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Dragila reclaims WR in pole vault at USA Indoor Champs

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BOSTON – Outdoor world record holder and Olympic gold medalist Stacy Dragila
reclaimed the world indoor record in the women’s pole vault Sunday at the
2003 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at the Reggie Lewis Track
& Athletic Center in Roxbury. One high school and two masters records also
fell on the day.

It was a sweet vindication for Dragila, who nursed a foot injury during the
2002 indoor season as Russian Svetlana Feofanova – whom Dragila defeated to
win the 2001 World Outdoor title – took her world indoor mark. Feofanova
this year raised the indoor world record to 4.77m/15-7.75, while Dragila
twice improved her own American record. On Sunday, Dragila's jump of
4.78m/15-8.25 improved gave her the record by one centimeter.

Dragila showed some of the best form of her career throughout the
competition on Sunday, clearing early heights by what looked like well more
than a foot. She secured her seventh U.S. indoor and 13th overall U.S. title
at 4.40m/14-5.25, with Kellie Suttle second with a height of 4.35m/14-3.25.

Dragila cleared 4.60m/15-1 on her second attempt, then ordered the bar
raised to 4.78m/15-8.25 as she sought to break Feofanova’s record. Dragila
missed narrowly on her first attempt, but with a sold-out crowd of 3,081
clapping in unison as Dragila took to the runway, she cleared the height on
her second attempt with just a slight brush of the bar.

“It’s great to get the world record back,” Dragila said. “I’m really looking
forward to the World Indoor Championships, where Svetlana and I can go
head-to-head. We’ll have a great competition, which will be great for the
sport.”

Dragila looked on pace to become the first woman ever to clear 16 feet, but
it was not to be as she missed her three attempts at 4.88m/16-0.

Dragila was one of several women who made an impression Sunday. Regina
Jacobs won the 24th U.S. title of her career with a win in the women’s 3,000
meters (8:52.57). With her win Saturday in the 1,500m, Jacobs joined
Hall-of-Famers Francie Larrieu (1977) and Jan Merrill (1976) as the only
women to complete the distance double indoors. (Larrieu and Merrill doubled
in the mile and 2-mile.) National 4 km cross-country champion Shayne
Culpepper finished second in 8:56.26.

Despite a tender right hamstring, Michelle Collins won her first U.S.
championship in the 200 meters with a time of 22.84 to beat high schooler
Allyson Felix, who had the meet of her life. The Los Angeles Baptist High
School student broke the national high school record with her time of 23.14
in the final, improving on 2002 Verizon Youth Athlete of the Year Sanya
Richard’s previous prep mark of 23.22, which Felix tied in the semifinals.

Kevin Toth and John Godina were the survivors of a battle of attrition in
the men’s shot put. The 2003 world leader indoors, Toth posted a mark of
21.30 meters/69-10.75 on his first throw, which was enough to win the
competition. Toth fouled on his five remaining attempts, and Godina’s best
mark of 20.86m/68-5.5 placed him second. The world’s #1-ranked thrower from
2002, Adam Nelson, struggled with four fouls and finished third with a throw
of 20.63m/67-8.25.

Like the men’s shot put, the men’s long jump pitted the world’s top three
jumpers against each other. Miguel Pate, the 2002 U.S. indoor champion who
surpassed 28 feet indoors and finished the year ranked #2 globally, came
away with another title with a jump of 8.25m/27-1. Third-ranked Dwight
Phillips was second at 8.21m/26-11.25, and top-ranked Savante Stringfellow
was third (8.03m/26-4.25).

In the men’s 200m, co-American record holders John Capel and Shawn Crawford
went 1-2, with Capel winning in 20.69 to Crawford’s 20.77.

In a virtual replay of most domestic women’s high jump competitions over the
last two years, Tisha Waller and Amy Acuff went 1-2 Sunday. Waller won her
sixth career U.S. indoor title with a U.S.-leading clearance of 1.97
m/6-5.5. Acuff was second at 1.94m/6-4.25.

The men’s high jump was the most tightly contested event of the day, with
1996 Olympic gold medalist Charles Austin and former NCAA champions Tora
Harris and Charles Clinger all clearing 2.30m/7-6.5. Austin, the 1997 World
Indoor champion, won the event on misses. Harris, a Princeton graduate, beat
out Clinger for second place in a jump-off.

Nicole Teter successfully defended her 2002 U.S. indoor championship in the
women’s 800, leading wire-to-wire en route to posting a U.S.-leading time of
2:00.09. Sasha Spenser placed second in 2:03.20.

David Krummenacker survived two scares in to win the men’s 800m. The world’s
third-ranked half-miler was tripped up briefly 200 meters into the race, but
stayed on his feet. Then, coming down the final straight, he found himself
in the unusual position of trailing Khadevis Robinson slightly. But
Krummacker pulled off the win in 1:50.59 with Robinson .10 second back.

In other finals, Brookline native and former NCAA 5,000m champion Jonathon
Riley thrilled the local crowd with a win in the men’s 3,000m (7:49.79).

Bolota Asmerom was second in 7:51.85. Tim Seaman won his sixth consecutive
men’s 5,000m race walk championship with a time of 19:21.56 with John Nunn
second in 19:26.43. Kiamesha Otey of the University of Virginia won the
women’s long jump with a jump of 6.33m/20-9.25 with Adrien Sawyer second at
6.23m/20-5.25. Kristin Heaston took her first national title in the women’s
shot put with a mark of 18.03m/59-2, over second-place Seilala Sua
(17.83m/58-6). The New York Athletic Club won the men’s distance medley
relay in 9:50.90 while Reebok Boston won the women’s race in 11:38.46.

The top two finishers in each event at the USA Indoor Championships qualify
to compete for Team USA at the 2003 World Indoor Track & Field Championships
March 14-16 in Birmingham, England, as long as they have achieved the IAAF’s
“A” qualifying standard.

MARVELOUS MASTERS: Masters superstar Phil Raschker shattered the world
masters record for 55-59-year-old women, running 27.81 in the women’s
masters 200 meters. Forty-one-year-old Lesia Batiste was the overall winner
of race in 26.00.

Tony Young smashed the masters American record in the men’s
40-to-44-year-old age group by more than a second, running 3:22.51 to lead
second-place Brian Pope, who also was under the previous record at 8:23.70.

KEVIN TOTH, winner, men’s shot put I performed sloppy today, but I came here to accomplish a win. I want to be a world champion. I’ve really trained hard for this win fighting off a sinus infection and a groin injury which has interrupted training. I know John and Adam weren’t at their best today as well. I’ve hired a sports nutrionists to recover (from injuries) at this level because you need that, especially after missing three Olympic teams. I have dropped 15 pounds as a result.

JOHN GODINA, runner-up, men’s shot put I thought I could have performed better today. I did what I needed to do to make the national team and compete at the world championships. I just did not relax the way I wanted in order to solidify a win today. I will work on this more as I prepare for the world championships and I should be fine.

TISHA WALLER, 1st place, women’s high jump This is only my second competition this year. It went well and the competition was great, which motivates me. After taking 2001 off I worked a lot on my technique last year. This year I’m really focusing on strength training and it’s working out well.

AMY ACUFF, runner-up, women’s high jump I’m really pleased with how I jumped today. I’ve been working on a new approach the last two weeks, and I didn’t have my confidence during my first few attempts today. I realized that with my previous approach that my steps were too wide. Now I feel that I’m better able to jump over the bar with this new approach and that will be a key for me this summer.

ADRIEN SAWYER, runner-up, women’s long jump This is my first year back after giving birth to my daughter (Tekoa Jade, April 8, 2001). I was really mentally focused today, and that really helped me when I fell behind in the competition. I still jumped well after that happened

STACY DRAGILA, winner, women’s pole vault On setting the new world record: I’ve set the American record a number of times this season, so I really expected this to happen. My practices have been going really well and I came here with lots of confidence. I’ve performed well here in the past and I was really confident that I would jump high today.

It’s great to get the world record back and I’m really looking forward to the World Indoor Championships where Svetlana (Feofanova, previous world record holder) and I can go head-to-head and have a great competition, which will be great for the sport.

The Olympic year took a lot out of me and I was never really healthy last year. This indoor season I’ve felt great and it’s shown in my performances. I’m really excited to see how well I can do the rest of this year. My next goal is to clear 16 feet. The crowd here was great, and they really helped me get over the bar.

KELLY SUTTLE, runner-up women’s pole vault I had a struggle keeping it together on the runway. I had a rough day with the tough competition. I am excited to compete for the national team in Great Britain and I am ready to jump over 15 feet.

I am excited for Stacy (Dragila) breaking the world record. This is what this competition is about. She is my friend and I’m happy that the world record is back in the U.S.

TIM SEAMAN, 1st –men’s 5,000 meter race walk This was a very difficult race. Five thousand meters on this track is very hard and it was very dry in here. Today I was just concentrating on the goal at hand. I just wanted to finish among the top two. This is my sixth straight indoor title. Even though I was very close to the American record, I decided not to go for it. The last five years I tried focusing on the American record. This year I didn’t, and I got a good time. I am very pleased.

NICOLE TETER, 1st place, women’s 800m Coming off an injury [stress fracture], I’m just happy to have made my first world [championship] team. Most people didn’t expect me to be running this race, so it was actually a lot less pressure on me than you would think.

Last year when I won [she successfully defended her title], no one really thought I was a factor. But this year, I sensed that people were keying off of me. The race went EXACTLY as planned: three laps, and then I took off [on the fourth lap]. Totally under control.

MIGUEL PATE, winner, men’s long jump I felt really good today, and it seemed like I was getting a good pop off the board, but I really wasn’t jumping very far. The runway was fast, but for some reason I wasn’t getting the results I felt I should have. It’s good to win when I wasn’t at my best. My coach and I will be busy this week getting ready to jump further at the world championships.

SAVANTE’ STRINGFELLOW, third, men’s long jump This is not the way I wanted it to go. I was really off technically today and I’m not sure why. Larry Myricks (U.S. National Hall of Fame long jumper) told me I was rushing my landing and he might be right. I’ll work on it and be better this outdoor season.

KRISTIN HEASTON, winner, women’s shot put All of my hard work and training this season has paid off today. This was just a building block for the future. Some things I plan to work on to qualify for an A standard are explosiveness, quickness and physical fitness.

SASHA SPENCER, 2ND - - women’s 800 meters I was very, very happy with the way things went today. I did a lot of work over the past couple months so I knew I was ready to compete here. As far as what Nicole (Teter) was going to do, I just had to run my own race. We all know how strong (Teter) is so the important thing was to focus on my race. Making the team for the World Championships was the most important for me. Came here thinking that if I ran my best race I would be right there at the end.

KHADEVIS ROBINSON, 2nd place, men’s 800m I knew he [David Krummenacker] was there, but this was only my second race of the year. He’s been racing all season. If I were him, I wouldn’t have been worried about me or the rest of the field; I would have taken off from the gun, but he doesn’t run like that.

There were about two surges made in the race, and the third one was where he got me. He shocked me with that last move. He got the jump on me and that was the difference in the race. Just a couple of steps is all that makes a difference in the 800m. I really wasn’t expecting to be first or second, so now I have to see if I’m going to go (to the world championships). Just wait, though, you’re going to see big things from me outdoors this year.

DAVID KRUMMENACKER, 1ST - - Men’s 800 Meters The pace was no problem for me at all. We went through in 55 plus, so I was just trying to relax as much as I could, waiting to make my move. I knew Robinson has a very good finish so I had to pick my spot. I’m really looking forward to the outdoor season. I have a real good base now and I know I can get faster.

REGINA JACOBS, 1st place, women’s 3000m I was a little too fast early on in the race, and that made all the difference. Although I’ve obviously run a few pretty good 3ks in the past, I’m just not as comfortable with it as the 1500m. I know that I’m going to run the 1500m exclusively at the worlds though.

I was actually hoping that some of the other girls in the race like Sarah [Schwald] or Amy [Rudolph] were going to come with me. I know that when I used to be in a race with Mary [Slaney], I always looked forward to the challenge. Today, I just went out a bit too fast, but I went for the record. I just have this green light in my mind that says, “GO” and more people should have that light. It is something that you can turn on and off.

SHAYNE CULPEPPER, 2nd - - women’s 3000 meters I surprised myself a bit out there. I’m not sure what would happen because I haven’t been racing all that much. I think my strength from the cross country season has held up pretty well. Trying to juggle my running, a new born baby and other responsibilities has been trying at times. With the new baby I just can’t travel all the time.

I’m not sure yet if I’ll get to the world indoor championships. I didn’t decide to run here till about a week and a half ago. I knew what Regina (Jacobs) is capable of, so I just ran my own race and let things fall from there. I felt strong after getting into second place with a little more than a lap to go.

CHARLES AUSTIN, winner, men’s high jump I had a pretty good day as I always try to get the win. I am excited to make the championship team and pull off this championship. I stayed focused and did what I came out here to do today. This is all mental as I prepare for the world championships.

TORA HARRIS, runner-up, men’s high jump Hen I missed at 2.27 meters that put me behind and I never really responded after that. I had only one goal coming into this and that was to make the team for the world championships. Although I didn’t jump very well, I’m very pleased about making the team. The surface was good here. It was very fast, which is just the way I like it. I hope to jump better in Birmingham

BOLOTA ASMERON, runner-up, mens 3000m I gave it away. Jonathan knows me so well, all my weaknesses. With just over one lap to go, I wasn’t satisfied with second, but I wasn’t worried about third either. I just spent a week of no running [tendonitis], and I think that got me mentally. Physically, I was fine. Last year was my first year doing indoors, so I still think I have a lot to learn.

JONATHON RILEY, 1ST men’s 3000 meters I just love this place (Reggie Lewis). Every time I come back here to run I have great races. This was the perfect place for me to come back and run the indoor nationals.

I kind of planned my race strategy on the crowd support I receive here. I ran my best high school races here (Brookline High) so I know the track very well. My coaches told me to make a strong move with three or four laps to go. I have good strength training behind me. Once I made my final move with a little more than a lap to go I felt very good. I’m looking forward to my first world championship team.

JOHN CAPEL, 1ST, men’s 200 meters After the first 60 meters I felt some type of twinge in my leg. I said damn, I’m not stopping for anything. Maybe I’m not used to running that tight of curve on the first turn. I hope this doesn’t put me out of the world championships. I’m not giving up for anything. I worked too hard to get here.

Up around the final turn I felt it (twinge) again. I just said to myself I’ve got to get through the pain and drive home.

MICHELE COLLINS, winner, women’s 200 meters I am very excited to make the national team because this is my first indoor championship. I got off to a good start, but ran with caution due to some tightness in my right hamstring. All in all I look forward to bringing home a world championship medal.

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