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|  AT&T USATF Indoor Championships, Event Review, Days 1,2 by Larry Eder February 25-26, 2006 atf newswire, volume 9, number 10 American Track and Field
Great Night of Distance Races!
The new signs from AT&T, large light blue banners on both walls,
lighten up the walls-and the new logo, showing a runner hurdling is light
and adds to the space. The crowd is about 2/3 full, which is pretty good
considering that there is little or no promotions locally for the meet. The
challenge is, how to put together a meet that shows off the sport and at
the same time prepare the athletes for the world indoor championships
in Moscow, where they will have rounds for all events through 1,500
meters? It is a daunting task. While we have come far over the last eight years in our sport, one of this
writers' biggest beefs is that we do not promote our national
championships well. There is the belief that if we hold the meet, then the
will come. Big difference between the crowd at Reebok Boston Games
and the crowd here, is that there were local promotions over the month--
and it is too bad, as the Reggie Lewis Center looks great and the
athletes performing this weekend should make this one of the best
indoor championships ever! Our sport is at a cross roads. We have a group of athletes now that may
some of the most talented, and articulate, at all levels of the sport, that
we ever have. Our federation has dug itself out of the hole it was in eight
year ago, thanks to the work of Craig Masback, Jim Elias, Bill Roe and
the USATF staff. Now comes the hard work, how to put track and field in
the top ten sporting activities in our country, that is the challenge. The
fans are there and the money is there, we just can not take it for granted. *****
a bit of history...(but, what would you expect?) The meet is 101 years old today, however, one hundred years ago, in
1906, the championships were held in New York City, and for the first
time, they had a complete
schedule of events. There was a 60 yards, 600 yards, 1000 yards, no
mile, a 2 mile, high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump and a 24 lb
Shot put. The mile was not contested until 1932 at the national indoor
championships. There were no womens events contested, that did not
happen until 1926. Want to here some results? Charles Seitz, NYAC ran
6.6 in the 60 yards, EB Parsons, NYAC, won the 600 yards in 1.14.6, the
great Mel Shepard won the 1000 yards in 2.17.8 ( he was a four time
Olympic gold medalist), 2 Mile in 9.39.2 by George Bonhag, IAAC, High
Jump in 5'10.5" by Herbert Gidney, Yale, pole vault, A.C. Gilbert in 10'9"
( A.C. Gilbert made his name in electric trains, but he was also the 1908
Olympic pole vault champion), long jump by Ray Ewry in 11" 1.5 (
standing long jump--Ewry was multiple Olympic medalist and owned the
jumps from 1893 to 1908), Triple jump was won by John O'Connell,
NYAC in 45'3.75", and the final event, the shot put, was a 24 lb monster,
won by
Martin Sherican, IrAA, 33'1". ( Just a quick note. In case you are truly impressed with this writers'
geekness, just note that most of the above, while in my own words, was
liberated from Back Track, by Steve Vaitones, the manager of the
USATF New England office, a real race walker, track geek and good
friend. Mr. Vaitones wrote a superb column on the indoor
championships over the past 100 years for the 2006 meet program.) The Reggie Lewis Center is ten years old this year, and it is an amazing
facility. Keith McDermott and his crew run this place for the Boston
athletic community, and put on over
sixty events a season! They have made this facility one of the true
bastions of the sport, along with the New Balance Armory in New York
City. ******* Friday, February 24, 2006 Throws Sessions (what we missed)... Men's Weight Throw A.G. Kruger of Ashland Elite needed his fifth throw of 23.74m or 77-
10.75 to take the title. Kibwe Johnson also needed his fifth throw 23.72m
or 77-10. Thomas Freeman of the NYAC,
took second in 23.48m or 77-0.5. Women's Weight Throw Erin Gilreath of the NYAC took first in 22.95m or 75-3.5 in the champs,
with Amber Campbell in second in 74-4.25 or 22.66m and Loree Smith
of NYAC was third in 21.82m or 71-7.25.
****** Saturday, February 25, 2006 Early session The early session was pretty tame. In the Women's triple jump Ronda
White, Tiombe Hurd, Sherita Williams all moved to Sunday's final. In the Men's 60 m hurdles, our star, Terrance Trammell, is back and
running well, leading the qualifiers in 7.60. Dominique Arnold ran 7.62
in heat two, and Anwar Moore ran 7.61 in heat 1 to take the lead. In the women's pole vault qualifying, Andree Pickens, Becky
Holliday,Kellie Suttle, Jillian Schwartz, and 2005 defending champion
Jennifer Stuczynski all moved on to Sunday's finals. Jennifer Stucczynski signed with adidas, it was announced today, by her
management company, Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc. In the women's 60 meters, MeLisa Barber ran 7.16, Lauryn Williams ran
7.19 in heat 1. In heat two, Torri Edwards ran 7.21 to take the second
heat. The Women's 400 m dash heats were uneventful, except that it should
be noted that Sanya Richards ran 51.76, nearly two seconds ahead of
her competition. She should run well in the final. Women's 800 meter heats Krista Ferrara of the Farm team was the second fastest in 2.04.95. The
fastest qualifier, and the best fitness level, in this writer's mind, looked to
be Frances Santin of Santa Monica TC, in 2.04.62. Hazel Clark
qualified, and should be noted as dangerous for tommorow's final. Men's 800 meter heats Khadevius Robinson of Nike looks good and has been hot this season,
his time of 1.49.24 was the top qualifier. Samuel Burley of ASICS was
second in 1.49.42. David Krummenacker of adidas won his heat, with
the last and slowest qualifier for the final, 1.52.09. Men's 400 meter heats Dirk Homewood of Reebok, Milton Campbell, Obra Hogans of Reebok
and Tyree Washington of Nike will make final 1. Jamel Ashley of Reebok, Wallace Spearmon of Nike, James Davis of
Phenetix International and La Shawn Merritt of Nike will make final 2. This could be a barn burner tommorow, as Wallace, late of 300 meter
world record and 4 x 400 meter fame, ran 46.59 here, and La Shawn
Merrit, who seems to just be adjusting to the indoor track, ran 46.87. ******
The final session this afternoon was one of the best sessions of indoor
track and field that this writer has ever seen, here were the highlights:
Men's high jump Adam Shunk of NIke won the high jump on his second attempt
clearance of 7'4.5" or 2.25m, with Tora Harris of Shore AC, who was
second on his third attempt at 7'4,5". Jesse Williams
of Southern Cal was third on his 2.22m or 7'3.25" clearance. Jamie
Nieto of NIke was fourth in 2.22m or 7'3.25" Adam Shunk had these reflections about his jumps, "It didn't jump my best today, but the way it worked out today was good
enough to win. I took a chance after missing my first attempt at 2.22
meters/7 feet 3.25 inches. I either had to make 2.25m/7-4.5 or bow out of
the competition in fifth or sixth place. Everyone knew coming into the competition that it was wide open. Any
one
of five or six of us had a chance to win. The fans were very supportive. The track was very fast and I could use
my
speed to my advantage. This was like a little vacation for me from
graduate school, as it turned out it was a good vacation. Now I have to
find a way to get out of school for a week." Women's shot put Jillian Camerena entertained the crowd in the shot, with her near four
foot improvement, with a throw of 19.26m or 63'2.25" for first. Kriston
Heaton of Nike was second in 18.24m or 59'10.25". Jessica Cosby of
Nike took third on her fifth throw with a put of 17.19m or 56'4.75". Jillian Camarena had this to say about her victory today, "Everything just seemed to come together today. I was just so excited
after
the winning toss. I knew it felt good when it left my hand, but then I say
it land and I just couldn't control my emotions. I kept jumping around.
I was so very excited. My training has been going great with the spin
technique. I've been waiting for this big throw. You never know what's going to happen in the competition, but I was
confident that throw (63-2 1?4) might hold up. I think I had the lead by
just a couple of inches before the big toss." Women's High Jump Chaunte Howard and Amy Acuff continued their duels, and it was
Howard's championship, with a jump of 1.95m or 6'4.75" as Chaunte
Howard of Nike took the 2006 AT&T Indoor championship. Amy Acuff of
ASICS was second in 1.89m or 6'2.25", and Gwen Wentland of Nike was
third in 1.86m or 6'1.25". Chaunte Howard added this after her victory, " I was scared and just
hoping that my training would pull me through. I took a whole week off
(two weeks ago) because I had the flu. I was just trying to hang on today.
I wanted the other ladies to do well, but I wanted to do well too. This is
my first U.S. title." Men's Triple Jump It took three jumps for Walter Davis of NIke to win the triple jump title,
with a jump of 16.87m or 55'4.25". Aarik Wilson was second in 16.60m
or 54'5.5". Joe Allen was third in 51'2.75". Here is what Walter Davis,
one of our most talented jumpers, had to say about his victory: "The first jump they didn't mark. Something was wrong with the
machine.
was a little upset after the first one. On the third one, I got it so I
just shut it down. I feel pretty good (going in the IAAF World Championships) knowing that
the competition is going to be really tough. No one expected me to win
Outdoors, I know they're going to be coming after me. It's going to
be a real good competition." Men's 5,000 meter Race Walk Tim Seaman of the New York AC is the king of indoor race walking and
his 5,000 meters was the best walk by an American ever, breaking the
American best of 19.18, set by Tim Lewis of Reebok way back in 1987.
Nineteen years later, Tim Seaman walked 19.15.88. Kevin Eastler of the
U.S. Air Force was second in 19.43.41, and Benjamin Shorey of
Wisconsin-Parkside was third in 21.00.87. Matt Boyles of Miami Valley
TC was fourth in 21.25.91 and David McGovern of New Balance was
fifth in 22.48.55. Tim Seaman had this to say after his walk, " It has been a tough 8-9
months for me. I am taking every race like it is my last. I really wanted to
break the American Record and not at a small meet. I wanted to do it
somewhere that mattered. It was a great day and I am glad to be here.
This was my tenth American Record." Women's Long Jump Akiba McKinnney won this event on her final jump, going from second,
which he was in sixth place until round five, and her final jump of 6.62m
or 21-8.75" . Tianna Madison of Nike , who was first from the second
round, made a game run on her last jump, but her 6.59m or 21-7.5" held
on for second. Grace Upshaw of Nike, who took third in 6.49m or 21-3.5"
on her second jump. Men's Pole Vault Brad Walker continued to show his development in the sport, with his
first attempt clearances of 5.50, 5.65 and 5.75m or 18-10.25". Jeff
Hartwig, the 38 year old American record holder, was second tonight in
5.70m or 18-8.25" and Toby Stevenson, the helmeted vaulter, cleared
5.60m or 18-4.5" was third and Tim Mack was fourth. Brad Walker, currently ranked number one in the world by the IAAF, " My
training is finally starting to come around. This was a good sign today
heading to the World Championships. I competed on a bit of a different
sequence today. Most of the other vaulters were jumping at different
heights. I just thought that my sequence worked better for me. My first
clearance at 5.75 ( 18-10 1/4) was a good jump. Probably my best of the
competition. " Men's Shot Put Reese Hoffa of the New York AC continued his rule of the indoor
season. Reese is a big guy with a huge heart for the shot. Reese is a
crowd favorite and his vertical jump must challenge some records after
his good throws. Reese lead for rounds 1 and 2, and then Christian
Cantwell threw 21.10m or 69-2.75 in his third throw. Reese Hoffa took first back in his fifth throw of 21.61m or 70-10.75" and
that was the title. His last throw of 21.54m just cemented the win.
Christian Cantwell's third throw kept the second place for Moscow. John Godina was in second in round one, and then dropped to third and
kept third with his 20.50m, or 67-3.25". Adam Nelson had four fouls, and
his third round throw of 20.30m held on for fourth.
Men's 1,500 Meter Run--It is Lukesic! Jason Jabaut and Brendon Mahoney of the Farm team took the field of
12 out in this stacked field. Hanging on to them was Jason Lunn of Nike,
Rob Myers, the 2004 Indoor champion, of Reebok and Chris Lukezic of
Reebok with Sean O'Brien of the Farm team in tow. Rob Myers took the lead with six laps to go, trying to break the field, with
Lunn, Lukesic and O'Brien holding on. The race came down to the final
lap, where Lukesic moved from third to first on the backstretch and
pushed the final lap, coming off the last turn wide and then drilling the
last straightaway, taking his first US title! Rob Myers stumbled coming off the last turn, and that was at just the
time when Jason went for Chris Lukesic, but Lukesic held on, with Jason
Lunn taking second in 3.41.98 to Sean O'Brien's third place time of
3.42.53 and Rob Myers time of 3.42.83 for fourth. All in all, a great race for the 1,500 meter title! Men's 3,000 meter title Adam Goucher has had a great indoor season. He opened up at the
Reebok Boston Games, with a fine indoor mile and his performances at
the US World Cross country trials last weekend showed that Adam is
healthy, strong and his coaching partnership with Alberto
Salazar is paying dividends. Adam ran this race the only way he could, he watched the action close
for two kilometers and then made his move, making the field hurt. " I
looked up at the big screen, and while I could not hear anyone behind
me, I knew that they were there, " commented Adam after his run. And were they there, Jonathan Riley, three time US 3k titlest, from
Brookline, had his fans in the stands as he made his move. With three
laps to go, Goucher was pushing the pace and Riley was slowly moving
into position for the big kick. With a lap to go, Adam Goucher bravely
pushed the pace, and Jonathan Riley moved into position, but the six
second lead was cut to
three seconds and that is all she wrote. Adam Goucher of Nike took the
3,000 meter title in 7.49.78, with Jonathan Riley of Nike in second in
7.51.88 and Luke Watson of adidas in third in 7.55.29. Christopher
Estwanik of the Farm team was fourth in 7.55.43, with Steve Slattery of
Nike in fifth in 7.57.10 and Ian Dobson of adidas in sixth in 7.57.82. Adam Goucher was asked by this writer how he would decide, Moscow
or Fukuoka? ' I want to do both, but Alberto is considering the travel and
where I can do better." Listen to your coach, Adam, you guys are doing
something right! Women's 3,000 meter run This was one of the best races of the night. Carrie Tollefson of adidas is
coming off a strong indoor season and her Cross Country Trials last
weekend, where she won the 4 kilometer. Sara Hall is new to the game
of professional running, as she and her husband, Ryan Hall, are on the
ASICS running team, after having spent four years at Stanford. Sara ran the way she had to, taking the lead, hitting the first kilometer in
3.08.86 and then continuing to push. Carrie Tollefson was in third, with
Sara Slattery in fourth and Sarah Schwald of Nike in second. In my mind, Sarah Schwald looked great the whole race, poised for a
good move. With six laps to go, Carrie Tollefson began her long drive
home, pushing the back stretches, and breaking up the race. Sara Hall
and Sarah Schwald held on, as Sara Slattery was bumped with two laps
to go and dropped off. Schwald looked like the one to beat until one lap
to go, when Tollefson's hard pace showed its benefits--Sara Hall hung
on gamely, but Sarah Schwald was dropped. Carrie did not take anything for granted and Tollefson pushed the last
lap and took here 3,000 meter victory with a fine 9.05.80 to Sara Halls'
9.06.33 and Sara Schwald's 9.08.28. Women's 1,500 meters Tiffany McWilliams of adidas seems to know one way to race--from the
front. But, alas, she is not Ron Clarke, and she is getting caught more
and more. Treniere Clement of Nike just held on and in her poised, well
positioned sprint, took the title in 4.08.13. Tiffany McWilliams of adidas
held on for second in 4.09.17 and Jenelle Deatherage of Reebok, a
member of Team Minnesota with Carrie Tollefson ( Jenelle is a former
Badger and Madisonian, so this writer has some prejudice) ran a smart
race, moving up into third a a seasonal best of 4.11.75. *** All in all, a super day of track and field at the AT&T USATF Indoor
championships. " Best presentation of any US indoor championships!"
said one USATF critic to this writer. " How about next year, AT&F and
USATF inviting all schools in area, a month out, and offering them
deals on tickets and freebies to fill the place up? " The meet is superb,
now it is time to fill the place to the rafters. atf newswire is published by shooting star media, inc. for the good of the
sport. shooting star media, inc. is proudly represented by the Running
Network, LLC. copyright 2006, all rights reserved. http://
www.shootingstarmediainc.com. http://www.runningnetwork.com *****
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