NATIONAL RECORD!
West Catholic of Philadephia wins duel with A.P. Randolph (NY)
to claim all-time U.S. prep record in 3:52.22!

8 YEARLY NATIONAL LEADERS!
Girls Sprint Medley -- West Catholic, PA in 3:52.22; an obvious meet record as well.
Girls 4x800 -- Bay Shore, NY in 8:57.48 (owns top 3 U.S. times this year!)
Girls Mile RaceWalk -- Maria Michta (Nesconset, NY) in 7:16.02.
Boys 2-Mile -- Sharack Kiptoo (La Cueva HS, NM) in 8:45.44 (top 3 sub-8:50!)
Boys 4x200 -- Glenville HS, OH in 1:23.78 (Lancaster #2 in U.S. in 1:24.25!)
Boys 4x800 -- Spirit of Pre TC (Saline HS, MI) in 7:40.68 to improve '04 NL time!
Boys Sprint Medley -- Cinco Ranch HS, TX in 3:25.69 (Kyle Miller, 1:50.4 anchor)!
Boys Mile Race Walk -- Zachary Pollinger (Mahwah, NJ) in 6:30.86!

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Day 1 Action Electrifies as
Nation's Best Lock Horns!

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By Richard Gonzalez - Editor, DyeStatCal
Raleigh, NC -- Wwwwwwwow!!!

In what proved to be a historic opening day of action thanks to a record-setting quartet of young ladies from the great state of Pennsylvania, track athletes gained the clear upper hand versus their field event counterparts during a thrilling six-hour span at the 14th annual adidas Outdoor Championships on Friday evening.

All told, eight yearly nation-leading marks were established -- all coming via the running/race-walking events -- and a whopping 188 DyeStatElite marks were achieved, a stunning jumpstart to what is already projecting as the greatest single performance meet in national history (a credible observation when one takes into consideration the burgeoning depth of across-the-board performance marks nationally since the inception of the DyeStateElite rating system in the mid-1990s, providing a barometer for year-to-year comparision).

The West Catholic High (Philadelphia) foursome of sophomores Kneshia Sheard, Erica Ferguson and Latavia Thomas combined with 11th-grader Nicole Leach to burn up the Paul Derr Track at North Carolina State University, toting the baton to a jaw-dropping 3:52.22 clocking for the 1600-meter sprint medley relay that sheared a big 1.06 seconds off of Long Beach Wilson's previous all-time national prep best of two years ago! Thomas withstood a fierce stride-for-stride challenge from A.P. Randolph (New York) anchor Selena Sappleton along the final revolution of the teamwide four-lap challenge, pulling away down the final straight to seal the exciting victory. A.P. Randolph clocked 3:53.62 to claim the runner-up position, with the next best squads being left to scamper in another eight-plus seconds in arrear! Ironcially enough, Westside Catholic's showing erased the previous meet record (3:54.39) set by another Pennsylvania team, the famed William Penn HS squad of a few years ago. The irony? Current West Catholic assistant coach Tim Hickey was the head coach of that William Penn crew before changing schools this year!

The other grand highlight that developed in Day One after deservedly eliciting enormous anticipation in DyeStat message board forums in recent weeks was the classic showdown of distance mega-talents in what was being billed as the strongest American prep two-mile field in this nation's history. Distance recruiter A.J. Holzherr's efforts did not go to waste as New Mexico talent Shadrack Kiptoo (La Cueva HS) clocked a jaw-dropping 8:45.44 effort to lead a parade of high-end performances that included three 8:50 finishes -- not to mention the three fastest times in America this year -- five sub-9:00 performers, and a total of nine athletes dipping under 9:10.

Kiptoo, who no doubt quieted any remaining skeptics with the scintillating performance, worked off home-schooled New York talent Josh McDougal's 4:23.5 split for the first mile, with Kiptoo content to stalk him on his shoulder before snaring the lead on the penultimate lap and maintaning a stranglehold on the top spot the rest of the way. McDougal, whose daring early pace set the table for the field's slew of shocking front-end performances, crossed the line second in 8;48.11, just enough to hold off a spectacular six-second lifetime improvement from Virginian Christo Landry (Thomas Jefferson HS), officially third in 8:48.25. Massachusetts star Chris Barnicle, who twice unleashed courageous mid-race challenges to close the gap on the Kiptoo and McDougal, earned the respect of many in claiming fourth place in 8:51.26, more than enough to top New Jersey's Mohamed Khadraoui (8:53.74) as the top 11th-grader in the field.

"Thank goodness for McDougal," smiled a relieved Kiptoo very soon after the race, who stunned some observers by a seemingly super-quick post-race recovery in scampering off the track to converse with his coach. "His pacing really helped everyone in the field. I felt good with two laps to go, and when he ran a 67, I knew the pace was slowing and I had to take the lead."

(Ed note: McDougal led the first six laps in 63.0-66.4-66.9-67.2-66.8-67.8, with the leader then going 67.2 and 59.9. Kiptoo ran a 4:24-4:21 negative split. Trying to get confirmed by a third party -- have two already -- but it seemed Landry had the best negatiove split at 4:26.1-4:22.2. Barnicle also put up a beastly effort. Great race!)

The other must-mention-before-we-go-any-further clash came in the boys 4x200-meter relay, where Cleveland-based Glenville HS threw down the nation's leading time in 2004 in a blockbuster duel with Texas-based Lancaster High. Glenville tripped the timing beam in 1:23.78, enough to down Lancaster's 1:24.25 effort as the race yielded the top two times in the country this spring. The outcome only piqued interest for today's gargantuan rematch in the finals of the 4x100-meter relay, where Lancaster was considered the slight favorite before the eye-popping 4x200-meter development! In Friday's 4x100 qualifying, Glenville stunned the packed house with a 41.13 clocking from the B team(!) that followed up the school's 40.65 effort by the A unit in the previous heat!!! The Ohio crew seemed excited when it learned the B team national record (40.90 by John Muir HS of Pasadena a few years back at the Arcadia Invitational) was within reach for Saturday, but that excitement was somewhat tempered when Lancaster threw down a stunning 40.49 effort in qualifying, giving the Lone Star State foursome the four fastest times in the U.S. this spring.

"(The final) will be all about taking care of the baton," Lancaster anchor Rodrick Stewart quipped. ""We respect Glenville and I hope they respect us... We're both coming to bring our best... whoever takes care of the baton better could get that national record."

Cinco Ranch HS (Katy, TX), our vote for perhaps the strongest dual meet team in America this spring, looked sensational in rallying for a 2004-leading 3:25.69 triumph in the 1600-meter sprint medley relay, with University of Texas-bound senior Kyle Miller ratcheting up the energy on the anchor leg to burn up a 1:50.4 in bringing his crew back from a small deficit to down previous national leader Iowa City HS. Cinco Ranch was using this foursome (Miller, Tomaz Williams, Trevor Garland and Queito Teasley) for the first time this season, with the crew leaving no doubt it knows how to bring home the victory in exciting fashion!

A great battle played out in the seeded section of the boys 4x800-meter run, where heavily-favored Spirit of Pre Track Club (comprisede of members from Saline HS, MI) had to rally over the final two legs and withstand fierce challenges from a determined Syosset (NY) unit that feaured no seniors but ran like grissled veterans. Dustin Voss, running third leg for Spirit of Pre, helped his team draw past Cardinal O'Hara HS and into the lead, with anchor Neil Atzinger (1:50.8 split) then sealing the victory (7:40.68) with a commanding two-lap close. The amazing thing about Syosset (second in 7:42.85) was that the foursome had its flight to Raleigh delayed, with the youngsters not arriving on the NC State campus until the first of two heats in the 4x800 was already on the track! Talk about cutting it close! Oh my!

"When we got here late, I wasn't going to let them run," said Syosset coach Bart Sessa. "I thought we wouldn't be mentally prepared, but they talked me out of it." --- Thank God they did!

In the girls' 4x800-meter challenge, it was heavuily favored Bay Shore HS of New York that handled high expectations in brilliant fashion, crossing the line in 8:57.48, netting the Big Apple crew the top three times in the country at season's close!

Maybe the most impressive individual-event performance of the meet on the girls' side was one that no doubt slipped under the radar of even the nation's most astute track aficionados. Texas-based senior Cleo Tyson overshadowed a star-studded field to win the final of the girls' 100-meter dash in 11.52, topping Illinois-based junior Alexandria Anderson and three-time Pan Am Juniors gold medalist Shalonda Solomon of California in the process. But what made the effort so extraordinary, you might ask? Well, the 11.52 came into a very brisk 3.2 meters-per-second headwind, easily one of the finest prep sprint efforts in history! You just don't run 11.52 into a -3.2 mps wind! With a generous legal wind at her back, true dash statisticians will tell you the wind-affected clocking would actually translate into one of the finest showings in prep history. If you have any doubt, maybe Saturday's 200-meter final will quiet you!!

The meet got off to a superb start on the oval thanks to the race-walkers, with New Jersey's Zachary Pollinger (6:30.86) and New York's Maria Michta (7:16.04) each establishing yearly nation-leading marks! Pollinger, who admitted to feeling weak well before the event got underway, withstood 90-plus-degree temperatures and high humidity to help kick off a great slate of boys performances that rode well into the evening.

Day 2, here we come !!!!!