USATF - Junior Olympics

Hughes Stadium - Morgan State University - Baltimore, MD

July 25th - 30th, 2006


Day One and Two - Cedar Valley IA 800 Standouts, Multis Champs Lead the Way

By Steve Underwood

Photos by Robert Wallingford, robertwallingford.smugmug.com

Action in the Intermediate Boys Decathlon: Runner-up Curtis Beach (left) in the 110H and winner Gray Horn in the LJ. Photos by Robert Wallingford, robertwallingford.smugmug.com

A record Intermediate Girls 4x800 relay performance and the crowning of multi-event champions highlighted the first two days among prep competitors here at the USATF Junior Olympics in Baltimore.

Cedar Valley Track Club (Iowa), which included North Tama HS twin soph stars Blaire and Brooke Dinsdale, broke the Intermediate Girls meet (and National Youth) record with an 8:58.85 for the best mark Wednesday. Their clubmates in the Young Men 4x800 made it two titles for the Hawkeye State in that event when they nipped Ohio Flyers TC in 7:39.61.

Champions were also crowned in the two-day multi events Wednesday. In the Young Men’s decathlon, Wesley Bray TX overcame Michael Ayers II TN in the 1500 finale to win his 2nd major 10-eventer of the year, while Gray Horn OH held off Curtis Beach NM to win the Intermediate Boys version. Victoria Dunlap TN claimed the Young Women’s Heptathlon title, while it was Kiani Profit CA scoring the victory for the Young Women.

Intermediate Boys Decathlon

Curtis Beach took the lead right away, running 11.56 for the 100, long jumping 21-05.75. But then Gray Horn, who had run 11.74 and jumped 20-05.75 (both for 3rd), put the shot 41-09.25 and made up 105 points on Beach, who was 10th in the event with 36-01. The die was cast for the event, where the bigger, stronger Horn would dominate the strength events and Beach, who began as a cross-country runner, would edge ahead in most of the others.

Beach battled back by going 6-04.75 in the high jump, then a sizzling 50.60 in the 400 (both victories). That gave him 3540 for the day, 149 ahead of Horn (6-02.75, 52.94). Horn wasn’t done, though. He started Day Two by gaining 35 points in the 110 hurdles (15.34-15.64), then a whopping 183 in winning the discus (123-11.50 to 93-09.50).

That gave Horn a lead he wouldn’t relinquish, as he continued with a victorious 14-09.25 in the pole vault, and 121-06.25 in the javelin. Beach went 13-03.25 and 97-05.75. He still held second, but was more than 200 points in arrears.

Normally, that margin is impossible to make up in the last event of a decathlon, but Beach is an unusually good distance runner for a multis man. He left the field in his dust in the 1500 from the start, and went about slashing Horn’s lead as best he could. His 4:22.05 was more than 20 seconds better than anyone else ran and almost 30 ahead of Horn. But the Ohioan held on for the win, 6587-6475.

Amazingly, Beach’s goal was to scorch a 4:10, a mark rarely touched by even world class decathletes. “I had trained to run 2:15 for the first 800, but I went out too slow,” he said regretfully. “I kind of fell asleep for part of a lap and it cost me.”

Otherwise, he said, the decathlon was “awesome. I had decathlon PRs in seven events. The first day was one of the best I’ve ever had … then I PR’d by a foot in the pole vault.” He exceeded his previous best by more than 300 points.

It wasn’t enough to catch Horn, though. The sophomore is a fine vaulter, having gone 15-9 this past year, but that wasn’t truly the deal-maker. “What made the difference for me was the throws,” he said, adding with a laugh, “I live on a farm and I bail a lot of hay.”

The humble athlete added that it was “the best competition I’ve ever been in. It was a privilege to compete with Curtis.” He was also very happy with his high jump, which was just an inch below his best, and his PR in the discus.

 

Above: Daniel Gooris (5374) and Michael Ayers II (6117) lead the Deca 1500, but Wesley Bray (top of head visible in fourth) would pass Ayers later. At right, Bray gained a lot of ground in the discus and javelin.
Photos by Robert Wallingford, robertwallingford.smugmug.com

Young Men Decathlon

Terry Prentice started out in control of the event, winning the 100 (11.35) and one of his specialties, the long jump (22-09.50). But Michael Ayers II was just 81 points behind and then powered the shot a winning 47-08 to outscore Prentice by 99.

Prentice came back with a 6-02.75 in the HJ to 5-10.75 for Ayers, though, then they ran 51.34 and 51.33, respectively, in the 400. That gave Prentice a 69-point lead going into Day Two. Bray, meanwhile, lurked in 3rd, 97 points behind Ayers.

Starting Day Two, Prentice expanded his lead immediately in the 110 hurdles, another event (like the long jump), where he ranks among the nation’s best. His 14.29 was more than 100 points better than anyone else, and put his lead at more than 200 points. Bray went 15.65 to gain on Ayers (16.47). Bray then was 3rd in the discus at 125-00 to take over 2nd, with Ayers throwing 114-07.50 to fall to third and Prentice 112-03.75. Tony Odele, who had tasted 2nd back after the 100, had a monster 152-07.50 to hurl himself into 4th.

Then Ayers exploded back into the lead, vaulting 14-09.25, while Prentice went just 11-09.75 and Bray 13-03.50. Then Bray made his big move, firing the jav 172-09.50, while Ayers hit 156-04.25 and Prentice 128-03.25. Now Bray was within 13 points of Ayers going into the 1500, while Prentice was 61 points more in arrears.

Ayers was leading and Bray trailing for more about 1000 meters, then the winner dug down deep. He pulled away from Ayers and wound up 2nd in 4:34.21 to Ayers’ 4:46.68. “In all honesty, I didn’t think I could do it,” he said. “But I just started putting my feet down and pushing it.”

Bray won Great Southwest and now has two scores over 6900 this year, but he wasn’t thrilled at the actual quality of many of his marks. “I was really only happy with my throwing and my vaulting,” he said. Ultimately, the disc and jav put him in position to win. “I had a great second day, though, in those events and I tied my PR in the pole vault.”

Ayers, who was well off his PR of 7186, was less than enamored, as well. “We had a good group of athletes, but none of us seemed to be able to get our best marks most of the time. I PR’d in the shot put, but none of my other marks were too big.”

Those Iowa 800 Runners

It was clear right away that the Intermediate Girls 4x800 was going to be fast and it was going to be a race. Blaire Dinsdale handed off the baton at the first exchange with a 2:10.8 for Cedar Valley TC (Iowa), but Thandi Stewart of 3M Track Club (Central California) was right behind in 2:11. Then Betsy Flood (CV) opened things up a bit (4-5 sec.) with her 2:13.9. But on the third leg, while Colette Gnade was running 2:23, 3M was coming back as Brazil Clarke and Dominique Crosby were putting together legs in the 2:18-19 range.

Finally, Brooke Dinsdale pulled away with a 2:09-high leg to finish it off for CV as their quartet ran 8:58.85 and broke the 9:03.74 JO and National Youth mark set last year by DC Red Wings (runners from Eleanor Roosevelt HS in MD). Jamie Hardy was around 2:12 for 3M’s 9:01.83 finish. United Stars was 3rd in 9:19.37 as NON champ and Beijing qualifier Chanelle Price ran a 2:08 anchor the hard way (about 58.x-69.x).

The Cedar Valley team came together with the Dinsdales of North Tama HS, Flood from Dowling Catholic, and Gnade from Waukee HS. “We just knew each other from meets this season,” said Blaire Dinsdale. “Our goal was to break 9:00 and get the record.”

In the Young Men’s 4x800, the Iowans stepped up again. Consistent efforts in the 1:55-56 range from Logan Gonzales of Boone HS, David Lantz of Dowling Catholic, and Tyler Anderson of North Iowa brought the stick around in 5:46 to complete the first three legs for Cedar Valley. They held a slim lead over Track Houston on the first exchange, but Track Houston took the lead the first lap of leg two and Cedar Valley slipped to third.

But Track Houston lost the lead to the Ohio Flyers as that club and Cedar Valley passed them at the 500 meter mark, and stayed in that order through the second exchange. A great battle between those two started at that point, with Cedar Valley regaining a slight lead at that point as the baton went to anchor Aaron Stockstill.

The Mid-Prairie Wellman soph was already a find during the prep season as his 1:55.95 had won his state’s 2A meet. But then he improved to 1:53.05 during the summer. Here, he held off the Ohio Flyers anchor’s attempt to pass him around both times with another 1:53 as the final winning margin was a slim 7:39.61-7:39.79. Listed members of the Ohio Flyers club included Cory Leslie, John Minen, Sidi Yeuye, and Kendall Gregory.

Consistency also won the Young Women’s 4x800 title for the Music City club in Young Women. Tiffani Rives (2:18), Krishna Curry (2:18), and Khalia Turner (2:19) all ran similar times, then Mallorie Williams closed out the winning 9:11.42 with a 2:14. In the Intermediate Boys 4x800, it was the Texas Stars Track Club winning easily in 7:57.87, beating Track Eastern Carolina (8:04.39) by more than six seconds.

USATF Junior Olympics Index