Cross
Country Nationals competitors make most of rare opportunity
There’s a school of thought when it comes to indoor
track training that runners who finish their cross country seasons close enough
to the start of the indoor season can take advantage of their high fitness
level from the fall and run one indoor race to get a good time out there and
then rest and start training from scratch.
That strategy has been put on display on several occasions
this past week to great effect, and as a result, PA has several top three US
performances on the books!
We had the opportunity to go to the Hill School
Invitational on Wednesday night and watch the 2 time NXN Northeast Regional
champions Unionville girls run their top cross country runners in a relay and
an open event. The 4x800 meter relay was first, and the team of Anna Juul,
Olivia Young, Gretchen Mills, and Kacie Breeding were sharper than the rest of
the field as they nearly lapped the field of runners still working to reach
their fitness. Their time of 9:27.52 currently sits at US#1. Later, Kacie
Breeding ran a lifetime best 2:20.9 to win the 800 meter run against some
experienced half milers. To cap the night off, Olivia Young blitzed through the
3000 meter run with a US#2 10:17.36, the only runner to break 11 in the race.
On Saturday, Marissa Sheva of Pennridge took the trip to
New York City and the Armory to run the mile at the Bishop Loughlin Games and
get a good time in before her respite. Not only did she go out and win the
mile, but she ran a lifetime best and US#2 4:50.73, punching her ticket to her
3rd Millrose Mile in February.
These runners have set a benchmark for the rest of the
field to chase for the next several weeks while they rest and their competition
continues to work on reaching full fitness. In the meantime, PA gets to enjoy
its place on top of the US distance lists for Christmas!
Cheltenham’s
sprint army starts off hot
One of the highlights of the 2013-14 season was the
Cheltenham sprint team. From start to finish, the Panthers were firing on all
cylinders, winning open events, relays, state championships, All American
Honors, and every other award in between. Last week, we saw the girls take
center stage, as Ciara Leonard won the hurdles. This week, we saw how deep the
girls sprint squad is, and we were reminded of the ability the boys possess.
On Friday, Ciara Leonard switched over to the 60 meter
dash, where she beat 200 meter state medalist Jameela Muhammad of Paul Robeson
with a state leading 7.95. In the hurdles, her spot was filled in by 9th
grader Madison Langley-Walker and Janiel Slowly. The two of them finished 3-4
in the 60 meter hurdles. Langley-Walker ran 9.30 and Slowly ran 9.43. Nicole Burke
then went on to win the 200 meter dash in 26.59. In the 400 meter dash, another
9th grader made a strong introduction to the PA high school scene,
as Alexis Crosby ran 59.46 to win the 400 meter dash. For the night cap,
Cheltenham won the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 4:09.37.
They currently have the state leader in the 60 dash and
hurdles, the 2nd best 4x400, three of the top five hurdlers in the
state, and a PA#3 400 meter runner. They have accomplished all of this without
Kayla Jackson’s heir apparent Chanel Brissett available, as she nurses an
injury and waits in the wings to return and join the squad.
The best is yet to come from the indoor champions, but
if their fast start to the season is any indication, it will take a special
performance to knock them off.
Fortunately for fans, Springside Chestnut Hill have
stepped up to be the team ready to challenge them after running a US#4 3:55.54
4x4 in New York on Saturday.
Let the games begin!
Side note: The next day, the John Lewis led Cheltenham
boys went out and ran a PA#2 3:30.67 in the 4x400 meter relay without spikes in
their first meet of the season. The boys champions are off and running!
Welcome
back Emily Stauffer
Fans of the throwers in the state were sad to not have
2013 indoor shot put state champion and 2013 AAA outdoor silver medalist Emily
Stauffer of Cocalico at her best. Her flying start to the 2013-14 season was
cut short due to surgery on her throwing arm. Admirably, Stauffer attempted to
finish the season by learning how to throw with her opposite arm. Despite her
efforts, Stauffer would miss the opportunity to defend her state indoor title,
and never had the chance to qualify for the outdoor state meet.
Fast forward to this past weekend and the now junior
shot putter looked better than the Stauffer that stormed the scene two years
ago. Prior to her surgery, Stauffer threw a then lifetime best 45-4 to win the
New Balance Games last January. On Friday night at Kutztown, she surpassed that
mark and had her best throw in her career, a US#2 45-11.50!
Any event gets better when all of its top athletes are
fit and available to compete in it. After a strong shot put season saw several
underclassmen put themselves on the map, the addition of Stauffer gives the
event more depth and makes it must see entertainment for all PA track and field
fans!
Isaish
Brooks looks to dominate the jumps
The 2013-14 season was a long season for some of the
jumpers. It took until the last two weeks of the indoor season before anyone
cleared 23 feet in the long jump, and it took until the week before indoor
states for someone to break 47 feet in the triple jump. Outdoor season was
better, but with Welington Zaza’s dominance and graduation in 2012-13, the
horizontal jumps were missing the star power that can make any crowd clap in
unison with the stars on the runway.
But after last Thursday night, we may have the guy to
carry the jumps for the new season.
2014 Indoor long jump champion Isaiah Brooks of Woodland
Hills returned to the site where he was crowned champion back in March and
outdid his state title winning performance, jumping 23-6 to win the long jump
in his first meet of the season. The mark is just 3.25 inches off his lifetime
best from last season TSTCA Championships, and it is a half inch shy of his
2014 outdoor best.
On top of that, Brooks competed in the triple jump for
the first time in his indoor track career after trying the event for the first
time last spring. Brooks must have been working very hard on it during the offseason,
as Brooks jumped a state leading 44-10.50, to move into the US top 20.
Will Brooks be able to keep this pace up throughout the
season? If he does, it could be another special season for Brooks and for PA
jumping fans everywhere!