A big weekend (1/18 - 1/19) of action certainly did not disappoint track and field fans across the nation. Chanelle Price (PA) broke the U.S. record in the girls' 500m dash, while numerous U.S. #1 marks were established across the board.
Running Around the Nation (1/18 - 1/19)
KTC High School Indoor Track Classic (TN)
KTC Indoor Track Classic Meet Page
KTC Track Classic Results: Fri. Field Events / Fri. Track Events / Sat. Field Events / Sat. Track Events
With so many great athletes on tap Saturday, it was hard to distinguish which results were the best on the day. Dozens of elite marks were put up, but perhaps the best performance came from William Wynne (GA), who won the 400m dash in 48.76 and the 60m hurdles in 7.86. Wynne is known as more of a hurdle star, although he certainly proved he is one of the best nationally in the flat sprints. Both of Wynne's marks place him top five nationally at the moment.
Breanna Hubbard (GA) meanwhile beat one of the best 60m dash fields in the nation so far, beating runner-up Chalonda Goodman (GA) 7.49-7.53 for the top time in the U.S. this season. All five finalists were at or under 7.70 seconds. In the girls' 60m hurdles, Jacquelyn Coward (TN) lost to Jasmin Stowers (SC) in a tight race with Stowers barely edging out Coward 8.53-8.54. Coward won the 400m dash earlier in the meet with a great time of 56.37, winning by nearly 1.5 seconds, also running the U.S. #1 mark in the 60m hurdles in her prelim with a time of 8.43.
In another great race, Chalonda Goodman (GA) got revenge on Breanna Hubbard (GA), who she lost to earlier in the day, by beating both third-place Hubbard and second place Nyosha Bryant (NC) in the 200m dash. Goodman's winning time of 24.56 is good enough to rank her U.S. #2 at this time. Bryant ran 24.81, while Hubbard ran 24.89, both marks being U.S. top ten finishes.
In other boys' sprint events, junior Kenneth Gilstrap (GA) showed his strength by winning both the boys 60m and 200m dashes. Gilstrap ran a U.S. top five mark in the 200m dash with his winning mark of 21.95, while winning the 60m race in 6.88, which puts him in the top ten nationally at the moment.
In the distance races, Alabama starlet Madeline Morgan (AL) blitzed the field in the girls' 3k, winning with what at the time is the U.S. #1 mark in 10:03.01. This was Morgan's first substantial competition of the season.
The KTC Indoor Track Classic got off to a fast start Friday with the prelims of the 200m dash taking place. The girls' 200m dash was led by Chalonda Goodman (GA), who ran the fastest time of the day in 25.11. Breanna Hubbard (GA) followed closely behind in 25.17, while Nyosha Bryant (NC) ran the third best time of 25.28. The boys' 200m dash was equally exciting. Kenneth Gillstrap (GA) ran the fastest time of the evening, his top mark a very fast 22.10. Coming in behind Gillstrap was Chris Vaughn (TN) in 22.41.
Asics High School Invitational (VA)
Asics H.S. Invitational Meet Page
Asics H.S. Invitational Results: Friday Results / Saturday Results
Wayne Davis (NC) Post Race Interview (MileStat.com)
Wayne Davis (NC) runs U.S. #10 all-time in 55m hurdles at Asics
(Photo by Ted Plunkett)
Saturday's results, as expected, did not disappoint. The best highlight of the day came from Wayne Davis (NC) winning the boys' 55m hurdles with a national top ten all-time mark of 7.16. Davis has been on fire this season, now having U.S. #1 marks in both the 55m and 60m hurdle events.
Two U.S. top five marks were also run in the boys' 1000m dash. Matt Anderson (VA) and Joe Lorusso (VA) ran U.S. #4 and U.S. #5 times, with Anderson beating Lorusso 2:32.54 - 2:32.67. In the boys' 500m dash, New Bern (NC) sprinter Anthony Hendrix ran the U.S. #2 mark in the 500m dash with a winning time of 1:06.09.
While Friday nights action being mostly field events and qualifying events for Saturday, a handful of highlights marked the landscape at Liberty Univeristy. On the boys' side, Justin Jackson (VA) lept 6' 8" to win the high jump, ranking him very well nationally. Olu Olawigoke (VA) continued forward with his impressive season winning the triple jump in 47'8", while Peter Dorrell (VA) beat a solid 1600m field with another great performance, this time running 4:19.88.
Two athletes stood out on the girls' side of things. Sprint star Kelsey McCorkle (NC) won the deep 300m dash with a time of 40.91, while also earning the top seed in Saturday's 55m dash final by running the fastest preliminary time in the event in 7.30. Tasia Potasinski (VA) won the 1600m run in a great time of 5:04.69 winning the race by just over six seconds.
Carl Lewis High School Invitational (TX)
Carl Lewis Invitational Meet Page
Carl Lewis Invitational Results: Boys Field / Girls Field / Boys Track / Girls Track
Early results Saturday had Marquise Goodwin (TX), last year's top ranked long jumper, leaping 24-07 in his specialty event which is easily the top mark in the nation this year. Also, Michael Barbas (TX) threw 62-04.25 in the boys' shot put, which is the top mark in the country this season. Barbas committed to Duke University as well this past week.
Another top mark in the field events came from Harry Sheppard (TX) in the high jump. Sheppard ranked in the top five nationally in the event heading into the weekend, but cleared 6-10 to move into a tie for the second spot nationally. Meanwhile, in the boys' triple jump, a great dual took place between Omar Craddock (TX) and Marquise Goodwin (TX). With only a few athletes breaking 48 feet this year in the event, both Craddock and Goodwin broke 49 feet. Craddock lept the U.S. #2 mark in the event with a jump of 49-05, while Goodwin nearly matched that with his own top score of 49-00.5.
In more field event action, Blaine Bassler (TX) won the boys' pole vault in one of the top five marks in the nation this season in 16-07.25. Back on the track Shaquille Tubman (TX) won the 200m dash in 21.94, beating Markus Henderson (TX) by a mere hundreth of a second. Also, Rynell Parson (TX) won the 60m dash in 6.67, while Cameron LaCour (TX) won the 60m hurdles in 7.99 seconds.
The girls' sprints were equally as exciting. In the 60m dash Victoria Jordan (TX) won beat a strong field with her time of 7.37 seconds, while Erica Alexander (TX) took second in 7.47. Alexander then took first in the 200m dash in 24.65.
MLK/Mile Hi Classic (CO)
While most of the top indoor action was taking place on the east coast this weekend, the annual MLK/Mile Hi Classic took place at the Air Force Academy. Kicking off the results were the two winners of the 60m hurdles. Brianna Patton (CO) won the girls' race with a great mark of 8.99, while Michael Hancock (CO) won the boys' race with a top ten national time of 7.98.
In the boys' 400m dash, Dominick Roberts (CO) continued his indoor dominance in Colorado this season, winning his marquee event once again, this time with a time of 48.90, which is a meet record. In other sprint action, Joe Morris (CO) showed his power once again, winning the 60m dash in 6.75 and equaling his U.S. #3 time he set back on January 5. A.J. Whitaker (CO) won the 200m dash with a U.S. top ten time of 22.00.
In the shot put, Mason Finley (CO) once again improved upon his top distance of the season, this time winning his event in 62-01.5. Finley dominated the field, beating the nearest competitor by ten feet. His mark currently ranks him U.S. #2 in the MileSplit National Rankings.
The New Balance Games (NY)
Chanelle Price Post Race Video (PennTrackXC.com)
Boys Mile Race Video / Girls Mile Race Video (PennTrackXC.com)
Chanelle Price (PA) breaking the U.S. record in the 500m dash
The showdown of the weekend came between Chanelle Price (PA) and Dalilah Muhammad (NY) in the girls' 500m race. Many thought the winner of the race would capture the 500m national record and that prediction became reality. Price beat Muhammad with a record time of 1:10.30, beating the old record by 1.14 seconds. Price's time is made even more impressive in that it ranks her #40 all-time in the world.
The two other races that were the feature events of the meet were the boys and girls elite high school one mile races. In the boy's race, Robby Andrews (NJ) won in a new U.S. #1 mark of 4:12.48, beating second place Doug Smith (NJ) by nearly three and a half seconds. Smith's time of 4:15.95 rank him in the top five nationally as well, while third place Willie Ahearn (CT) placed third in 4:16.40.
In the girl's mile race, race winner Kristin Reese (NY) blazed to a 4:52.65, beating runner-up Melanie Thompson (NJ) who ran 4:53.58. Reese's time is the best time run in the mile so far this season on the girl's side and was her first race where she really took control of the race with such great competition.
In the girls' 4x800m relay, Conestoga (PA) ran a new U.S. #1 time in the event, beating a strong field with their finishing mark of 9:11.48. The most impressive part are the team's splits in the meet, with all four runners finishing between 2:16.5-2:18.6.
BYU Invitational (UT)
BYU Invitational Results: Field Events / Track Events
With the track events all taking place on Saturday, the field events held top billing Friday evening at BYU. Two athletes in particular stood out among the athletes. Audrey West (WY) won the girls' long jump with a great mark of 18-10.5 and currently ranks her in the top three nationally. Bryce Hall (UT) proved his throwing dominance on the boys side, winning both the shot put and weight throw. Hall won the shot put with a throw of 58-11.25, while winning the weight throw with a toss of 57-08.25. Both of Hall's top marks rank him in the top ten nationally.
In Saturday's action, Natalie Stewart (UT) ran 56.87 in the 400m dash, winning the race by over four seconds. Stewart's time currently ranks her in the top ten nationally. Stewart also went on to win the 60m dash in a solid time of 7.82 seconds, in a very close win. And as if Stewart's day wasn't complete enough, she won the 200m dash in 26.45 for good measure, winning by 1.5 seconds.
Yale Invitational (CT)
Yale Invitational Results: Boys / Girls
The Yale Invitational kicked off Friday night on the University's lightning fast track with Saratoga Springs (NY) running one of the fastest times ever in the girls' DMR, beating in-state rival Burnt-Hills (NY) in 11:48.88. Saratoga's time beat B-H's time, who ran 11:53.95. Also, Meaghan Gregory (NY) ran to victory in the 3000m run, beating Claire Hardwick (NY) 9:52.27-9:57.82. Gregory's time ranks her in the U.S. #1 spot currently.
In the girls' 800m dash, Jordan White (NY) won the top spot with a mark of 2:13.72, beating runner-up Sarah McCurdy (NY) by .21 seconds. Meanwhile in the girls' mile, five seperate girls broke five minutes with Jillian King (NY) winning the elite race in 4:53.84. The last distance event of the day on the girls' side was the 4x800m relay where Saratoga Springs (NY) won their second relay of the day in a great time of 9:26.40.
On the boys' side, Andrew Brodeur (NJ) won the prestigious 3k race, beating the exceptional field in 8:45.77. Brodeur led four seperate athletes under 8:50 in the 3k, which easily marked it as the fastest field of the year thus far. In the boys' mile, Danbury senior Parker Boudreau (CT) won the race and earned a spot in the Millrose Mile with his time of 4:17.23, winning the race by 1.5 seconds.
DVGTCA Indoor Meet #7 (PA)
Few expected so many fireworks at the DVGTCA Meet #7 Friday night at Leigh University. Karen Shump (PA), the top shot putter in the nation this season, threw another PR effort of 50-03.25 to easily win the girls' shot put competition. Council Rock North (PA) ran the girls' 4x800m relay uncontested with a fantastic time of 9:33.6, while Meghan Lutz (PA) of Nazareth Academy went 10:22.1 in the 3k, winning by a large margin.
MITS Boys & Girls Meets at U. of Michigan (MI)
MITS Meet @ U. of Michigan Meet Page: Boys / Girls
MITS Meet @ U. of Michigan Results: Boys / Girls
While these two meets technically did not take place during the weekend, they still deserve national recognition. The boys' meet on Thursday was the strongest meet this year so far in Michigan. Roscoe Payne (MI) and Will Cranford (MI) ran 8.26 in the 60m hurdles, with Payne edging out Cranford at the line. Both athletes improved on their best performances this season. Meanwhile, Bobby Aprill (MI) beat the sizzling Isaiah Ward (MI) in the 1600m run 4:17.17 to 4:25.27. This was Aprill's first big test of the season and he came out and ran a top ten national time in the event. Also, Derek Drovin (MI) won the high jump in 6' 8". The best highlight in the girls' event Wednesday was Leslie Aririguzo's (MI) 8.83 in the 60m hurdles. Aririguzo currently ranks top five in the country in the event, and beat her nearest competitior this time around by over a second.
Virginia Weekend Recap (MileStat.com)
Texas Weekend Recap (TXRunning.com)
PA Weekend Recap (PennTrackXC.com)
Ohio Weekend Recap (OHRunners.com)
NY Weekend Recap (ArmoryTrack.com)