Sunday, February 12, 2012

I Get So Emotional, Baby

Everytime I think of the great indoor times that we saw around the country this weekend!  Here's a little rundown:

BU Valentine Invite

GRC's Sam Luff ran an incredible, behemonth 14:37.60 in the 5000m to finish 17th.  Our little region of post-collegians (half-rhyme) really represented well at this meet, and it's exciting to think about the spring.  I think Luff plans on running Shamrock 5k again and surely, as the defending champion, is the favorite in this race.  Johns Hopkins freshman phenom, Hannah Eckstein, ran 16:59.88 in the 5000m, narrowly missing the Hopkins school record.  She already claimed former standout Laura Paulsen's 3000m record, and her 5000m time ranks her as the second fastest time in D-III this season.

Tyson Invite/USATF Indoor Classic

At the fast track at Arkansas, racing was hot.  A winner in Boston a few weeks ago, and at the US Open at MSG a week after that, Brenda Martinez took charge in the women's 1500m, putting a little space between her and the field.  Alas, the two Moroccans were too much for Brenda, who seized up HARD in the last lap, but still with a 4:10 1500m (4:28/29 mile), that's a big race for her.  The men's mile was stacked with Kenyans, who rolled to a 1-2-3 finish with Silas Kiplagat winning again in the lickety split time of 3:52.  The highlight of the night perhaps came as Galen Rupp stepped on the track in the 2 Mile, aiming to scalp Bernard Lagat's American Record (8:10).  A 4:07 opening mile meant he had some work to do in the back half, but he DID it, negative splitting a 4:02 2nd mile to finish inside of 8:10.76 and set an American Record.

Millrose Games

Not to be outdone, Bernard Lagat was headlining a sick 5000m field at the new Millrose Games.  On-the-scene reporter Eric Benjamin said it was a great move, and didn't miss being at MSG at all.  The stats speak for themselves: these kinds of times could NOT be run at MSG.  Here's the results from the 5000m alone:

1. Bernard Lagat, 13:07.15 AMERICAN RECORD
2. Lawi Lalang, 13:08.28 NCAA RECORD
8. Edward Cheserek, 13:57.04 HIGH SCHOOL RECORD

Absolutely terrific stuff.  In the Girls' HS Mile, Samantha Nadel wins in a Meet Record 4:46.19.  In the "NYRR Wanamaker Mile" (I will contend that this event should be renamed, this event should stay in the Garden, not follow the meet) it was all Centro, as MD-native Matt Centrowitz, Jr., took the win in 3:53.92 (Armory Record) ahead of BYU's Miles Batty, who was also under the old Armory Record, and broke German Fernandez' NCAA Record (3:55.02) by running a 3:54.94.  Our friend Maggie Vessey didn't have a great race in the Women's 800m, finishing 5th in 2:04.18.  But in the NYRR Wanamaker Women's Metric Mile, it was another great battle between 2011 World Champ Jenny Simpson and former Duke standout Shannon Rowbury.  The two battled to a close 1-2 finish (4:07.26 to 4:07.66). 

Flotrack Husky Invitational

Out in Seattle, there were even MORE great performances, like Sally Kipyego's eye-popping 4:28.41 Meet Record in the mile.  It was close among the top 3, as they were separated by just 0.96 seconds.  The top 3 in the women's 3000m was also pretty insane, with the win going to Kim Conley in 8:57.62, and Lisa Uhl (formerly Koll) in third at 9:01.80 (top 3 were all under former Meet Record).  Sally Kipyego doubled down, winning the 5000m in 15:15.41 (almost 15 seconds clear of 2nd).  In the men's mile, a total of 3 collegiate runners broke the 4 minute barrier, including former Glenelg (MD) superstar Bobby Creese.  Meet Records in the 3000m and 5000m for the men, too.

Oh, and the USATF Cross Country Nationals, Too

I knew there was ONE more big race, I guess if you can call it big.  Seems like it was an afterthought this year.  Perhaps it was runners putting an emphasis on the big indoor meets, or the fact it was in St. Louis.  Either way, I'd say the highlight was Sara Hall taking the win in the women's 8k in a photo finish ahead of Molly Huddle. 

All in all - a very exciting weekend, and promising one for our guys!  But tonight, we pour one out for the greatest female vocalist of our time.

2 comments:

Tristram Thomas said...

Also, a McDonogh grad, Demetrios Pagonis, took 2nd in that same heat as Sam Luff with 14:25.

brennan said...

I truly loved watching Alberto coach a 2 Mile race. I hope ESPN shows more of him in the future. It was so great to see that he doesn't receive any extra benefits at all. I hope that Galen is quickly recovering from his head cold.