Sacramento
Meet of Champions
Saturday, April 28, 2007 At Hughes Stadium

"The Day They Burned The Track"
National record, spawning of a dash phenom highlight superb meet

By Rich Gonzalez
Editor, DyeStatCal
    (SACRAMENTO) -- As temperatures in the low 90's baked the state capital on Saturday, teenage athletes were spotted torching the Hughes Stadium track facility. Late into the evening, the evidentiary ashes lay strewn everywhere:
    One national record was cremated; two national record setters got burned; state-leading marks evaporated at a rate of one per every four events; and nine meet records were extinguished.
    Meanwhile, new queens in both the dashes and distances also were christened.
    All of this as part of a scintillating dress rehearsal, with the actual California state meet still a full five weeks away!
    "I'm hoping great marks continue next time," quipped James Logan HS coach Lee Webb, referring to the CIF-State Championships returning to Sacramento City College's Hughes Stadium on the first weekend in June. "We were missing a lot of people this weekend but if state is anything like tonight, I'll be real happy."
    He wouldn't be alone. Coaches smiled from ear to ear throughout the day as seasonal-best marks spilled across the track and into the field event areas under very warm mid-afternoon and ideal evening conditions at the 27th annual Sacramento Meet of Champions, the final major invitational before statewide postseason meets arrive in full bloom.
    In a benchmark showing for the continually improving affair, a meet record 358 DyeStatCalElite marks were achieved by athletes, dwarfing last year's previous standard via a 16% improvement clip. While local favorite Alex Kosinski's national record ranked as the sweetest treat, four nation-leading marks and a swath of additional national-class efforts provided endless icing on the cake.
    "A real special day," smiled Oak Ridge HS coach Rob Fairley to Davis HS coaching colleague Bill Gregg minutes after watching star pupil Kosinski record her second nation-best performance in an hour. "You have to really try and savor these."
SHAKING UP THOSE DISTANCE FORM CHARTS
The big main event everyone tuned in for -- whether it be in person, on the Internet, or via cell phone -- was the I-can-someday-tell-the-grandchildren-about-it 1600-meter showdown between National Federation record holder Jordan Hasay of Mission College Prep and recently crowned Nike Indoor Nationals mile champion Alex Kosinski of Oak Ridge. Stamina vs. Speed. Time-trial specialist vs. savvy racer. The consummate metronome vs. the lethal kicker.
    While Hasay had further bolstered her credentials in recent months with a Juniors Nationals cross-country title at altitude and a national federation (high schoolers-only) record for four laps on the oval, many felt Kosinski would prevail here if she successfully kept contact with Hasay during the heart of the race to set up her superior leg speed for the closing.
    The University of Oregon-signed Kosinski executed her pre-race plan to near perfection, staying right with Hasay through 2:19.9 at the halfway point and then maintaining position as her opponent surged entering the opening curve on the third lap. As Hasay tried to scamper away, Kosinski sized her up and latched on for the ride. After settling into a slightly slower rhythm down the backstretch the pace then quickened on the home straight as Hasay opened a single-stride lead and they came across the common finish line at 3:31.7, needing about a 67-second closing lap to threaten the record.
    Kosinski began making her move along the middle of the final backstretch to draw even, then made a concerted effort to break away, quickly gapping Hasay with 250 meters left, then carrying that burst of energy through the final curve as Hasay tried to keep pace. But Kosinski never eased her resolve, running 33.1 and 33.2 and tripping the timing beam at 3:38.15, beating Hasay's federation record by nearly a full second.
    "I wanted to stay with her whenever she surged and tuck in behind her, then hopefully have something left for my kick," Kosinski explained. "Everything happened pretty much like I wanted it to."
    As sensational and determined as her victory was in the two-lap race -- she had to overcome a mid-race deficit to super talent Dominique Jackson of Fairfield to win in a lifetime-best 2:07.84 -- Kosinski truly was several times more impressive in the four-lap battle with Hasay less than an hour before. The first win was predicated on talent and poise, the second on conditioning and pride.
    Hasay also scheduled a distance double on this day, and found herself tagged with a second loss in one day for the first time in her career. Hasay was the victim of two tough obstacles: handling warm weather/fatigue/heartbreak from the earlier 1600m setback. then facing off against perhaps the state's most improved runner during this 2006-2007 school year.
    Davis' Laurynne Chetelat joined Casa Grande frosh Jacque Taylor in trying to wear out Hasay early in their 3200m battle, with it soon turning into just Hasay and Chetelat. Each time Hasay tried to make a move, Chetelat covered it. Before she knew it, Chetelat's pre-race instructions from Davis Bill Gregg to stay with Hasay for the first six laps then give it all she had unfolded as scripted, fueling her confidence with two laps to go.
    With the adrenaline pumping to new levels on the final lap, Chetelat mustered up the energy to quickly gap her newfound rival and speed her way to the win in a big PR of 10:23.31, with a wearied Hasay next at 10:32.30.
    "I just can't believe what she does in the workouts," said Gregg about Chetelat. "It'll be fun watchnig her improve."
BLISTERING ONTO THE GIRLS' DASH SCENE
    From the state that brought you female dash phenoms like Angela Williams, Marion Jones, Allyson Felix, Monique Henderson, and Shalonda Solomon, California has now spawned one who may someday rank as the greatest of them all: Ashton Purvis.
    The St. Elizabeth High 9th-grader blew past three decades worth of some of the sport's biggest names and their frosh-year efforts in a matter of mere seconds on Saturday, barreling away from rival Cherrelle Garrett of Mt. Eden to win the 100m in 11.40, the second-fastest frosh clocking in U.S. prep history to Angela Williams' historic 11.24 effort in 1995 that slashed an amazing 0.36 seconds off the old standard! Williams, of course, went on to set the still-standing national high school record of 11.11 three years later.
    Although the crowd could see Purvis fly down the straight, it wasn't until several races later that the official results were announced and her mark could be categorized as among the finest in history. Making the feat even more amazing, the track-side anemometer recorded the wind as a blustery 0.7 meters-per-second headwind. In contrast, Williams' 11.24 came with a just-under-the-allowable 1.9 mps current at her back. As the most astute stat freaks are aware, a purely scientific comparison of those two efforts would tab Purvis' mark as the more difficult one in light on wind research studies conducted over the years.

America's Frosh Phenoms -- Top High School 9th graders in U.S. history --
Time	Name & School	Year	Eventual HS best
11.24	Angela Williams (Chino, Ca.)	1995	11.11 (U.S. record)
11.40	Ashton Purvis (St. Elizabeth, Ca.)	2007	we shall see!
11.51	Erica Whipple (Suncoast, Fl.)	1998	11.32
11.52	Alexis Joyce (Washington, Co.)	1998	11.45
11.57	Shalonda Solomon (LB Poly, Ca.)	2001	11.35
11.57	Victoria Jordan (Dunbar, Tx.)	2004	11.57 so far
11.60	Yasmin Woodruff (St. Mary's Acad.)	2005	11.60 so far
11.60	Brenda Winston (San Gorgonio, Ca.)	1976	11.58
11.61	Sanya Richards (St. Thomas Aq., Fl.)	1999	11.39

    In the sparks-flying rematch at 200 meters later into the meet, Purvis peeled away from Garrett yet again, this time with the margin of victory mushrooming to 0.33 seconds (23.50 to 23.83) after only .08 separated the two in the 100.
    While Purvis might be the latest huge catch on the fertile California sprints landscape, she's also a very big fish in the littlest on ponds, attending tiny St. Elizabeth, where the current co-ed enrollment of 271 students ranks it among the smallest schools in the state to boast a national-class athlete. The 86-year-old school sits in the Fruitvale district of Oakland.

BEST IS BEST
    The top returnee from 2006 was reminded earlier this month at the Arcadia Invitational that the title of "State's Fastest Man" can be wiped away in the blink of an eye. Salesian of Richmond's Jahvid Best, the preseason dash favorite, regained top billing via a state-leading (and # 3-nationally) and career-best 10.36 wind legal mark (+1/.2 mps) here, riding a flawless start to a big win in the fastest race of the year as three athletes ran 10.60 or faster and four of the season's seven best times were recorded.
    Best, who was nipped by Inglewood's D'ondre McDonald at Arcadia (10.58 to 10.59), later returned to win the deuce by a quarter second (21.16 to 21.61, -0.3 mps) over Lincoln of Stockton's Curtis Shaw, who was also runner-up in the short dash (10.54).
    Best's mark eclipsed by 12/100ths the previous meet standard set by Lincoln's Devin Mays in 2005. The Salesian High star now owns both of the meet's dash records after sizzling to a 21.03 win here a year ago.
ONLY ONE FAVORITE SURVIVES THE VAULT
    Nation-leading pole vault efforts had already been achieved by Golden State athletes earlier this year, so the anticipation swirling around those runways was quite special throughout the day. National record holder Tori Anthony of Castilleja (14-02.50 indoors) maintained her advantage over red-hot Allison Stokke of Newport Harbor, with Anthony clearing a meet record 13-02.00 but then having three misses (including a fine second attempt) in her bid at 13-07. Stokke, fresh off lifetime-best 13-07 dual meet effort earlier in the week, took second at 12-08.00.
    In the boys vault, previous national leader Casey Roche of Mountain View St. Francis went out uncharacteristically earlier (clearing only 15-02 for fifth), with Los Gatos junior Nico Weiler not even entering the competition until 16-02, with successful initial attempts at that height and at 16-08.00 to earn the win. Weiler, a foreign exchange student from Germany (and thus not eligible to return for competition for a second year), had two good misses at 17-02.00.
BOYS' 3200M DARKHORSE?
    Boys distances were highlighted by the continued emergence on Central Section sophomore star Chris Schwartz of Bakersfield Foothill. The budding talent, who won the Mt. SAC Relays in a seasonal best 9:13 and change, rode his trademark fast start to the early lead here. This time, however, it was Jesuit's Evan Watchempino who surprised in rallying to overtake Schwartz. But the 10th-grader flashed poise in regaining the lead pace, surging to further weary his rivals, then winning in another seasonal best 9:08.30.
    Schwartz indicated afterward that his recent improvements have become despite only playing basketball during the off-season, no doubt forecasting great upside for the Golden State's newest distance talent. Watchempino, who arrived here with a seasonal-nest 9:20.77, captured second place in 9:09.61 to move up to sixth in the state in the latest best marks update.

Fastest California Sophomores Over The Last Decade
Yong-Sung Leal 9:00.49 2001
Yosef Ghebrey 9:01.04  2003
Michael Cybulski 9:02.57  2005
Mark Matusak 9:04.39  2003
Ozzie Pina 9:05.57 1999
Tim Nelson 9:06.98 2001
Chris Schwartz  9:08.30  2007

CLASH OF THE TITANS ON RUNWAYS
    The horizontal jumps provided great pre-state meet drama as well, with accomplished leapers Ke'Nyia Richardson of Holy Names and Jamesha Youngblood of Hercules earning split decisions in the pits and Laguna Creek's Roman Gray posting a sensational series in his field event specialty.
    Richardson, the national indoor record-holder in the triple jump, upped her seasonal outdoor national-best mark in her specialty event by bounding 43-03.00, which was also an inch-and-a-half improvement on her best outdoor measurement ever. But the record-setter suffered a rare jumps defeat, being beaten by new national leader Youngblood in the long jump as the Hercules star exploded airborne off the board and arrived splashing into the sand at 20 feet, 6 inches away. Each athlete earned meet records in their respective wins.
    Gray, who also won the meet's 400-meter title in a seasonal-best 47.70, exploded for five 23-foot-plus jumps in his series before passing on his final attempt. His best span of 23-06.25 came in the third round and proved just enough to best Lincoln of Stockton's Cameron Womack, who topped out at 23-05.00. Down south, 24-foot-plus leaper Terry Prenctice of Diamond Ranch will take notice, setting up a fine battle.
    But that's still five weeks away. Good luck controlling your excitement in the meantime!

 

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