AT&T U.S. Indoor Track & Field Championships Highlights

Lolo Jones Visa Championship winner

Khadevis Robinson, Lolo Jones, and Christian Cantwell win big!

Besides national indoor titles, roster spots were also at stake this past weekend. The top two finishers in each event go on to compete at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships for Team USA on March 7-9 in Valencia, Spain.

Many of U.S.A.’s biggest names did not participate in the indoor season because it is an Olympic year. Their absence means the typically much smaller appearance fees paid at indoor meets was not worth the time needed to prepare for the outdoor season.

The indoor national championship meet was marked by low attendance, a shame considering the fabulous facility in Boston. Even with the smaller crowds, there were some impressive performances. And here's why.

Money. Besides national titles and $2,500, $1,500, $500 payouts to the medalists, additional future money was at stake in Boston. Victors in Spain will collect $40,000, and bronze is worth $10,000. Not bad for a day’s work at the office.

The Visa Championship is a points-based system awarded on performances and finishes for men and women. Lolo Jones and Adam Nelson were the winners, and each went home with a $25,000 check.

Lolo Jones is making her case to be the next great American hurdler now that Gail Devers has somewhat retired. Jones, the defending women's 60-meter hurdles champ, won easily. Lolo bested Candice Davis by two-hundredths of a second in 7.88. Her win gave her the 1,194 points on the scoring table to take the women’s Visa Championship’s $25,000 prize.

The men's shot put came in with big expectations. Cantwell, Hoffa, and Nelson have been throwing out of the universe, and at the same time, breathing excitement into the often over-looked field event. A small, but select, field gathered as Christian Cantwell defended his indoor title by defeating Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson, the winner of the men's Visa Championship points’ race.

The men’s sprints were an ensemble of new, upcoming names and faces. In his first professional season, two-time NAIA champion Michael Rodgers won over Leroy Dixon in the 60-meter dash in 6.54 seconds after Leonard Scott, the defending world champion, pulled his right hamstring during his semifinal heat.

David Neville won the men's 400 in 46.34, besting Greg Nixon's 46.72 in the two-heat final.

Jennifer Stuczynski continues to build the case that she is the sport’s new queen of pole vault. She easily won the women's pole vault with a vault of 15 feet, 5 inches over Jillian Schwartz in 14 feet, 9 inches.

The men’s 800-meters was the most exciting event of the two-day meet. KD and Symmonds have big show-downs every time they compete, and this time was no exception.

Four-time U.S. outdoor champion Khadevis Robinson held off a fierce kick down the home stretch by Nicholas Symmonds by a mere hundredth of a second to win the men's 800 meters in 1:46.95. Whew!

37-year-old Allen Johnson was narrowly edged for second place in the men’s 60-meter hurdles. Winner, Anwar Moore, blazed to victory in 7.47 seconds, the fastest time by an American this year.

Rob Myers led most of the way and won the men's 1500 in 3:40.8.

Amy Acuff is so good that she is often over-looked. She won the women’s High Jump with a 6 feet, 3.5 inch leap for her fourth overall and second consecutive indoor national title.

For more information, including complete results and athlete quotes, visit www.usatf.org

By Jay Hicks, a.k.a. Track Evangelist

2008 Millrose Games Wrap-Up: Lagat & Nelson Win Big

World-leading 72 feet, 5 inches for Adam Nelson at Millrose

Lagat leaves field in dust.

They say timing is everything. So far in 2008 – and specifically Friday at Madison Square Garden – that adage held true for Bernard Lagat.

Lagat was off to a slow start in the race before Craig Mottram took the lead at mid-race point fearing the pace was too slow. Bernard took the lead with one and a half laps to go and blistered the field to win his 6th Wanamaker Mile in 3:57.51 over Mottram, Nick Willis and Galen Rupp.

After the race Lagat said, “It might have looked easy. Like always, I have to prepare myself for a great race. I have run with him [Mottram] several times and stick to my strategy that I had prepared coming into the race. Before I came to the arena, I had envisioned the race as it happened. I passed him with two laps to go.”

Other Millrose highlights

Women’s 60-meter: Carmelita Jeter has been putting together solid finishes lately. She surged at Osaka to place third in the 100-meter world final. At Fresno State, she sealed the deal at the finish line. On Friday at Millrose, she continued her streak to win in 7.29 seconds at the finish line over Miki Barber (7.30) and Daigel-Bowen(7.32).

Men’s 60-meter: Reigning World Indoor 60-meter champion Leonard Scott demonstrated his indoor dominance again in winning the Metro men's 60-meters in 6.59 seconds.

Women’s high jump: Amy Acuff showed why she’s a three-time Olympian with a first-place finish of 6 feet, 3.50 inches.

Women’s pole vault: Jenn Stuczynski will have to wait another year for a Millrose victory. Both Jenn and 2004 Olympian Jillian Schwartz cleared 15 feet, 2¼ inches, but Schwartz won because she had fewer misses.

Men’s shot put: Men’s shot put was a highlight of the Millrose events with an energetic performance by Adam Nelson. Nelson stole the show heaving a massive 72 feet, 5 inches throw while setting a MSG record in front of 12,647 screaming fans. Christian Cantwell took second with 69 feet, 11 inches in front of reigning world champ Reese Hoffa’s 69 feet, 4 inches. For his sick performance, Nelson has the world’s top throw and was named the Millrose Games Athlete of the meet.

The women’s mile came down to sprinting power. Sarah Hall swung wide coming down the homestretch giving 10,000-meter runner, Kara Goucher, enough room to slide inside to narrowly win in 4:36.03.

600 yards is a difficult event. Quarter mile runners find the distance too long and 800 meter runs have found the race too short to get going. Bershawn Jackson found the race to be the perfect length in a narrow victory over two lap star Khadevis Robinson. Jackson took the early lead and finished in 1:10.34 over Robinson’s 1:10.53.

By Jay Hicks, a.k.a. Track Evangelist

The Reebok Boston Indoor Preview

Tirunesh Dibaba sits next to her World record figures in Boston last year

The Reebook Boston Indoor meet is the second meet on USA Track & Field’s Visa Championships Series and arguably one of the best indoor meets.

The Reebook Boston Indoor meet is legendary for stellar distance races, in part because of the array of talent the meet attracts, and also because of the 200 meter Mondo indoor track at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Bitter Ethopian rivals Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar, two of the world’s best will take the track in Boston – unfortunately, not in the same race. Defar is slated to run the Two Mile, in which she is currently the world record holder. Dibaba, the 5,000 meter indoor record holder, is stepping down to run 3,000 meters.

Up and coming sprint star, Shalonda Solomon, the 2006 NCAA Champion at 200 meters is debuting her first professional indoor meet.

In the field events, Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson are competing in the men’s shot put. Jenn Stuczynski, the new pole vault queen, is competing in the Nutrilite Women’s Pole Vault.

The men’s 800 meters is certain to be a fireworks show. The U.S. national champion Khadevis Robinson and #2 nationally ranked 800 meter runner, Nick Symmonds, will go head to head on Saturday.

The men’s 3,000 meters looks to be hotter than fish grease. The line up includes defending champion Craig Mott of Australia, New Zealand’s Nick Willis, Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele and American phenom Galen Rupp, who has not run against these elite athletes. This race is certain to have implications for later in this Olympic year track season.

The Reebok Boston Indoor meet, the second stop on USA Track & Field’s Visa Championship Series, can be seen Sunday on ESPN 2 at 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST. Check your local listings.

By Jay Hicks, a.k.a. Track Evangelist

Carmelita Jeter Off To Quick Start

U.S. Sprinter Carmelita Jeter

This year's inaugural USA Track & Field's 2008 Visa Championship Series meet brought out runners that typically do not compete indoors, such as Allen Johnson. This was the first team-scored meet in series history. Athletes from 12 nations created a global team, which took on a team of American athletes. Both squads included former Olympians.

The meet, held at Fresno State's Save Mart Center in California, is the brainchild of Fresno State track coach Bob Fraley and is held in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. It is the second running of the meet, which last year was held on the wooden track used at the L.A. Invitational. The meet was cancelled for 2007.

The meet did have its’ share of highlights.

Carmelita Jeter, a preseason selection of Prerace Jitters “6 Runners You Oughta Know By Season’s End,”
narrowly edged out hometown favorite and 2005 Visa Indoor champion Angela Daigle-Bowen in the women's 55m dash, crossing the line in 6.84 to Daigle-Bowen's 6.85. A win is a win, no matter how slim the margin.

One false start and one call back was not enough to throw off the game of hurdler, Allen Johnson. The permanent fixture on the track scene easily won the 55 meter hurdles in 7.21 over 2001 NCAA Indoor Champion Aubrey Herring who finished in 7.27.

Two lap U.S. outdoor champ, Khadevis Robinson, proved he is in top shape to start the season and took the lead with one and one half laps to go and never looked back, winning the 600 yards, in 1: 09.97. Jamaican Olympian, Michael Blackwood narrowly edged out Bernard Jackson for second place running 1:10.58 and 1:10.61 respectively.

The world's top shot putter, Reese Hoffa, put on a show heaving 21.06 meters or 69 feet, 1.25 inches to defeat Dan Taylor's second place throw of 19.99 meters or 65 feet, 7 inches.

Team USA ran men's and women's 4x400 meter relay, winning both events.

Visa Athlete of the Week went to veteran high jumper Amy Acuff. The three-time Olympian jumped 1.95 meters or 6 feet, 4.75 inches after three near misses at the Indoor American record.

"I wanted to put the bar up for Fred Arnold, and for this track to have a record," Acuff said of the longtime track and field patron who donated $1 million for the Fresno track. "It's a really world-class facility. My goal for the season is to be steady and consistent and not jump myself to death."

The Reebok Boston Indoor meet is the next stop on Visa Championship Series and can be seen on ESPN 2 at 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST. Check your local listing.

By Jay Hicks, a.k.a. Track Evangelist