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2008 Simplot Games

Idaho State University, Pocatello ID
February 14-16, 2008

DyeStat on-site with Rich Gonzalez, Dave Devine
Mike Kennedy, Marc Davis and John and Donna Dye

World's finest converge in Pocatello
Led by multiple World Youth Championship medalists,
Simplot Games readies to celebrate 30 years of excellence


Preview by Rich Gonzalez

(FEBRUARY 11, 2008) -- Headlined by four of the top high school-age vaulters on the planet and a recordsetting crew of female hurdlers, the 30th annual Simplot Games indoor meet taking place in Pocatello, Idaho this weekend appears well equipped to once again showcase leading track and field talent in its trademark entertaining and upbeat setting.

More than 2,000 athletes from across the nation are expected for the three-day meet (Thursday-Saturday), which crowns champions in seventeen events. The meet, a favorite seasonal stop on the undercover circuit for many of the nation's top programs, takes place on the 200-meter wooden and banked oval at Idaho State University's Holt Arena.


 Nico Weiler CA - Photo by Robert Wallingford
The boys' pole vault features the top two returning outdoor Youth aerialists in the world in Central California's Nico Weiler and Indiana's Corey Shank. Weiler, who has gained a student visa to return for California competition as a senior after competing in the States as a foreign exchange student from Germany last year, is the reigning World Youth Games (outdoor) champion and has cleared a personal best 17 feet, 6.25 inches outdoors. He also laid outright claim to the four best clearances among Youth-level athletes on the planet last year. Shank, from Fort Wayne, ranked second globally in 2007 for his age group, clearing 17-00.00. Shank's return to the elite scene was an inspirational one, after seeing his sophomore campaign derailed by a serious back injury in 2006.

The girls' vault enjoys an equally special field, with Shade Weygandt and Rachel Laurent currently ranking as two of the top half dozen Youth vaulters in the world and squaring off this season for the first time. Weygandt, the Texas junior who soared a lifetime-best 13-08 last weekend and won the high profile Vault Summit competition in Reno, NV, last month, owns both freshman and sophomore national outdoor records. Laurent, a senior from Vandebilt Catholic in Louisiana, skied a career best 13-07.25 earlier this month en route to winning  the LSU Invitational meet.



Jackie Coward TN - Photo: Vic Sailer
The duels should be just as exciting in the barrier races, where Tennessee's Jacqueline Coward and California's Vashti Thomas and Julian Purvis -- the nation's top three returnees in this event from 2007 -- are set to clash. Coward distinguished herself indoors last winter by setting the national high school record in the 60-meter hurdles (8.17) and also posted the fastest ever fully automatic prep time over the 33-inch-high, 55-meter hurdles (7.67). She's the national leader in both events this winter as well, but will call upon her pristine technique to aid her in seeking to hold off a pair of dynamite challengers. Thomas set the national high school federation outdoor record (13.03) in winning the California state meet last year, topping the fastest 100-meter high hurdles race in history! Purvis took second to Thomas at the California state meet, but then further progressed to win the gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the World Youth Championships in the Czech Republic last summer!

Purvis, a senior at St. Elizabeth HS in Oakland, is one half of the fabulous sibling combo from Northern California, with younger sister Ashton (a sophomore) setting the national frosh 200-meter indoor record (22.63) before earning a gold medal for Team USA in the sprint medley relay at the 2007 World Youth Championships. The other sensational sister act here are Nachelle and Natalie Stewart from Spanish Fork HS in Utah. The tandem combined to sweep the state outdoor titles in all open events from the 100 up to the 800 (Natalie won the 100 and 200 and Nachelle the 400 and 800) and teamed up on the school's state championship 4x100- and 4x400-meter relay squads!


Luke Puskedra UT - Photo by
John Nepolitan

Other top athletes featuring in the speed events include Ohio long dasher Kendall Gregory and versatile Missouri standout Andre McDonald. Gregory, a three-time state medalist at 400 meters for Strongsville HS, is the national indoor leader at 400 meters (47.99) this winter and will help set the pace here in the long sprints. McDonald, a senior from Kansas City, claimed four medals in the Missouri outdoor state meet last year, including golds in the high jump and long jump. McDonald, the Simplot Games high jump winner last year, owns a personal-best clearance of 7-00 in the event.

Thursday's opening day of action will feature finals of both the boys' and girls' weight throw as well as qualifying rounds of the boys' and girls' 1600- and 3200-meter runs.

Lauren Chambers, the defending Simplot Games champion in both the weight throw and shot, figures to be among the early headliners, with the Georgia senior leading another strong cast of accomplished weight athletes competing for the Throw One Deep club. Throw One Deep athletes thoroughly dominated the weight throw in the 2007 Simplot Games affair, with team members claiming the top six positions in the boys' competition and the first five places in the girls' challenge.

The top name to grace the entry lists for the distance fields is Luke Puskedra, a cross-country All-American from Salt Lake City, Utah, who established a Simplot Games 1600m record last February. Puskedra, who recently committed to the University of Oregon, toured the boards of Pocatello last year in 4:13.62 for the eight-lap race, a very nice time considering the oxygen-depleted air that typically benefits anaerobic events such as the sprints and jumps but hinders aerobic events such as the distances. Pocatello, located about 165 miles outside of Salt Lake City, enjoys an altitude of 4,500 feet above sea level.  

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