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Foot Locker Outdoor

June 16-17, 2000 at Raleigh NC - presented by
Adidas and the National Scholastic Sports Foundation

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Merely superb, if not historic

by John Dye

A month ago, I thought we would be talking about historic matchups in the distance races, both boys and girls.  The resurgence of HS distance runners that Steve Underwood has chronicled on DyeStat in his wonderful Distance Gods series, seemed to be building to some incredible matchups at Raleigh that could threaten all-time records.  

Alan Webb was on the verge of becoming the fourth HS 4-minute miler in history; the luminescent Alejandra Barrientos of California seemed capable of anything, from 800 meters to 2 miles; and Dathan Ritzenhein was ready to challenge the 2-Mile record.  

Then bad things started to happen.  Barrientos went down with a stress fracture.  Webb foundered on the 4-minute mile barrier and called it a season.  Ritzenhein tried for an Olympic qualifier at 5000 meters and  may have left his best race in Ohio; and besides, there are those relays to run for the HS team. 

So what.  Instead of historic, it may be merely superb.  I think it will be. 

Here is a capsule view of what to watch for June 16-17 in Raleigh:

Friday night 

The 2-Mile races and the girls pole vault are the big attractions. 

Boys 2-Mile (8:40 pm): No attrition in spectator interest here.  An epic 3-way battle looms between Dathan Ritzenhein of Michigan, who came to national prominence by winning this race a year ago, Donald Sage of Illinois, and Eric Logsdon of Oregon.  Ritz  confirmed his 1999 FLO win with a smashing victory last December in the Foot Locker cross country nationals in Orlando and at Bloomington IN in March at the Nike Indoor Classic, with an 8:45 best this spring for 2 miles.  Sage has been turning in startling times in Illinois all season, with an 8:46 2-mile best.  Logsdon's 8:10 win at 3000 meters in the Oregon state meet merely place him second to Steve Prefontaine on the all-time Oregon list.  Keep an eye on the clock to see if it stops before 8:36.3, one of the oldest records in the book (Jim Nelson, 1979 - one of the original Distance Gods).  The big three in this race have all entered the all-time top 10 ranks this season.  Can they go higher?  Don't miss this one. 

Girls 2-Mile:  Glendale CA Hoover jr Anita Siraki took command of this event in the Arcadia CA Invitational in April and showed no letup in the California State meet June 3.  She runs a steady "harness horse" gait that seems unremarkable until you look up and see the negative splits that demolish the "thoroughbreds" as she steadily pulls away in the last half of every race.  She will be challenged by a quality field that goes a dozen or so deep -- including Shalane Flanagan, Michelle Ware, Sara Bei, Michelle de la Vina, Alicia Craig, Amanda Pape, Emily Blakeslee, Julia Pudlin, Victoria Jackson, Hilary White, Phoebe Ko Janelle Vadnais -- but don't expect Anita to lose. 

Girls Pole Vault 

The progress in this event in the last 3 years has been remarkable.  An 11-foot vault was elite 2 years ago.  This year, there are more than a dozen 12-footers, and to win an elite meet you better be prepared to go higher.  

At first it was all California girls.  But as the event became accepted around the country, the leaders are cropping up everywhere.  Since January this year, at least five girls have set a national record.

A stark newcomer bolted on to the scene last month -- Stacie Manuel, a sophomore from Willmar MN.   First, she topped 13 feet in a conference meet!  Then she soared to a new national record of 13-4 in a Minnesota prelim. 

As Manuel tries to confirm her prodigy on the national stage, she will be tested by Amy Linnen of New York, Penn Relays champ and one of the temporary record holders this year; fellow MN conference rival Michelle Legatt; bubbly Chelo Canino from Florida; Pennsylvanians Kim Stuyvesant and Emily Tharpe; Stephanie Teeple of Michigan; and Christy Lehman of Kansas.  

Saturday Morning

This is usually a time for unseeded sections of distance events, but this year it is worth getting out of bed for some premium running.   Meet managers Mike Byrnes and Jim Spier added 4xMile relays to the menu at the Nike Indoor Classic in March to try for a national girls record.  It worked to perfection, and the long relays will be run at Raleigh as well.  

At Bloomington, the spotlight was on the girls event, as the Bingham UT cross country team in the fall of 1999 was pronounced the best ever and looked capable of bettering the 18-year-old 4xMile relay indoor record.  They succeeded, but Rockford MI (pictured below on their victory lap) upstaged Bingham by winning the race in even better time (20:23.24).  Colonie NY also beat the old record.


Emily Blakeslee, Linsey Blaisdell, Nora Culligan, and Kalin Toedebusch

Bingham and Colonie are not entered at Raleigh, so the Rockford girls will be prohibitive favorites.  They had three girls under 5  minutes in the recent Michigan state meet.  The outdoor record of 20:34.4 (1983, Ridgewood NJ) seems sure to fall.  

For competitive suspense, the boys race will take center stage, with five of the best distance progams in the nation on hand -- York IL, Lockhart TX, Rockford MI, Cherokee NJ, and Atlantic FL.  Depending on the legs, Round 2 of the epic duel between Rockford's Dathan Ritzenhein  and York's Don Sage may take place here.   

Saturday Afternoon

The USATF Grand Prix tour takes over the track from 3-5 pm, but the high school 100 meter finals will be included in this televised program.

Saturday Evening 

The rest of the finals will provide four hours of action, starting at 6 p.m.

The best of Saturday night.  

400 Hurdles -- If you're from Northern Virginia, you might think this was a local meet.  The heavy favorites are NOVA stars Rickey Harris, Centreville VA, and Sheena Johnson, Gar-Field VA, and Johnson's chief threat is Alyssa Aiken, of Chantilly VA.   Harris' credentials are long and varied: two-time Penn Relays champion and Penn Relays record holder (50.63),  1999 Junior National champion (50.28).  Earlier this year, Harris ran 400 meters over hurdles and beat two boys running without hurdles.  He will be hoping for an Olympic Trials qualifying time here.  Girls: The UCLA-bound Johnson won her third straight Penn Relays title this year with a time of 58.29 that was faster than the Olympic Development race winner a few minutes later.   With 1999 athlete of the year Lashinda Demus, of Wilson Long Beach CA, absent, Johnson will duel with Aiken, who is signed to run for Texas next year.  Aiken's 58.06 was the fastest prelim time at Jr Nationals last year.

Mile -- Until recently, this shaped up as the headline event of the entire meet.  Alan Webb missed 4 minutes in the Herbster in May, so he might get it here; but he ended his season this week after a sub-par performance in the Virginia state meet.  Alejandra Barrientos, whose 4:44.5 anchor nailed down a US record DMR victory for San Lorenzo Valley CA at the Penn Relays, was headed for an east-west showdown of monumental proportions with Shalane Flanagan MA and Erin Donohue NJ, but she went down 2 weeks ago with a stress fracture.  

So what's left?  Outstanding fields still, especially in the girls race. 

Girls:  Donohue, an all-sports virtuoso, won last year with a gutty stretch drive that had her punching the air like a boxer as she crossed the finish line.  In a 7-day stretch in February, Shalane Flanagan won the Millrose Games mile indoors (4:54.84) and the junior title at the USATF winter national cross country championship (over Stanford freshmen  Lauren Fleshman and Erin Sullivan).  But it is far more than a 2-girl race as several more potential winners are in the field:  Brooke Novak's 4:48.13 1600m in the Wisconsin state meet broke Suzy Favor's state record; Sara Bei of Santa  Rosa CA, runner up in both the 1600 and 3200 at the California State Meet, is due for a big-meet victory; Alicia Craig of Wyoming has been touring the country picking up gold medals (Simplot Indoor Games ID, T.C. Williams Invitational VA, Golden West Invitational CA 4:50.3).  If any of these falter, there are other quality runners ready to move up:  Anita Siraki CA, doubling after the 2-Mile Friday; Jenny Aldridge, surprise winner of the California state meet over Bei; Michelle Lilienthal IA; and Hilary White FL,

Boys: This race is also very deep in quality runners with national recognition.  Three of the best are all from the California Southern Section: Ryan Hall, Ryan Bousquet and Josh Spiker.  In the SS finals, they were 1-2-3 with Hall at 4:06.61c, Arcadia Invitational champ Bousquet 4:10.98c, and Spiker 4:11.92c.  Hall doubled in the 3200 in the section finals, first boy ever to do that.  Hall and Spiker then skipped  the mile at the California State Meet in favor of the 2-mile, where Hall was an easy winner.  A week later, Spiker was in the Golden West mile where Don Sage went for a 4-minute mile.  As everyone watched Sage (even Spiker's own coach), Josh finished strong in 4:06.3 for a PR and a fine climax to his comeback year after a stress fracture last October.  A climax, that is, unless he does better here!  The California runners give each other credit; Spiker has been on the DyeStat message boards saying that Hall should now be considered in the very elite ranks along with Ritz and Webb.  There are plenty of other worthy challengers -- Ricky Brookshire NC, who was second to Webb in 4:08.41 in the Herbster Classic and will be warming up to run for North Carolina State next year; sophomore Bobby Lockhart VA, third in the Herbster in 4:10.32; Jason Jabaut, winner of the New York State Meet in 4:11.1c;  Evan Fox CA; Brian Turner NE; Jerry Claunch OH; David Vidal MT; John Hughes MI; Nick Schneider MN; and Brian McGovern CT.

800 Meters -- Both defending champions return, but both will have their hands full. 

James Doaty KY has won the last two NSSF events (1999 Foot Locker Outdoor and 2000 Nike Indoor Classic) with gusty stretch drives over quality opponents.  Doaty has been off a bit since losing at when he was hurt (Marcelo Dunning GA),Mobile  but his recent 1:51.29 may signal a return to championship form.  He'll need it to handle this year's 1-2 punch of Marc Sylvester OH 1:49.50 and Jonathan Johnson TX (1:49.60 winner of the Golden West last week), along with Texas champion Adam Davis, who led Doaty in the stretch here last year. 

Alice Schmidt hasn't been heard from out of her home state of Nebraska this year.  But that was true last year when she won a tight stretch battle here in 2:09.49.  She has plenty of worthy opposition, most notably Heather Hennessey CA, winner of the Golden West last week in a startling 2:08.84, second best in the nation this year.   Three other top challengers are the top three in the Virginia AAA state meet a week ago: Nikeya Green 2:09.30 MR, Leslie Treherne 2:09.38, and Kelley Otstott 2:11.38. 

400 Meters -- The boys race should be too close to call until the finish line, which may need the eyes of Finish Lynx to separate a gang of evenly matched runners:  US#1 Levar Norris TX 46.39, Kelly Willie TX 46.64, Otis Harris Jr MS 46.70 (Golden West winner when Fernanda Blakely was disqualified), Ivory McCann TX 46.73, Ahmad Jasmine LA, Andre Thompson DC 47.12, Anthony Ewers NY, and Carlos Bedoya NY. 

The girls race is missing the three girls who took turns breaking the national record this year (Monique Henderson, Angel Perkins, and Jerrika Chapple), so Adia McKinnon, triple gold in the Illinois state meet, moves up to favorite.  Her best is a very swift 52.91.

100/200 -- This could settle who is the best female sprinter in Florida, as well as the nation.  Erica Whipple and Sanya Richards are both from South Florida, but don't face each other during the season because they are in different classes.  Whipple's 11.37 is US#1 in the 100 and Richards is third at 11.59.  In the 200, Whipple has 23.41 US#3 and Richards 23.57 US#4.  (Monique Henderson and Angel Perkins are 1-2 in th event as well.)  Alexis Joyce CO was injured in the Great Southwest Classic 3 weeks ago and is not here. 

The boys sprints suffer from the absence of Texas sprinters who are 1-2-3 in both the 100 and 200.  Top name present is Warren Rogers, who led his Serra Gardena team to the California state championship and won the 100 in 10.42.

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