Twelve Best Performance Moments
From The 2005 Nike Outdoor Nationals
After a sensational stint at North Carolina State University, the unofficial
national championships of high school track & field relocated to a new venue
and with a new sponsor for 2005. Amid two days of heart-pounding excitement
on the truly first-class North Carolina A&T University facility, the 2005 Nike
Outdoor Nationals proved to be a rousing success! With
nine meet
records
(Boys 2k steeple, Boys 200, Boys Pole Vault, Girls 100, Girls Mile,
Girls 400m,
Girls
400mLH, Girls 2k
steeple,
Girls 4xMile)
and
a nation-leading
469 DyeStatElite performance marks, the event once again rose to provide the
annual pinnacle of prep competition. If you happened to be one of those unable to
attend, here's a sampling of the best action you missed on championship weekend:
1. "Bowman outkicks Felnagle in Battle of Four-Lap Phenoms (rematches?) " -- To be sure, just know that the final eye-popping results blew away the meteoric hype.
The pre-race excitement permeating the anticipated showdown between multi-lap speed phenoms Sarah Bowman of Virginia and Brie Felnagle of Washington was clearly satisfied (and then some) as the fastest all-prep girls' mile race in national history began playing out. The Tennessee-bound Bowman torched the pace early to drop many in the all-star field by race's midpoint, but Felnagle and New York's Nicole Blood managed to keep modest contact in temporarily leaving the outcome in doubt. Felnagle then began her final fierce bid for a comeback with 270 meters to go, shearing away nearly all of a 15-meter deficit to Bowman in just a few seconds. But then the hammer was dropped! Bowman answered Felnagle's challenge with a scorching 130-meter burst that sealed the race's outcome, with her meet record 4:36.95 clocking going in the annals as the third-fastest performance by a prep in U.S. history, not to mention the fastest time ever in an all-high schoolers race. Felnagle, signed to attend the University of North Carolina in the Fall, was next in 4:39.71, registering as the fifth-fastest prep performance in history! Bowman's masterful pre-race plan reportedly was to set an unbearable pace early, force the others to expend considerable energy to catch up, then counter any serious threat with 250 meters remaining. Felnagle was the first (and only) to seriously threaten Bowman on the bell lap, but that did not occur until 200 meters remained. Shortly thereafter, Bowman then slammed the door. Finishing only 1.71 seconds away from Polly Plumer's 23-year-old national record, one can only wonder if had Bowman been challenged a bit earlier, perhaps her authoritative response would have toppled the national record. No one can question, however, that she's the fastest female prep male in nearly a quarter century.
2. "J-Mee Samuels Coronated as Fastest Prep in America (combo?)" -- The title of America's fastest prep teen goes to North Carolina's J-Mee Samuels... and it took him only 31.09 seconds to prove it: A meet record 20.76 seconds in the 200 and a yearly nation-leading 10.33 (in prelims) in the 100. Samuel's historic race in the deuce wiped away iconic Xavier Carter's two-year-old all-time meet standard by a mere 0.01 seconds, and kept the Arkansas-signed talent unbeaten in the event this Spring. New Hampshire's Dominique Worsely, one of seven seniors in the eight-person field, timed 20.92 to earn the silver. Samuels, a Mt. Tabor HS senior known for his trademark explosive start and barreling form down the straightaways, turned away a stiff challenge from fellow North Carolinian Jerek Hewitt in the 100, 10.34 to 10.39, amid a 1.2 meters-per-second tailing wind. Samuels' lone high-profile setback outdoors in 2005 came at the mid-April Arcadia Invitational in Southern California, albeit under trying circumsances. Samuels mistimed the duration of his warm-up at the meet, found himself rushing to peel off his sweats as others were being called to settle in their blocks, then overpowered upon reacting to the gun in causing his starting block to slip ever-so-slightly in giving eventual winner Jamere Holland of Los Angeles a critical early edge.
3. "Runnin' Gear Hits High Gear to Crush Girls 4xMile All-Time National Best " --
4. "Jeff See Elicits Memories of Alan Webb With Monstrous Mile Kick" -- Ever since breaking Alan Webb's national sophomore mile record two Springs ago, Ohio's Jeff See has been drawing somewhat unfair and unforgiving comparison to the WebbMaster, with many debating his true upside and his proper ranking among America's all-time prep elite. On Saturday, See not only lionized his status on America's all-time Top 25 list, he even conjured up memories of Webb while doing it!
See brushed aside the effects of a slow, early pace by the field, reeled in a 'long-kick" maneuver from Pennsylvania's Craig Miller, then completely obliterated the competition with a monstrous closing spurt that sprang him far ahead of the all-star field and first to the finish stripe in 4:04.83. See's performance emerged as the 2005 national leader, with runner-up finisher Miller (4:07.19) and Michigan's Justin Switzer (4:08.13) claiming second and third, respectively. (See front-view video of See's final 80 meters now posted on DyeStatCal.com).
See, who clocked a 1:49-point split in relay action earlier this month, revealed his pre-race time goal of running in the low-4:02 range, but was surprised by the lethargic opening pace. "After the first lap, I knew the (fast) time was out the window, so then I just went for the win. ... With Switzer and Cormier still near the front, I knew the end would be fast and the times would be good." Miller, entering the year as the national frosh mile recordholder (4:14.26 in 2003), appeared intent on winning the race by comparing strength, upping the tempo considerably with 500 meters to go. Cormier, Switzer, California's A.J. Acosta and See gave chase, with that cluster taking shape as they worked through the backstretch for the final time. Then ... visions of Alan Webb came to mind. In one final and decisive show of strength, See charged from the final curve with a thoroughbred's disposition, his quad muscles firing on maximal output as he powered away from his rivals. In a matter of the next few seconds, See unequivocably put to rest a season-long debate as to the identity of the best miler in America. Over. Done. Finito.
"I wanted this one last race badly," gasped See, who was continually doubling over several minutes after the race in trying to get his wind back. "That one hurt, but it ended up playing out the way I wanted to end my high school career."
5. "Alexandria The Great Proves To Be Alexandria The Fastest" --
6. "Mark Matusak's Midas Touch Finally Goes National" --
7. "World Youth Leader Scott Roth Re-Sets National Age-16 Pole Vault Record ( 3 or 4 records? actual height?)-- For girls, this 52-week stint in one's life is cherished as the "Sweet Sixteen" stage. But for Granite Bay's Scott Roth, could age 16 have been any sweeter?
CIF champion. State Champion. National Champion.
Not to mention, three time age-16 national record breaker and a meet-record clearance of 17-02.23
"It's been fun," quipped the smiling and typically soft-spoken Roth. "All pretty good so far."
Now comes the bad news. ... Scott's getting to be an old man.
Yep, the Granite Bay vault sensation turns 17 this week, meaning a new batch of much tougher age records to chase and a new
8. "Rob Novak Belts Out Pair of Two-Lap Blazers" --
9. "Syosset Boys Remain Class of Super-Deep 4x800m Field" --
10. "Cantey & Leach Topple Girls' Low Hurdles Meet Record" --
11. Geena Gall Closes Out Sweep Of Nike 800m Titles" --
12. Corona del Mar Goes From Beach to Furnace to Pull Out Dramatic DMR Triumph" --