The U.S. has had indoor track meets since the mid 1870's according to some track geeks. Eliot Denman, a former Olympian at the 50k walk, and prominent track and field columnist, told ATF today that the first USA Indoor Champs dates back to 1906. So this is the ninety-ninth version of the this meet.

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Friday, February 27, 2004 (Info taken from USATF newswires)
Friday was mostly heats and some field events. In the Women's 800 meters, Hazel Clark, Chantee Earl and Jen Toomey look to be the class of the field, with Nicole Teter just a step behind. Clark had the fastest qualifier, in 2.04.81. Chantee Earl ran 2.05.20 and Jen Toomey ran 2.05.29. My pick is Jen Toomey. The former swimmer, who was cajoled into this sport by the illustrious Bob Sevene, now coach at the Monterey, CAm USA Training Center. Toomey is in a world of her own, and if she continues to show the confidence she has run with so far this season, should win the 04 Indoor title and challenge for a medal in Budapest.

The women's' weight throw was won by Erin Gilreath of the New York AC, with a throw of 23.48m. Anna Mahon of Nike was second with a throw of 23.14m, and Amber Campbell of the Coastal Carolina Club threw 22.24m for third. Dawn Ellerbe, the former AR, was relegated to fourth.

The men's 800 qualifier was won by Jesse O'Connell in 1.48.74, with Mike Stember of Nike in second in 1.48.80, Fred Sharpe of adidas in third in 1.50.24, with Derrick Peterson, Kevin Elliot and Sandrew Neugebauer finishing up the field.

In the Men's 60M hurdles on Friday, Duane Ross ran 7.53, with Larry Wade in 7.63. Allen Johnson qualified with a slow 7.71, but then, the goal is to qualify, and Johnson did just that.

On the Men's weight throw, James Parker of the USAF team won in 23.18m, with A. G. Kruger of Ashland Elite in second in 22.56m, and Thomas Freeman, the former prep phenom at the hammer, in third in 22.13m.

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Saturday, February 28, 2004

My observations . . .

My trip to Boston started early. Actually, if you count the couple hours of sleep on Friday evening, it has been just one long blur. My son Adam, the lead singer in a new metal band, Shoot the Queen, headlined in a small youth club on Friday night. After three other bands, the proud parents and about 150 fans moshed in the mosh pit, jumped off the stage and generally had a great time as the four bands kept the crowd happy. I went to bed at 1 am, and as I was leaving for the airport, at five am, the boys were just winding down from the buzz of their first big gig. I jumped onto a seven a.m. flight and made it to Boston by noon. My bags, however, did not.

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The seats are filled, with a crowd of about 4,000, and the crowd is real track fans. With an Olympic year upon us, and the World Indoor Champs in Budapest in one week, the meet is a mix of the old and the new. The story so far is Gail Devers, who is trying to become the first women to win both the indoor 60m hurdles and sprint title. The last time that this was done was by Chi Cheng of Taiwan, in 1970. But Gail would be the first American to complete the double. On Saturday, Gail won her 60m hurdle semi in 7.97, looking strong and on target.

*****

Women's Triple Jump
The first final on Saturday was the triple jump, and Tiombe Hurd gave the crowd its first stadium record. Jumping 13.84m, or 45 feet, and five inches, in her last jump, going from second to first. Yuliana Perez had held first from her first jump of the day, and tried for a big one on her last jump, only to foul. Tiombe Hurd said, " I got the meet record. Unfortunately, it took the last round to do it. I've been feeling a bit under the weather this week, so I've been a little groggy. I didn't have the speed necessary to go on the runway today. I've been under the weather because of the weather and travel." Second placer Yuliana Perez said, " I feel good that I got second place. It was better than last years, and now I will be moving forward from here. It's been a good experience."

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Women's 60 m hurdles
Melissa Morrison of adidas won the first semi, in 7.93, with Joanna Hayes in second in 7.94, Jenny Adams in third in 7.99 and Joyce Bates in fourth in 8.24.

Gail Devers is on a roll, winning here in 7.97. Anjanette Kirland was second in 8.03, Gigi Miller in third in 8.16 and Kia Davis in 8.22 for fourth.

Devers goal to win both titles here is all the more impressive when you consider how tough the competition is, this is a very strong field . . .

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Women's 60m sprint, semis
Talk about warming up. Gail ran 7.97 over the 60m hurdles, and then came back and won the semis in the 60m sprint in 7.11. Also qualifying were Chrystie Gaines, in 7.25, Inger Miller in 7.31 and Shaunta Pelam in 7.33.

In heat 2, Torri Edwards won in 7.17, with Angela Daigle in 7.20, Lakeisha Backus in 7.22 and Allyson Felix, in 7.32, taking the last position in the final.

******

Women's 3,000m final
Track and field, it's the competition..and this race was a perfect example. Katy McGregor lead through 2200 meters, with Carrie Tollefson right on her shoulder. By the 800, the top five were McGregor, Tollefson, Shayne Culpepper, Sarah Schwald and they were increasing the pace each lap. Sarah Schwald made a huge move at 2400 meters and kept that lead through 2600 meters, when Carrie Tollefson made her move. Tollefson went by Schwald like she was standing still and it was Tollefson and Culpepper. Over the last 200 meters, it was Tollefson and Shayne Culpepper, multiple national champion and KICKER. Tollefson was determined and held Culpepper off until the final straightaway, when Shayne moved into lane two, and sprinted by with 20 meters to go. Shayne Culpepper won her title at 3,000 meters to the delight of her husband, Alan, who was sitting in the crowd. Alan, as all know, won the 2004 Men's Olympic Trials Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama on February 7. Shayne Culpepper ran 9.00.59 for the win, with Carrie Tollefson in second in 9.00.03 for second, Sarah Schwald in third in 9.03.25 and Katie McGregor in fourth in 9.11.97. Nicole Aish was fifth in 9.12.04.

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Women's 60m hurdles final
Think about intimidation. You have just been introduced to the crowd at an indoor track meet, and you get nice clapping, then the announcer goes through the litany of titles that one Gail Devers has won---that is my definition of performance anxiety.

Well, Gail Devers was on form tonight. First, the starter calls runners to their blocks. Gail waits until everyone is in their blocks to get to her position. Then the gun goes off, and Devers is ahead. Devers cleared the hurdles perfectly, one after the other, and she looked fabulous. Devers lead from the first step to the finish line, winning in 7.81. Joanna Hayes ran a strong race for second and Anjanette Kirkland of Nike was third in 7.99. Jenny Adams ran a sub par race, placing fourth.

But the night belonged to Gail Devers, who ran her race, and against a stellar field. As she put on her sweats and spoke with Sheila Hightower, a pretty amazing hurdler herself, Gail could bask in the realization that she is on the way to making history.

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Men's 60m High Hurdles
Allen Johnson is the man . . . period. The guy just knows how to hurdle and also knows how to deal with the fierce level of competition in the men's hurdles, probably the toughtest event for a male track athlete to break into.

The race was called, the gun went off and Allen was gone. Hurdling well, and not making an error, Allen Johnson ran 7.44, to best second placer Duane Ross by .14 in 7.59 seconds. Ron Bramlett was third in 7.64.

And Allen Johnson is off to Budapest, in search of gold.

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Women's 800m final
Bob Fitzgerald, the famous editor of New England Runnerpredicted it, and he was right---Jen Toomey would win the 800 tonight and here is how she did it:

It is the year of Jen Toomey. Jen has this ability to move away from 400 to 600 meters that makes its very difficult for anyone to catch her. That zone, in the 800 meter race is where the runner is hurting and has to consciously make the decision to stay in the race or just call it a day.

Hazel Clark took the field through the 200 meters in 28.29, with Jen Toomey and Nicole Teter in tow. Clark led the 400 meters in 60.7 and then the race began. Jen edged into a small lead, and made her patented, Toomey third 200 meter move. Jen got some space, about five meters, and she built on it. Toomey ran for the win then, running just over two minutes, with Hazel Clark in second and Nicole Teter in third.

******

Men's 800 meters
No David Krummenacker, oh, this is going to be sooo boooring . . . Well, the pack hits 51.56 at 400 meters and who should take the lead but Mike Stember. Stember had been lurking on the leader's shoulder for the first three laps, but he did not try to lead. Stember did not take the lead until 200 to go, and at the turn, there was a bit of a tussle. Somehow, Stember kept on his feet and just kept building his lead over the last 150 meters. Mike Stember spreads his arms across the finish line, soaking up the applause of the crowd, as he won in 1.48.08. Derrick Peterson took second in 1.48.67 and Jesse O'Connell, who had lead through 400 meters, was third in 1.49.19.

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Men's triple jump
Allen Sims was the king today. Leading from round one, his third round gave him the win, with a 16.54 jump, and in round 5, he cemented the win, with a 16.88m or 55-04.75 jump. La Mark Carter was second with a jump of 16.48m, or 54 feet, one inch. In third place was Melvin Lister, who jumped 16.28m or 53 feet, five inches. Allen Sims recieved his gold medal from 1992 Olympic gold medalist Mike Connelly, the triple jump deity himself.

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Men's Pole Vault
Toby Stevenson is a pretty talented young man. An NCAA champion and NCAA runner up, Stevenson has been near the top of the heap in the pole vault for several years now. Vaulting against Russ Butler, Jeff Hartwig, Nick Hysong, Derek Miles and Dean Starkey (yes, the Starkster is back).

Toby had his day. Most of the field got stuck about 5.60m, o 18-04.5. Hartiwg, Butler and Stevenson all cleared 5.75m on their second attempt, but that was it for Butler and Hartwig. Toby Stevenson had somethign left and cleared 5.80m or 19 feet, .25 inches for the win. Russ Butler was second and Jeff Hartwig took third.

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Men's 60m Dash
Well, the fans who came to see Maurice Greene were able to see him in the semis, but Mo pulled out of the final, due to a soreness in his knee, and he did stress that this was a precaution.

Shawn Crawford, who had looked on in the heats, took the field apart, running 6.47 to John Capel in 6.52 and Mickey Grimes in 6.60.

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Men's 1,500

Who the Heck is Rob Meyers? Charlie Gruber, the U.S. 4K cross champion, leads the mile through the 400 in 58 seconds, the 800 was passed in just under two minutes and the 1320 was passed in just about three minutes-and there was our hero, Charlie Gruber. At this juncture, after leading for 3/4 of the race, Rob Meyers, a young man from Ohio State, and Big Ten Champion at 1,500 meters, took the race over. Jason Lunn tried his move, but stayed in fifth. Rob Meyers lead the last lap and held off a strong move by Charlie Gruber, and Rob Meyers had his first win, in 3.40.80. Charlie Gruber was second in 3.40.83.

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Women's 60m dash
And then there is Gail. Gail Devers became the first American women ever and the first women since 1970 to win both the 60 m hurdles and 60 m sprints. Devers won by less than two hundreths of a second.

The race was flawless. Devers kept her head down until fifty meters and pushed through the finish line, which all athletes should learn to do.

Devers is taking her season, as she said earlier this season, one race at a time.

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ASIDES . . .
The press stands were three deep. In the coaches stands were Remi Korchemny, the coach of Chrystie Gaines, and Calvin Harrison, who was recently indited by the Feds over the Balco Investigation.

Agent Ray Flynn was seen in the stands with Alan Webb, who was watching the meet from the stands. Alan has had some good cross country races in the fall and a limited indoor season. Alan ran his indoor PR at Tyson a few weeks ago, with 3.57.

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Late Flash
In the Boston Globe it was stated that Jerome Young, former 400m champion, has filed suits in both Colorado and Indianapolis against USOC and USATF . . . ATF sources have confirmed the lawsuit.

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