Nike Indoor Classic Previews

The already “loaded” Nike Indoor Classic received more good news when the nation’s two leading triple jumpers, JASON WARD and TRUAN SMITH entered the meet. Ward turned in a stunning effort at last Saturday’s Kentucky High School Invitational when he launched a 15.81 (51-10.75) jump, the fourth best jump in history. It looked like the tall senior was on a roll but he slightly injured his knee and retired for the day. Earlier, he’d won the LJ with a leap of 7.39 (24-3.25.) But don’t count Smith out. “I’m playing basketball right now but I intend on being in triple jump shape for Columbus,” he commented. Smith is the nation’s leading returnee with a ‘98 effort of 15.52 (50-11) a mere centimeter ahead of Ward’s springtime performance. It looks like another super “mano a mano” matchup for the Nike event.

Other NIC entrants who performed admirably in UK’s Nutter Hall, CHRISTINA ESTRICT. The tall, very personable youngster took over the USL in the HJ with a 1.80 (5-11) clearance. “She had a very close miss at 1.83 (6-0) when she knocked the bar off with her heel,” exulted Collinwood Coach Lou Slotnick. Estrict arrived in Lexington at 3:30AM having played in the Cleveland city basketball championships earlier. “I scored 16 but we lost,” Estrict said.

BRETT TIPTON bested a formidable field racing to a USL’ing 1:51.89! “I could have gone faster but coach yelled they were fading and I eased up,” commented the tall Indiana youngster. Coach Brad Peterson thinks his ultra-talented senior will triple in Columbus. “We’re thinking about it. The toughest race, the mile comes first, then the 800m and he’ll anchor the 4x800mR.”

The mile matchup between Tipton and DYLAN WELSH, who took the measure of Tipton in the Millrose Games will be another super race.

Perhaps the best race of the Kentucky meet was also the shortest as CASEY COMBEST continued his spectacularly successful season with two, or is it three?, victories. First he took the 60m in 6.70, the nation’s fastest and #4-AT. Then came the fun run. The Nutter track is oversized, 291m, and houses a practice football facility. Meet Director Frank Miklavcic decided to put in a special event, “We thought it would be a good idea to run an indoor 100m,” he commented. There are no official records for that event but there is one for the 100y distance. A visitor convinced Kentucky coach Don Weber to place an FAT setup at 100yds in the hope Combest would challenge Gene Pouncy’s 1970 mark of  9.5. Combest, blessed with an amazingly good start, came out of the blocks low and fast, quickly separated from the field, and sped to a 10.55 100m clocking and a brilliant 9.71 100y effort. That is technically faster than Pouncy’s mark, converting to a 9.47 but since no one knows what the Texan’s actual handtime was, it will probably be counted as a tie.

Combest will be severely challenged by Mike Newell in Columbus. The pair rank 1-2 nationally and Newell has been smarting from his defeat last year and aching for another shot at the diminutive
Kentuckian. 

Currently 19 National leaders will converge on Columbus to compete in the Nike Indoor Classic. In several events the USL is either undecided or has been forced to withdraw. Such is the case with Texan JERMAINE COOPER. Cooper was headed for the Nike meet but his trip was stopped cold by a local conference rule that prevented him, and his teammates, from making the trip.