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Tuesday,
August 8th, 2006 - Eugene, Oregon |
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Meet Preview
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Road to Eugene ’08 Meet Preview - by Dave Devine Call it an early arrival. Or a dress rehearsal, two years
out. Scattered among the Olympic and World champions scheduled to appear in a slate of special events at the Road to Eugene ’08 Meet are a handful of current and recent high school athletes hoping to establish themselves as the stars of tomorrow. While the meet features several “Junior-only” sections, in many events the preps will be lining up side-by-side against the United States’ finest post-collegiate competitors. Here’s a run-down on some of the more intriguing match-ups: AJ Acosta has been here before. On a
cool night in early May, he ran an open 1500 at Hayward Field
and recorded his current PR of 3:45.73. He finished second
in that race against open and collegiate runners, and has been
stellar in almost every competition since, but he’ll have
his hands full in this one. In addition to fellow-Junior
team member Andrew Bumbalough, who pushed the recent El Camino
grad to the wire in a harrowing 1500 at the US Junior nationals,
the field will include American standouts Anthony Famiglietti,
Said Ahmed, Jason Lunn, Jonathon Riley, Gabe Jennings, and Matt
Tegenkamp (hot on the heels of his blistering 13:04.90 5000m
breakthrough). For the last two years, St. Anthony’s NY rising senior Walter Henning has been a man among boys in the high school hammer throw. Outdistancing his nearest competitor on the yearly list by over 25 feet, Henning has crept tantalizingly close to the national high school record of 253’03”. On Tuesday night he’ll have a chance to throw against the holder of that record, 2006 US Nationals runner-up Jacob Freeman. Also in the field will be 2006 US National champion and 2004 Olympian AG Kruger, 2006 Nationals 4th-placer Kibwe Johnson, and 8th-placer Lucais MacKay. The special Juniors-only section of the 300 meters will feature a fascinating collision of sprint and middle-distance high school stars. Without a Men’s 800m on the schedule, US #1 (New Bern NC grad; 1:49.97) Karjuan Williams is stepping down to test his speed against the # 1, 2, and 3 quarter milers in the country. Established sprint stars Calvin Smith (Freedom, FL grad; 46.17), Bryshon Nellums (Long Beach Poly, CA rising senior; 46.20), and Jacob Scheurman (Littleton, CO grad; 46.24) will all compete against Williams at the infrequently-contested outdoor distance of 300 meters. Women Prior to the US Junior National meet, Ridgeland, MS junior Bianca Knight had been the premier high school girl at 200 meters in 2006, leading the national lists and earning a Gatorade Athlete of the Year award for her accomplishments. At Junior Nationals Knight blasted a PR of 22.94, only to come up short against surging superstar Gabrielle Mayo (Southeast, NC). Here, Mayo will be racing in a Juniors-only section of the 100 meters, leaving Knight to face a daunting 200 meter field that features US sprint stars Me'Lisa Barber, Monique Henderson, Monique Hennagan and La Shauntea Moore. Not yet a senior in high school, Patience Coleman (Southern Durham, NC) recorded the three best marks in the girl’s high jump for 2006, topping out at 6 feet even. On Tuesday night she’ll share the apron with five-time US Outdoor champion and 3-time Olympian Amy Acuff, in addition to US champion heptathlete Hyleas Fountain and a host of other strong jumpers. The girls 100 meter hurdles has been a see-saw battle all season with Evanston Township, IL senior Shalina Clarke leading the list before April Williams (Dallas Skyline, TX) went on her summer tear. Clarke was third in the windy USATF Junior Olympics final in which Williams dropped a devastating 13.07, but she won’t have Williams to compete against here. Instead, she’ll be curling into the blocks alongside defending Olympic champion Joanna Hayes and defending World Champion Michelle Perry, among others. Four-hundred meter hurdler Ebony Collins (Long Beach Wilson, CA rising senior) has been making quite a splash this summer. First came a 58.31 2nd (to former West Catholic and current UCLA star Nicole Leach, 55.63) at the US Junior Nationals, then a torrid 400/400mH double win at the USATF Junior Olympics (52.33 and 57.78). Here, Collins—a 55.96 performer in 2005—will contend not only with Leach, but 2005 World bronze medalist and four-time U.S. champion Sandra Glover and 2006 National runner-up and 2004 Olympian Sheena Johnson. The final race of the meet is listed vaguely on the schedule as “The Road to Eugene Distance Race”—with no start list provided—but it turns out the capping event of the night is a special 2000m race pitting the US Junior Steeple champ and runner-up against the Junior 1500m winner and second-placer. Marie Lawrence (Reno, NV rising senior) has already established her chops when covering 2000 meters with barriers in the way (6:35.63 2k national record), but her endurance will be tested against the speed and kick of 1500m champ and fellow senior-to-be Danielle Tauro (Manahawkin, NJ). A win by one of the high schoolers is in no way guaranteed, as they’ll be pushed to the wire by BYU steepler Amy Fowler and Baylor distance ace Erin Bedell. |