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DyeStat 2001 Indoor
March 10-11, 2001
Prince Georges County Sports & Learning Complex, Landover MD
Nike Indoor Classic
Day 1
Atlantic boys beat South Lakes and Webb in 2nd fastest DMR ever; Rockford Girls double; Sage Thames 17-0
By Stephen ("steveu") Underwood
High school track and field's distance kings, queens and upstarts took most of the spotlight during Day One of the Nike Indoor Meet in Landover, MD Saturday, but it was a field-event star who provided the final highlight at the Prince George's Sportsplex.
When Sage Thames cleared 17 feet (5.18 meters) in the boys pole vault - followed by three thrilling if unsuccessful attempts at a HSR 17-7 (5.36) - it punctuated what an exciting day it had been in the field events as well. And while the sprint action was limited to the sprint medley relay and 200 and 400-meter trials, it was also nearly too hot to handle.
But back to the endurance events. How about those Rockford girls? After a calculated 4 x 1 mile relay triumph, the Lady Rams doubled their pleasure in the distance medley relay. It wasn't easy, though. Linsey Blaisdell brought her team from 7 seconds down with a 4:57.8 1600 anchor for the meet record (and #4 all-time) victory.
Meanwhile on the boys' side, Christian Brothers Academy (NJ) set the stage in the 4 x 1 mile when anchor Erich Reulbach outkicked North Mecklenburg's Stephen Haas to win by .49. Then the DMR saw Atlantic Community and its Jefferson brothers not only defend their title, but run history's second-fastest time in outlasting South Lakes and superstar Alan Webb.
Ballou HS from D.C. and Chester, PA provided intriguing sprint medley wins, while Wayne (OH) and Palm Beach Lakes (FL) won the inaugural shuttle hurdle relays.
Inside the oval, several champions were determined. They were throwing down in the cage as John-Paul Smolenski and Katherine Johnston took weight throw titles. The runway saw Alonzo Moore and Sheena Gordon pick up impressive triple jump titles. And of course there was Thames, one of five vaulters to meet or beat the event record of 16-0.75.
Oh, and if you like watching athletes combine their talents, Saturday's pentathlons for you. Darion Powell and Desiree Jones claimed titles in the 5-eventers. For those who prefer walking to running, you had Ben Shorey and Robyn Stevens crowned over the mile distance.
Indeed, despite all the promise of Sunday that lay ahead, Saturday was a pretty filling meal - something for everyone. Just give us a chance to rest and then pass the main course�
A closer look at some of Saturday's action
Boys Pole Vault
If there was any doubt early, Sage Thames left none at the end regarding who is still the nation's best vaulter. When the air got rarified, he got going.
When the bar reached 16-6 (5.05), he still had company in the form of Tommy Skipper (Sandy, OR), Paul Gensic (Ft. Wayne, IN) and David Bazzoni (North Manchester, VT) - all of whom made 16-0.75 (4.90). All four missed twice, but while the others failed again on their final attempt, it was Thames who flung himself over for the win.
"I was concerned a little bit," he said. "But I switched to a bigger pole."
But then Thames had the bar raised to 17 feet (5.18), where he made the remaining fans gasp with a first attempt that had to be around 18 feet -- but found him smashing the bar on the way down. No such problems on the next try, however.
At the record height, he had three very solid tries, with the second again over but off on the way down. "It would be nice to get the record this year," he said, looking ahead to outdoor. "But those records (18-2) are high."
Girls 4 x Mile Relay
If ever there was a tactical 4 x mile triumph, Rockford's girls achieved it in the first half of their double. That wasn't the case at first as freshman Nikki Bohnsack (later the winner of the first section of the mile in 5:09.40) gave the Lady Rams a solid lead with her 5:12.2 first leg.
The second leg, however, featured stiff competition from Foot Locker outdoor mile champ Alicia Craig (Campbell Co., WY). Rockford star (5th in Foot Locker CC) Kalin Toedebusch is hardly easy to run down, but Craig reeled her in after 6 laps of her 4:54.7 leg.
But Toedebusch had maintained her reserves and wouldn't allow herself to be gapped, finishing her 5:02.9 with a 72.5. Now it was her sister Kelsey's turn. The sophomore hung on Campbell's Dru Weaver for 6 laps, then exploded with a 73.9 finish (5:17 overall).
A sonic blast from anchor Linsey Blaisdell might have challenged the record she and her teammates set last year. But after widening her lead, the senior shut down with two more races ahead, cruising home in 5:16 for the final 20:48.10.
Girls Distance Medley
� And maybe it was a good thing Blaisdell left something in reserve. She needed it all here, making up a 7-second deficit and taking her team to a 2.86-second margin over Boys and Girls (Brooklyn, NY). Their 11:58.05 broke their MR from last year and is No. 4 all-time to their rivals' 12:00.91 (No. 8).
Tameka Johnson of B&G let the Michigan team know they'd be in trouble right away with a 3:40.7 1200 to put her 1.4 up on Kalin Toedebusch. Meisue Francis (57.8) extended the lead in the 400 over Kelsey Toedebusch and Stacey Livingston (2:13.8) did the same vs. Aimee Keenan (2:15.4).
It was quickly clear that Blaisdell would catch and pass Akilah Vargas of B&G, but even an explosive surge didn't gap the game New Yorker as she hung on to the end and PR'd in 5:08.
Not that it was just a 2-team race. Two more of the nation's top milers battled to the tape for third as San Lorenzo Valley's Ale Barrientos edged Manchester Central's Liz Gesel by .02.
Boys Distance Medley
In perhaps the day's most stirring (and vindicating?) event, the heroics of Sean and John Jefferson were enough to enable Atlantic Community (FL) to hold off South Lakes (VA) and Alan Webb. The Del Ray school destroyed its MR by 12 seconds and its 10:03.70 is the second best in U.S. history. South Lakes' 10:05.72 is No. 4 on the all-time list.
By pounding out a crushing PR of 4:06.4, John J. permitted Webb to do no more than chip away at a lead that stood at about 5.5 seconds going into the 1600 leg. Both runners were well under 60 the first lap and while Jefferson eventually slowed, it wasn't by much.
"I was running a little scared, but I never really saw him," said the senior anchor. "I just wanted to get out hard and make him come get me."
Conversely, Sean J.'s 3:03.4 opener for 1200 opened up a 6.5-second lead on South Lakes' Kanda Karmo. After a wild first 200 another school led in 29 seconds, Jefferson bided his time, then moved out after 400. "I planned to take over after the first quarter," he said. "It's awesome to upset them and beat the best miler in the country."
Webb, of course, won't have to worry about early deficits Sunday when he lines up against Nathan Brannen and the rest of the 2-mile field.
Boys 4 x 1Mile
Christian Brothers Academy (Lincroft, NJ) claimed the other 4-mile relay. The CBA squad of Nathanael Glackin, Trevor Rozier-Byrd, Jeff Peterson and Erich Reulbach covered the track in 17:51.21. Reulbach won a tooth and nail battle with North Mecklenburg's Stephen Haas, both runners around 4:17, but the former's 400 speed won out.
"I knew a had a little bit left when he passed me," said Reulbach. "The last quarter I have a pretty good kick."
Weight throws
A poised Kate Johnston (Warwick, RI) claimed her second weight crown on the female side. The senior moved into first with a 52-9.25 first-round heave and improved on her next two throws to 53-8.25 and 55-3 (16.84), her best mark of the day.
"I like to keep it smooth as possible," she said. "I was trying to focus, trying to improve my personal record, so I tried to pump myself up mentally.
John-Paul Smolenski (New Hyde Park, NY) led the boys weight throw from start to finish. His winning mark, 70-7.25 (21.52), came in the fifth round and put him nearly 8 feet up on second.
Triple Jumps
Alonzo Moore (Hampton, VA) was one step from disaster after fouling on his first two attempts. But the national prep leader (49-11) registered a legal mark on his third try and followed with a 14.76 (48-5.25) measurement that put away the competition.
"We tried moving my mark back, but it wasn't working," he said. "We went back to 104 feet and I felt better."
Sheena Gordon (Erie, PA), runner-up last year, won this year with a meet record measurement of 41-4.5 (12.61) in the first round. Gordon beat soph Amy Seward and last year's winner, LaTasha Pharr. Any of her five jumps would have won and she passed her final attempt.
Sprint Medleys
Oakton, VA and Chester, PA briefly shared top honors in the girls sprint medley relay before meet officials re-read the timing photo and awarded the gold medal to the Pennsylvanians.
In the first section, the Chester team of Regina Minter (26.4), Krischen Temple (27.2), Crystal Conquest (58.2) and Farren Benson (2:18.5) finished first in 4:10.62. But in the next section, the Virginia foursome lineup of Kathleen Woody (26.4), Sara Kirtland (26.4), Emily Johnbull (61.8) and Keira Carlston (2:16.0) matched Oakton's time. When officials timed the races down to a thousandth of a second, the Pennsylvanians were declared champs.
Chester was in the first heat in the first place because they had only entered a time of 4:18, but their coach A.J. Thompkins thought they would improve. He didn't expect the school's first national title. "We're estatic," he said. "It was a total surprise."
Area favorite Ballou HS of Washington, D.C., won the boys title. Ballou's team of Ronald Gill, Tyrone Williams, James Marshall and Ricardo Iracks produced split times of 22.8, 23.5, 51.6 and 1:58.5.
Iracks said, "I knew my guys would put me in front," but his guys might have experienced cardiac difficulties as Iracks took the lead early in his 800 leg, lost it, then powered ahead in a wild finish. "I wanted to stay patient," said, adding that it was good to have a lot of he and his teammates' friends and families in attendence.
Pentathlons
Darion Powell (Bothell, WA) repeated as the boys champ with a 3595, 208 points ahead of Brent Hobbs (Stony Point, NY) but shy of his 3720 total of 2000. "I was kind of surprised by the results," admitted Powell, who posted marks of 8.37 in the 60 hurdles, 20-9 (6.32) in the long jump, 51-10.5 (15.81) in the shot, 6-0.75 (1.85) in the high jump and 3:10.92 for the 1000. He said he's aiming for the 7000-point plateau in the decathlon this year.
The girls pentathlon went to Desiree Jones (Wilmington, OH), fourth in this meet a year ago. She won the 60 hurdles (9.48), shot put 34-4.25 (10.47) and long jump 17-1.25 (5.22) and had marks of 5-5.75 (1.67) in the high jump and 2:42.40 in the 800.
"The high jump is usually my best event," said Jones, "but not today." She took the lead after the third event, the shot put, and remained in control the rest of the way.
1M walks
Though Benjamin Shorey (Ellesworth, ME) was shooting for the 11-year-old national record of 6:11.00, he settled for blowing away the meet mark with a 6:20.37, a personal best by five seconds and 33 ticks ahead of runner-up Adam Staier (Farmington, ME).
Robyn Stevens (Vacaville, CA) didn't walk quite as fast as she wanted, but she still easily became the meet's first 3-time winner, her 7:22.99 48 seconds better than Li Mei Tan (Queens, NY).
Shuttle Hurdle Relays
A new event at Nike Indoor saw 13 teams negotiate the 4 x 55m distance to the tune of some fast times. First it was Palm Beach Lakes HS (West Palm Beach, FL) zipping to a 32.49 clocking, just missing the national record set in 1999 by .47. The foursome of Austrea Wilkins, Kimiaya Taylor, Kimberly Wapph and Kierra Foster won the last of three sections, just ahead of Philadelphia's William Penn (32.93).
The boys shuttle hurdle relay title went to Jason Hodges, Jamal Mathis, Carl Hayden and David Dunn of Wayne HS (Huber Heights, OH) in 30.65, with Plainfield (NJ) in second.
"We thought we had a good chance, but we knew it was going to be tough competition," said Hayden, the lone senior on the squad who took the top of the medal stand.
"I let him go," said Hodges, the fastest of the group with a 13.8 outdoors last year, with a laugh.
200/400 Qualifying
Erica Whipple (West Palm Beach, FL), a double sprint champ last year, had the fastest time in the girls 200 qualifying. Her 24.14 got her into Sunday's final along with Allyson Felix (Santa Clara, CA), Shana Cox (Westbury, NY), local favorite Tysha Colon (Washington, D.C.), Danielle Bailey (Newark, DE) and Kamilah Saleem (Wilmington, DE).
Jerome Mathis (Petersburg, VA) ran the fastest time in the boys 200 meter heats, 22.02. Also advancing were Todd Dutch (Turnersville, NJ), Duan Barrino (Charlotte, NC), John Kelley (Worthington, OH) Ben Kittleson (LaGrange, KY) and Tyson Gay (Lexington, KY).
Dominique Darden (Harrisburg, PA), daughter of former Arizona State star Tony Darden, clocked 56.89 to top all qualifiers for the 400 final. Erica Johnson (Washington D.C.), Ramona Modeste (Lanham, MD), Christina Smith (Philadelphia, PA), Takia Brooks (Abingdon, PA) and Renee Clarke (Greenbelt, MD) also advanced.
In the boys 400 prelims, Brett Wilson (Brown Summit, NC) topped all qualifiers with a 49.00, followed by Ernie Terrell (Norristown, PA), Brian Ford (Ashland, WA), Travis Yancey (Philadelphia), Jason Lovell (Reseda, CA) and Kelly Willie (Houston).
Thanks to Pete Cava and Jeff Hollobaugh for their help with this story.
Return to Nike Indoor Classic results page
