt, than we have about how we are going to get the baton around the track in majors, how we are going educate our coaches, how we can help our athletes avoid the use of PED’s, how we can help collegiate athletes transition from college to the pros, or when where and how we will be able to host a World Championships!

The drug issue is important, but it is not the only issue that the sport is facing in this country. And if we don’t begin to solve some of these other issues, the issue of drugs will become a moot point – because the sport will have become a moot point within the sporting community of this country. Put together the Coaches Registry – our KIDS need it! But also take a look at all the other issues that are on the table – our SPORT needs it! A CEO is put in place to provide leadership to the whole. We need to see some leadership.

Weekend Wrap Up – NC’s & DL

Texas A&M Double Champs Once Again

Congrats to Pat Henry and the Aggies of Texas A&M as once again they pull off the double team championship! In a meet where rivals Florida and Oregon had the big time performers – Eaton, Taylor, Theisen, Demps, Wheating, et al, the Aggies ground it out and their athletes got points when they needed to. They started the meet out on the women’s side without multi point scorer Gaby Mayo, and began the final day of competition on the men’s side by not finishing the 4x1. Yet in spite of the adversity, they came through when they needed to and picked up double hardware once again.

Each of the top schools had their moments. Oregon’s men took advantage of a very slow early pace in the 1500 to pull out a 1-2-3 sweep as Andrew Wheating became only the 5th athlete in meet history to win the 800/1500 double. Florida’s men did what they’ve done all year in the 4x1 – win it. Giving Demps his second gold of the meet. And with A&M not getting the stick around the track it was the Gators who appeared to be in the drivers seat. Oregon’s women got a huge race from frosh Jordan Hasay in the 1500 getting up for third and big points and their 4x4 edged out the Aggies for the relay title.

But in the end the Aggies used the 200 meters to score big – 22 for the women with a 1-2-5 finish; 10 for the men with a 2-8 finish. The women won the 4x1 and the men got a huge win in the 4x4. The women had the title won before the 4x4 while the men had to wait out the results of the long jump. With Florida’s Taylor only scoring in 4th the men won by 1 point! I also have to give congrats to Mike Holloway (Florida) and Vin Lananna (Oregon) and their athletes, because their squads are always right there. Every year they are in the mix and just points away from the title. Sort of like watching the Lakers and Celtics – every year you know they are going to be in the mix. Clearly Henry, Holloway, and Lananna are three of the best coaches on the college scene. So a big shout out to all three.

 

The NCAA Shows the Value of Team in the Sport

Believe it or not two Diamond League events took place while the NCAA Championships were running – Rome and New York. And while I’m sure that true fans of the sport found time to watch the meets and check the results (I did) the NCAA was the draw that, at least for me, created the most excitement and kept bringing me back to follow! Yes there were faster times and further and higher marks in Rome & New York. But what the collegiate meet had in abundance was more excitement! There were more events with stirring match ups, sizzling head to heads.and exciting relay competition. But most of all there was the team competition. Every race, every jump, throw and vault had meaning. The results of A.J. Acosta were just as important as those of star Ashton Eaton. Okagbare won the 100 but we were just as tuned in to where Jeneba Tarmoh and Porscha Lucas would finish. Ryan Whiting won the shot title but behind him Kemel Mesic was fighting to win a title too. Fans were looking at form charts, adding & subtracting points, projecting what was needed in coming events and having FUN with the sport!

Four full days of competition and no one was BORED. All the events – men AND women. No gimmicks – no races were run down the middle of Eugene’s main street – just exciting competition. No world records were in jeopardy, nor was the meet sold based on the anticipation of records. But the fans in the stands and at home were thoroughly engaged. Not just for a couple of hours, but for four full days, for hours a day. So don’t tell me that fans will only sit for a couple of hours of track at a time. Or that we need to cut meets in half to attract people through the turnstiles. Or that we have have to have a world record attempt in every meet, or run odd distances or in strange prefab venues to make it exciting. What we need to do is get the best we have on the track. Competing against each other with some regularity. And perhaps throw in a team concept to tie it all together – because everyone loves to have something to rally around! The IAAF and those running the “elite” end of the sport need to pay attention.

 

The Diamond League

Speaking of the elite end of the sport needing to pay attention, what was the person that put the Diamond League schedule together thinking about? Rome on Thursday (in Europe) then New York on Saturday (in North America)! I’m thinking that someone may need to be tested for drugs – and not the performance enhancing kind. That’s not even adequate travel time, let alone time for athletes to recover from one meet to the next. So you’re guaranteed to dilute your fields for both meets – even running half a meet for each. Then to top it off there are three weeks until the next event. Which, oh by the way, is going to be run right after several national championships – including ours here in the US. So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the Prefontaine meet will either have several withdrawals and/or sub par performances.

It would have made more sense to give a week between Rome and New York. That would give athletes plenty of travel and acclimation time from Europe to North America as well as a meet closer to their national championships to be sharp. Then a week rest rest, nationals, and then give another week and restart the Diamond League the second week of July. But once again we have the elite side of the sport running as if there is no coordination – just a loose assemblage of meets. I almost get the feeling that the US leg of the “league” has been set up to fail.

 

Rome & New York

In Rome Lashinda Dumus continues on a tear this season as she ran the first sub 53 second 400H race of the year. Her winning time of 52.82 was the =11th best mark of all time and only .21 off her own PR set last year in Monaco. She’s having a great season. Chaunte Howard-Lowe is also having a fantastic season in the high  jump. Once again she pushed Croatia’s Blanks Vlasic to the limit with both jumping 6’ 8” – Vlasic winning with on fewer misses at the previous height. Howard-Lowe is becoming a force in this event – very refreshing to see. Lashaunte Moore is also emerging in the women’s 100. Her win here showing that her previous 10.97 was no fluke. The race was marred by two disqualifications as both Miki Barber and World & Olympic champ Shelly Ann Fraser (JAM) were tossed after false starts. This new rule is going to eventually bite the sport in the bottom when someone like Fraser gets tossed in a major championship.

American men faired well in Rome also. Walter Dix ran another sub20 in the 200, blazing the turn and running away from the field with a very nice 19.86. Dix is beginning to solidify his position as the #3 man in this event behind Bolt and Gay. And judging by the way he ran that turn is working at trying to become a serious challenger. We also finally got a pretty solid performance from Jeremy Wariner in the 400. Not sure what to take from the race however. On the one hand Wariner won in 44.73, taking the world lead in the process. On the other hand he was run down in the stretch by Angelo Taylor and only won after a review of the photo with Taylor running 44.74. Nice to see Wariner under 45 seconds, but the manner in which Taylor ran him down says that he still has a long way to go to regain his former form.

Two days later we got the New York meet. Which didn’t seem much different this year than before it became part of the Diamond League. Actually in some ways perhaps a bit less. From the telecast the stands were not as full as in past years – or at least it seemed that way. I think in part because the meet was built up around the participation of Usain Bolt who had to withdraw because he’s been nursing some sort of Achilles strain. Then there was all the “negative” publicity regarding the lack of a match up between Bolt and Tyson Gay, as Gay has also been nursing a sore hamstring. Though I have to say that unless there was some last minute deal that was struck that was never publicized Gay was never scheduled to run in New York! From everything that has been published plus their own postings on their web sites, the only place they’ve been scheduled to meet since the start of the season has been in Brussels in August. So all the talk of no showdown because of two injured athletes seemed to be erroneous and only served to provide negative publicity to a sport that really doesn’t need it. If the sport spent more time trying to develop more of its stars, New York would have been in fine shape.

For example, the best race of the meet on the track involved two rivals that the sport does little to promote. Veronica Campbell Brown (JAM) v Allyson Felix (US) in the 200 meters turned out to be one barn burner of a race. Brown is the two time Olympic Champion. Felix the only three time World Champion (male or female). Both have pedigree, tons of gold between them, and always compete to the fullest. They did so again in New York with Campbell Brown getting her first ever win against Felix outside of the Olympics as they sizzled to a 21.98 to 22.02 finish. An awesome display of speed by both women – a possibility that was never sold to the public prior to the meet.

And since this seems to be “Rant Monday”, let me say that the sport seems to sell its soul to get televised, yet Saturday while New York was televised live we saw nothing of the two other events that were truly noteworthy. In the men’s pole vault, Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie sailed 19’ 2.5” over the bar. An outstanding early season vault and the #2 vault in the world this year. Even more significant was the 59’ 0” triple jump by his countryman Teddy Tamqho. Tamqho became only the third man in history to soar over the 59 foot barrier, and solidifies his claim as one of the best triple jumpers ever coming on the heals of his world indoor record earlier this winter. Both of these performances were missed by the television crew however, and thus by the viewing audience. We were treated to interviews of both Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay on the status of their current health. As once again this sport missed an opportunity to promote itself and its athletes in exchange for presenting a myopic view of the sport to a rare television audience in this country. I’m a huge sprint fan, but we’ve got to get beyond just Bolt and Gay – because there are so many more meets where neither will be competing.

At any rate it was one long, full weekend of competition. The season is in full gear. And believe it or not the national championships are less than two weeks away.

NCAA Championships – Final Day Preview

First the action that got us to the final day – Friday’s finals. I said at the start of the meet that the one lap races would be critical and among the meet’s best events, and Friday they were. All those that were supposed to be involved, were, with one common theme – discipline prevailed! There was no rain on Friday, but with tailwinds on the finishing straight and headwinds on the backstretch, one by one those that went out hard early gave way to those a bit more patient.

In the men’s 400H an early charging Jeshua Anderson (WaSt) gave way to the patient Johnny Dutch (S Car) who ran by the tiring Anderson in the final 70 meters of the race derailing Anderson's three peat hopes. Same story in the women’s event as Ti’erra Brown(Mia) went strong down the backstretch, only to give way to Queen Harrison (VaTech) down the stretch. Thus went the gold in two of the meet’s premier head to head confrontations. What could have been close races turned into runaway victories.

In the open 400, team hopes were bolstered and threatened. In the men’s race the early charging Tavarius Tate (MsSt) gave way to half the field in the stretch and finished 5th as the smooth striding Kirani James (Ala) cruised by the field to victory. Florida’s Calvin Smith also challenged early then slipped to 4th in the stretch, yet his 5 points managed to out pace Texas A&M as Demetrius Pinder and Tabarie Henry only managed 4 points for 6th & 8th. By meet’s end this race could be critical as it appears that the title hunt may well be between these two squads with Oregon appearing to be short on scoring opportunities.

The women’s race was surprising in that only winner Francena McCorory (Hampton) truly ran up to her potential. Oregon’s Keshia Baker looked very tired and never challenged falling back to 4th – and I believe with her Oregon’s team title hopes. Meanwhile Jessica Beard (TxA&M) got up for 2nd – giving the Aggies a boost in the title hunt. Because prior to the 400 the 100 meters had already been run and team points distributed.

The women’s event went to UTEP’s Blessing Okagbare who also ran away from her competition. But behind her Texas A&M went 1-2 behind Porscha Lucas and Jeneba Tarmoh. Texas A&M has recovered nicely from losing the services of Gaby Mayo and looks to have a strong shot at repeating as national champions. In the men’s race Florida’s Jeff Demps did his best Mo Greene imitation, separating mid race and cruising to victory in a slightly windy 9.96 – and becoming the first HS record holder to win an NCAA title in the auto timed era. A&M kept pace with a 4-6 finish that netted 8 points to Florida’s 10.

Oregon held pace with two victories on the day as Ashton Eaton just missed the collegiate record in the decathlon – 1.25 seconds faster in the 1500 and he would have gotten it. And teammate Andrew Wheating ran away from the field in the 800 for another 10 points for the Ducks. The runaway win by Wheating was a shocker of sorts, as chief challenger Robby Andrews ran in last the entire race until 150 to go, and just didn’t maintain contact with Wheating. His finish was strong but too little too late. As many athletes learned today, competing in this type of meet is as much about tactics and smart running as it is about talent!

So after all was said and done we head into the remaining finals this morning with the Texas A&M Aggies looking in control on the women’s side and locked in combat with the Florida Gators for the men’s title. Florida seems to be in the driver’s seat with scoring opportunities in both relays, the long jump and the shot put. A&M is in both relays and the 200. Oregon is in the 1500 and long jump. With the score after 13 events A&M (36), Florida (28), USC (26.5) and Oregon (20) it looks to come down to the head to heads in the relays and Florida’s LJ/SP points vs A&M’s 200 points! I still give Florida the advantage but look for the 4x4 to be a barnburner that may once again decide the title.

After the 400’s did me in yesterday I’m almost afraid to predict the remaining events – but it wouldn’t be any fun if I didn’t. So here goes.

In the 4x1’s I think the favorite’s prevail – the Florida men and the A&M women. Florida has run well all season and has Demps on anchor. They pass, they win. Ditto the women Aggies who seem to be just fine minus Gaby Mayo as Jeneba Tarmoh has taken up that slack quite well.

In the 1500 meters Oregon’s Wheating is clearly on a mission. He was easily the most focused athlete in the 800 and I fully expect him to complete the double. The question is how close behind him will his teammates finish. They need a 1-2-3 sweep here to be anywhere near close to the Aggies and Gators – and that’s if Eaton can win the long jump and they get help from some other sprint squads in the relays. Gotta get points here first though. We will see what happens.

Same story in the women’s event. Oregon must pull huge points here to have a shot. Because the Aggies should once again get double points in the 200. I still think that Katie Follett (Wa) and Charlotte Browning (Fl) will be the top two – making it very difficult for Oregon to stay in the title hunt. But Jordan Hasay and Alex Kosinski are nothing if not gutsy, so they will make this a must watch event.

The Aggies’ presence in the 200 – men & women – now makes the deuce perhaps the pivotal event of the meet. Curtis Mitchell vs Rondell Sorrillo (Kentucky) will be critical in the men’s race. I still think the smooth striding Sorrillo can pull it off, but a first or second here by Mitchell plus points from Gerald Phiri will fuel A&M’s title hopes. The big question is how many can they get? With Florida potentially getting a win in the long jump and a runner up in the shot, Phiri needs to be close to top 3 to keep pace. For the women if Lucas and Tarmoh go 1-2 the meet is pretty much over – and yes I’m switching from Tarmoh to Lucas on this one.

Ronnie Ash should come thru with a defense of his 110 hurdle title. Like Eaton in the decathlon and Demps in the 100, he’s just that much better than the rest. In the women’s event we’ll see how well Brown recovers from her loss in the long event, but I have to go with Harrison to complete the double.

Prior to the 4x4 the field event points should be in. Christian Taylor (Fl) still remains the long jump favorite in my mind as does Ryan Whiting (AzSt) in the Shot Put, and Blessing Okagbare (UTEP) in the women’s long jump. Particularly look for fireworks in the men’s long jump with Taylor, Ashton Eaton (Or) and Marquis Goodwin (Tx) all strong competitors, and Taylor & Eaton looking for valuable team points. With the field events complete we should know where the team title hopes lie and who needs to finish in what position by the start of the 4x4’s!

The women’s 4x4 could be run for pride by the time we get here. The Ducks will want to close the meet out with a win in front of the home crowd. The Aggies will want to close out a team title with a win in the final event. Oregon anchor Keshia Baker looked tired in the open event. Running both relays and the 400, and the corresponding semis, looks to have worn her down. Meanwhile winning does wonders and the Aggies seem to have gotten a second wind. Gotta go with the Aggies here, and watch out for the LSU Tigers would will simply be running for pride and a win – a lot to run for for a program with the tradition that they have.

The men will close out the meet with the Aggies and Gators potentially going at it for the team title. Florida has the personnel to go sub 3, while Texas A&M will have to run over it’s head to keep up. Normally I would rate this even as the 4x4 can bring out the unexpected in athletes. But the Aggies big closer, Tabarie Henry, has been a couple steps off all meet – so I think Florida keeps its edge. Mississippi State couple play spoiler however, with Tate, Mullings and Wilder all capable of big legs.

Regardless of the final outcome, it’s been a great meet. I’m dying to see how it all turns out. Below is Demp’s sizzling 100 win.

NCAA Championships – Day Three Preview

The second day of semi finals went off without a hitch – though the men looked a bit sluggish in their qualifying heats of the 200. Still, Texas A&M moved two men into the final – Curtis Mitchell & Gerald Phiri – and Mitchell and Rondell Sorrillo (Kentucky) appear to be the men to beat at this point. The first sprint event without a Florida Gator in the final. The Aggie women lead the way in their qualifying as Porscha Lucas dropped a sizzling 22.49 in her heat to take over the collegiate lead. Teammate Jeneba Tarmoh lead the other qualifiers into the final. LSU also moved two into the final, but Samantha Henry & Takeia Pinckney were only able to garner the final two spots – and neither looked sharp – leading me to believe that at this point it is clearly going to be between the Aggies and the Ducks for the team title.

Speaking of the Ducks, the Oregon women moved two into the 1500 final – Hasay & Kosinsky – and just missed out on a third as Buckman was the next best time. Double points here could give them a slight edge in the team race. Hard to call a favorite for the final as the top athletes were clearly conserving, but Follett still looks like a good call to me. The Duck men also helped their cause in the 1500, moving three into the final – Wheating, Acosta & Centrowitz – keeping themselves on track in the team race.

Alas the hurdles, 100H & 110H are lacking anyone of stature that will matter in the team race, but Ronnie Ash showed himself to clearly be the class of the men’s field as he cruised to a 13.32 in his semi. Likewise Queen Harrison (12.68) & Ti’erra Brown (12.74) were clearly the class of the women’s event and are headed towards two showdowns in the finals.

And speaking of the class of the field, Oregon is dominating the multi events in this meet. Ashton Eaton set a PR for the first day with a huge score of 4500 to lead all qualifiers by over 250 points. At his current pace he could well set a new CR before the end of the day tomorrow. Meanwhile teammate Brianne Thiesen completed her heptathlon with a PR 6094 points – 412 ahead of runner up Kiani Profit of Maryland.

Otherwise 4x4 qualifying went as expected with all the anticipated suspects making it through – the Florida men and Texas A&M women looking particularly impressive.

There were four field event finals, with only the men’s javelin really affecting the team hunt. Sam Humphrey’s (Tx A&M) finished in 4th here which was off of most projections – and he really needed to finish higher to keep the Aggies close enough to the Ducks and Gators. The tile went to Craig Kinsley (Brown) in what most would consider an upset. Ditto the pole vault win of Jordan Scott (Kan) in a competition marred rain. Patricia Mamona (Clemson) in the triple jump and Nikola Lamnicka (Georgia) in the Hammer, rounded out the days field event winners.

Now with the qualifying behind us, its two days of finals. The easy call is the decathlon, where Eaton should guarantee the Ducks 10 points and a big start to their title chase. We also have team hopes riding in the balance on the field today. In the men’s long jump Ashton Eaton will be trying to get points for Oregon after finishing up his duties in the decathlon. A daunting task under any conditions, but he will have to do so against triple jump champion Christian Taylor of rival Florida and Texas footballer Marquis Goodwin. Krytonite finally hits Eaton in the form of Taylor and fatigue as Taylor and Goodwin should duel it out here with Taylor prevailing and keeping Gator title hopes alive.

Those hopes could be aided with a high finish by Gator shot putter Kemel Mesic. The individual title should go to Ryan Whiting (AzSt) as he wins the shot to go along with the Discus title he picked up on Wednesday. Whiting is the star of this event at the collegiate level and is threatening to become one of the world’s best. He nails this down early with Mesic looking for a top three finish to go along with Florida points in the LJ, 100 & 400.

And yes, I expect Eaton to finally hit Krytonite, but not until after he crushes the field in the decathlon. And on his current pace he could give Tree Hardee’s collegiate record (8465) a scare in the process. And if Eaton is trying to be Superman today, then Blessing Okgabare will be doing her Supergirl impression as she will be attempting to win titles in the 100 and here in the long jump. She should win this event as she has been the best jumper all season and her speed is sharp. Behind her look for Jamesha Youngblood (Or) and Vashti Thomas (Tx A&M) to battle it out for valuable team points.

on the track the 400 hurdles feature two of the meet’s premier match ups. The men’s event will pit two time defending champ Jesjua Anderson (WaSt) against yearly leader Johnny Dutch (S Car). Both have looked good of late, and their qualifying times were only hundredths of a second apart. Dutch is #4 all time college off of his performance at Regionals, but I’ve got to go with Anderson. He’s always come up big when he’s needed to from high school to now (former HS record holder). He’s a two time champion in this event, and he’s just stronger than everyone else at this level in the stretch. Dutch will give him a good race, but Anderson pulls it out in the end.

Another tough call for the women. Maybe tougher because neither woman has a storied history as both have really emerged this year. I picked Harrison early on, but lately have moved to Brown – mostly off the strength of how she’s run the 4x4. Harrison seems a bit quicker, Brown a bit stronger. So I’m giving Brown the nod here.

Next will come the 100 meters. And while this event can often come down to a lean and a photo, I think both have clear winners. Jeff Demps (Fl) has been the man in this event all season long and looked easy in his semi. Marcus Rowland (Aub) and Rondell Sorrillo (Ken) will provide the toughest competition, but look for Demps to have a Mo Greene like surge mid race and put it away while fueling Florida’s title hopes. Ditto Blessing Okagbare (UTEP) who seems to be just a cut above the others with her long finishing strides. The one caveat here is if Jeneba Tarmoh, who suddenly got hot at Regionals, can nail her start. If she does look for a lean and a photo at the tape.

With Demps winning the 100 the focus will immediately move to the 800 where Andrew Wheating will be looking to match points for Oregon. Wheating is the defending NCAA champion, having won a very close race with a .06 victory in 1:46.21 last year – this year’s race could end up being just as close. Virginia’s Robbie Andrews moved himself into the title hunt with a strong looking 1:45.54 win in his semi – dangerously close to Wheating’s PR of 1:45.03. Wheating needs a win here to keep Oregon on pace with Florida, while Andrews will be looking to add the outdoor title to the indoor title he won earlier this winter. I’ve been calling for a Wheating win here all spring, and will stick with it, with Wheating’s height giving him an advantage at the lean – but I won’t be surprised if Andrews pulls it off. The women’s qualifying went pretty much to form, and I still like Tennessee’s Phoebe Wright for the title. Don’t expect LaTavia Thomas (LSU) to give up the title without a fight – especially with the Tiger’s not performing up to par and desperately needing big points from her. Ditto for Oregon’s Anne Kesselring who will be trying to keep the Ducks in the title race against the Aggies of A&M.

The title races will heat up after the men’s steeplechase (I’m still going with BYU’s Nelson here) with two very hot 400 meter finals. The men’s race is very deep with several talented young men toeing the line. Calvin Smith (Fl), Demetrius Pinder (Tx A&M) and Tabarie Henry (Tx A&M) all need to come up big here for their teams. Joey Hughes (USC), Kirani James (Ala) and Tavaris Tate (MsSt) are all capable of winning the thing. Look for Tate and Hughes out early with the others chasing in the stretch. Watch the 300 mark. If the field let’s Tate get too far ahead, it’s a wrap. If any of the strong finishers is smart and stays close through 300 they can win it – especially James or Smith. My guess is that Tate heads out and says “catch me if you can”, and no one does. Keep an eye on the Florida and Texas A&M points behind him and the ground eating strides of Kirani James up the final stretch.

The women face a similar situation with Keshia Baker (Or) and Jessica Beard (Tx A&M) carrying team hopes along with individual. And Joanna Atkins (Aub) & Francena McCorory looking to nail down a national title. McCorory stunned indoors with a blazing 50.54 title run, while more recently Baker sizzled 50.76 to take the Pac10 title outdoors. Atkins won the title last year in 50.39 with Beard 2nd (50.56), McCorory 3rd (50.58) and Baker 5th (51.29) in tow – so there is history with these women. They all PR’d at this meet last year and I suspect they will again. This year I give the edge to Baker. She seems to be a more mature sprinter this time around and running at home she may find a bit of energy rounding the Bowerman curve that the others may not enjoy. The fight up the home straight will be fierce, however, as McCorory and Atkins looked hungry in the semis and Beard and Baker’s teams are in the title hunt. Should be one of the best races of the meet.

The meet will close the same as yesterday – with Sam Chalenga (Lilberty) looking to win another title. He looked ridiculously easy as he literally put it in cruise control and ran away from the field in winning the 10000 last night. He seriously looked like he was out for a stroll while everyone behind him was racing. I’ve had Northern Arizona’s David McNeill here all year and I’ll stick with it, but man he’s gonna have to get on his horse and go to keep Chalenga off the top of the podium.

It should be one exciting afternoon/evening of track and field. By the end of today we’ll be able to take a serious look at the team battles and see where things sit heading into tomorrow’s final day.