Nationals Weekend | Internal Dialogue
Dave Devine tangles with the annual question...which is better, NIN or NSIC?
1) Last year at NIN, Wayne Davis II tied the national record in the 60 meter hurdles, and he’s back in 2009!
There have been national records set at every NSIC since 2001.
2) NIN has a cool new venue nickname: The Reggie, or simply The Reg.
True, "The Reggie" is a step up in linguistic shorthand for a meet which used to be held at the Prince George's County Sports & Learning Complex, but when your event is contested at a place called The Armory, you don't need a nickname. You're simply The Armory.
3) NSIC? Sounds like a Thursday night one-hour forensic crime drama starring former 80's sitcom stars.
Ahem. ..try Googling "NIN" and let me know how many pages you have to wade through before you get past the links for Nine Inch Nails lyrics, fansites and concert merchandise. And incidentally, you reach a listing for “Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience” before you get to “Nike Indoor Nationals.”
4) Casey Combest ripping a 6.57 national 60m record (faster than the NCAA champion the same weekend)…Francena McCorory rounding the curve with the crowd going crazy en route to a 51.93 national 400 meter record which stunned the high school track world… Scott Sellers soaring over a still-standing 7-05.25 US high jump record…Alan Webb stepping up in distance for a jaw-dropping 8:45.19 2 Mile victory.
Sanya Richards breaking both the 200 and 400 national records at the same meet… Xavier Carter exploding through a 20.69 200m that remains the only sub-21 high school clocking in history…Ke'Nyia Richardson smashing the national triple jump record by half a foot with a 44-06.75 on her last jump…Walter Henning launching weight throw bombs into the cheap seats.
5) A month ago, Mac Fleet led the deepest boys’ indoor mile finish in US history, with four under 4:10 and nine under 4:14, on the Reggie Lewis track at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games.
That same weekend at the Armory, Robby Andrews set the US record in the 1000 meters with a 2:22.28 and New Bern NC set the US record in the 4x400 with a 3:13.06. An hour and a half apart.
6) Conor McCullough, the national record holder in the weight throw, is competing at NIN.
He’s competing at NSIC, too. Where do you think he set that national record last year?
 7) The power of the Swoosh.
Please. Back when Mrs. Bowerman was still using the family waffle iron to prepare Bill’s breakfast, and "The Swoosh" was a short-lived dance craze on American Bandstand, the Armory had already been holding indoor track meets for more than fifty years, hosting its first event on January 10, 1914, where the featured race was an 880 won by Abel Kiviat, the reigning Olympic 1500 silver medalist, in 1:59.6.
8) Boston Tea Party...Boston Red Sox....Boston Celtics...Boston Bruins…Boston Creme Pie...Boston Marathon... Boston Billy...Boston Pops…Boston Athletic Association…Mighty Mighty Bosstones...Beantown…Good Will Hunting.
 New York State of Mind....New York Minute...New York Yankees/Knicks/Jets/Giants/ Mets/Islanders/Rangers...New York Cheesecake...New York Strip Steak... Nueva Yor...New Yorker…New York Philharmonic…New York Road Runners Club…New York Marathon…The Naked City…The Big Apple…Broadway…Times Square… I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps…New York! New York!
How do ya like them apples?
9) At NIN you can watch California senior Jordan Hasay run her first indoor race ever, chasing a mark many consider one of the greatest high school distance records of all time.
At NSIC you can watch New Jersey sophomore Nick Vena continue his progression toward a senior year in which his indoor shot put competitions will need to be contested in the Syracuse Carrier Dome.
10) New at NIN for 2009: Banked Turns!
Welcome to the club.
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