Mason Finley (CO) started the weekend on a high note Thursday evening by throwing the shot put 65-05 for a U.S. #2 performance, while earning a U.S. #1discus performance in 211-10. Between Finley's performances and the Eleanor Roosevelt (MD) (pictured above by Pat Montferrat) girls 4x800m relay national record of 8:43.12 and 4x400m relay win of 3:37.16 at the Penn Relays, this weekend is turning into the best of the season.
Weekend Highlights & Results (4/25 - 4/27)
Penn Relays (PA)
Penn Relays: Meet Page / Official Website
What a weekend it's been for Eleanor Roosevelt (MD) (pictured left by Pat Montferrat). Not only did they break the American 4x8 national record by seven seconds, with their finishing time of 8:43.12, but they came up big with one of the most impressive 4x400m relay performances ever. Roosevelt ran stride for stride with the top Jamaican squads and Boys & Girls (NY) for much of the race, until the last two legs where they really put some space between the rest of the field, especially on their anchor leg.
Earlier in the day Tasha Stanley ran a 2:09.6 won win the 4x800m relay for the team and Friday afternoon her 54.2 anchor leg squashed the competition. Eleanor Roosevelt's time was the fastest time ever by a U.S. squad not named Long Beach Poly or Long Beach Wilson. That is some select company and topped the school's best time ever by over two seconds. Congratulations to the Eleanor Roosevelt girls on one of the great relay days ever!
After amazing prelim results Thursday, the match-up in the girls 4x800m relay simply inspired. After narrowly missing the U.S. record in 2007 of 8:50.41 (set by Boys & Girls, New York back in 2002), Eleanor Roosevelt (MD)had a lot to prove. To add to the suspense, the squad was the defending champion. Through the first two exchanges it was very apparent that Eleanor Roosevelt, Holmwood Tech (JA) and Edwin Allen (JA) were the three best teams in the field, breaking away by leaps and bounds. At the anchor leg exchange all three were still packed together and the crowd was going wild. With Edwin Allen leading the pack of three, the anchors from Holmwood Tech and Eleanor Roosevelt looked relaxed. Then, with 200 meters to go, all three athletes really started moving, and into the homestretch they came. Holmwood Tech pulled to the lead and ran to the win with thousands of Jamaican fans cheering them on down the homestretch. Holmwood Tech won in an amazing 8:41.92, while Eleanor Roosevelt earned a runner-up finish with a new American record of 8:43.12. Edwin Allen finished third in 8:44.75, while Manchester (JA) finished fourth in 8:56.78. Simply outstanding!
In the field events, Nick Vena (Morristown, NJ) continued his amazing freshman season by winning the shot put competition. Vena threw 63-06 on his third toss of the day. Vena's nearest competitor also happened to be his biggest rival at this point in Mike Alleman (Scotch Plains-Fanwood, NJ), who finished a strong second in 62-01.
On Thursday evening in the girls mile, a battle of four led to incredibly fast times. From the gun freshman star Chelsey Sveinsson (Greenhill, TX) took the lead, pushing an early fast pace and stringing the field out in her typical fashion. The fast pace created a group of four with Sveinsson, Emily Infeld (Beaumont, OH), Stephanie Morgan (Barnesville, OH) and Anna Shields (Lewis S. Mills, CT). At the quarter the group ran through in 67, then the same pack came through 800m in 2:29. From there Shields dropped off a bit and the trio came through the 1200m in 3:33. As the gun sounded, Sveinsson and Morgan started to pull away, Morgan simply sitting on Sveinsson's shoulder and looking ready to make a move. With 200m to go Morgan shot past Sveinsson and pulled away to a thrilling victory in 4:41.22. Last year after taking second in this race, Morgan said, "It definitely feels good to come back here and finish in first. I love this meet." Infeld finished strong and took second in 4:43.31, while Sveinsson placed third in 4:43.51. Click Here for Full Summary.
FHSAA 1A-2A State T&F Championships (FL)
FHSAA 1A-2A State Championships: Meet Page / Results: 1A / 2A
FLRunners.com Championship Coverage
The FHSAA 2A State Championships took place Saturday, following the 1A Championships the day before. The 2A Championships brought forth some of the best performances nation wide this weekend in both the girls and boys track and field events. Leading the way were the Raines High School (FL) girls squad, who dominated the sprint events and won the state title. Two individual wins and two relay teams marked the best performances of the day for Raines. Sonnisha Williams won the triple jump in 19-07.50, while Brianna Frazier won the 400m dash in 54.41. Meanwhile, both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays were won by Raines, in 47.81 and 3:54.43 respectively.
The other top girls result of the day came from Octavius Freeman (Lake Wales, FL) in winning the 100m dash and 200m dash. Freeman cruised to victories in each event, taking home the top spot at 100m in 12.04 and the 200m in 24.70.
On the boys side of things, Derrick Hopkins (Pace, FL) put up the top performance of the entire weekend in the 200m dash prelims. Hopkins ran a wind-legal 20.97, propelling him into the finals which he won in 21.68. Adding to Hopkins' impressive sprint performance was Jordan Byas (Bay, FL). Byas scored a strong victory at 400m with a great time of 47.15.
A double winner on the day was middle distance star Joseph Franklin (Godby, FL). Franklin won the 1600m dash in 4:15.58 and came back later in the day to win the 800m dash in 1:54.47. Franklin's teammate Willie Downs won the triple jump as well, leaping an outstanding mark of 50-05.75. Between Franklin, Downs and a few other Godby points, the squad won the team title.
A few other top performances on the day: Fred Miller (Raines, FL) won the boys high jump with a leap of 6-10. He came back to place second in the triple jump behind Downs in 47-05.75. Darion Williams (Cocoa, FL) won the boys long jump in 24-07, while Kenny McClain (Belles, FL) beat Justin Manchester (Bay, FL) 36.64-36.94 to win the boys 300m hurdles. Williams also led his Belles squad to the 4x400m relay win in 3:17.26.
The FHSAA 1A-2A State T&F Championships (FL) started Friday afternoon and evening with the 1A Championships being contested, marking the start of the outdoor state championship seaso nationwide. The top performance of the day came from Kayla Parker (Port St. Joe, FL) who won four events. Parker won the 100m hurdles in 14.77, long jump in 18-10.50, 100m dash in 12.49 and 200m dash in 25.68. Parker's forty points helped lead her team to the state title as well, capping one impressive season.
Other highlights came from tracksters Faith Umoh (Dade Christian, FL) and Kayla Hale (Trinity Prep, FL). Umoh won the girls 400m dash in 56.85, running away from the field over the last 100m of the race. Meanwhile, Hale won the distance double by shaking her competition in the 1600m fairly early in the race to win in 5:03.68 and did the same for 3200m by winning the event in 10:45.14. The top girls field event came from Michelle Jenije (N. Florida Central, FL) in the triple jump with a winning mark of 39-07.
On the boys side, Onterio McCalebb (Fort Meade, FL) and Kenneth McKenzie (Dade Christian, FL) each did well in a pair of events. McCalebb won the 200m dash in 22.44, while placing second in 11.16 for 100m behind Jonathan Woodbine (Florida Christian, FL), who won the event in 11.13. McKenzie did well in leading both hurdle events. For the 110m hurdles, McKenzie cruised home to the win in 15.12 and took the 300m hurdles in 39.82.
Lake Washington Invitational (WA)
Lake Washington Invitational: Meet Page / Results
While many of the top boys programs in the state of Washington competed in numerous meets throughout the weekend, the best girls competition was easily the Lake Washington Invitational. The best performer of the day came from Andrea Geubelle (Curtis, WA) by winning the long jump and triple jump. Geubelle's winning mark for the triple jump neared the forty foot barrier in 39-03, while proving she is the best all-around jumper with her 18-09 long jump
Another double event winner came from Becca Friday (Bellingham) in the 800m dash and 1500m run. Friday scored two-plus second wins in both events, finishing with a time of 2:13.49 for 800m and 4:34.64 for 1500m. In the girls high jump, Kelly McNamee (Ferris, WA) continued her string of impressive high jump performances by easily winning the event with a leap of 5-08.
Two more solid performances that came on the track came in the short sprints and hurdles. Bree LeRoy (Gig Harbor) won the 100m hurdles in 14.75 and helped guide her team to an easy 25 points win in the team title scoring. Bianca Greene (Garfield, WA) also did well, winning the 200m dash in 24.65 and proving the senior will be a force to be reckoned with later this year at state.
Shumake Scholarship Relays (MI)
Shumake Scholarship Relays: Meet Page / Results
One of the hidden gems of the weekend came up in Michigan at the Shumake Scholarship Relays. Teams from Michigan, Ohio and Indiana came together to compete in an action packed meet that saw a lot of speed. Leading the charge were Michigan sprinters Varrick Tucker (Belleville, MI) and Darryl White (Romulus, MI). All season long these two have been dominant forces on the track and field scene in the Midwest and they proved it once again Saturday, with Tucker beating a strong field that saw three runners under 49 seconds, his winning mark being 48.46. White's performance came later in the day with a fine 10.73 100m dash victory that showed just how fast this senior is.
Other top performances came from Tommy Brinn (Ostego, MI) and Myles White (Livonia Stevenson). Brinn impressed with his performance over 800m. The senior beat a strong field with his winning time of 1:53.73. Meanwhile, White won both the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles with times of 14.57 for the 110's and 39.86 over the 300's.
In the relay events Gary Wallace (IN) proved where their strengths lie. The sprint squad ran away from the field in the 4x100m relay by winning the event in 43.02 and won the 4x400m relay as well in 3:21.12. In the boys 4x200m relay perennial sprint powerhouse Trotwood-Madison (OH) won with a time of 1:29.70. Mumford (MI) had a nice day in the relays as well, winning the boys 4x800m relay in 7:54.00, while their girls squad won the 4x800m relay in 9:19.80 and the 4x400m relay in 3:57.16.
The top girls performance came from Jordan Clarke (Southfield-Lathrup, MI) in the sprints. Clarke showed why she is one of the top sprinters in the state with big wins at 100m and 200m. Clarke pulled away from the field in the 100m dash at the half way point and never looked back, finishing in 12.27. At 200m she showed her strength off the turn by winning the event in 26.00.
In the girls distance events, Courtney Calke (Livonia Stevenson, MI) put on quite a show by winning the 3200m run in 11:24.37 and placing second in the 1600m rn with a 5:07.41. The athlete that beat her in the 1600m was Natalie Webb (Woodhaven, MI), who won the event with a great mark of 5:04.45. While the weather wasn't ideal anywhere across the Midwest this weekend, the Shumake Scholarship Relays proved that great athletes coming together regardless of the weather can create some great results.
Harper Memorial Track Meet (NM)
Harper Memorial Track Meet: Meet Page / Results
The track and field scene in New Mexico has been pretty quiet for the past few months, but that all changed this weekend at the Harper Memorial Track Meet. Many of the top teams from across the state took part in this competition at Albuquerque Academy and the results were fantastic. The best all around performance came from Curtis Beach (Albuquerque Academy, NM), who won the 800m dash and the high jump. Beach is one of the top decathletes in the nation and showed where some of his strengths lie. He won the 800m dash in 1:53.88 and soundly beat the competition in the high jump with a leap of 6-06.25.
Beach's teammate Ben Johnson (Albquerque Academy, NM) also competed well. Johnson placed second in the 1600m run behind Kevin Burnett (St. Pius X, NM), with Burnett winning in 4:19.66 to Johnson's 4:20.78, while three others dipped under 4:30. Johnson also won the 3200m run in 9:24.22 and beat most of the states top distance runners in the process.
One of the most noteworthy performances of the whole weekend took place in the boys pole vault. Daniel Gooris (Cibola, NM) doesn't get much recognition being down in the southwest, but the star vaulter soared over 16-04. Back on the track Chad Clark (La Cueva, NM) won the 110m hurdles in 14.34, another excellent mark on the boys side.
On the girls side, Cibola (NM) showed why they are going to be a force to win a state title after teammates Skye Barnett and Amber Battle placed 1-2 in the 100m dash in 11.72 and 11.87. The freshman Battle then came back to place second in the 200m dash in 25.77. On top of those performances, Cibola won the 4x200m relay in 1:44.08, capping a great weekend for the squad.
Drake Relays (IA)
Drake Relays: Meet Page / Results: Boys Friday - Girls Friday / Boys Saturday / Girls Saturday
The first day of high school competition at the Drake Relays put on quite a show for the crowd. The top highlights on the day came from the throwing events. Leading the throwers was Danielle Frere (Muscatine, IA) who put up a great mark of 48-02.75 in the girls shot put. Frere easily beat her competition, proving she'll be one to watch all season. In the girls discus, Taylor Freeman (Iowa City West, IA) won with her top throw of 139-06.
On the boys side of the throwing events, Drew Clark (Marian, IA) inched closer to the sixty foot barrier by winning the shot put in 58-00.75. Meanwhile in the discus throw, Freeman's Iowa City West teammate Thomas Reynolds won the event with a huge throw of 191-00. With all this great throwing it was easy to overlook the other top field event competition. In the girls high school a classic dual occurred. Hannah Willms (Dike-New Hartford, IA) and A.G. Bradford (North Davenport, IA) both cleared 5-09, with Willms winning the event on fewer missed attempts.
On the track the distance events led the way. Katie Flood (Dowling Catholic, IA) won the girls 3,000m run in 9:56.23, while her sister Betsy Flood (Dowling Catholic, IA) placed second in 9:58.25. The sisters came back a short while later to run 2:15.96 and 2:17.16 in the girls 800m, which was won by Colette Gnade (Waukee, IA) in 2:14.09, beating Blaire Dinsdale (North Tama, IA) who finished second in 2:14.61.
Pleasant Valley (IA) expected a few impressive results this weekend and the squad got on Friday with Devin Allbaugh placing first in the boys 3,200m run. Allbaugh has shown for the past year that he may just be the best distance runner in Iowa and that title held true to form. He'll be doubling back Saturday with teammate Blake Irwin in the 1,600m run. The other top track performance came in the boys 100m dash where Jarred Herring (Burlington, IA) won with a wind-aided 10.69 (+2.4).
On Saturday, the final day of competition, Dowling Catholic (IA) and Pleasant Valley (IA) had big days in the distance events. Dowling Catholic won the girls 4x800m relay in a great time of 9:25.47, led by Betsy Flood and Katie Blood. Meanwhile, Pleasant Valley won the boys 4x800m relay, being the only team under eight minutes, finishing in 7:54.89. Pleasant Valley was led by seniors Blake Irwin and Devin Allbaugh.
Both Floods, Irwin and Allbaugh dominated the 1500m/1600m as well. Betsy Flood won the girls 1500m in 4:39.18 with sister Katie placing third in 4:40.70. Finishing in second was freshman upstart Shelby Houlihan (East Sioux Falls, IA) in 4:39.46. Irwin and Allbaugh went 1-2 in the boys 1600m, as Irwin ran away from the field over the last 400m to finish in 4:16.93, while Allbaugh finished a little ways back in 4:19.97. A phenominal day for those two programs and those four athletes.
The last prep event on the track this weekend saw some great performances as well. Waukee (IA) won the girls 4x400m relay and Cedar Park (IA) won the boys side of the event. Waukee ran 3:53.65, winning over a strong North Tama (IA) squad, while Cedar Park won in a great time of 3:19.54, easily beating out the competition.
Oregon Relays (OR)
Oregon Relays: Meet Page / Results
With historic and competitive Penn Relays (PA) and Drake Relays (IA) taking place this weekend, the west coast must have felt they needed a relays meet as well. The first ever Oregon Relays are this weekend and Friday's results were a great start to the weekend. In the prep field events, Austen Timm (Soutridge, OR) lept 6-09 to win the boys high jump and Lindsay Beard (South Eugene, OR) easily beat the competition in the girls pole vault with her mark of 12-03.25. The third highlight of the day in the field events signaled a new athlete on the Oregon track and field scene. Ryan Crouser (Barlow, OR) won the boys discus throw with a great freshman mark of 168-05. Winning a meet of this size and competition bodes well for him in th future.
On the track the individual distance events highlighted the night session. Elliot Jantzer (Phoenix, OR) won the boys 3,000m run in 8:37.60 by a close two seconds over Nathan Mathabane (Lincoln, OR). On the girls side of things Alexa Kearns (St. Mary's, OR) ran a tactically smart 2,000m steeplechase, while on the boys side Taylor Morgan (Central Catholic, OR) won the boys 3,000m steeplechase in 9:39.99. More to come from Saturday's results.
Erie McDowell Invitational (PA)
Erie McDowell Invitational: Meet Page / Results: Boys / Girls
The throwers were out strong at Saturday's Erie McDowell Invitational. Similar to many other great throws performances this weekend, the top performance at this invite came as a pair. Dan Kwiatkowski (McDowell, PA) won both the boys shot put and discus with some very good performances. Kwiatkowski won the shot put competition with one of the better marks nationally this outdoor season in 62-10. He then came back to win the discus in 170-01.
Continuing the strong throws days was the boys javelin throw. Nationally ranked Justin Shirk (Central Dauphin, PA) led two others over the 200 foot barrier in the event with his winning toss of 208-10.50. Shirk has been on a roll this season and continues to improve. Second place Ryan Schliecher (Baldwin, PA) threw 201-04 while third place finisher Ryan Bell (Wilmington, PA) threw 200-06.
Hamline Elite Meet (MN)
Hamline Elite Meet: Meet Page / Results
It's a rare day to get one of the top 800m runners in the country facing one of the top 3200m runners in the country at 1600m. This happened at the Hamline Elite Meet Friday evening as Minnesota's Andy Richardson (Irondale, MN) and Rob Finnerty (Burnsville, MN) toed the line against one another. Richardson is one of the top returnees this season after running 1:51 last year, while Finnerty is one of the top distance runners in the country after a top ten finish at Foot Locker Nationals and broke nine minutes for 3200m as a junior.
As the race took off Richardson shot to the lead, pacing the two runners through the quarter in 62 seconds. The pace slowed a bit on the second lap as the two passed in 2:09, with Finnerty tailing Richardson. Through three laps Richardson continued to lead until the bell when Finnerty made a strong move gapping Richardson by nearly 30 meters with 200m to go. However, Richardson responded and crept up on Finnerty with 100m to go. Stride for stride the two athletes came to the finish line as Richardson lunged forward for the win in 4:15.16, while Finnerty finished second in 4:15.29.
In other action, Joe Rancourt (Faribault, MN) won the boys 100m and 200m dashes in 10.91 and 22.24, impressive times on a windy and rain-soaked day. The top performances of the field events were in the girls triple jump and boys shot put. Jordan Helgrew (Wayzata, MN) won the triple jump in 37-11.75, the top mark in the state this season, and Brian Leonhardt (Spring Lake Park, MN) earned his pre-meet favorite status by winning the shot in 58-11.
Mid-State Conference (OK)
Mid-State Conference: Meet Page / Results
With the season winding down in Oklahoma, conference action started this weekend. On Thursday night the Mid-State Conference took place in Norman, Oklahoma. Results from this meet usually give a good indication of who will be near the top at the state meet and once again this proved true. The top performance of the weekend came from Cameron Tabor (Norman, OK) who won the shot put in 63-09.75 and the discus in 190-03. Tabor, who is only a junior, continues to impress this year as one of the nation's best throwers in each event.
Perhaps the best all-around performance on the boys side came from Alex Madkins (Midwest City, OK). Madkins scored a combined 36 points for his team by winning the long jump in 23-02.5, high jump in 6-06 and placing second in the triple jump with a leap of 44-00 and the 110m hurdles in 15.45. Quite an impressive performance. Other top performances include Jack Whitt's (Norman North, OK) 16-03 pole vault victory, Derrick Krautlarger (Moore, OK) winning the 300m hurdles in 38.45 and Moore (OK) beating Midwest City (OK) in the 4x400m relay 3:19.03-3:19.40.
On the girls side, Midwest City (OK) showed why they are one of the top sprint programs in the country. The squad won the 4x100m, 4x200m and 4x400m relays. In the 4x1 Midwest City cruised to a 47.53 win, while the 4x2 was won in 1:43.69.. In the 4x400m relay the squad crushed the competition with their 3:56.90 performance, the best time in the state to date.
Midwest City also scored well individually, as Carissa Levingston won the girls 100m dash in 11.96 and the 200m dash in 24.94. Levingston also participated in two of the winning relays, earning herself the star of the meet status. The best performance in the girls field events was Toni Young (Del City, OK) winning the high jump. The senior lept 5-08 for the win.
Buena Vista invitational (CO)
Mason Finley (Buena Vista, CO) continues to improve in the throws this season as the outdoor season swings into it's peak time. Finley threw a U.S. #2 performance of 65-05 in the shot put Thursday night at the Buena Vista Invitational, while throwing a U.S. #1 performance of 211-10. Finley seemed to level out during the indoor season with his performances, but his past month of competition has seen consistent improvement each time out.