Beautiful weekend weather across the nation helped bring forth big time results during the first weekend in April. From the Texas Relays, to the Stanford Invitational, to nearly a half dozen other premier track and field events, Friday and Saturday really rocked the national track scene. In this week's News & Notes section we discuss the rest of the weekend's top action.
News & Notes Highlights - Trabuco Hills/ASICS Invitational is Long Beach Poly's opener - NY & PA weekend wrap-ups - The Week Ahead looks amazing!News & Notes (4/08)
Trabuco Hills / ASICS Invitational (CA)
Trabuco Hills / ASICS Invitational: Meet Page / Friday Results / Saturday Results
What a weekend it was in California. Not only did many of the state's top athletes travel to Stanford University to compete at the Stanford Invitational, but it seems like the rest went to the Trabuco Hills/ASICS Invitational near LA. The meet signified the kick-off to powerhouse Long Beach Poly's outdoor track season, and did the squad ever impress.
While Long Beach Poly (CA) historically has shown strength on both the boys and girls sides, the girls this year are simply incredible. The squad won seven events, five individually and two relays. For starters, Tara Richomd (So.) won the high jump in 5-7 and came back with a big time triple jump win of 38-06.5. Erin Reid (Sr.) started the sprinters on the right foot with a 12.35 100m dash win, while Jasmine Joseph (Jr.) showed why she is one of the best in the country in the longer sprints, as she won the 400m dash in 53.95.
Joseph's freshman teammate, Akawkaw Ndipagbor, placed second in the 400m dash in 54.23, while leading a Long Beach Poly 1-3 sweep in the 200m dash (her winning time being 24.24. With all this success individually, the relays did their part as well. The squad scored a 4x200m relay win in a meet record time of 1:42.00, while picking up a 4x400m relay win in 3:51.44.
Other top girls highlights: Christine Babcock (Sr., Woodbridge, CA) won a hyper-competitive 800m dash in 2:10.15. While this is a great time for Babcock, what was even more impressive is that there were three more girls under 2:11, putting a total of four girls between 2:10-11. What a finish! Also, Angela Weaver (Jr., Rancho Cucamng, CA) won the 300m hurdles in a meet record time of 42.90, while also guiding her team's 4x400m relay squad to a runner-up finish in 3:55.37.
On the guys side, Joey Hughes (Sr., Long Beach Poly, CA) returned to action and put up some fast times in the sprints. Hughes lost a close battle to Rodney Storrs (Jr., Santiago, CA) at 200m, as Storrs won the race in 21.53 and Hughes finished second in 21.56. However, Hughes did earn a big win on the day at 400m, which saw him run an impressive race from start to finish with his final time being 48.15.
In the field events, Storrs' teammate Chris Benard (Sr., Santiago, CA) won the triple jump in 49-00, nearly leaping 50 feet a few times. Also, Blake Poole (Sr., Esperanza, CA) put up the biggest throws mark of the day with his shot put heave of 58-07.
New York's Season Kicks Off Right (NY)
ArmoryTrack.com Weekend Wrap-Up
With a gorgeous weekend of sun and warmth spreading across New York state, the early outdoor season times were smoking hot. Leading the way individually was Elizabeth Mott's (New Rochelle, NY) 400m hurdle performance at the New Rochelle Invitational. Mott, who had never run the long-hurdle event before, blazed a 62.1 to easily win. Another top performance in the state came from an out of state team. The strong Danbury (CT) (pictured right by wingedfootfotos.com)distance crew competed at the Farrell Invitational, winning the DMR in an impressive time of 10:21.0, with senior speedster Parker Bourdreau anchoring the squad in 4:20.1.
Pennsylvania Weekend Wrap-Up (PA)
PennTrackXC.com's Weekend Wrap-Up
Quick highlights: Bruce Dallas Inv.: Eric Brittingham, Methacton 199-06, Justin Shirk 191-02 in jav showdown; Juan Steward, Cumberland Valley, 11.38, 22.63, 49.47 triple | Council Rock Kiwanis Inv.: Kevin Steinberg 10.73, 22.53 | Penn Hills 48.84 PA#1 4x100 MR, Dan Kwiatkowski, McDowell 57'0" Shot Put @ TSTCA Champs | Swenson girls, Father Judge boys set three records each @ Colonial Relays @ Plymouth Whitemarsh | Strath Haven girls sub-4 4x400, Penncrest boys 3:23.6 4x400 Central League Relays
The Week Ahead
With so many big meets taking place last weekend, it makes you wonder what can possibly match the excitement of all those highlights this weekend. Well, perhaps the best all-around meet seen during the outdoor season is the Arcadia Invitational (CA), which takes place Friday and Saturday in southern California. This historic event will bring together most of the top in-state athletes, as well as numerous individuals all along the west coast and southwest. The highlight event is usually the boys two-mile, which this year features such athletes as Luke Puskedra (Judge Memorial, UT) and German Fernandez (Riverbank, CA).
Also on the schedule is the Taco Bell Classic (SC), which generally hosts many of the top teams and individuals from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. The meet records page is incredibly impressive, sporting such high-profile names as Xavier Carter, Alan Webb, Reese Hoffa, Monique Hennagan and Sarah Bowman. With athletes like Brittany Long (GA), Ryann Krais (PA) and Jasmin Stowers (SC) on the start lists, this meet will be one to watch.
Two other great invitationals are the Mullen Runners Roost Invitational (CO) and the Dick Dei Track Classic (WV). According to ColoradoRunners.com's Alan Versaw, most of Colorado's top talent takes part in the Mullen meet, and with this year's crop of talent out in the Rocky Mountain you can be certain this meet will post some incredible performances. Also, many of the top Ohio athletes will take their talent across the border to West Virginia, where the Dick Dei Track Classic should put up host some great times and distances as well.