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The women's 800 kicked off the middle-distance action on the final day of the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Temperatures were in the high 80s and it was quite windy, with large gusts periodically coming along. This may have contributed to the slower pace early on, with Western Michigan's Becky Horn, LSU's Latavia Thomas, and Minnesota's Heather Dorniden running up front. With 200 meters to go, it was essentially down to five runners--Thomas, Horn, Dorniden, Michigan's Geena Gall, and Oregon's Zoe Buckman. In the homestretch, it looked like it was down to Horn, Buckman, and Gall. It momentarily looked like Horn might pull off an upset victory, but Geena Gall ran a great last 50 meters, and by the finish line, it wasn't even all that close. Gall won in 2:03.91, Thomas had a strong kick to finish second (2:04.38) with Horn third (2:04.67) and Buckman fourth (2:04.69).
In the men's 800, Jacob Hernandez of Texas went straight to the lead, and USC's Duane Solomon followed, while the other top finisher, Andrew Wheating, hung out in the back. Unlike the women's 800, the pace was fast, so the field strung out a bit. Hernandez split 50.96 for the 400, with everyone else not far behind. On the backstretch, Wheating began to make his way up through the pack, but he had a good bit of ground to make up, and Hernandez and Solomon were still moving well. Up the homestretch, it looked like it would be a battle between Hernandez and Solomon, but Wheating seemed to find another gear in his final few strides (either that or he died less than the others), and Solomon faltered a bit. Wheating almost pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind win, but he came up one-hundredth of a second short. Instead, Hernandez pulled off an impressive wire-to-wire victory and led the first three runners under 1:46. Hernandez ran 1:45.31, Wheating 1:45.32, and Solomon 1:45.71.
Defending champion Brie Felnagle, who had the fastest time so far this season, took the race out quickly in the women's 1,500, with Sarah Bowman and the rest of the field right there. Sally Kipyego took over the lead with two laps to go, and looked like she would try to keep the pace going in an attempt to run away with the race. Though she succeeded in thinning the front pack down to five (Kipyego, Felnagle, Bowman, Hannah England, and Dacia Barr) with 600 meters to go, she was unable to shake her strongest competitors. With 200 to go, it was down to Kipyego, England, and Bowman. Bowman fell off the back slightly in the last 100, and Kipyego fought valiantly--but ultimately failed--to hold off England. England surged past Kipyego to win 4:06.19 to 4:06.67. Bowman, the top American in the race, finished third in an excellent time of 4:07.50.
As expected, the men's 1,500 was the Leonel Manzano show. Manzano sprinted into the lead, but didn't set a particularly fast pace. He seemed more interested in staying out of traffic in the 15-runner final (three more runners than usual, due to some falls and close finishes in the prelims). The race stayed close throughout, and there were still about seven runners in contention with 200 meters to go. Manzano didn't turn on his real kick until about 100 meters to go, and at that point, the race was all over. He won by 1.31 seconds in 3:41.25, giving the Texas men the middle distance sweep for the day. The University of Northern Iowa's Dorian Ulrey closed well to take second in 3:42.56, much to the delight of the crowd. Wisconsin sophomores Jack Bolas (third, 3:42.57) and Craig Miller (fourth 3:42.67) were close behind.
As a side note, the meet announcer mentioned that even though she was not competing in the meet, 2006 NCAA 1,500 meter champion Amy Lia had traveled to Des Moines with her University of Washington team. Earlier that day she and some of her teammates apparently had gone down to the Birdland area of Des Moines, where part of a levee had broken the night before, to help with the sandbagging efforts.
And this completes my coverage of the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships! Though I am now back in Massachusetts, my thoughts are with those who are suffering as a result of the flooding in Iowa. I will begin posting the remainder of my photos on Monday, June 16th.
Posted by Alison Wade at 1:30 p.m. | Tags: 2008 NCAA Outdoor T&F Champs | Comments (0)
I woke up to the news that a section of a levee in Des Moines had broken around 3:30 a.m. I was a little worried because this was between my hotel and the track, but I had no trouble whatsoever getting to the stadium today. While what's happening with the flooding in Des Moines is certainly serious, it is sensationalized a bit in the news. The NCAA Championships continue on as scheduled, and I am at the track preparing to shoot the 800 and 1,500 finals. I don't have a lot of time to get to the airport after the men's 1,500, so I have my escape strategy planned, and I am going to hightail it to the airport as soon as the last competitor makes it around the second turn for the final time. (If I shoot on the second turn, I am closer to my car and can get out of here faster!)
My friend from high school, who happens to be living in Iowa doing research this summer, came to Des Moines to watch the meet last night. It was interesting to hear about the races through her eyes. She was a good runner in her day, but she doesn't follow the sport all that closely now. I wasn't sure if she'd have a good time or be kind of ho-hum about watching the races. But when I met up with her after the meet, she was really excited and inspired by what she had seen, which was really nice to see.
My unofficial weather report is that it's hot out (88 degrees the last time I saw a thermometer) and quite windy. I wonder if the wind will affect anyone's race strategy. Make sure to watch the coverage (beginning momentarily) on CBS...you'll probably have a better view of the races than I will! Time to go assemble my camera...
Posted by Alison Wade at 3:36 p.m. | Tags: 2008 NCAA Outdoor T&F Champs | Comments (0)
Tonight's update is going to have to be brief because I have a guest visiting and I don't want to be rude! Watching TV all day, it was hard to think about much other than the flooding that is currently threatening Des Moines. However, head over to Drake Stadium and it's quite easy to forget what's going on just a few miles away. Today's weather was the best it's been yet for the distance races--less humid, and 71 degrees just after the men's 5,000.
Jenny Barringer absolutely dominated the steeplechase. She will tough to beat at the Olympic Trials if she runs the way she did tonight. Her loss to Irene Kimaiyo at the Big 12 Championships earlier this season raised some doubts, but if her 9:44 at the Midwest Regional didn't send the message that she's back, this did. Her time of 9:29.20 was only .45 of a second slower than the American record, set by Lisa Galaviz last year. SMU freshman Silje Fjortoft--who I admit I've never heard of until tonight--took second in 9:55.54 and might be the one to watch in 2010, once Jenny Barringer is long gone.
The men's steeplechase remained a lot closer for much of the race, and since the light was so bad, I spent more time trying to find a decent place to stand rather than paying much attention to the race. (Precisely why I am not doing formal race reports from this meet.) I rushed up the track to get to the finish line, missing what was going on in the race, and with one lap to go, Kyle Alcorn had broken away. He held on to win in 8:28.26, despite a strong charge from Billy Nelson (8:28.85) at the end.
I'm being rude to my guest...so I'm going to sum the 5ks up very briefly, especially since most of you loyal track fans probably watched the race on tonight's webcast. Sally Kipyego pulled a Lisa Koll (or I could say a Jenny Barringer, I suppose) and took off right from the gun. She dominated the race, and like last night's 10k, it was the race for second which was much more interesting. Kipyego won in 15:15.08, and Angela Bizzarri had a great race to take second in 15:46.08. In the men's 5,000, the CU trio of Brent Vaughn, Stephen Pifer, and Kenyon Neuman did most of the pacesetting. They were unable to break away from the pack, however, and there were plenty of runners still in contention with 1,200 meters go to. Bobby Curtis had the best finish of the bunch, and he cruised to victory in 13:33.93. I last saw Brent Vaughn with about 50 meters to go, and I am surprised to look at the results now and see that his teammate, Stephen Pifer, beat him by a tenth of a second, 13:39.34 to 13:39.44, because Vaughn seemed to have second place wrapped up.
At every multi-day meet, I seem to hit a point where I am hopelessly behind on posting photos. I have now reached that point. I will be posting photos from yesterday's 1,500 and 800 meter rounds momentarily, but after that, I won't be able to post any additional photos until I return home.
Posted by Alison Wade at 12:44 a.m. | Tags: 2008 NCAA Outdoor T&F Champs | Comments (0)
Despite the lovely weather outside, the flooding in Des Moines continues to worsen. I'm spending my morning editing photos and updating the news links while keeping an eye on the TV. My hotel, Drake's stadium, and the Des Moines airport don't appear to be in any imminent danger, but many of the surrounding roads are flooded, making getting from one place to the next a bit more challenging than usual. The water levels of the Des Moines River are expected to crest around 8:00 p.m. to midnight tonight, and city officials are now asking for a voluntary evacuation of the 500-year floodplain area. This includes some areas less than two miles from Drake's stadium.
I had to take a different route back from the track last night because of a new road closure. I am a little nervous about getting to and from the track today and tomorrow, not to mention the airport tomorrow evening, in a timely fashion. I admit that I will breathe a sigh of relief when (if) my plane takes off for Chicago tomorrow evening. I can't imagine what this is like for those whom this is home. On Wednesday evening, I was sitting in the lobby of my hotel and I heard a coach of a runner from nowhere near Iowa ask the front desk worker where he could go to help with the sandbagging efforts. He mentioned that he had nothing to do until 6:00 p.m. the next day. I was really impressed.
I won't be heading over to the track until this evening, but I will do my best to keep providing updates both on the track action as well as any developments regarding the flooding. (And, no, it hasn't escaped my notice that today is Friday the 13th!)
Posted by Alison Wade at 1:15 p.m. | Tags: 2008 NCAA Outdoor T&F Champs | Comments (0)
Despite a raging storm overnight, it was warm and sunny in Des Moines, Iowa today, and weather did not interfere with the action at the NCAA Championships. Today's events included the semifinals of the 800 and 1,500, as well as the 10,000 meter finals.
The most surprising development in the women's 800 semis was that defending champion Alysia Johnson did not compete, meaning that we will have a new champion this year. Michigan's Geena Gall and Oregon's Zoe Buckman both looked like strong contenders to take the crown; both won their respective heats with a strong kick. On the men's side, Andrew Wheating won the first heat in 1:47.15, the fastest time of the day. Wheating spent most of the second lap out in lane two, and won with relative ease. The most impressive run of the semis, however, was Duane Solomon's domination of the second heat. Though Wheating has been getting a lot of attention as the next great thing in U.S. middle distance running, Solomon's run served as a reminder that he's the one who ran 1:45.69 to finish third at the USA Championships last summer. Jacob Hernandez of Texas also looked good, and Saturday's final should be a great one.
In the men's 1,500 semis, Leo Manzano won his heat with the fastest time of the day--3:41.70, but everyone already knows that he's the one to beat in this race. Sitting at the finish line, it wasn't apparent what happened to Matt DeBole and Darren Brown, but both runners went down with more than a lap to go. DeBole finished 11th in 3:54.25 and Brown finished 13th in 4:08.32, but it was later announced that both would advance to the final. Having read about Brown and his late father, Barry, becoming the first father-son duo to run sub-4:00 miles when Brown ran 3:59.99 at Texas Relays earlier this season, I was eager to see him run here. I was glad to hear that he and DeBole, both of whom are seniors, would get another chance to run. AJ Acosta's failure to qualify for the final was a bit of a surprise; he ran 3:43.86 and was the fastest non qualifier. [Update: After an appeal, Acosta was allowed into the final.]
Defending champion Brie Felnagle had the fastest time of the day, 4:15.56, in the women's 1,500, but the semifinals did not reveal a lot, as far as I could tell. Sally Kipyego stayed well buried in the pack until the last lap, and she finished a very close second in her heat in 4:17.48. Kipyego dominates the 5,000 and 10,000 at the NCAA level, so it's exciting to see her drop down and run a distance where she'll have some competition. Indoor champion Hannah England looked good in winning the second heat, and her teammate, indoor 3,000m champion Susan Kuijken, who is coming off an injury, finished fourth in the second heat and looked happy about advancing. I did not see what happened to Jessica Eldridge; she finished 10th in the first heat but advanced to the final. Elizabeth Maloy and Ann Detmer fell with just over a lap to go and finished 13th and 11th, respectively, in the second heat. Unlike Brown, DeBole, and Eldridge, they apparently will not advance.
Though the weather cooled off a bit for the 10,000 meter finals, the race-time conditions were still warmer than ideal. Though I feel like I should have a lot to say about a 25-lap race, all I really have to say is that Lisa Koll took off right from the gun, no one went with her, and she won by almost a minute in 32:44.95. Her time broke Patty Murray's 1988 stadium record by 12+ seconds. I hadn't seen Koll race since her breakthrough, but she was fun to watch. She is originally from Iowa and went to high school about an hour-and-a-half north of Des Moines. She had many supporters in the crowd, and I heard people yelling things like, "Go Fort Dodge!" Danette Doetzel was a surprising winner of the other race--the race for second place. She outkicked Alex Gits and Boston University med student Marisa Ryan to take second in 33:44.23.
The men's 10,000 was the exact opposite of the women's with about 10 runners remaining in contention until about two laps to go. The race became a last-lap battle between defending champion Shadrack Songok and Shawn Forrest. Though I generally have no reason to support Shawn Forrest more than any of the other competitors in the race, I couldn't help but pull for him as he entered the homestretch on the heels of Songok. While everyone in the race would love to win an NCAA title, Forrest seemed to be digging deeper than he ever had before in an attempt to give coach John McDonnell the best retirement present of all. In the end, he came up .39 of a second shy of winning, but he showed some real toughness in challenging Shadrack Songok all the way to the finish. Songok won the race in 28:46.69.
I'm going to post the remainder of my day one photos momentarily, and hopefully tomorrow I will have a chance to post a bunch of my photos from this evening.
Posted by Alison Wade at 1:23 a.m. | Tags: 2008 NCAA Outdoor T&F Champs | Comments (3)
I said yesterday that Alysia Johnson looked confident in the first round of the 800 meters. Now I can say that she will definitely not be this year's NCAA Outdoor 800 meter champion. Johnson, who was slated to run in lane six of the second semi-final, was a no-show. According to the meet announcer, she was a late scratch. I have no further information at this time.
Posted by Alison Wade at 7:39 p.m. | Tags: 2008 NCAA Outdoor T&F Champs | Comments (0)
When I headed over to the track this afternoon, the weather had become pretty unbearably hot and quite windy. The rain earlier in the day had delayed the decathlon, but the rest of the running events were set to begin on schedule, at 4:30 p.m. The whole meet eventually ended up behind schedule, though, when the decathlon's running events had to be inserted into the schedule.
When I got to the track, I went for a short run. Along the way, I saw lots of people warming up for their events, and they all made me feel slow and out of shape. The weather wasn't quite as bad as it's been in New England recently (extremely humid with temperatures in the 90s), but it was only a couple notches better than that. The first event I shot was the 800m prelims. I usually think that the rounds are a good indicator of who might do well in the final, but I don't think the women's prelims gave much away. Because they have to run their race three times (if all goes well), all of the 800 runners seemed to be conserving as much energy as possible. Phoebe Wright's 2:06.10 ended up being the fastest time of the day. Alysia Johnson looked the most confident, for what it's worth. On the men's side, it was nice to finally see Andrew Wheating run. He made qualifying look the easiest, but it's always hard to tell. His 1:48.88 was the fastest time of the day.
To be honest, it's sometimes hard to pay attention to many of details of a race while also photographing it, so I don't have a lot to say about the steeplechase and 5,000m prelims. Jenny Barringer looked like a strong favorite in the women's steeple, and she had a big smile on her face as she came off the last water barrier and cruised to the fastest time of the day (10:00.56). She just dominated her heat. The men's final looks like it might be a little more wide open. There will be a strong Kenyan presence in the final. Billy Nelson's run made us wonder if CU could sweep the men's and women's titles, but no one is going to hand it to him.
To be completely honest, the 5,000 prelims were pretty boring. In both cases, the first heat was slow, and all of the time qualifiers came out of the second heat. Sally Kipyego and Brent Vaughn looked great. The thing that left the strongest impression on me, however, were the ridiculously slow splits in the first heat of the women's 5k. They went through the 400 in 99 seconds (6:36 1,600m pace!), 1k in 3:56, and the 1,600 in 6:08. When I left the track, my rental car seemed to think that it was 80 degrees out, and the warm, humid conditions contributed to the slow times, but so did the fact that everyone was trying to conserve as much energy as they could.
As soon as the men crossed the finish line in the second heat of the 5,000, there was announcement that a huge storm was 20-30 minutes away. I had considered staying and doing a little more work, but instead I pack up my camera, ran to my car, and drove back to my hotel as quickly as possible. I haven't yet heard a storm outside, but reading headlines like this one is sobering. Other than the announcement at the end of the meet, there wasn't much talk about the weather. The big story at the meet is the meet itself, and hopefully it will stay that way!
(I'm working on posting my photos from the 800 rounds. The process is going slowly, but I hope to have at least those photos before I collapse into bed tonight.)
Posted by Alison Wade at 11:15 p.m. | Tags: 2008 NCAA Outdoor T&F Champs | Comments (0)
Since I am a one-person "team" at the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, I do not have the resources to provide formal race reports. My primary focus will be getting photos of the races, which I will post as soon as possible. However, I am also going to experiment a little and write some blog entries about my experiences and observations at the meet.
As I sat in the Hartford airport this morning, I read this article about the flooding in Des Moines. When I landed at the Des Moines airport several hours ago, it was pouring rain. The friendly man from the rental car company gave me directions on how to get to Drake's stadium and avoid the roads which are closed due to the flooding. By the time I got to my hotel, the rain had stopped and I had to fish out my sunglasses. It's breezy out, but I saw a thermometer which read 69, so it's not bad for racing.
Not being up on my Des Moines geography, I don't know how close the flooding is to the stadium, but the airport and the track are only five miles apart, and some of the roads between the two are flooded. I wasn't nervous about any of this until I just heard the front desk worker at my hotel say everyone is calling to cancel their trips to Des Moines, and that in her opinion, the dam is not going to hold. I don't have time to look at the local newspaper's coverage of the flooding, but please e-mail me if anyone learns I am in imminent danger! (That's a joke, I think this will be a popular topic of conversation once I get to the track, so I'll be a little more clued in as to what's expected.)
Though my hotel is less than luxurious, I'm happy to be staying a little ways north of town, away from the flooding. As the article I linked to in the second paragraph mentions, some teams had to relocate to other hotels due to the flooding. This is unfortunate for the city of Des Moines, because I'm sure they wanted to put their best foot forward when hosting an event like this. When Iowa State hosted the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2000, my former co-worker from Iowa tried to convince me that it's not always -19 degrees with the wind chill in Ames. Now I'm sure he'll try to convince me that Des Moines is not always flooded. Either way, as far as I know, this is not going to affect the meet at all, so I'm looking forward to a great track meet! I'll try to post another update when I get back from the track tonight.
Posted by Alison Wade at 3:05 p.m. | Tags: 2008 NCAA Outdoor T&F Champs | Comments (3)