http://www.nationalscholastic.org/ en gayle.rich@carpedrm.com Copyright 2008 2008-07-05T15:17:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/article/2008_us_olympic_team http://www.nationalscholastic.org/article/2008_us_olympic_team#When:15:17:00Z Updated throughout the trials, this is a listing of those who make the 2008 US Olympic team in track and field, their high school, and how they did at NON or NIN (or whatever the meets were called at the time.) 2008_US_Olympic_team_NSSF.pdf 2008-07-05T15:17:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/article/us_junior_team http://www.nationalscholastic.org/article/us_junior_team#When:18:05:00Z US Junior Team for the IAAF World Junior Championships - Maybe (There has not been an official announcement from USATF even though the team was scheduled to depart on July 4. We polled coaches and others and pieced together what we think is the team) 2008_USA_Jr_team.pdf 2008-07-04T18:05:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/article/us_juniors_vs_the_rest_of_the_world http://www.nationalscholastic.org/article/us_juniors_vs_the_rest_of_the_world#When:16:09:00Z Jim Spier's compiled list of all of the top Junior World competitors. 2008-07-03T16:09:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/spierscorner/article/top_hs_jr_lists8 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/spierscorner/article/top_hs_jr_lists8#When:21:27:00Z These are the US High School and Junior lists of the season as of 6/22/08 and 6/25/08. HS 2008 Girls HS June 25 2008 Boys HS June 25 JR 2008 Girls JR June 22 2008 Boys JR June 22 2008-06-25T21:27:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoor/article/carl_lewis_story http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoor/article/carl_lewis_story#When:13:03:00Z By ELLIOTT DENMAN Carl Lewis has been gone from the Olympic stage nearly a dozen years now - can you believe how quickly those years have flown by? But he's obviously not been forgotten. Certainly not by those Aggie Stadium-goers who gave "King Carl" a greeting worthy of royalty at the third and concluding session of the Nike Outdoor Nationals last Saturday in Greensboro, North Carolina. They cheered everything the nine-time Olympic gold medalist said - in a midfield , mid-meet interview session conducted by Larry Rawson, the celebrated voice of TV track. Early on, they formed up hundreds deep and waited patiently on an autograph line back of the stands as Lewis smilingly signed their proffered t-shirts, spiked shoes, wamrmup flats, backpacks, banners, posters, postcards and what-nots. And then they formed up all over again, an hour later, as Lewis returned from the midfield, meet-the-crowd session to start signing a second time. In a sport that seems to thrive on celebrating its faster-higher-stronger record-smashers at a frenetic pace, and relegating its former occupants of the record book to the trash heap with equal speed, Lewis remains his sport's great exception. They may ask "what-have-you-done-for-me lately?" of others, but not of the Willingboro, NJ High School/University of Houston/Santa Monica track Club flash who seemed to do it all, and never with greater certainty than at his sport's greatest occasions. Autograph-seeker after autograph-seeker knew just why they were paying homage to "King Carl." Even some who may have been just past toddler-hood when Lewis finally "hung 'em up." "I mean, he's one of those guys who never gave up," said David Krinjak of Manchester High School in Connecticut. ""Like they were saying, when he was of our age (high school) he just put his mind to it. He was just amazing the way he did it, year after year." "One thing I've noticed, just talking about him when he was starting out in high school, he had that inner kind of fire, he just kept going and going and going," said Derrick Ingleston of Colonie, N.Y. High School. " He gave it everything, every race, every jump, no matter what meet he was competing in. "He, along with some of the other greats, got that recognition, the recognition we all strive for, making the impossible possible." "He was a great runner and he was a great jumper,too, he did it all, whatever it took," said Patrick DeWalt, of Albion, Michigan High School. "Carl was always so hard-working and so very-very determined; he knew what he wanted and went after all his goals," said John Hilgard of Pope John XXIII High School, Sparta, NJ. Greg Moore, also of Pope John XXIII High, put it this way: "Carl was The Man. Look at his jumps, four straight gold medals; the nine gold medals total says it all. Look at all his races. He was beyond words. He was our sport's hero, a superhero." "Carl Lewis, I guess you could say he just had a God-given gift, but he took that gift and literally ran with it." said Robert Corbitt, of DeMatha High School in Hyattville, Maryland. ""He was the all-around greatest American sprinter, the 100, 200, 400, the 4x1, the 4x4, and the long jump, I mean he did it all." "He was just the best, the best of all time, he knew what he wanted and worked harder than anybody else," said Steven Hawkins Kenwood High School in Tennessee. "A phenomenal jumper, the best American jumper that ever lived, that's what he was, and a phenomenal runner, too," said Mike O'Glary, who coaches at Hameline University in Minnesota. "On top of that, he's such a great ambassador for our sport. It's not just his skill and ability, but also his personality, his charisma. It kind of builds all into one. That's why we're here, on this long line. It's not every day that you get the chance to go and see Carl Lewis. It's a chance of a lifetime." "Watching his tapes, breaking down all things he does, that's a great way to learn, you might as well learn from the best, the man who's mastered it," said Kansas State recruit Austin Delaney of St Lous Park High School, Minnesota. "From the things I've read and seen about him, he probably started out not being the best athlete, but he worked hard and endured all the trials and tests, that's what separated him from the pack," said Ohio coach Andre McCray. " He's such a good inspiration to the young people coming up." At Greensboro, Peter Cava served on the media team providing internet insights into all the boys event finals. For many previous years, however, Cava served as media and public information director of the sport's Indianapolis-based governing bodies, first The Athletics Congress and then USA Track and Field. Lewis, of course, was a primary newsmaker and media magnet during Cava's TAC and USATF tenure "Carl Lewis was what Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle were to baseball, a few years ago, someone who dominated, who came along with incredible talent and was a crowd draw," said Cava. "He drew the people to the sport, much the way Tiger Woods does to golf right now. "He was like Halley's Comet, a superstar who comes along in a set number of years." True to his unofficial ambassadorial designation, Lewis stayed in diplomatic mode. Question: "Who's your pick in the Olympic 100 meters?" Lewis: "You know what, I'm not in the position to do that. It would be unfair for me to do that. We do know the top three. But if I said, blah-blah-blah, I'd hear it. Of course,I'm always rooting for the Americans, that's a given. But I'm not going to put anybody out there like that. "If I said somebody out there is going to win it, people are going to say he's putting on pressure. "You know what I want? I want it to be a good competitive race, where everybody shakes hands before the race, and again after...and no one tests positive... "That's what I want, that's it, everything else is gravy." Question: "What do you think of (Panamian long jumper) Irving Saladino (called the gold medal choice as well as a 30-foot candidate) ? " Lewis: "You know what, I've seen him jump one time and he reminds me a lot of (former Cuban star) Ivan Pedroso. "He has the talent. But the biggest issue with the long jumpers today is they have to work on their run a lot more, they've got to be more consistent. Of course, I hope someone jumps far in Beijing. "I'm not trying to throw Mike Powell (the world record-holder since 1991) under the bus or anything, but it's time to move the long jump past what we did. I'd love to see somebody break the world record. I hope so." But diplomacy, Lewis-style, had its limits. Question: "How about all the talk that track will be superseded by other sports, such as gymnastics and swimming, at Beijing? " Lewis: "Well, I'm back now. The King is back You heard it first. A lot of exciting things are going to be announced. Absolutely. Let's have this conversation again in another four years." ### 2008 Meet 2008-06-25T13:03:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoor/article/becky_obrien_story http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoor/article/becky_obrien_story#When:12:58:00Z By ELLIOTT DENMAN "It's been an upward climb, that's for sure," Rebecca "Becky" O'Brien tells you. "I wasn't one of those kids that came in at that top elite level as a freshman and just stayed there. "I had to work really hard to get up there." "There" translates to gold medal status on the victory stand at the Nike Outdoor Nationals at Aggie Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her arrival "there" last Friday, June 20th, involved one heck of a journey. O'Brien, a senior from Cumberland, Maine, won the girls shot put with a personal-record heave of 52 feet, 1 3/4 inches and it was the second best in NON meet history, as well as 11th longest in USA girls track and field annals. It was her fourth straight trip to NON - and she finally crashed through to the gold standard. All smiles after the long-awaited triumph, O'Brien told the story of her past NON adventures. "I came and threw 39 feet as a freshman and the threw 42 and PR'd as a sophomore," she said, after collecting her gold medal, her bouquet of flowers, and her American flag. "Then I PR'd again as a junior and threw 48 feet, so I figured, "why stop the whole PR tradition now?' "Luckily, I was able to pull off that long throw today, and made sure I got another PR." She popped that 52- 1 3/4 in the sixth and final round - "I had all my adrenaline going," she said - as all the other throwers were relegated to spectator status. Silver medalist Emily Vannoy of Frederick, Md. was over four feet behind. And so O'Brien was at last able to erase those memories of trailing Kamorean Hayes at Nike Nationals. Hayes, then of Harding High School in Charlotte, NC, had won the last two NON crowns, with the 2007 verdict over O'Brien decided 50-6 ¾ to 48-5 ¼.. Just one other putter has ever bested O'Brien's 52-1 3/4 at Nike Nationals. That's Red Oak, Texas's Michelle Carter, who established the meet record of 54-5 ¼ in 2003 and continues to hold the National record of 54-10 ¾, also set in 2003. She may be a newly-minted NON champion but O'Brien is already a young veteran of the international track and field wars. O'Brien covered herself with no medals but considerable glory as a member of Team USA at the 5th IAAF World Youth Championships last July in Ostrava, Czech Republic. She warmed up placing eighth in the discus - not her best event - with a whirl of 145-11, back of Julia Fischer's winning 168-7 for Germany. Then she fell just shy of the medal stand with her PR fourth-place shot put of 49-0 1/4 - a tight decision decided by second-best throws, Aliona Kryshko's 52- ½ toss won it for the Ukraine. But back to Greensboro 2008....one day after her gold medal shot put performance, she stepped into the Aggie Stadium discus ring. And she nearly pulled out a NON double. When all was said and done, just three inches - or eight centimeters to be precise - separated gold medalist Aslynn Halvorson of Charlotte (154-2) from silver medalist O'Brien (153-11,) Each of these performances came in the third round; neither thrower improved in rounds four, five or six. The O'Brien family entourage had already toughed it out in the 900-plus-mile drive from Cumberland, located just north of Portland, Maine's largest city, down to Greensboro. Soon as the disc results were declared official, it was time for the O'Briens to head north and somewhat west to Columbus, Ohio. Unfortunately for some athletes, the USA Junior National Championships, a Friday-Saturday-Sunday meet, had abutted squarely with the NON meet, and choices had to be made. But, fortuitously for O'Brien, the shot put in Columbus was booked for the Sunday and the NON-Junior Nationals shot put double was definitely do-able. As long as an accurate road map was at hand, and the rising cost of tanking up along the way didn't interfere, of course. So there was O'Brien in the Ohio State University ring last Sunday, ready to duke it out with the nation's finest 19-and-unders. As luck would have it, the field now included Kamorean Hayes, by now a veteran of the collegiate wars, with a year of undergraduate training and throwing for Florida State University under her belt. Amazingly, schoolgirl O'Brien easily bested collegian Hayes, 52- 1 3/4 to 51-3. Only problem for both was that University of Louisville's Chinwe Okoro beat them both by muscling one out to 53-0 1/4. And since the National Juniors was the official qualifying meet for the World Junior Championships, booked for July 8-13 in Bydgoszcz, Poland, this sets the stage for another likely O'Brien adventure on the international stage. From Columbus, the O'Briens finally looked east for the long-long drive back to Maine. "After the World Youth Championships last year, I took off about six weeks and then I came back and started training harder than ever," she said. "I worked on my speed, I worked on every key point of my technique. And I got a lot stronger. "You want to incorporate everything in your training. A lot of people think all we do is throw. But that's all wrong. I have jump workouts, I have sprint workouts. I have all my time maximized. "Cumberland is a real small, quiet town. My high school has about 700 kids. "Friday night in the center of town, there's nothing going on. "We have one stop light in the entire town. But I live only 10 minutes away from my track, so I don't have to go too far to practice. "I graduated with honors (a 92.7 average) and I'm pretty pleased with that. I work hard in every aspect of my life. "I love the Nike meet. There was no way I wanted to give up the experience of coming here my senior season. I'm just happy the schedule (both meets) will work out for me." As she later messaged NON meet director Jim Spier: "Thank you very much for the opportunity at Nike. I'm so glad I decided to do both meets . "I have really enjoyed the Nike meets over the past four years! You have done a great job. You make it an incredible experience for the athletes! " Come the fall, O'Brien will return south as a member of the freshman class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where a special plus will be being coached by UNC track assistant coach/throws mentor Laura Gerraughty. Like O'Brien, Gerraughty is a New Englander (out of Nashua, NH) who worked her way to the top of her American shot putting realm. The national scholastic record-breaker in the indoor shot, she became a four-time NCAA champion for UNC, won the 2004 USA Olympic Trials, and got to the Athens Games. Gerraughty, though, didn't reach the 2004 Olympic final and was forced into early retirement by a series of major injuries. Now, though, she pours all that energy into her coaching career. Gerraughty is precluded by NCAA rules from discussing incoming recruits but O'Brien talks enthusiastically about her soon-to-be coach. "I can pursue all my academic goals at North Carolina, I love their athletic programs, too," said O'Brien. "I really have a lot of faith in Laura Gerraughty. She made it to the Olympics when she was 21, and I have the same dream of getting to the Olympics. "Maybe some day, if things work, the USA can start taking down the (shot put) powerhouses like Russia and Germany. Maybe I can even be part of that." Who knows? As this Maine star goes, so may the nation's future global shot put hopes. 2008 Meet 2008-06-25T12:58:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/mikemusings/article/the_race_the_chase_the_winner http://www.nationalscholastic.org/mikemusings/article/the_race_the_chase_the_winner#When:12:53:00Z by Mike Byrnes Few races in high school history have produced so much hype. Californian GERMAN HERNANDEZ suddenly donned the mantle of greatness. In the California state championships the tall, lithe youngster had run the greatest distance double ever. Within a 2.5 hour span he'd posted a 4:01.49 followed by an 8:38.23, that these were run at the non-distances of 1600-3200 meant little. The performance was sensational. Coaches, fans, the entire world of track and field gasped, at his seemingly effortless stride and the uncanny ability to run at the same pace throughout each race. In the 1600 he reeled off 200's in 30 seconds, eight in a row! Over the longer distance it was the same, 2:08+, 2:08+, 2:08+, 2:08+. "He's a machine" marveled all. What would they have thought had they heard the coach state, "The California state meet was to be our last hard training session before Nike." OK, no big deal, just another workout, merely the greatest double in history described as a 'training session'! On June 20, the date of the Nike two mile, Fernandez announced intention was to go after one of our sport's oldest records, the 8:36.3n set May 6, 1979 by Jeff Nelson, the first time a high schooler had dipped under the 8:40 mark. In 1969, Steve Prefontaine had posted an 8:41.5 followed two years later by Craig Virgin's 8:40.9. Last year's Nike meet saw the best challenge in the "Events Closed to High Schoolers" era when Matt Centrowitz posted an 8:41.55. WHAT COULD A FRESH FERNANDEZ DO? More importantly, could he even win? Dumb question? Not really. He'd faltered badly at the Foot Locker cross country champs and, up until his state meet hadn't shown even a hint of what he was capable. He'd skipped Arcadia, one of the nation's top prep events, and when he had run, the results were…OK. In a preview piece prior to the Nike competition, I'd written there would be two serious challengers, LUKE PUSKEDRA and ROB FINNERTY. Puskedra clocked a solid 8:46.41 while Finnerty came tantalizingly close to a sub-4:00 mile with his 4:01.09. According to Holzherr Finnerty came to Greensboro with one purpose in mind, to beat Fernandez. "He's been pointing for this two mile all season," commented Holzherr, It was reported Puskedra felt Fernandez had been ducking him thus the Arcadia absence. Some felt COLBY LOWE's 4:08.07/8:57.32 credentials made him a legitimate contender. So, should Fernandez have an off day, there were guys who could take over the race. While some felt Puskedra's decision to run at the Prefontaine meet was a poor one, his Dad stated, "It was not a big deal to us, we trained right through that meet and, in fact, Luke got in a good ten miler the day before. What could PUSKEDRA do fresh? So a Fernandez win seemed less than guaranteed. THE STAGE WAS SET. Then it was almost blown over. About thirty minutes prior to the start a strong wind came up and, as any veteran coach can tell you, 'You can beat the heat, the cold, even the rain but you can't beat the wind.' Fortunately for track and field history, the wind died down and and anticipation turned to reality. (Ed. Note: The splits within this story are in yards. Penn Relays Director Dave Johnson and I marked out the various 440-880-etc splits before the race. It should also be noted that Fernandez coach had requested a large timer be set up at the 220 mark so Fernandez would know his exact pace. This was done thus we were able to obtain the FAT time for 3000m, also a HSR.) THE RACE: 64.4 LAP ONE: The early leader was Kevin Williams, 8:53.27 from Colorado with Fernandez in the pack, the 440 was passed in 64.4. Announcer David Mitchell called out, "They're right on schedule!" 65,7 (2:10.1) LAP TWO: Puskedra and Finnerty exchanged the lead as the field of sixteen began to spread. Why so early? Well, a half mile split of 2:10.1 may have helped. Setting an 8:40 pace so early will thin out almost any field. Interestingly, this would be the slowest 440 of the race.) 65.0 (3:15.1) LAP THREE: Fernandez took the lead and the game was on. Mitchell, sensing history, exhorted the crowd, "If you want to see a national record, make some noise!" The crowd responded and a roar went up. Surprisingly, Finnerty was out of it dropping back rather quickly. Puskedra was a mere yard back of the Californian. Lowe was hanging tough in third. 64.4 (4:19.5) LAP FOUR: The pace quickened! Lowe, perhaps realizing he was in over his head, tried gamely to hang on but to no avail. Now it was Puskedra and Fernandez. But just before they passed the mile mark, 4:19.5, the Salt Lake City citizen faltered. An increasingly perceptible gap opened. THE CHASE: 63.9 (5:23.3) LAP FIVE: The race was over. The CHASE for the record began. Puskedra was now more than 10 yards back and visibly hurting. Fernandez ran on…alone. Mitchell was in a frenzy. "Help him out! Let him hear you" Come on!" The crowd of 4000 came through and Nelson's challenger raced on. No change in expression, the same stride at the same pace. One would expect some grimacing, a slight lift of the arms…nothing. 64.8 (6:28.1 – 2:08.7) LAP SIX: Mitchell was approaching hysteria. His voice, usually firm, controlled, perfect diction had turned into a madman's screech. But with a purpose, help the runner, make him aware that 4000 people wanted him to succeed. BUT, the pace had slowed. Was fatigue setting in? Breaking a record that had stood challenges from some of our sports greatest names for 19 years would not be easily bested. 63.3 (7:31.3 – 3:12.0) LAP SEVEN: Where did this kid find the energy to increase the pace so dramatically? A 1.5 second drop? Impossible! Now Mitchell's exhortations were continuous. It appeared he never stopped to draw a breath. "He can do it!" Etc, etc. The roar of the crowd was now constant. Every stride brought new voices into the mix. On the infield meet personnel were pounding each others backs, shoulders, whatever was close. Fernandez responded as only the great ones can do, he quickened the pace yet again. Above the roar of the crowd, Mitchell's voice rang clear, "HE CAN DO IT!" THE WINNER: 62.9 (8:34.4 – 4:14.9) LAP EIGHT: For the first time one could see the strain. But the stride, the inexorable stride, remained the same. He rounded the penultimate turn and one could see the pace increase. As if to inform him how long it would take to reach greatness, Mitchell's voice rose above the pandemonium, "He needs a 64 to break the record, c'mon, help him!" Coming out of the final turn, face contorted, arms swinging almost wildly, he sped on. People standing next to each other couldn't communicate, the noise was deafening! IT WAS GOING TO BE OH SO CLOSE! Would he make it? With the agony of victory clearly visible he breasted the tape. (Ed. Note: October 3, 1951 I was a 19-yr old kid at UVA and a rabid Brooklyn Dodgers fan. I will never forget, NEVER, Russ Hodges screaming, "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!) I mention this so you oldsters who still love track and field will understand how I felt listening to Mitchell's repeated cries, "HE DID IT! HE DID IT" HE DID IT!" Completely overlooked, another national record. Fernandez passed the 3000m mark in 7:59.83 becoming the first hs'er to break the 8:00 mark and erasing Galen Rupps' 8:03.67 2004 effort. It was over. The crowd was emotionally spent. Mitchell, exhausted. Fernandez overjoyed but quiet. This was one for the ages. Thanks kid! SQUIBS: Nelson's 8:36.4 mark was set at UCLA in the old Pepsi Invitational. This was prior to the ECHS era and the record was set in a losing effort to a kid from the Santa Monica TC along with a field made up mostly of collegians. The winner, one Gerald Lawson, SMTC ran 8:31.6 so Nelson was in the race all the way. This is a pet peeve of mine and as long as you read my scribbles, you'll pick up on this. Were you aware the great Jim Ryun ran in only ONE hs race his senior year? The marks set by Mary Decker, Kim Gallagher, Alan Webb, etc were ALL set in Open races before the ECHS came into play. What do you think Fernandez, Sarah Bowman, Chanelle Price, Christine Babcock, Rob Finnerty, et al could have done in similar conditions? I think we'd see a totally different record board had they been given the same competitive opportunities those earlier greats had. Asked why they thought the opposition dropped off so quickly, several college coaches all felt the same, RHYTHM. Fernandez got into his and never got out of it. The others simply couldn't find theirs. Asked what he felt was the most impressive thing about the race other than the time, AJ Holzherr responded, "He came to get the record and he got it. How many times have you ever seen that happen? Most announced record attempts fail." John Lanza, no relation to Mario, revealed that his kid had done four double workouts the week prior to coming to Nike. "Had he not put in those extra miles, I think he could have gone 1-2 seconds faster." Asked what he thought the future held for his charge he replied, "I think he could string together a string of 64's over 5000m and finish with about 13:15." I don't think Coach Lanza was referring to the present but what the kid might do in the near future. The T&FN book department can expect a flurry of orders for Jack Daniels' training program. Lanza reports all of Fernandez' work outs were based upon Daniels program. "Of course I tweaked it whenever I felt he needed some emphasis on a particular area." The difference between the fastest and slowest 440's in the race was a startling 2.1 seconds. As pointed out by NSSF Board member and noted high school coach in his own right, Paul Limmer, "It's been stated many, many times – the most efficient way to run is with even splits." As Carly Simon pointed out, "Nobody does it better…" I wonder if she had Fernandez in mind. This wraps up this story. Hopefully, it gives you a sense of the excitement we all enjoyed as the race progressed to its final outcome. If there's anyone out there who'd like to share some of your memories, thoughts, surprises, etc about the race, please let me know. fmbyrnes@aol.com 2008-06-25T12:53:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoorresults/article/complete_boys_results http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoorresults/article/complete_boys_results#When:12:09:00Z 2008 Meet 2008-06-25T12:09:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoorresults/article/complete_girls_results http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoorresults/article/complete_girls_results#When:12:05:00Z 2008 Meet 2008-06-25T12:05:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoor/article/saturday_boys_summary http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoor/article/saturday_boys_summary#When:12:44:00Z By Pete Cava 4xMile: The Woodlands (TX) finished first in Saturday's initial event, which began while some fans were still celebrating the previous night's national record in the boys 2-mile. Jackalopes Track Club (Pinckney, MI), came to Greensboro hoping to improve on last year's third-place finish. But the day – or, at least, the morning – belonged to the Woodlands foursome of Michael Golden, Layne Nixon, Drew Butler and Reed Connor, who won with a time of 17:26.58. Butler and Connor are juniors, wile Nixon and Golden are seniors. Second place went to the Fishers (IN) High School squad, consisting of Cale Allen, Alex Shields, Tyler Stegman and Drew Shields. The same outfit took second place at last month's Indiana high school meet. The Hoosier squad posted a time of 17:31.67. The Jackalopes were relegated to third place for a second consecutive year with a time of 17:40.26. It was a tight race through the first three miles, with Fishers and Pinckney taking turns in the lead. Butler ran a strong final 400 to give the Texans a permanent lead. Golden praised Butler's work on the anchor leg. "Drew has really impressive kick," he said. "When we saw he was still with the group over the last 600 meters, we had a feeling he was going to put it in gear and get it done." Butler said the Texans came here with victory in mind. "It's not often you can come and win a national championship," he said. "We wanted to stay with the group in the first and second leg. We wanted to pick up the pace with the third leg and then take it home on the anchor leg. We ran it perfectly." 800 meter medley relay (100-100-200-400): Union Catholic High School (Scotch Plains, NJ) emerged victorious from a hard-fought race with Bethel (VA) High, while Western Branch (Chesapeake, VA) finished third in the composite standings, courtesy of a swift time in an earlier section. In the fast section, Union Catholic's Shariff Stubbs, Obinna Nwafor, Mike Suarez and Garrett Ellis turned in a time of 1:31.72 to edge Bethel. Bethel's time was 1:31.90. The clocking for the Western Branch foursome was 1:31.99. "We wanted perfect sticks, perfect times and stay focused," said Suarez, a St. Peter's recruit. "It all started to come about around the 400 meter market around the straight-a-way. We were right where we wanted to be in that point." Ellis credited Suarez for a fine third leg. "Michael came through in a good spot when he handed me the stick," said the Connecticut-bound Ellis. "I figured I'd sit back a little bit, run my race, until it was time to make a move. Coming off the turn I wanted to see where I was at. I was in a pretty good position, so I just made my move." 2000 meter steeplechase: Zachary Ornelas had the steeple crown sewn up early, as the junior from Cedar Park, Texas, High School breezed to an easy victory in 5:54.58. Ornelas, who moved to Texas after his sophomore year at South Jefferson High in Adams, N.Y., led wire to wire. While Ornelas cruised, the race came down to a battle for second place between Taylor Morgan (Portland, OR) and Donny Roys (Medina, OH). With 800 meters to go, Royce, Morgan, Andrew Sullivan (Ellington, CT) and Ryan King (Tolland, CT) were all in the hunt. Roys put on a surge with about 250 meters to go. Then Morgan surged over the final 200, passing Roys to wrap up the silver medal. Morgan's time was 5:57.47 with Roys third in 6:00.89. "I've been doing some good steeple training this year," said Ornelas. "I've ran some good races. I won the Texas Relays and was one second off the record, so I came in here with a little taste of what winning felt like. I decided I want to experience winning again so I came out here and gave it all I had. "About half way through the race I just felt great and my pace was pretty even so I thought this was going to be my best race ever. It was a good place to have it. "The last 100 meters I kept looking back because I was thinking 'Oh no, I'm going to be that kid who gets walked down!' Once I cross the line I realized I wasn't going to be that kid." 200 meters – qualifying: Hunter Furr (Lewisville, NC), winner of Friday's Nike Outdoor Nationals 100 meter title, qualified for Saturday's 200 meter final. Furr won the first of three heats in 21.63 to advance. The junior from Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem ran into a headwind oif 2.2 meters per second. The races took place after a brief rain that cooled off the track. The fastest qualifying time belonged to junior Dentarius Locke (Tampa, FL). Locke, runnerup to Furr in the 100, had a 21.48 Saturday. Others advancing were Mike Shaw (Trotwood, OH), Fuquawn Greene (New Bern, NC), Darryl Williams (Jacksonville, NC), Troy Faulkner (Staten Island, NY), Samuel Jordan and Harold Houston (Ashburnham, MA). Greene is the lone sophomore in the final. High jump: Dwight Barbiasz, flawless through his first five attempts, matched his personal best of 7-1 en route to the title. The recent Milford, N.H., High School graduate needed one try each at 6-5, 6-7, 6-9, 6-11 and 7-1 before missing three jumps at 7-3. Tyler Campbell (Jasper, AL) and Paul Annear (Richland Center, WI) stayed with Barbiasz through 6-9. Campbell wound up second with a 6-11 clearance while Annear took third with the same height. Campbell needed two tries at 6-11 while Annear needed three attempts. Annear placed sixth at this meet in 2007. "I just tried to put good speed into the jumps," said Barbiasz. "Once I approached the bar, I felt really good about how high I could go. This ties my personal best. I was close to 7-3 and went for it, because it would have been the best in the nation this year. I just wanted a chance to say I went for it. "I'm from a small town in New Hampshire. We don't have great facilities, so I just try to do the best I can to prepare for these kinds of meets." Long jump: Jarrod Hutchen (Villa Rica, GA) overtook Tra Wilson (Indianapolis, IN) in the fifth round with a wind-aided jump of 23-3.5 that stood up for the title. Wilson had popped a 22-11.75 on his first attempt and led through most of the competition. Hutchen trailed in second place on the strength of a second-round 22-10.75. After Hutchen took the lead, Joseph McCloud (Newark, NJ) came up with a leap of 23-2.5 that clinched second place and relegated Wilson to third. Hutchen called the win his best-ever performance. "Because at states," he explained, "I jumped a 23-2 and today I jumped a 23-3. So it was a really good day for me because I thought I scratched on the 23-3. "When you're around all these great athletes and all these great people and you're at a big track meet, it helps you perform that much better. It was good competition today. Those guys really pushed me and help me get out there. I just eased it out by a little bit." 400 meter hurdles: Coming off the final hurdle, Spencer Adams reached back to his early training in the 400 meters. He caught up with Chance Casey and nipped him at the tape in one of the closest finishes of the meet. Adams (Butler High School, Matthews, N.C.) became the first double winner of the boys' event. Casey (Crosby, TX), third in Friday's high hurdles, had a clear lead after 200 meters. Adams, the Clemson recruit, began to narrow the gap with two hurdles to go. Coming of the tenth hurdle, Adams began to reel in Casey. He squeaked past the Texan at the finish. Casey, the No. 2 prep in the 300 meter hurdles, was the lone junior in the field. Adams' time was 50.99 with Casey at 51.07. James Thurn (Cicero, NY) came up for third place in 51.86. "It felt good to double up," said Adams. "I knew he [Casey] was coming because I could hear him. I used to run the 400 when I was little. I used my 400 experience after I got over the last hurdle. I wanted to keep my eyes straight on the lanes, don't worry who is behind you or beside you or ahead of you – just go for the win. I had to bring that out of the grave today. "I gave him an opening coming off the curve. I felt like I was getting over the hurdles kind of slow. I could feel him coming up on me because I gave him the opportunity, so I'm going to let him make his move coming out of the corner and then I was going to make my move after the last hurdle." 4x100 meter relay: As if the intermediate hurdles wasn't enough of a heart-stopper, the next race, the 4x100, was decided by five-thousands of a second. In comparison, the 2000 presidential election looked like a lopsided victory. Sheepshead Bay High School (Brooklyn, NY) stormed into the lead by the first exchange and stayed in front through the next two handoffs. By the third exchange, Naquan Alexander appeared to be in control for Sheepshead Bay. But Bethel's Ja-Vell Bullard had other ideas, and he turned on the jets to pull even with Alexander at the finish. The Aggie Stadium scoreboard quickly listed six times – all but the top two – as the crowd's collective blood pressure spiked upwards. Then the times for Sheepshead Bay and Bethel flashed on the screen – 41.23 for both squads! After an amazed sigh from the fans, the scoreboard showed the time to the thousandths . . . and Sheepshead Bay was the winner, 41.221 to 41.226. Oxford, Miss., High School took third in 42.09. The lineup for Sheepshead Bay consisted of Darryl Bradshaw, Ayo Isijola, John Thomas and Alexander. "Our stick work is what took us over the top," said Alexander. "We were focused today and our stick work was excellent. That was the difference between winning and losing. It was scary and unbelievable how close things got. It was hard, but it's all about the stick work." 800 meters: Joseph Franklin (Godby, Tallahassee, FL) took the lead at the bell and picked up the pace, finishing strong in 1:50.48 for a solid victory. The Tennessee-bound Franklin, owner of the year's quickest prep time (1:48.97), was part of a tightly-bunched pack that went through the first 200 in 54.8 When Franklin took the lead William Zahorodny (Damascus, MD) tried to go with him, but coming into the straightaway there was no doubt about the outcome. Franklin raced to the finish line with Charles Jock (San Diego, CA) in hot pursuit. As Jock closed, Franklin began to flail. He held on for first place in 1:50.48 with Jock second in 1:50.66. Third place went to Monroe Kearns (Jackson, NJ) third in 1:51.81. "I didn't get the time I wanted, but it's okay," said Franklin. "The race took a lot out of me. I get dehydrated a lot, so that slowed me up a bit. I tried to do better by drinking more water two or three days ago, but it apparently wasn't enough. "Races usually slow down after the 400 mark because people are trying to rest and I didn't want to. I wanted to go ahead and get a lead. It took a lot out of me, but I got the win." In the first of four 800 meter heats Saturday, Barry Wilkins (Indianapolis, IN) set a deaf world junior record. Wilkins posted a time of 1:55.25 to better the year-old mark of 1:57.08 by Germany's Daniel Helmis. Helmis's record came last July 11 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Wilkins, who was fourth in the 800 at this year's Indiana state meet, is a junior at North Central High School in Indianapolis. 400 meters: Ja-Vell "The Bullet" Bullard, denied a win in the ultra-close 4x100, dominated the last 100 meters of this race for a 46.54 triumph. Bullard (Bethel, VA, High School), running in lane 6, blasted past Bernard Goodwyn (Wilmington, DE) and Tavaris Tate (Starkville, MS) on the homestretch. Tate moved up for second in 46.90 with Goodwyn settling for third in 47.44. Bullard's time was the fourth-best U.S. prep mark of the season. Mile: "After four years, winning this feels really good," said Robert Finnerty when the mile was over. "After all the years of coming to this meet, it feels good to finally come out on top." Finnerty (Burnsville, MN, HS) hammered around the final turn to pass Luke Puskedra (Ogden, UT) to finish in 4:05.25 for the mile title. The crew-cut Finnerty, eleventh in this meet a year ago, dueled the taller Puskedra through most of the race. Finnerty took the field through the first lap in 61.5, and pushed the pace harder on backstretch. Puskedra took over on the third lap, passing in 61.7. On the backstretch it was Puskedra in the lead with Finnerty right on his heels. Heading into the straightaway, Puskedra couldn't match Finnerty's surge. The Minnesotan's time was the year's fastest prep mile. Puskedra wound up second in 4:06.50. Another Gopher State runner, Jordan Carlson (Rosemount, MN) placed third in 4:07.51. "This is the first time I've come in here with a chance to run in the fast heat," said Finnerty. "I really came in feeling like I was one of the top guys here and that really made a difference. Last year I was just going for fast times, this year I was going for a championship." 200 meters: Mike Shaw, wearing the distinctive red uniform of Trotwood-Madison High School (Trotwood, OH), slammed around the track in 21.19 for first place. It was a big turnaround for Shaw, who finished eighth and last in Friday's 100 meter final. Shaw's triumph denied Hunter Furr double-victor status at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. Furr, a junior from Lewisville, N.C., was the 100 meter champ. Furr settled for third in 21.54. Dentarius Locke (Tampa, FL), a junior who was second in the 100, was runnerup in this event, too, with a time of 21.52. The race was run into a headwind of 2.2 meters per second. "The 200 meters has been my race all year long, said Shaw. "I know last year I false started and I was upset I didn't win it. So today I came in and just ran the curve hard. I knew if I came off the curve first, I was going to win it." Shot put: In one of the biggest upsets at the Nike Outdoor Nationals, Brandon Pounds of Lawrence North High School ambushed junior Nick Vena (Whippany, NJ) for the shot put title. Vena, the talented freshman from Morristown, N.J., High School, is the No. 2 U.S. prep performer with a season best of 67-10.25. Pounds, an Indiana State recruit, came here with a best of 66-9, the fourth-best high school mark. Pounds took over the lead from Hayden Baillio (Whitesboro, TX) in the fourth round with a heave of 68-11.25, a personal best. Vena improved to 67-2.25 on his fifth throw and Steven Saenz (Rio Grande City, TX) moved into third with a fifth-round 65-7.5. Vena came up with another 67-2.25 on his final throw while Saenz fouled. Baillio's 65-0.75 gave him fourth place. Pounds, winner of this year's Indiana state title, fouled on his last two attempts. "You have to go in knowing it only takes one big throw," said the affable Hoosier. "I just couldn't get it. My first round of throws, I was really leaning. My coach had told me just to slow down a little bit and relax. I just put my emotions into it and got it." Distance Medley Relay (1200-400-800-1600): Colby Lowe's 4:05.8 anchor leg decided the outcome as Carroll High School (South Lake, TX) finished first in 9:56.54. It was the year's fastest prep time. The Carroll quartet of junior Chris Brown, Mason Williams, Jack Peterson and Lowe came in with the year's top time (10:02.47). Lowe quickly moved in front after the third exchange and never looked back, slowly increasing the Texas squad's lead. Up until Lowe's heroics, six teams were in striking distance. Danbury, Conn., High School wound second in 10:02.11 with Trabuco Track Club (Mission Viejo, CA) third in 10:03.24. "We trust each other," Williams said after the awards ceremony. "We don't always run together, but we're together enough to know what it takes to get things done. We come out and get work done on our own, and today we were all a unit and we got it done." Rowe said the victory capped off the high school careers for the three upperclassmen. "I mean it's a great way to end it out for the seniors," he said. "A lot of us have been together since freshman year, and we really wanted to set the bar next year and the runners that will come behind us. We wanted to be a part of the tradition and hopefully what we did will motivate guys to top it." 4x400 meter relay: Mike Shaw picked up his third medal of the meet, anchoring Trotwood- Madison High School (Trotwood, OH) to a first-place finish with a 46.4 anchor leg. The Ohio squad battled Dominguez High School (Compton, Calif.) most of the way. The Californians came to Greensboro with the year's best time (3:09.59). Leon Dillihunt's 47.1 third leg had Dominguez in front by the third exchange. That set up a showdown between Shaw and Dominguez's Aaron Hester on the final leg. Shaw, winner of the 200 and the anchor leg on Trotwood-Madison's triumphant 4x200, caught Hester in the waning meters. The time for Trotwood-Madison – competing here as the Waggoner Raiders – was 3:11.33. Hester's excellent 47.2 split wasn't enough as Dominguez wound up second in 3:11.41. A 46.6 anchor by Ja-Vell Bullard gave Bethel (VA) High School third place in 3:14.00. Trotwood-Madison fielded a team of Derricus Purdy, Donte Lyons, sophomore Jordan Pascal and Shaw. "My coach [Randy Waggoner] got national coach of the year," said Shaw, "so we had to make him look good. It was a way we could congratulate him on his award and it was a nice way to finish out the season. The way he has coached this team is unreal." Shaw said the game plan was to get out in front from the jump. "We wanted to start with the lead early," he said. "We knew our third leg is our weakest leg. We just told him to hold on. I told him if you get it to me and I'm within ten meters, I'm going to win it." Pole vault: David Slovenski (Brunswick, ME) packed away the gold medal with a clearance of 16-4.5, four inches ahead of runnerup Jason Pelletier (Bryant, AR). Pelletier came in with the top mark – an indoor 16-10.25. The Penn State signee had to be content with second place and a 16-0.5 height. Matthew Alexander (Tolland, CT) and Scott Houston (Oak Ridge, NC) tied for third at 15-8.5 "This week I've really been working on making first attempts instead of worrying about height or placement," said Slovenski. "I didn't have school this week because I'm a senior, so all I had to do was focus on pole vault. " I know if I make it on first attempt no matter the height, I'm winning. It also puts pressure on the other vaulters. It helps the mindset when you make it on the first attempt. I wanted to take the pressure off of me." # 2008 Meet 2008-06-22T12:44:00-05:00