AOC Raleigh
adidas Outdoor Championships
June 18-19, 2004 at NC State U., Raleigh NC
presented by the National Scholastic Sports Foundation

a DyeStat featured meet

steveu's distance report

by Stephen (steveu) Underwood

Boys 4xMile Relay - Girls Steeple - Boys Steeple - Girls 800 - Boys 800 - Girls Mile -
Boys DMR - Girls DMR - Boys Mile - Girls 4xMile relay -

Boys 4x1 Mile: Shen You Dig It?

Dan McManamon’s Shen TC teammates in the 4x1 Mile didn’t care that he wasn’t in the lead after three laps, or that he was being chased furiously on the last circuit. They didn’t care that as a 4:14 1600-meter runner that he had only split 3:21 for the first ¾-mile.

As Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis is famous for saying, it was “Just win, baby.”

And despite being just a sophomore, McManamon knows how to win. So he cranked a 57-second last lap to close out a 4:18.6 leg and give the upstate Shenandoah, New York, squad a swift victory in 17:25.32, 1.5 seconds ahead of the 17:26.82 of runner-up Red Tide TC ( Milford, Mich.). The time was a slight 0.68-second improvement on the clocking the foursome put together to set the national indoor record at National Scholastic Indoor in New York in March.

“He can outkick anyone in the U.S.!” crowed Phil Roach, a senior and the leadoff leg. He may get some arguments on that, but McManamon has nice 51-second 400 speed and said he was actually able to accelerate every 100 meters on the last lap.

Oakton HS had the lead after one leg, 4:19 to a fast-closing Red Tide’s 4:20. Shen was 6 th after Roach clocked 4:24.1, trying to overcome when he said may be the onset of strep throat. Then Shen moved to 3 rd on the 2 nd leg as Scott Mindel split a PR 4:23.6. Meanwhile, York HS of Illinois had taken over off a 4:23 and Red Tide had maintained 2 nd off a 4:26.

Mindel actually led after 1320, but faded just a bit. “I made a move with 500 to go; then they caught me,” he said. “I guess I went a little too soon.”

On the 3 rd leg, York began to fade and the Shen-Red Tide battle heated up. Jacob Gurzler took the lead on the 2 nd lap and then closed hard for a PR 4:18.7, but Red Tide stayed close with a 4:20. Mainland Regional, which would wind up 3 rd (17:28.84), got a courageous 4:21.1 leg from Greg Hughes, who had to run without one of his shoes most of the way.

Red Tide’s took over on the first circuit of the final leg (62), but the race quickly became strategic as the two of them slogged through the next 880 in 2:19. Mainland’s went out in 2:08 to make it a 3-man race, and eventually sending everyone into a frenzy with 440 to go.

Problem was, McManamon’s kick wasn’t common knowledge for his opponents. “I let them dictate the pace,” he said. “I felt good the whole time. I wanted to make certain we could win.”

Which brings us back to the strategy of the indoor record-holders. “All of us sat down with Coach (Matt Jones) and decided whether or not we really wanted to go for the outdoor record or just win,” said Roach. “We decided we just wanted to win.”

Girls 2000m Steeplechase: Ferguson in Control

Lindsay Ferguson was probably still in national record shape. But it was not a national record type of day. The Saratoga Springs sophomore set a pace hot enough that no one else could match, but that wasn’t quite the equal of the sultry 88 degree conditions. Still, she won easily in 6:55.02.

“I was trying to break it (my own national record),” she said. “But it was really hot and I’m not used to this much heat.”

While some have questioned why a distance race would be run in mid-day, Ferguson was to be among those to benefit. She would have time to rest before joining her Kinetic RC teammates in going for a national record in the distance medley relay – something she wouldn’t have had with the old schedule. “I’m not crazy about this time of day, but I’m happy this race was not tonight.”

Ferguson had set the national record of 6:45.49 in cooler conditions at the New York State Meet June 5.

The bigger battle was for second, between Adele Mitchell of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Heather Iatauro of Grahamsville, New York. The former was a junior in just her second steeple, while the latter is a senior super veteran of the event.

But this time inexperience prevailed; Mitchell finished in 7:00.34 ahead of Iatauro’s 7:02.41.

Mitchell’s first steeple was April 30 at a meet in Ohio, where she ran 7:06. Iatauro had run 6:52.45 at the New York State Meet, actually a national senior class record.

Boys 2000 Steeplechase: Hampton Mentally Toughest

If Charles Hampton ever decides to write a how-to book on beginning steeplechasing, makers of PVC pipe could see a dramatic upswing in sales.

In his first-ever competitive foray over the barriers, the Scottsdale, Ariz., runner came from behind to upset defending champ Andres Urbina, passing him just before the line to win, 5:58.57-5:58.72. Not only had Hampton never raced the event before, he’d hardly practiced it, either. His first time clearing a water jump was Saturday afternoon and had otherwise practiced by jumping “hurdles” made of PVC pipe.

It turned out mental motivation in the form of anger was a bigger factor for the senior than experience.

“I thought it was over,” he said of his mindset going into the final lap. “But unfortunately, Andres took a little fall. Even so, he still had a big gap on me (20-30 meters) and I just tried to stay close. But then I heard the announcer say how I’d been closing and then I remembered how mad I was about last night.”

“Last night” referred to the previous evening’s 2-mile, where 8:59 3200 runner Hampton could manage just 9:22 and 18 th place overall. Making up for that, as well as just missing qualifying for Foot Locker nationals last fall, spurred him on and enabled him to come off the final barrier having closed the gap down to 15 meters. He proceeded to mow Urbina down in the final straight.

Urbina knows all about the mental game. It looked like he was going to repeat his 2003 title, thanks to an early surge that gained him separation from the field. “When Jake (Morse) tripped (on the 2 nd water jump), I made a move. I thought everyone might be shocked, so I tried to take advantage.”

But the Albuquerque, N.M., senior said he made a few “mental mistakes” in the last few circuits of the 5-lap event, the biggest being a stumble and near-fall over the barrier with about 300 to go. “I think I got complacent,” he said.

Girls 800: Bowman All Out

As much as she loves the 4-lapper, Sara Bowman had a hard time deciding whether to do the mile or the 800 in this meet, both great events for her. But there’s one thing she really likes about the shorter event. She can run all out. From start to finish.

It’s not a bad strategy for her.

In fact, it worked so well Saturday that the Warrenton, Va., star not only destroyed her PR, but also the field to win the national title. Running a searing 59.8 first lap, Bowman held on to clock 2:04.84, the fastest in the U.S. by a prep in eight years and just missing the meet record. She became No. 18 all-time and won by over three seconds.

“I wanted to run the mile, but my training has all been toward the 800 and 400 lately,” she confessed with a laugh afterward. “I couldn’t decide – well, Mr. Byrnes had decided; I hadn’t.” The “Mr. Byrnes” she was referring to, of course, was Meet Director Emeritus Michael Byrnes, who is one of her coaches.

“Last week, I ran 2:07 in a little meet on my own,” Bowman continued. “With a little competition, I thought I could go faster.”

Well, she had competition, but it was pretty much all behind her. Mackenzie Pierce ( Pfafftown, N.C.) gave chase gamely for a lap, then faded. While Bowman was hammering 600 in 1:31.2, Geena Gall ( Flint, Mich.) was moving into 2 nd, a spot she would hold through the finish in 2:08.59.

“I felt pretty good and did what I wanted to do,” said Gall. “I tried to stay close to the leaders, then I really started pushing the last 200.”

As for the winner, well, has Bowman – still just a junior – become more of an 800 runner than a miler now? “The mile has always been my baby,” she said. “But in the 800, you can just go from the gun.”

And go she did.

Boys 800: Front Runner Has Another Gear

Given the closeness and depth of the field, and the PRs of his competition, it might have seemed to the casual observer that Tim Harris was going to be in a bit of trouble after taking the boys 800 field through in 25 and 53.4 for the first two furlongs. He’d obviously expended a lot of energy and he hadn’t really lost anyone.

But the Miami, Fla., senior had something else on his side. “I think it’s an advantage for me being a football player,” the quarterback said. “And the hard work in the weight room really helps me.”

Sure enough, during the gradual mass slowing of the field in the second lap, Harris found another gear. He started pulling away in the final 200 just before anyone could overtake him, winning in a fine PR 1:49.30, despite some hard efforts by his pursuers in the final stretch.

“I didn’t really have a doubt,” he said, “even though with 100 to go I felt them coming up. I’ve got a strong will and desire to win and I wasn’t going to give the race up at that point. The way I ran tonight is pretty much how I always run my race.”

Finishing best behind Harris was Michael Carmody ( Berkeley Heights, N.J.), who came up for 2nd in a big PR 1:49.87, beating the 1:50.26 of Kyle Miller ( Katy, Texas).

“I didn’t actually run like I wanted to,” he said. “I wanted to be in the lead or close to it, but they were going so fast and the pack was so tight. So I just waited for my chance.

“With 200 left I was close enough and I just went all out from there,” he continued. “I knew I had a chance to win, but I didn’t know what to expect from this field.”

Girls Mile: Blood Proving Them Wrong

Jennifer Barringer made the early pace and Caitlin Chock kept it going in the middle. But it was Nicole Blood who had the last word.

In what was billed as the best girls mile ever, the Saratoga Springs sophomore came up with her best effort in a career that has been closely watched at least since she was in 7 th-grade. Showing guts and grit, she dug down deep and passed, then held off Chock to win in 4:42.40 to 4:42.52, leading six more under 4:50.

Combined with Golden West last week, 10 girls have broken 4:50 at total of 13 times in the last eight days.

Blood, however, really stood out for several reasons. First, she was the only runner who was able to weather the assault of both the 32.9/68.9 opening salvo by Barringer ( Oviedo, Fla.) and middle race surge by Chalk (Roseville, Calif.), who ran 69.6 from the 880 to 1320 in passing by with a 440 left in 3:32.6. At this point it looked like Chalk, who rocked the track world with her 9:58 3200 at Golden West, was going to impress almost equally in the mile.

But it turned out the pace the senior had tried was a little rich and she showed she couldn’t quite maintain it early in the final lap. With arms pumping, Blood responded.

“It was tough,” the Kinetic TC member admitted. “Caitlin really put on a huge surge and I just had to stay as close as I could. I actually did try to go with her, but I didn’t want to go all out at that point.

“But I kept on pushing and I noticed on the last lap she began to get closer to me,” she continued. “After I passed her, she stayed with me in the final stretch, so it was really tough.”

Blood and the Saratoga Springs program have endured criticism of developing girls too fast and too young, and the new champion was happy to progress four years after she first really began gaining notice. “It feels good,” she said. “One of my goals has been to prove them wrong and to show other girls they can do it, too. I’ve matured a lot and my times have kept improving. It’s too bad some people have to respond like that.”

Chock, with two big PRs in two weeks, was gracious in defeat. “Jennifer did a great job taking it out … and when I came up I wanted to get us back on it. But Nicole did a great job. I’m not known for my speed, so I just hung on for as long as I could. I’m really happy with my time.”

Boys Distance Medley Relay:
Double-Double For Saline Crew

If winning two of the three distance relays in the AOC is great, and racing to back-to-back titles in the distance medley relay is awesome, then, well, can there be words to describe doing both?

The Spirit of Pre TC indeed double-doubled their pleasure Saturday night. After improving their national lead in the 4x800 Friday night with a winning 7:40.68, the squad from Saline (Mich.) HS had designs on the feats in the meet-closing event.

“I knew the heart was there,” said Coach Brian Boze of the DMR. “I just didn’t know how they’d respond physically when it got down to it.”

He needn’t have worried. With three seniors running their final races, and anchor Dustin Voss finally putting a pesky Westfield ( Va.) HS team away, the Pre crew surged to an impressive 10:03.15 — another national leader. Maybe it didn’t quite match the double-national-record fireworks of the girls DMR minutes earlier, but very impressive nonetheless.

Spirit of Pre didn’t lead after any of the first three legs, but was never further back then a close 3rd. Westfield fought furiously the whole way. In the 1200 leg, it was David Groff making life tough on talented SOP star Neal Atzinger, building a lead and holding the Saline star off, 3:02.5-3:03.4.

“I was hoping to catch him; it was the first opening leg I’ve ever lost,” said Atzinger with his trademark quirky grin. “But it was good competition.”

Westfield maintained through a blazing 50-point 400 leg by Chris Black, just holding off Shen TC’s Rob McRae (48.2) and SOP’s Paul Dapkus (50.3). Then Shen, coming off the 4x1 Mile win earlier in the day, snatched the lead on a 1:55.6 leg by Phil Roach, but SOP was still right there with Carter Bishop’s 1:55.7.

Then it came down to Saline’s Dustin Voss, Shen’s Jacob Gurzler and Westfield’s James Scheiner.

“Fortunately, I ran a smart race,” Voss said. “The first two laps were slow (62-2:09). The 3rd lap I tried to shake him (62) so I wouldn’t have to try and break him the last lap, but he just sat on me.

“Finally, I really went for it and passed him. I had a lot of heart.”

“It was to our advantage that the race went tactical,” Boze agreed. Voss finished in 4:12.7 for the SOP win. Scheiner was 4:14.8 to complete a 10:05.68 for Westfield, while Gurzler went about 4:17 for a 10:07.77 that finished off Shen’s big weekend. With a meet-best 4:09 from Hakon DeVries, John Jay HS went 10:08.73.

With three seniors departing off a crew that has pretty much led the nation the past two years, Saline will have to rebuild a bit.

“I’m gonna be left behind,” said Bishop, a junior, with a rueful smile.

Just like Saline’s opponents.

Girls Distance Medley Relay:
Double Records for Bay Shore, Eureka

Maybe the McCurdys put it best when trying to describe what it means to win a distance relay at AOC.

“It’s so fun to run together and to run as a team,” said Mary Liz, a junior, who as the nation’s No. 3 1500 runner could have focused on an individual event. Younger sibling Sarah was even more to the point. “I’m so psyched, I can’t put it into words,” she gushed. “It’s so much better than anything that’s come before.”

No wonder the sisters love relaying — especially with their Bay Shore TC (N.Y.) teammates. They had just crushed the national distance medley relay record with a stunning 11:33.42, 4.44 seconds under the old mark, set here by Red Bank Regional (N.J.) last year. And they needed every second to hold off an even more shocking Eureka ( Kansas) team, which was just .45 back in 11:33.87.

It’s not just that athletes love relaying at AOC ... it’s even more that girls REALLY love the DMR here, with the vast majority of history’s sub-11:50s clocked on Paul Derr Track. But neither of tonight’s two record-setters were actually the favorite in this race; that role had been held by Kinetic TC. But as well as the Saratoga Springs HS squad ran — 11:43.81 — they were never really in history’s fastest race, despite having the venerable mile champ Nicole Blood as their anchor.

No, the McCurdys, Samantha Jackson, and anchor Laura Cummings made sure the night belonged to them — especially Cummings, as her 4:50.3 anchor finally put away Eureka.

With a nation-leading 11:42.49 to their credit, Bay Shore obviously belonged on the short list of favorites. But did anyone think 11:33? Actually, yes. “We thought we could run 11:32,” said Coach Steve Borbet, “if everything went right.”

It pretty much did. The older McCurdy, for whom 1200 seems a perfect distance, scorched the opening leg in 3:31.7, giving her a 1.8-second edge on Eureka’s Kasey Kimball. Jackson maintained the lead with a 61-second 400, just ahead of Jesi Battistini. Then a stunning 800 leg saw Eureka take the lead on a 2:08.5 by Shannon Leinert, topping the impressive 2:10.4 by the younger McCurdy of Bay Shore.

Throughout, Kinetic had kept close with Lindsay Ferguson, Alysha McElroy, and Caitlin Lane, but Blood still had ground to make up on the final leg. Somewhat sapped by her 4:42, she fell back instead.

So it was Eureka’s Meredith Snow ( 4:52) who gave Cummings all she wanted, losing the lead but tagging her the rest of the way. The Kansas squad smashed their old team record of 11:56, but it wasn’t quite enough.

“We came here determined more than ever,” said Cummings. “We wanted to win, but we wanted the record, too.”

Jackson summed up the feeling of all the team members: “I’m proud to be on this relay team.”

Boys Mile: Beasts of the East

The majority of the nation’s very best prep milers in recent years seem to have come from the South or the West – Webb, Hall, Magness, Rupp, Curtis, Vasquez — but this year those with great passion for Eastern track have definitely had their share to cheer about with no worse than two of the nation’s best three 4-lappers in Victor Gras of Belmont, Mass., and Gavin Coombs of Griswold, Conn. Seven of 12 starters in the fastest section of Saturday night’s AOC boys mile, in fact, were from the Northeast.

There was little surprise about the way the race started, at least for those in the know. Gras went for as close to 4-minute pace as possible from the gun, hitting 59.5, then 1:30.2, 2:01.2, and 2:31.6 for his next 220 splits. Three gave what could be called earnest chase: Coombs, the previous night’s 2-Mile winner Shadrack Kiptoo ( Albuquerque, N.M.), and super soph Craig Miller ( Lancaster, Penn.) who also had Jeff See’s national class record (4:06.07) on his mind.

Miller was 2nd at 400, but Kiptoo pulled into the runner-up spot shortly thereafter and many thought he was best poised to go after Gras.

And while Gras seemed to slow slightly after 1100, his splits didn’t show it and he picked it up slightly after 1320 (3:02.9) and the gap widened.

Only problem was, he didn’t have anything left for a last 200 sprint. Neither did Kiptoo, but Coombs and Miller were full of run. With huge strides they ate up the homestretch and Coombs finally hauled past his rival in the final 10 yards, winning 4:05.72-4:06.39. Miller missed See’s mark, but nailed a huge PR at 4:06.76 for third, while Kiptoo faded a bit to 5th (4:09.86).

“My legs didn’t feel that fresh,” Coombs revealed afterward, explaining in part why he didn’t go out with Gras. He shook his head with a grin. “I was expecting more of a pack, not to be breaking the wind by myself.”

Coombs, who leads the nation with his 3:46.17 1500 meters (Galen Rupp has a 3:45.3 split), wasn’t really surprised about what Gras was doing, though, and he had no response early. “I knew he had been training to run 4 minutes and that he wanted to run a fast time. I wasn’t feeling that good. Going into the last lap, he had a pretty good lead on me.

“But instinctively my body picked it up (in the last 220),” he continued. “Once I gained a lot I thought I could do it, then when I passed him, I knew I had it. Victor looked like he died hard the last 50.”

“I have an iron deficiency,” said Gras, who was on the ground and attended to after the race, then sat with his head in his hands for a long time after walking to the awards area. “I’ve been fine all season, but I didn’t take care of it recently. I started off fine, but then it got to me, especially the last 100.”

Disappointment also prevailed with Kiptoo, who complained of leg pain that was unsuccessfully treated (“I couldn’t keep up”) and even to some extent with Miller, who shredded his 4:09 1600 PR. “I really wanted to break the sophomore record … and I wanted to win.”

Unfortunately for Miller, so did everyone else.

Girls 4x1 Mile Relay: College Park Pulls Away

Trying to ignore the heat and humidity may have been more of a challenge than the competition ultimately turned out to be for the College Park ( Calif.) 4x1 Mile Relay team.

“Yesterday (Friday), we were so scared for this race,” laughed No. 2 runner Nicole Pennes. She could afford to smile about at that point, minutes after her squad had taken the AOC title in 20:36.96. “We were out running at 11:30 the other night and it was sooo hot!”

To win, the team — national outdoor leaders at 20:33.97 — had to adopt a different mindset. “We tried to ignore the weather during the race,” said senior anchor Lindsay Allen.

Diane Dunn had the lead for College Park after two laps of the opening leg, and then held on for a solid 3rd in 5:14.8. “I felt I had to take the lead, but the last lap I was a little bit tired,” the senior said.

National record holder Bronxville was in front at that point, but sophomore Nicole Pennes came on hard to take over on the third lap, endured a back-and-forth battle, and finally prevailed for the next exchange. She hit 5:07.2, making up nine seconds on Bronxville.

“I was making up ground, just trying to pick off other runners,” said Pennes. “I felt I could take her, but I had to find it within myself to push myself.”

Freshman Kelsey Dallara extended the lead further over Bronxville with a 5:19.7, but Kinetic TC ( Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) made up a lot of ground with a 5:06.9 from Alysha McElroy.

“I was running scared,” Dallara admitted. “I started out too fast and then I didn’t want anyone to pass me.”

That set up a final leg showdown between College Park’s senior Lindsay Allen and Kinetic’s Caitlin Lane. But Allen started fast and actually extended her lead, finally giving College Park a 8.29-second bulge to Kinetic’s 20:45.25 at the end, with Bronxville running 3rd in 21:01.21.

Allen could have concentrated on an open event, but she says she prefers relays. Now she has a national title for her efforts.

 

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