ESPNHS Track & XC

Gary Stautz is sympathetic to the plight of Gresham (Ore.) High School’s future javelin throwers.

“You know in order to break the school record now, you have to break the national record, too,” said the school’s long-time throws coach.

It’s not a complaint, but a badge of honor. Sam Crouser and his little sister Haley, a junior who will compete at the OSAA Class 6A/5A/4A Track and Field Championships this weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene, have come along and re-set the standards for high school javelin throwing.

But the Crousers, talented as they are, didn’t arrive at those records out of the blue. In Oregon track and field, there is a mystique associated with the javelin that is built upon more than half a century of headline-makers in the event.

Coaching, the lure of college scholarships, and even the state’s climate, are factors in Oregonians’ continued fascination, and success, throwing the javelin.

This year’s national rankings show that 10 of the top 25 girls in the country come from Oregon. Meanwhile, six of the top 25 boys come from the state (Pennsylvania has nine).

There are certainly reasons for that, the biggest being that only 18 states participate in the javelin (although athletes from other states do occasionally get to throw it). California doesn’t throw it; Texas doesn’t throw it.

But Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Kansas and others do.

In Oregon, there is lore associated with the event dating back to the 1930s. The first boy to throw 200 feet in the state meet was Warren Demaris back in 1931. And in 1934, Bob Parke became the first of the University of Oregon’s seven NCAA javelin champions. (The university’s influence on the high school scene can’t be understated. In 1964, Oregon went 1-2-3 in the javelin at the NCAA Championships).

In 1959, Glen Winningham of Grants Pass, Ore. broke the national scholastic record when he threw 225-6. Six years later another Oregon thrower, Ansten “Ole” Totten of Clatskanie, set the national mark when he hit 231-7.

In 1971, a phenomenon named Russ Francis moved to Oregon from Hawaii halfway through his senior year of high school. At 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, the 18-year-old Francis was a star football prospect who signed with the University of Oregon. He had never seen a javelin before he saw one in a Eugene sporting goods store and wasn’t sure what it was for.

But a coach at Pleasant Hill High School taught Francis how to throw it and within a matter of weeks he became the best high school thrower in the country. He threw 253-1 to break Mark Murro’s (N.J.) 1967 national record. And then he broke it again with 259-9.

Francis went on to an NFL career playing tight end for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers and his high school javelin record remained on the books for 17 years.

In 1988, Art Skipper of Sandy, Ore. went after the Francis record. And at the Oregon state championships that year, he threw the javelin almost clear across the infield at Hayward Field in Eugene. The mark was measured at 259-10 – a new record by a single inch.

Skipper’s mark lasted until the slate was wiped clean by the “new rules” international javelin in 2002.

The international javelin record was traced back to a European exchange student attend school in New York, Tommy Viskari, from fall of 1988 (241-1).

But Sam Crouser, nephew of former Oregon state champion and one-time world record holder Brian Crouser, came along and smashed the record in 2010 with 255-4.

So what is it about Oregon?

“There’s been a foundation for that event that’s been laid down years ago,” Stautz said. “When I look around the state, I see quality coaches in abundance.”

Gary Reddaway, second in that 1964 Oregon javelin sweep, became an influential coach in the state for many years.

And Joe Boutin is in his fourth decade coaching the throwers at Newberg High School, where he has a long line of state champions, including 1984 Olympian Lynda Hughes (Suftin) and 2005 U.S. girls record-setter Rachel Yurkovich (and also 2012 U.S. men’s leader Cyrus Hostetler).

Boutin and other coaches also may have gotten an assist from Oregon’s rainy spring weather. The theory goes that some of the state’s baseball players get frustrated over the frequency of rained out games, and some are peeled off by savvy track coaches who teach them to throw.

The best girls’ javelin throwers in the state all seem to have one thing in common: Volleyball. Yurkovich and Haley Crouser are just two examples of girls who turned the spiking motion of their right arms into record-setting javelin launchers.

But javelin in Oregon is not isolated to just a few pockets. Successful throwers come from every part of the state.

“There is a high expectation of what it takes to win a state title,” said Hidden Valley (Grants Pass, Ore.) coach Josh Standley said. “In Oregon, it takes a farther throw. We laugh sometimes because a girl who takes fifth in our district meet (and doesn’t qualify for state) might be top-five in another state.”

Hidden Valley has a contender for the Class 4A title with Bailey Bars, who has thrown US#23 144-9 this year. Eight girls in Oregon have thrown farther, including Crouser, the reigning 6A champ.

Brianna Bain, fourth place in last year’s Oregon Class 6A championship meet, won the Pac-12 Conference championship two weeks ago as a freshman for Stanford.

Oregon coaches and parents have also picked up on the mathematics of scholarships. If only 18 states throw the javelin, and every college track team in the U.S. competes in the event, then the odds of throwing far enough to earn financial aid start to look pretty good compared to other sports.

“I’ve been saying that for 20 years,” Dean Crouser, father of Sam and Haley, said. “It’s the path of least resistance. If you can throw 150 (feet), that could mean a full-ride (scholarship) at a D1 school.”

With something close to her PR, Bars would have scored at the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 conference championships. She’d have been one place out of scoring at the Pac-12 meet.

Crouser, at 17 years old, is looking forward to the Olympic Trials. She could reasonably place in the top five or so there.

But another development in Oregon this spring may do even more to illustrate how outsized javelin has become to the state’s track identity. In the sparsely populated eastern side of the state a pair of small-school athletes dueled for Class 1A supremacy in the javelin.

First, Prairie City’s Brady Doty topped 200 feet when he went 200-3 (US#22).

Then at the state meet, rival Justin Larson of Dayville pulled in front and won the title with 201-3 (US#19).

Prairie City has an enrollment of 78 students.

Dayville has only 23.

“It was usually a toss up between us,” Larson said. “We’ve been to five or six of the same meets (this spring). He won about half and so did I. It was super close.”

Gabby Williams is still trying to process what it means to clear 6 feet, 1.50 inches in the high jump as a 15-year-old.

In the span of eight weeks, the sophomore from Reed (Sparks, Nev.) became Nevada’s state record holder, a state champion, and now she appears headed for a spot in the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Heading into the NCAA Regional meets this weekend, only one woman in Division I has cleared a bar higher than Williams’ 6-1.50.

“I didn’t expect to get that high,” Williams said. “I thought maybe I could get to six feet by my senior year.”

But Williams, who stands about 5-foot-10, is well ahead of the curve. She is a standout basketball player from a hoop-centric family. Her father, Matt, played at the University of Nevada-Reno and also was a 6-10 high jumper for the track team there. Now, he is a central figure in Reno-area AAU basketball and this weekend is a big one. He runs the Jam On It Reno AAU Memorial Day Tournament, which will have 970 teams playing on 69 courts in the city this weekend.

The tournament will include Gabby, a point guard who was named Nevada’s player of the year in March, with her club teammates. An older sister, Kayla, plays professionally in Australia.

Matt Williams said he noticed Gabby had “bounce” when he taught her the fundamentals of hurdling and high jumping back in the seventh grade. It’s a talent that comes in handy on the basketball court as well as the high jump apron. Her vertical leap has been measured at 34 inches and she can dunk a tennis ball.

Williams moved up gradually from a 5-4 clearance in the seventh grade to 5-6 in the eighth grade. As a freshman last year she made 5-8 and won the state championship and then during the summer improved to 5-10.

This spring, Williams cleared 5-11 in the third meet of the season and hasn’t finished with anything lower since then. She also competes in the hurdles, and won the Nevada Class 4A championship in the 100-meter (US#29 14.11) and 300-meter (42.85) events.

Williams spent most of her practice time on sprints and hurdles, and devoted the tail end of Thursday practices to high jumping.

“She has amazing jumping ability,” said Ryan Cotter, one of her Reed jumps coaches. “Her belly button placement is at 6-4. We’re not quite there yet with her technique, but her ultimate goal is to beat the all-time (prep) record of 6-4.”

Cotter believes she will go even higher in meets with better competition. At the Nevada state meet, Williams finished at 5-11 and won by seven inches. She bowed out trying to top 6-1.

“I was so mad (to miss),” Williams said. “I was getting over it and knocking the bar off with my feet.”

A week earlier, at her regional meet, Williams surprised herself when she cleared 6-1.50. But she also took three attempts at 6-2.50 – the national sophomore class record – and came close to making that as well.

“She had it on the second one,” Cotter said. “She didn’t move back her mark so she took off too close to the mat and got (the bar) with her thigh.”

Looking ahead, Williams is targeting Great Southwest and then the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. It’s a heady prospect for a 15-year-old.

“I’m really excited (about the Trials),” she said. “I didn’t expect that either. It’s surreal to even think that I could qualify.”

Forty years ago, a 15-year-old high jumper named Cindy Gilbert actually made the U.S. team and competed at the 1972 Munich Olympics (no one that young has made the U.S. Olympic track team since).

It’s a safe bet that Williams will make the cut. In 2008, six feet even was the cut-off for making the Trials field. As of this week, she is tied for seventh on a U.S. list that includes American record holder Chaunte Lowe and four-time Olympian Amy Acuff.

The opportunity to go and compete at Eugene’s Hayward Field in the Trials is worth re-arranging the summer basketball schedule, Matt Williams said.

“I’m unsure how things work with the Olympic Trials, but we will change our summer plans so that she can do it,” he said. “Just the chance to be around those (other high jumpers) and see how they handle themselves, I think Gabby’s looking forward to that.”

It’s the kind of opportunity that could lead to another quantum leap forward for Williams’ budding track career.

But basketball remains No. 1.

“No doubt,” she said. “The main thing I want to do in college is play basketball, but my goal is to play basketball some place where they let me high jump, too.”

Nick Hartle wants to run fast in the 800 meters and believes he can get a couple of seconds under 1:50.

But last weekend the senior from Centennial High School in Las Vegas was all about helping his team try to win its first Nevada boys track and field championship, which is why he was willing to try an ambitious four-event workload in the Class 4A battle that included the 400, 800, 1,600 and 3,200.

“I tried a quad last year, but I did the 4x4 (relay) instead of the open 400,” Hartle said.

In Nevada, regional meets whittle the fields down so that the state championships are a finals-only meet.

At Damonte Ranch High School in Reno last Friday, Hartle won the 1,600 meters in 4:18.03 (at 4,500 feet elevation) and then 50 minutes later turned the 400 in a track record 47.79 seconds – an amazing turn of speed for someone whose range goes up to 5,000 meters, where he is a two-time state cross-country champ.

Hartle figured that the 400 would be the most difficult race to win. State leader Arnold Carrillo of McQueen had run 47.43 at the Arcadia Invitational on April 7. But when Carrillo suffered an injury at the regional meet, Hartle knew he’d have a chance to sweep all four races.

Hartle had dipped below 48 seconds on a relay split, but never in an open 400. For a mid-distance runner, Hartle’s US#58 time felt like his best performance of the weekend.

“It was a huge PR,” he said. “After that I was positive that I could win all four.”

On Saturday, Hartle ran 1:52.53 to take the 800 and 9:28.27 in the 3,200, where he won by 20 seconds.

Hartle’s 40 points gave Centennial a huge boost. The school totaled 79 points and won the state crown by 18.

The UCLA-bound Hartle is Centennial’s salutatorian and also won the school’s outstanding male athlete award at a ceremony earlier this week. He concluded his prep career in Nevada with two cross country titles, six individual track titles and one relay victory.

Earlier this season, Hartle was the anchor for two huge relay efforts. At Arcadia, Centennial won the 4x800 relay in 7:44.00 (US#6). A couple weeks later, at the Mt. SAC Relays, Centennial put together a US#1 distance medley relay (10.05.84). In that race, Hartle split 4:12.8 in the 1,600.

Hartle is the state record holder in the 800 (1:49.91) and 1,600 (4:10.23) and has left a significant imprint on Nevada high school running.

“Because we are one of the smaller states, in terms of numbers (of people), in the past we haven’t seen a whole lot of talent. Nevada has been on the back burner,” he said.

High jumper Gabby Williams and throwers Ashlie Blake and Avione Allgood have also contributed to putting Nevada on the front burner this spring. Hartle would like to do his part to keep it there and plans to run at Great Southwest and New Balance Nationals with hopes of driving his 800 meter time down even lower and perhaps winning a national title.

“I’d like to get as low as I can get, under 1:50 again, and hopefully down to 1:47 or 1:46,” he said.

With 47.79 speed in the 400 meters, Hartle has renewed confidence that he has what it take to move into the all-time list in the 800.

He’ll take a couple more shots at it.

“I kind of just want to go for one more month and then relax before going to college,” he said.

ARIZONA STATE MEET
It was 100 degrees in Yuma, Ariz. on Thursday, where Cibola High junior Bernie Montoya was preparing for the Arizona state championships this weekend.

On Friday, he’ll run in the 1,600 and 800 at Mesa Community College. On Saturday, he has a leg on the 4x800 relay, and finally, the 3,200 meters.

This spring, Montoya has emerged as one of the standout members of a junior class of distance runners that includes Edward Cheserek, Jake Leingang, Jacob Burcham and Andrew Gardner.

A month after taking the lead on the last lap and finishing second in the blockbuster Arcadia 3,200 meters, in an Arizona record 8:48.25, Montoya is still coming to grips with his sudden rise to the prep distance ultra-elite.

“Honestly, I never thought I’d be at this level,” he said.

At Arcadia, he went to the starting line unsure whether he could break nine minutes.

“I was just hoping to survive,” Montoya said. “It gives me goose bumps and chills just thinking about (what happened). To challenge Futsum (Zeinasellassie), I didn’t think I’d be a contender for the gold. But with two laps left I thought, ‘I’ve gone this far. No reason to quit now. Why not go for it?’”

Montoya has the U.S. lead in the 3,000 meters, 8:18.81, because he was leading the race when the runners hit that point and timed en route to the finish line.

Since then, he has run 4:07.72 in the 1,600 meters and 1:53.22 in the 800.

In 2011, Montoya made news in Arizona when he won the 1,600 at the state championships despite losing his shoe midway through the race. He ran 4:12.01, crossing the finish line and then limping off the track because of torn skin on the bottom of his foot.

He didn’t race again on the track last spring, though Arizona’s state meet is in mid-May.

“The reality is, we saw it coming,” Cibola coach Kris Norton said of Montoya’s improvement. “His sophomore year, at a dual meet, he ran 9:22 goofing around and smiling. There was no way he couldn’t have run nine flat, but he only had one good chance with Billy Orman. But that state race got tactical. They were running together and came through the mile in 4:50.”

So Norton said he was thinking 8:55 at Arcadia – great, but not the eye-popping 8:48 that broke Orman’s state record.

But the most noticeable change in Montoya might be his physique. He came out of his sophomore year looking like a high school kid. He emerged from Yuma’s furnace of a summer this past September with a physique more typical of a college runner. That led to a fall campaign that included a state title and, eventually, a 12th-place finish at Nike Cross Nationals. But it seems the fruition of that summer work has truly come this spring on the flat, fast ovals of California and Arizona.

“I think it’s just more experience,” Montoya said. “My sophomore year, I was barely entering the sport. With a year of solid summer training and winter training, and resistance training that I’ve done, it defined and toned the body.”

Montoya was already blessed with impeccable running form. With a bigger base, natural maturation and repeated exposure to Yuma’s tough running conditions, he has moved to the forefront.

Over the summer, Montoya trained with Norton and his college-aged son, Ryan, on the flat paths that follow the Colorado River and assorted canals.

They would rise at 4:30 or 5 a.m. to get up and go run 10-12 miles early in the morning when the temperatures were still cool. Norton and three other coaches were in charge of transporting water to them at checkpoints on the route.

“We just need to be careful with training because the heat is really dangerous,” Montoya said. “It could toughen you up a little bit.”

In July, the average daily high temperature in Yuma is 107 degrees; in August, it’s 106 but there is more humidity.

Montoya also has easy access to sand dunes, which he runs in early in the season for a challenging leg-strengthening workout.

“It’s mostly very dry and scorching hot,” he said. “I’ve always been able to manage (the heat). You learn to adapt here. You have to drink a lot of water and stay out of the sun. For training, we find a way around (the challenges) and get our workouts in.”

After this weekend, Montoya will begin to focus on the Dream Mile at the Adidas Grand Prix. Beyond that, the schedule is still up in the air. He has also been invited to the Nike Elite Camp in July.

Norton and Montoya are still getting used to the opportunities that come from being a national caliber elite.

“It’s a little strange,” Norton said. “You’ve been doing the coaching, and doing all the training, and then you get a kid like this. You want to make sure you are doing everything you can for the kid to make sure he fulfills his potential. That’s the main thing, taking little extra steps to challenge a kid at this level.”

The Olympic Trials, which will decide which U.S. track and field athletes make it to the 2012 London Games, are just six weeks away.

As the high school season moves toward state championships from coast to coast, we have an eye on which preps may crash the party in Eugene and go head to head with professionals and collegians in competition for a spot in the U.S. Olympic team.

Making it to the Olympics as a high school student (or recent graduate) is exceedingly rare in modern track and field. Dwayne Evans made the team in 200 in 1976, shortly after graduating from Arizona’s South Mountain High School. The same year, Johnny "Lam" Jones, a legend from Lampassas High (Texas) made it in the 100 meters and won a gold medal in the 4x100 relay.

No high school male has competed in the Olympic Games in a U.S. uniform since then.

Sisters Sherri and Denean Howard of Kennedy High (Los Angeles) went 1-2 in the 400 meters at the 1980 Olympic Trials, but that year’s U.S. team didn’t get compete in Moscow, Russia because of a boycott. Denean was just 15 at the time, coming out of her sophomore year. (She would go on to make three more Olympic teams).

Before Title IX became law in the 1970s it was common for teenagers to make the U.S. women’s Olympic team. But the advent of college scholarships, plus professional opportunities, has made it exceedingly difficult for a high school athlete to make the team ever again.

However, the very best prep athletes do make it into the Trials on occasion, soaking up the experience of being one step away from their dream. The starts lists usually include 24-32 athletes per event.

Here is a closer look at where some of this year’s top high school athletes stand. Some of these athletes may choose not to do the Trials for scheduling reasons. The U.S. Junior Championships, which is the qualifying meet for World Juniors (and a trip to Barcelona) is just days before the Trials start at Eugene, Oregon's Hayward Field.

Olympic Trials Qualifying Standards

2012 US High School Leaders

BOYS
Marvin Bracy, Boone (Florida): A report in Monday’s Orlando Sentinel stated that there is hope that Bracy will be able to be at full strength for the Golden South Invitational on May 26. Bracy, who has a wind-legal best of 10.25 seconds (and 10.05 wind-aided), won the Florida state title in the 100 over the weekend, but had to pull out of the 200 with a slight hamstring strain. If he can get back to his best, Bracy should make the cut-off for the Trials. He would be a longshot to make the finals there.

Aldrich Bailey, Timberview (Texas): Based on the sizzling 45.19 he ran a little over a week ago, Bailey is a shoo-in to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the 400 meters. And if he can bring the time down even further, as he has suggested that he will, he could have a realistic chance of advancing beyond the first round. Arman Hall (Florida) and Najee Glass (N.J.) could potentially make it into the Trials, too, but both of them would need to PR and dip below 46 seconds.

Sean Keller, Heritage (Vancouver, Wash.): With the US #2 all-time throw of 244-1 at the end of April, Keller moved into the top 10 nationally (including pros and collegians). His place in the Trials is probably secure, but if he chooses to throw at the U.S Junior Championships the preceding week he may not have a rested arm.

Jacob Blankenship (Ohio), Shawn Barber (Texas), Reese Watson (Texas): During the indoor season, there was a lot of momentum happening for the top boys pole vaulters. But outdoors, not one of them has made 17 feet since April 1. And time is running out. The standard to make the Trials is 18-0.50, which none of them has made yet. However, Barber is eligible to compete for Canada and will likely compete in that nation's trials.

Devin Field (Texas) and Jarrion Lawson (Texas): Field was not allowed to compete this spring in varsity events for DeSoto because of the UIL’s residency issues, but his goal for the spring was 26 feet in the long jump. If he can get close to that number, he could make the Trials field (it takes 25-7 to qualify). Lawson, of Liberty-Eylau, has a wind-aided best of 25-10.75. If he can go big at the Texas state championships (without the wind), then he has a chance of making the cut.

Tyler Sorenson (California): The record-breaking junior racewalker earned a spot in the 20-kilometer even last year as a 17-year-old, making him one of the youngest Trials qualifiers ever for this event.

GIRLS

Haley Crouser, Gresham (Ore.): Only a high school junior, Crouser joined her older brother Sam and cousin Ryan as a national record holder this spring when she threw her javelin 181-2. She is a lock to make it into the Trials (along with Sam and Ryan), but she would need a huge PR in order to make it to London. (The Olympic A standard is 200-1). She has a realistic chance to finish in the top five at the Trials. Avione Allgood (Nev.) has been hoping all spring that her surgically repaired shoulder heals in time to throw at the Trials. She threw 176-8 for fourth at the U.S. Championships last year and competed at the Pan Am Games last fall.

Shelbi Vaughan, Legacy (Mansfield, Texas): She is consistently in the 180s with her discus and hit a best of 191-6 for a new U.S. high school record. That puts her squarely inside the top 10 nationally. On a good day, she could even make the finals at the Olympic Trials. But in 2008, the three who made the U.S. team all threw farther than 205 feet.

Gabrielle Williams, Reed (Sparks, Nev.): Still a little shy of the Trials standard (6-0.50), the U.S. leader has cleared six feet once and has a little more time to make an improvement that could put her into the field. It’s a lot to ask of a high school sophomore.

Shayla Sanders, Boyd H. Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.): She has been the dominant high school sprinter this spring in the 100 (11.33) and 200 (23.25), but these are extremely competitive events in the U.S. What will it take for her lineup against the likes of Carmelita Jeter or Allyson Felix? Sanders has met the qualifying standard for the 100, but if a bunch of women run fast at the NCAA championships, it could bump her down the list. If she can improve her time by even a few hundredths, she’d have a good chance of making the field. In 2008, it took 23.12 to make the field in the 200, so that might be out of reach.

Robin Reynolds, Jackson (Miami): The US leader in the 400 (52.19) has the B standard for the Trials, but that’s not a guarantee of making the cut. In 2008, 52.58 was the last accepted entry (out of 27 in the field). Reynolds’ best time would have made the field (22nd). Reynolds also has a long jump best of 20-6.25, about eight inches short of the Trials qualifying mark.

Ajee Wilson, Neptune (N.J.), Mary Cain, Bronxville (N.Y.) and Amy Weissenbach, Harvard-Westlake (Calif.): These are three of the all-time best prep 800-meter runners and all three of them have credentials that could put them into the Trials. In 2008, the slowest woman in the field made it in with 2:04.90. This is becoming a deeper even in the U.S., so it could take something a little faster this time. Wilson ran 2:02.64 last July and has a best so far this spring of 2:05.28. Cain, who is only a sophomore, is coming on strong and has a best of 2:05.90, but split 2:03.7 on a relay last year. She is also very close to the Trials B standard in the 1,500 (4:17.00). Weissenbach, the California state champion, has a PR of 2:02.04, although she has not run a fast one yet this spring.

Trinity Wilson, St. Mary’s College (Calif.), Dior Hall, George Washington (Colo.), Traci Hicks, Long Beach Poly (Calif.): In 2008, Jacqueline Coward (Tenn.) was a prep elite who made the field, qualifying with her best time of 13.20. At the Trials, she ran 13.69 and was last in her prelim, demonstrating how massive the leap is to this level of competition. Wilson ran 13.41 on April 7, but also suffered a hairline fracture of her big toe and hasn’t competed since. If she can return in time to compete in the California state meet, and get back to her PR of 13.15, she could land in the Trials. Hall, a sophomore, is the indoor national champion and has a PR of 13.18 from last year. Hicks has a wind-aided best of 13.22 and could also be on the bubble for a berth. (In 2008, it took 13.24 to make it into the meet).

Brianna Nerud, North Shore (Glen Head, N.Y.): The senior has run a couple of 3,000-meter steeplechase races in order to see if she can make the Trials B standard of 10:15, but has a best so far of 10:24.95. It would take a startling improvement in order to make the field. In 2008, it took 10:09 to make it and this year will probably take something a few seconds faster.

Cayla Hatton, Phillips Academy (Andover, Mass.): She ran an eye-popping 10,000 meters time of 33:17.28 at a low-key college meet – second-fastest in U.S. high school history. At the time, it seemed like she might be a lock for the Trials. Now, it appears that time won’t make the cut. In 2008, 33:24.10 secured the last spot in the field. This time around, it is much more competitive thanks to a couple of fast races this spring at Stanford (April 6 and 27). Twenty-nine women broke 33 minutes in those two races.

Kendell Williams, Kell (Marietta, Ga.): Has she gotten well-rounded enough to score 5,600 points in the heptathlon? That’s what it takes to make it into the Trials (at a minimum), and last year as a sophomore Williams was an age-group record-breaker with 5,170. Williams can compete with the best in the hurdles, high jump and long jump. She was reportedly working on her throws with the Throw1Deep Club in Georgia and that was a smart move. If her shot put and javelin are consistently superior to where they were a year ago, 5,600 is within her range.

There are just three stop lights in Buckley, Wash., the small town located in the foothills halfway between the city of Seattle and the summit of Mt. Rainier. There’s just one restaurant, Wally’s, a drive-in that’s popular with the high school kids.

It’s the kind of place where the high school’s sports are a big deal.

Last week, word spread like wildfire that Marcus Dickson was going after the White River High School record in the 1,600 meters in a dual meet against Sumner, right there in Buckley.

Dickson encouraged the buzz in town and then put on a show for the people who came to watch him run in his final home meet. He ran a US#1 4:05.83, helped by a teammate willing to run the first 800 in 2:02 and coaches positioned strategically around the track to keep him up to date on his split times.

“It was my last meet ever in a small town where people always ask me how I’m doing,” Dickson said. “A lot of people came out. We’d spread the word, ‘Come watch the mile.’ A lot of classmates and community members showed up. I knew it was going to be hard to run 4:05 in a league meet, but I also knew I had it in me.”

The school record was not soft. Andy Maris ran 4:06.61 in 1989. Dickson could see the name and time on a wall at the school every day and had long ago decided he wanted to take it down.

He got into position to do it with an ambitious 50-mile per week training regimen logged during a very wet Northwest winter and early spring. Dickson was the last athlete invited to join the field for the mile at the Brooks PR Invitational on Feb. 26 and then he ran 4:07.18 for the win in his only indoor meet.

“That broke me out of my shell a little bit,” Dickson said. “I had never run in a major race before. I’d read about those guys and found out when I met them that they were all regular kids like me. It told me I can run with anyone right now.”

In mid-March, when a late winter blast of snow and ice made the track at White River unusable, Dickson drove to nearby schools at lower elevations to scout for a track that was clear. He found one at Auburn-Riverside, waited until the school’s track teams were done using it, and then completed his workout under the cloak of darkness.

When the weather is at its worst – and the rain is colder at Buckley’s 700 feet – Dickson turns it to his advantage.

“No one else is running right now, so let’s run,” he said.

Dickson escaped the drizzle to run at the Arcadia Invitational on April 7 in California, finishing second in the mile to Brad Nye (Kaysville, Utah) in 4:09.41.

“Brad’s an amazing runner and it’s hard to beat him,” Dickson said of his future BYU teammate. “I was happy with what I did, it was an outdoor PR at the time, but I hate losing. I think (Arcadia) was a turning point for me. After Brooks I felt invincible. At Arcadia, I was expecting to win that race. It was a little wake-up.”

Motivation comes easy to Dickson, the youngest of five kids. He grew up wanting to surpass the achievements of his two older brothers, who both ran at Auburn High, one of the big Class 4A schools downhill from Buckley. Even within Washington, Dickson didn't gain widespread recognition until this year because of the exploits of runners like Andrew Gardner, Nathan Weitz and Anthony Armstrong.

"Those guys are the real deal, in track and cross," Dickson said. "They always beat me in cross country. I was hoping for a big year in track but wasn’t always sure because they always beat me. They motivated me to work harder. I thought of each one of those guys and wanted to be with them in track."

On April 26, at Buckley, there was a burst of hail at the track 20 minutes before the 1,600. But the people who came to watch had just enough time to close their umbrellas and find a good place to stand or sit. The sun came out. And Dickson got ready to run.

“He had a plan,” White River coach Jerry Scheidt said. “He wanted to break that record. He’s been chasing that thing for four years.”

Teammate Kody Gould, a 4:16 1,600-meter runner, helped him get to 2:02 for two laps.

By the end, Dickson was lapping runners, which caused a brief mix-up for the timing system. But the hand times all confirmed that it was under 4:06 and the automatic timing verified it. The townspeople cheered. Classmates greeted him with hugs.

With the months of May and June still to go, Dickson has a lot to look forward to on the track. He’d like to help White River win the Class 2A championship, running as many races as he needs to make that happen.

He certainly feels like he’s got a shot at the state record in the 800 (1:49.41 by John Cote of Lindbergh in 1997), mostly likely when he runs at the Oregon-Washington BorderDuel in Portland on June 2 against Nick Boersma (1:51.78) and Izaic Yorks (1:51.75). Two days after the 4:05, at the Shoreline Invitational, he just missed that 800 mark, running US#2 1:49.45.

And he’ll get another shot at Nye and the rest of the nation’s top milers when he makes his first trip to New York City for the June 9 Jim Ryun Dream Mile.

“I’m excited,” Dickson said. “There’s a lot left to do.”

When Tom McTaggart was invited to his own induction into the Rockland County, N.Y., Sports Hall of Fame last year, he had to inform the event’s organizers that he couldn’t make it. The date conflicted with the Penn Relays.

This year, the banquet has been moved to Sunday.

McTaggart and three other starters will engage in the weekend’s longest relay at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field (a fifth starter will handle the multi events and Thursday night’s races). There are more than 640 races this weekend at the Penn Relays and each one of them will begin with start commands and the pop of a starter’s pistol.

McTaggart has served as the starter at the Olympic Games (1996), numerous Olympic Trials, and almost every significant domestic track and field event. He works throughout the winter indoor season and then allows himself just two weekends off each spring. He will be the coordinator of the timing crew at the 2012 Olympic Trials in June. Even the handle of his email address is "MrStarter."

He began at Penn Relays – an event he calls “a well-oiled chainsaw” – in 1989.

At Penn Relays, the starters are like traffic cops. When the gun sounds, it’s time to go.

And with McTaggart, and the other veteran members of the starters’ crew, athletes at the Penn Relays are in expert hands.

McTaggart will enter the above-mentioned hall of fame not only for his status as a starter, but also for a long career at Suffern High School, where he taught and coached for 36 years (retiring in 2009). He started his first race in 1970, on a day when the regular starter failed to show up. He became one of the best in the business under the wing of Frank Bailey, the official starter of the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

What makes a great starter?

“Patience, confidence, and knowing what you’re doing,” McTaggart said. “An understanding of what athletes are going through, and an ultimate sense of fairness.”

McTaggart says each races begins with “the palpable moment of stillness,” a poetic description of the 1.5 to two seconds between “Set!” and the shot.

Last year, the starter’s crew kept track of the number of shells that were fired, including recalls: 659. Each starter does five races in a row (keeping one extra shell in case a re-start is required) and then rotates out to join the recall crew and reload.

For the 4x200s, with the enormous stagger, starters crack a .38 caliber gun (shooting blanks) for a louder sound that every competitor can hear above the din of the crowd. For the rest of the events, it’s a .32 caliber starter’s pistol.

The Penn Relays has remarkably few false starts. In 2011, McTaggart said there were only six.

“If a kid wiggles, we stand them up,” he said.

What advice does McTaggart have for this week’s newcomers to Penn? He ponders the question and the coach in him comes back to the surface.

• “On the 4x1s, hopefully you run a good turn, because you are almost running into the next one, so get used to handing off on a turn,” he said.
• “In any other race, run with your elbows wide. If you think you’re out and about to go down, fall before you get to the clock (for a re-start). I used to have my team practice a tuck-and-roll.”
• “The big thing is, don’t be afraid. It’s just another meet. Kids get nervous because of the crowd. Treat it like it’s just another meet.”

MOBILE INDEX



Sometimes, all it takes is just one race to rise to national prominence.

Such is the case with McGill-Toolen Catholic (Mobile, Ala.) junior Carmen Carlos. She won last Saturday’s Mobile Challenge of Champions 2-mile for the third consecutive year. The city is best known for producing five members of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, but the versatile distance runner is on her way to being Hall of Fame material herself.

Carlos had in the past three years become a dominant state and strong regional-class performer in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs, as well as cross country, and one figured it was just a matter of time before she made a breakthrough on the national level.

That breakthrough came in March at the New Balance Nationals Indoor in New York City.

Carlos was up against some of the best distance runners in the country in the 2-mile run, including Sachem East (Farmville, N.Y.) senior Rachel Paul and Bernards (Bernardsville, N.J.) senior Dana Giordano, who was at that time the nation’s 3,200 leader (10:24.73 from the New Jersey Meet of Champs.

It was a hotly contested race from start to finish, and it culminated with Carlos nearly colliding with Paul at the finish line. Carlos won with a time of 10:25.30. It was 18 seconds than her previous best (outdoors) for the deuce and the equivalent of a 12-second PR over her 10:34.02 3,200 best set in February.

VIDEO OF LAST LAP OF NBNI 2-MILE

Some felt that Carlos should have been disqualified because it appeared she impeded Paul’s progress. Carlos’ coach, Drew Bentley, had a different take.

“Carmen had the inside lane,” he said. “The other runner (Paul) came out of the straightaway in lane two and literally stopped running, and then cut across to hold her back. If you watch the video, (it shows that) the other girl tried to obstruct Carmen. In fact, the third-place runner (Giordano) said the second-place runner tried to cut her off.”

Bentley said that despite the last few moments of the race, Carlos never lost focus.

“Carmen never changed her running style,” he said. “The other girl (Paul) put her hand back. But I thought it was a great finish, because when you get in a championship race, that’s what you want to see, and if anything, the other girl was in jeopardy of being disqualified.”

“I was sure that I wasn’t disqualified, but I thought about it some,” Carlos said. “I felt bad that she (Paul) fell down, but what happens, happens.”

Just like that, Carlos wound up in the national spotlight, and with that, the challenge to find enough quality competition to keep progressing and prepare for possible outdoor nationals.

“Her season has to be catered to where she can get personal bests and competition,” said Bentley. “There are so few opportunities locally for her to be challenged.”

Saturday’s Challenge 2-mile loomed as one such opportunity. Carlos was primed to challenge the meet record of 10:23.05, set by Laura Zeigle of Bingham High in South Jordan, Utah in 2002. Despite a solid field, Carlos was unchallenged for most of the race, and managed to run ‘only’ 10:44.71.

Still, she won by a substantial margin. The time was not all bad—it was just a second slower than she ran here last year and a current U.S. leader for the full two miles.

“I felt that I wasn’t at my best, but I was still determined to stay on pace,” Carlos said. “I ended up falling off the pace, but I’m happy that I won.”

“You can be up only so many times,” said Bentley. “But even in the elite field at the Challenge, she almost lapped a runner. People have to realize now that she’s at a level where you have to train and be in select meets where she can have strong performances.”

Carlos hopes she will have some more opportunities to run in more elite meets.

“Hopefully, I can go to other meets at other states and run some fast times,” she said. “Of course, I’m also looking forward to meets like the Mobile County championships and the state meet to help my team win.”

MOBILE INDEX


One attends a large public school in Louisville, Ky., while the other attends a small private Christian school near Atlanta, Ga.

One is a rising junior, the other has already signed with Texas A&M University.

Yet, those are about the only differences between Butler High’s Tre’tez Kinnaird and Whitefield Academy’s Cameron Thornton.

Both of them are stars in the 800 meters, and both were teammates for the USA in last year’s World Youth Championships in Lille, France. And they’ve had a few battles, now—most recently at the Mobile Challenge of Champions.

“Even though the school that I attend (Butler) is pretty large, few guys come out for track,” Kinnaird said. “Few guys (on the team) are blessed to run those types of races (such as the Challenge).”

“Whitefield is a very small Christian school known more for basketball,” said Thornton. “In track and field, we don’t get a lot of competition during the season.”

That is, except when Kinnaird and Thornton lock horns in an 800-meter race—as they did Saturday.

Kinnaird won that battle, running a 1:51.77 to Thornton’s 1:51.80. In the first 200 meters, that race was anything was smooth, as both runners had to navigate through a very crowded field of 14. But Kinnaird took command soon after, forcing Thornton, the defending meet champion, to play catch-up.

Thornton eventually did, but Kinnaird had just enough left in the tank to secure the win. Yet, the results proved what a lot of observers said all along—the rivalry between Thornton and Kinnaird was just as intense as ever.

“The first 200, we didn’t get out as well as we wanted,” said Kinnaird. “I knew I had to sit back (to let the field sort itself out). I knew Cameron has run a 1:49, and I knew that if he was in front, he would have out kicked me.”

“Tre ran a crazy (good) race,” said Thornton. “It is what it is. The first 200 got a little ugly because there was some bumping. I know it’s going to be that way in college, so I’ll have to get used to it.”

How then, despite the vast difference in student body size, can Kinnaird and Thornton develop such a fierce, yet cordial rivalry in an event that demands not only speed and endurance, but also a killer instinct?

“I don’t know what makes this rivalry so special, but I think it all started when we competed in France,” said Thornton. “Even though we were rivals, we would up being roommates. We got a chance to hang out and do some things while we were there.”

“We’re enemies on the track, but we’re great friends off it,” said Kinnaird. “The first time we hooked up, it was at last year’s New Balance Outdoor Nationals. We were pretty deep in the 800, and then we ran at the World Youth Trials. Even though I won at the trials, Cameron and I both wound up going to France, and we really became close. I know we’re going to push each other. It’s great competition, and Cameron never backs down.”

They have faced off at least five times since last year, and there is the possibility they may face each other again.

“He’s going to be tearing it up in the 800 when he’s by himself next year,” said Thornton, who graduates this year. But I know I’ll see him again this year.”

“We may meet up at New Balance if Cameron doesn’t go to the Juniors,” said Kinnaird. I hope we do meet up again soon, because it’s a great rivalry.”

Before the outdoor track season began, senior Shelbi Vaughan of Legacy (Mansfield, Texas) set a goal to break the U.S. high school record in the discus.

“I thought it would take until the very last meet of my high school career,” she said.

Instead, she pocketed the record by the end of March. Last Friday at the Texas Relays, Vaughan uncorked a 191-foot, 6-inch throw to break the 2009 record of Anna Jelmini by 15 inches.

She has three months, maybe more, to set out after her next goal: Becoming the first prep girl to break the 200-foot barrier.

Vaughan began the week ranked third in the U.S. in the women’s discus – including pros and college athletes – and has a very real chance to be in the field at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. in June.

Only five women threw farther than 191 feet at the 2008 Olympic Trials and one of them, Stephanie Brown Trafton, went on to win the Olympic gold in Beijing, China.

Vaughan said she hasn’t changed her technique since last year, when she threw to a US#1 prep ranking and second place finish in the World Youth Championships at Lille, France.

“I’m not doing anything different,” she said. “I think I’m just bigger and stronger.”

A week prior to the Texas Relays, Vaughan hit a PR throw of 176-9 at the Keller Invitational, exceeding her 2011 best by four inches. She said she threw as far as 195 feet in practice leading up to the Texas Relays, so the distance on her second throw didn’t come as a complete surprise.

“I tend to throw left of center and at the end (of the throw) it went over to the side a little bit,” she said. “It’s normal for the discus to do that.”

Vaughan said she had no clue just how far she’d thrown at first.

“I was just hoping it was far,” she said. “(When I heard the distance) I kind of froze for a moment. Then I turned and saw my coach and went over to give her a hug, and then gave my mom a hug.”

She still had four throws remaining and she used them to try and duplicate her big throw.

“At that point, I was trying to remember what I did and repeat it, see if I could get another one out there,” Vaughan said. Three of her throws were fouls. One of them, she estimates, might have been in the upper 180s. Two others went over her previous PR in the low 180s.

Even though much of the country is just getting into the outdoor season, Vaughan has just four meets left in Texas. After a small meet on Thursday, she has districts, regionals and the state championships.

“I try to throw hard every meet,” she said. “I’m trying to PR every meet.”

So the record is by no means safe. Vaughan is looking to keep launching her discs further into the horizon – and she is starting to take a closer look at where she stands relative to the rest of the top throwers in the country, regardless of age.

“I am starting to (think about the Trials),” she said. “My goal was to get the (Olympic Trials) ‘B’ standard and I did that.”

The A standard, which would guarantee her a berth in the Trials field, is 196-10 (60 meters). If Vaughan really does get to 200 feet, and can throw that far in Eugene, all of a sudden she could be a legitimate contender for an Olympic team berth. (The Olympic A standard is 203-5).

That’s heady stuff, and it can probably wait just a bit.

In the meantime, Vaughan is happy to celebrate one goal before pursuing the next one.

“It’s been exciting,” she said. “I’ve had lots of people texting and saying ‘Congratulations.’ There’s been a lot of attention.”

Cayla Hatton didn’t know she was going to run the mixed-gender 10,000 meters on Saturday in the Snowflake Classic at Tufts University until three days before the race. She’d never run that distance before, so she and her coach made a conservative guess and marked “37 minutes” for her entry time.

For twenty-five laps through the chilly, damp air in Somerville, Mass., the senior from Phillips Academy (Andover, Mass.) maintained contact with a group of male runners and crossed the finish line in 33:17.28 – second fastest in U.S. prep history.

In just over half an hour, Hatton became one of the most intriguing runners in the country.

“I honestly had no expectation in terms of time,” she said. “I was running (the race) because I wanted to try out a 10K. Since I’d been injured for so long, I had no idea what distance would be my best. I wanted to try everything from the 800 to the 10K.”

Hatton has resurfaced as a major talent after two years of injury and physical therapy wiped out her sophomore and junior seasons. As an eighth grader, she won the USATF Youth Outdoor title in the 3,000 meters and as a high school freshman ran 4:38.30 for 1500.

In the fall of her sophomore year (2009), Hatton was playing for the Phillips Academy soccer team when she began to notice pain and inflammation in her right glute. She played through it and tried to heal the injury with some rest.

“The first track meet I did (in 2010) was a 3,000 and it hurt again,” she said. The injury cut short her sophomore season and then an injury to her left hip kept her out of the 2011 track season.

Hatton said that her doctor told her there was a structural problem, that she had “retroverted cups” in her hip joint. The doctor adviser her that running would only lead to more pain and injury.

That news took Hatton to a new low.

“I went through all the phases of mourning,” she said. “I remember being so upset, so angry at (the doctor). I was in denial. But I also think the whole experience made me realize how much I love running. Before, it was soccer, and running was just a hobby. When (running) was taken away I realized how much I missed it.”

Entering the ‘torture chamber’

Hatton and her parents sought out a second opinion from a physical therapist who saw something else: Imbalances and weaknesses in her muscles causing problems with her running mechanics, leading to the injuries.

Hatton began daily physical therapy sessions to build up the strength in her quads.

“The exercises are easy, but mentally it’s very hard to do them because they are so repetitive, these boring exercises you do every day,” she said. “There was this sign on the door that said ‘Torture Chamber,’ but when I look back now it was so worth it.”

By last summer, Hatton was running pain free. On Sept. 5, she ran the Stratton Faxon New Haven 5K road race and covered the distance in 17:24. In a race with more than 3,200 runners, she was 17th overall and was the first female to finish (by more than two minutes).

“That was a big moment for me, because I hadn’t been in a race for so long,” she said.

Hatton began running with the Andover Phillips cross country team, but her physical therapy sessions made it difficult to stay in sync with the team’s schedule. It quickly became apparent that she would be better off training independently.

Hatton considered entering the Nike Northeast regional meet, but then had second thoughts.

“All fall I went by feel,” she said. “My goal was to stay healthy.”

Hatton works with Boston Running Center coach Joe McConkey. Over the winter, her mother drove up from Connecticut and made the two-hour drive to pick her daughter up from the private boarding school and take her to Boston for indoor workouts with her coach.

On Feb. 4, Hatton entered the mile at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. She went head-to-head with some of the nation’s elite runners, pushing out to a big early lead and then finished second in 4:51.37. (She was passed late by Delaware’s Haley Pierce).

A week later, Hatton arrived in St. Louis, Mo. and entered the open women’s 8,000-meter race at the USATF Cross Country Championships. She placed a respectable 13th overall as the youngest athlete in the field, running 28:26.

Why not run the junior race instead?

“Well, I wanted to have some really strong competition and I wanted to have the experience of racing Molly Huddle and Sara Hall,” Hatton said. “It was not even about winning, but I just wanted that experience of running with these women. Someday I’d like to be like them.”

Preparing for Stanford

Until last Saturday, the 8K was the longest race Hatton had ever attempted. She runs 50-60 miles a week under the supervision of McConkey, and does long runs of 13-15 miles.

“She’s been doing freshman Division I-type training,” said McConkey. “She does most of her training by herself; she’s doing the long stuff on her own.”

It is also preparing her for the leap to college training. Hatton has signed with Stanford and will join one of the country's top programs in the fall. (Andover Phillips Academy, founded in 1778, routinely sends graduates to Harvard, Yale and other top-tier universities).

Hatton had it in mind to find a 5,000 meters and try to chase the B qualifying standard for the Olympic Trials when the opportunity for the 10K popped up.

The 10,000 meters is not a common distance at the high school level, but it is the longest contested race on the track at the Olympic Games. Top high school talents in the U.S. normally don’t even attempt it until they reach college.

The national record prep record, held by North Carolina’s Mary Shea since 1979, is 32:52.5. In the 33 years since then, no one has run it faster than Hatton – though the all-time list behind her includes prep legends like Cathy Schiro, Lesley Welch, Erin Davis, and Melody Fairchild. She also earned the Olympic Trials B standard, meaning there is a chance she could compete at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. against the best women in the country.

Hatton split nearly identical 16:38s back-to-back.

“I know my first lap was 82 (seconds) and maybe two other (82s) were sprinkled in,” she said. “I found myself dropping down to 79, and felt good, so I decided to go with it. I think (my coach) thought I was making a big mistake.”

McConkey was wondering if running faster-than-prescribed laps near the start would come back and haunt Hatton later on, but by the fourth mile she was still running smoothly.

“We certainly had seen hints of what’s possible, but we’ve not catered her training specifically to the 10K,” he said. “(The 10K) was such an unknown thing for us because she’s still running on the strength she gained from cross country.”

Incidentally, as Hatton lined up on the starting line with a group of small-college men and women, she didn’t know anybody in the race. And it was obvious that no one knew her, either.

“It was funny,” she said. “The starter said at the beginning, ‘You (women) stay together for me so the lap counting is easy.’” She had no idea how fast she would go, but she knew she wasn’t going to hang back to make life easier for the lap-counter.

Over the course of 25 laps, Hatton passed every woman in the race at least five times. She managed to stay on the lead lap with the men to the very end.

Hatton said her successful debut at 10K won’t change the way she views her running, or her goals.

“I can’t wait to run shorter distances again, though I have no idea how I’ll do at them,” she said. “I’d say my goal in the 5K is (Trials B standard) 15:50.”

After two years of disappointment and the fear that she would never run competitively again, Hatton is still processing her 25-lap breakthrough at the Snowflake Invitational.

"It's still sinking in," she said.

Devin Field doesn’t hold any bitterness toward the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) for ruling him ineligible to compete this spring for DeSoto High School or denying him a chance to defend his state titles in the long and triple jump.

The truth is, he is in violation of the UIL’s residency policy because he doesn’t currently live with a parent. Field understands that, and if it means jumping in the junior varsity section of DeSoto’s meets – a ludicrous scenario for the national champion – so be it.

“It bothered me at first,” Field said.

The high school junior has already seen enough of the track and field world – including trips to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Oregon, Idaho, Florida and New York – to know how to set his goals higher than a Texas state title. Earlier this month, despite an ailing lower back strain, he managed to win the New Balance Nationals Indoor long jump title at the Armory in New York City.

If permitted, he would like to compete at the Texas Relays and Arcadia Invitational – unattached if necessary – in order to have some semblance of a season. Beyond that, he is determined to graduate early and enroll in college next January.

Either way, Field wouldn’t change any of the decisions that led to his UIL eligibility issue.

Blown off course

Elissa Field had to think fast, but really there was no other choice but to heed the warning and evacuate Port Arthur.

It was the third week of September, 2005, and Hurricane Rita was headed right for the Texas coastal city. The single mother of three might have stubbornly stayed put and rode it out, but not this time. Not after watching New Orleans drowned by Katrina just a month earlier. Forecasters said Rita was just as big as that.

She loaded her kids in the car, grabbed armloads of their clothes, some important papers, and her nurse’s uniform. “We rode around for hours,” she said. “I didn’t know where to go.”

Elissa knew a friend in Dallas and so she decided to go in that direction. The freeways were jammed. A six-hour trip took 15 hours.

“We stayed in a hotel,” she said. “We ended up staying there for three months.”

It was a disruptive move for Devin, her middle child. He lost his focus in the turmoil, lost ground at school, and was forced to repeat the sixth grade.

When Elissa returned to Port Arthur to survey the damage, she found that one of the large trees in the yard had been uprooted and had crashed into the side of the house. There was very little that she was able to salvage.

“When it happened, it was kind of stressful,” Devin said. “Before that week our life was based on staying in Port Arthur.”

The fortunate turn was that one of his friends in his new school in Dallas asked him to come out for the track team in the seventh grade.

“When I started trying to see where I fit in, I knew I could jump and I started trying to hurdle (too),” Devin said. “Coach said ‘try the triple jump’ and I beat everyone in the triple jump.”

He continued to play football into the ninth grade, but it became apparent that pure athletic talent fit track and field better.

“I knew Devin was gifted since he was five years old,” Elissa said. “But I never pushed my kids (into sports). If that’s what you want to do, then I’m behind you.”

Devin entered Lancaster High School and gravitated toward Vincent Johnson, the jumps coach. They became close and the freshman began to think he’d found a mentor and father figure. Johnson asked his athletes what they wanted to do with their lives.

Devin’s reply was immediate: “I want to go to the Olympics.”

A national name

Devin won the Texas 4A title in the long jump as a freshman, then won it again for Lancaster last year as a sophomore. He took the triple jump, too.

In the spring of 2011, Devin was churning out 24-footers like they were automatic. He set a goal to make the Junior Pan Am team and went to the USATF Juniors in Eugene, Ore. to try and qualify. Once there, he would have to compete with 19-year-old college freshmen in order to place in the top two and make the U.S. team.

Devin did even better than that, popping a 24-2 on his first attempt and the working his way up to 24-8.50 in the fifth round. He won the title by a quarter inch. A mere inch and a half separated the top four places.

At the Junior Pan Am Championships in Miramar, Fla., Field was on his game again, going 24-10.50 to win the gold medal.

But the summer also brought change. Coach Johnson accepted a job at Kansas State University. Elissa found out that her mother’s cancer had resurfaced after 15 years in remission. She wanted to go back to Port Arthur and help take care of her.

For the sake of the family, Devin was willing to move back to Port Arthur.

“Devin’s a family person,” Elissa said. “Family comes first and he said ‘Let’s go.’ We dropped everything and left and went to Port Arthur because I was worrying so much about (my mom). It was a relief for me that Devin went for it and (my daughter) Kayla went for it.”

Devin and his younger sister enrolled in Port Arthur Memorial, but there were problems from the outset. He had a difficult time getting into the classes that he knew he needed in order to graduate early. He felt he couldn’t find a sympathetic ear and he knew he would find a better academic climate back in the Dallas area.

He tried Port Arthur Memorial for two months, but came to the realization that he needed to move back. In November, he moved in with a family friend, Trent Gamble, one of the assistant coaches for the Texas Faces track club. Gamble lives in DeSoto, seven miles due east of Lancaster. So Devin entered DeSoto, where he quickly got into the classes he needed to be in to stay on schedule for early graduation.

The move was tied to academics more than sports. That’s why when the eligibility issue arose, Devin didn’t worry about it. He works out daily with DeSoto track athletes, but probably won’t be able to pursue a state championship with them.

“He is a great kid,” said DeSoto coach Mark Brady. “I mean, for having to bounce around the way he has, he’s very respectful and has great work habits. I do wish we could run him somewhere this year, but the rules say you have to live with your mom.”

Devin’s grandmother is back in good health now, cancer-free once again. Elissa plans to move back to the Dallas area with Kayla in April. That could alter the eligibility verdict, but even if it doesn’t, Devin has made peace with it.

With or without a season in Texas, the junior is focused on his goals. He wants to fly past 26 feet in the long jump, go beyond 51 in the triple jump. He’d like to get his 110-meter hurdles time down to a cool 13.8. And he’d like to wear the Team USA uniform again this summer, at the World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain.

Devin said it occurred to him a few weeks back that if it hadn’t been for the hurricane, his track career may never have left the ground back in Port Arthur.

So he is focusing more on what he has than what he doesn’t have.

“Maybe the storm (was a blessing),” Elissa said. “If it took Rita to push us out of (Port Arthur) to see the light we should have seen, to get my kids to their destination, then it was a push we needed.”

PORTLAND -- On Sunday mornings this winter, Sean Keller crossed the Columbia River from Vancouver, Wash. and came to the Concordia Throws Center to work on throwing the javelin.

The senior from Heritage High is bringing a new level of focus and maturity to his final season of high school throwing – and each week begins with a Sunday session on the same runway where Sam Crouser broke the U.S. high school record in 2010.

The record (255 feet, 4 inches) is in play for Keller this spring, but it’s not really the thing he’s targeting, at least not yet.

“I’m not setting a personal mark (goal),” he said. “I just want to go farther and farther.”

Last year, Keller threw a best of 232-1 on April 23 at the Centennial Invitational (Gresham, Ore.) for a new Washington state record and US#1 ranking that held up the remainder of the season. He threw 220 feet or better in eight additional meets.

He was getting by with his natural ability – his speed on the runway and the rubbery flexibility of his shoulder and arm.

But there was more that he could have been doing. After his last throws of the summer, he made some changes and took advantage of new opportunities. He decided that his future was in throwing, so he stopped playing football to minimize the risk of getting hurt. He flew to North Carolina twice – seated on the airplane next to Gresham, Oregon's World Youth javelin finalist Haley Crouser – to attend the first two sessions of the NSSF’s Kultan Keihas Project with coach Jeff Gorski. (“Kultan Keihas” means “javelin gold” in Finnish).

As 2012 began, Keller got into a consistent weight-training program for the first time and committed to Sunday mornings at the throwing center with javelin coach Scott Halley.

“I’m learning to use my lower body to throw farther,” Keller said. “(Weight training) will reduce my chance of injury. At a certain point you also have to stay flexible, so I take a half hour stretching my arm after workouts.”

In 2011, he felt like he threw too often on too little training.

This year, he plans to take a single throw to secure team points at dual meets and then rest his arm for the big invitationals.

The new approach also includes doing more events to help his team out. Heritage’s boys could be in the running for the Washington Class 4A team title and Keller wants to do what he can to deliver a successful dual meet season, as well as a possible state championship.

In addition to the shot put, discus and javelin, Keller plans to add the 400 meters (and 4x400 relay). The work he puts into running should help him develop more stamina and strength.

Keller won the state championship last year at 220-6 and then qualified for the Pan Am Juniors, where he was sixth with 228-6.

“By the last meet (USATF Junior Olympics in Kansas City, Mo.), I felt pretty tired,” he said.

If all goes according to plan, Keller could throw deep into the summer again. He is targeting the U.S. Junior Championships (June 15-17) and leaving open the possibility that he could make the field for the U.S. Olympic Trials (men’s javelin starts June 23).

As a member of the Kultan Keihas Project, he is anticipating a summer trip to Finland for a competition there.

“Javelin is pretty much like the NFL in Finland,” Keller said. “It will be interesting seeing what they have.”

And if he makes the U.S. junior team again, he would compete in Barcelona, Spain at the World Junior Championships (July 10-15).

It’s a lot to look forward to and Keller is planning and preparing so that he’s ready. Those Sunday morning workouts in the Northwest winter could pay off in June and July.

In 2011, the United States won its sixth straight World Youth (under 18) championships in Lille, France. There are almost two complete seasons until the 2013 championships (for athletes born in 1996 and 1997), but it is not too soon to begin planning. To that end, here is a look at the prospects of winning a seventh team championship in Donetsk, Ukraine.

At this time the IAAF (the world governing body for track and field) and USATF (the U.S. track federation) have not set qualifying standards. Those standards will be set in late 2012, but a good indication of what those standards might be can be gleaned from the standards used in 2011. In 2011 the U.S. sent a team of 41 athletes that demonstrated, by performance, they could make the finals at the WYC. Even with those tough standards—standards that were much tougher than the IAAF standards—a number of athletes who met those standards were not selected for the U.S. team. Hopefully, in 2013, ALL athletes who meet predetermined standards and finish in the top two at the U.S. trials will be named to the team.

Here is a look at the leading U.S. prospects and leading world candidates for the 2013 WYC for athletes born in 1996-1997.

Boys performance list
Girls performance list

Dior Hall and Mary Cain Lead the U.S. Girls

In 2011, the U.S. World Youth team was led by gold medalists Trinity Wilson in the 100-meter high hurdles and Ajee’ Wilson in the 800. The same two events could yield the same results in 2013 with Dior Hall of Washington (Denver, Co.) in the hurdles and Mary Cain of Bronxville (N.Y.) in the 800—and if not there, the 1,500.

Hall burst onto the national and international scene with a 13.18 at the Great Southwest Invitational as a freshman to set national class and world age-15 records. She later finished third in the U.S. Junior (under 20) national championships. Those marks were made over the 33-inch hurdles, so the 30-inch hurdles used in the World Youth championships should allow her to challenge the World Youth record of 13.08 set by Adrianna Lamalle of France in the first WYC in Bydgoszcz, Poland in 1999.

Yanique Thompson of Jamaica has the second best time in the world over the 30-inch hurdles at 13.76. Daria Cook of Vacaville (Ca.) at 14.35 is the second best in the world over the higher hurdles. At the New Balance Nationals Indoor, Hall continued to impress, defeating Wilson in the 60 hurdles in 8.19 to become the second-fastest high school runner of all time.

Cain has had just two quality races at 800 meters, but her 2:06.44 ranks No. 3 in the world behind Johanna Matintalo of Finland at 2:05.87 and Anita Hinriksdottir of Iceland, who recently ran 2:05.96 indoors. Cain also ran 1,500 in 4:17.84 at the 2011 New York State meet to rank No. 1 in the world. Ayaka Nakagawa of Japan is second at 4:19.93. Cain is also the U.S. leader in the 3,000 at 9:28.6. Nakagawa is the world leader at 9:17.46.

In the girls sprints, Ky Westbrook of Chandler (Az.) is the world leader in the 100 at 11.73, closely followed by Aleia Hobbs of McMain (New Orleans, La.) and Bruna Ortega of Ecuador, both at 11.75. Westbrook was the State Div. I champion and Hobbs won the State 3A title with an 11.84. Arianna Washington of Poly (Long Beach, Ca.) and Deanna Hill of Lake Highlands Prep, Orlando, Fl.) lead the world at 200 at 23.83. Washington has been outstanding indoors with her personal best of 23.83. Earlier, Hill had run 23.83 and finished second in the national AAU JO 15-16 championships. Irene Ekelund of Sweden is third at 24.11.

In the girls 400, Aliyah Abrams, a freshman at Grayson (Ga.), leads the U.S. at 54.14 and is just behind World Youth leader Yanique McNeil of Jamaica, who has run 54.02. The unlikely world leader in the 400 low hurdles is Nguyen Thi Oanh of Vietnam, who ran 60.47 in her national championships. Amber Lewis of Roswell (Ga.) at 61.25 and Kimani Austin-Reese of Central (Miami, Fl.) at 61.69 are second and third. Lewis finished third in the national AAU JO 15-16 division and Austin-Reese won the USATF JO 15-16 division.

Kennedy Blahnik of Algoma (Wi.) won her state D-II discus competition at 150-7 and threw a world leading 155-9 in a USATF Regional JO meet. Ashlie Blake of Legacy (North Las Vegas, Nv.) is second at 152-11 and Yasenaca Denicaucau of Australia is third at 148-9. Blake set a national freshman shot put record at 49-5¾ at the USATF National JO 15-16 division, but she will likely face Emel Dereli of Turkey who had a best of 53-4 ¼ in 201,1 but then improved to a world leading 54-11 ¼ with an indoor effort this year. Blahnik won the State Division III title at 47-0¼ to rank No. 4 in the world. Freshman Nia Britt of Alemany (Mission Hills, Ca.) threw 51-6¼ last year with the 6 lb. shot, but has made a dramatic improvement indoors this year with a 48-9 effort with the 4-kilo shot.

Chyna Ries of Washington (Denver, Co.) popped a personal long jump best of 20-5 ¾ indoors to rank second in the world behind Daizy Issa of Bulgaria, who had a world leading 20-8 three days before winning her national age-15 championship. Gabrielle Williams of Reed (Sparks, Nv.) is the U.S. youth high jump leader at 5-10 and ranks fourth in the world behind leader Eleanor Patterson of Australia, who has jumped 5-11½. Reena Koll of Estonia is the world pole vault leader at 13-6¼. Desiree Freier of Northwest (Justin, Tx.) is the U.S. leader at 12-9.

Freshman Emma Fitzgerald of Waltham (Ma.), who won the USATF National JO Youth javelin title at 138-8 and had a best of 145-8, ranks No. 2 in the world behind the 169-5 of Marie-Therese Obst of Germany. Alexa Harmon-Thomas of Lawrence (Ks.) is the world leader in the heptathlon at 4,760.

Xavier Atkins and Bryce Love Lead the U.S. Boys

Freshman Xavier Atkins of Spruce Creek (Port Orange, Fl.) is the boys’ world youth leader for athletes born in 1996-1997 in both the 100 and 200. In the 100, Atkins ran 10.73 to win the Coach O Youth Invitational. Freshman Bryce Love of Rolesville (Raleigh, N.C.) also ran 10.73 in the USATF Region III JO meet in Georgia. Ranking third in the world were Kenzo Cotton of Papillion-La Vista (Papillion, Nb.) and Nicholas Douglas of Trinidad, both at 10.87.

In the 200 Atkins ran 21.52 in the heats of the national AAU Club (15-16) championships, and then finished second in the final in a wind-aided 21.52. Cotton was second in the world with a 21.77 win in the Nebraska State A final. Silva dos Santos of Brazil was third at 21.79 and Love was fourth at 21.81. Love was also the world leader in the 400 at 48.27 run in the USATF Region III JO meet in Georgia. Joshua Robinson of Australia ranks No. 2 at 48.68 and Naija Omari of St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, N.J.) is fourth at 48.93 run indoors in the Eastern States meet.

William Levay of Sweden is the world leader in the 800 at 1:55.07. Matthew Rosen of Jefferson (Bloomington, Mn.) is second at 1:56.13 run in a 2A regional meet. Adrian Mangoba of Vista (Ca.) is fourth with a 1:56.40 with a seventh place finish in the San Diego Section final. Leavy also leads the world at 3,000 with an 8:29.03 last August. Bailey Roth of Eagles Landing (McDonough, Ga.) is second at 8:43.65 with a win in the USATF National JO (15-16) race and Blair Hurlock of De La Salle (Concord, Ca.) is third at 8:43.73 in winning the Super 7 Invitational this February.

Running comparable two-mile times to Roth and Hurlock are Elijah Armstrong of Pocatello (Id.), who has run 9:24.05, and Luis Colson of Edison (Alexandria, Va.), who ran 9:24.82 last spring. Roth is the world 1,500 leader at 3:59.86 followed by Daniel Wallis of Great Britain at 3:59.81. However, Blake Haney of Stockdale (Bakersfield, Ca.) has a best of 4:12.34 for 1,600, which is worth 3:53.6 for 1,500. Armstrong was also very impressive in winning the freshman mile at the the New Balance Indoor nationals in 4:18.09. Ryan Thomas of Albemarle, Charlottesville, Va.) Has the second fastest 1,600 with an indoor 4:18.60 this winter.

In the 110-meter 39-inch hurdles, Isaiah Moore of Williams (Burlington, N.C.) is the U.S. leader at 14.18 and Marlon Humphrey of Hoover (Al.) is second at 14.49. The rest of the world athletes born in 1996-1997 rarely run 39-inch hurdles over 110 meters, so no comparisons are possible. In the 400-meter 36 inch hurdles, Obafemi Animashaun of Union Catholic (Scotch Plains, N.J.) is the world leader at 54.68 but again the rest of the world athletes in this age group are running different hurdle heights and distances. John Lint of Columbus Academy (Gahanna, Oh.) is the U.S. leader in the 300 intermediate hurdles at 38.99.

Gavin Gautreaux of Catholic (New Iberia, La.) is the world pole vault leader at 15-8, followed by Hunter Carlton of Legacy (Mansfield, Tx.) at 15-6, also indoors. Hawk Griffin of Little Elm (Tx.) is third at 14-11¼. Christopher Bryan of Jamaica is the world high jump leader at 7-2½ and Henry Smith of Australia is second at 6-8 ¾. The U.S. leaders are Randall Cunningham of Silverado (Las Vegas, Nv.) and Stephen Kolbe of Warsaw (In.), both at 6-7, but given Cunningham’s pedigree his future is likely in football. His father is Randall—a 16-year NFL quarterbacks—and his uncle is Sam, an all-American running back at USC, who played 10 years in the NFL.

Henry Smith of Australia is the world leader in the long jump at 22-11¾ closely followed by Dimitri Antonov of Germany a 22-10¾. Nate Moore of Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland, Ca.) is the U.S. leader at 22-8 ¾ and Craig Jones of Central (Baton Rouge, La.) is next at 22-7¾. Antonov is the triple jump leader at 50-0 ¾ with an indoor jump in 2012. Montel Nevers of Great Britain is next at 46-8 ¼. John Warren of Killeen (Tx.) third at 46-7, but he does have a wind-aided 48-4¼, and Keandre Bates of Burges (El Paso, Tx.) is fourth at 46-9½.

Andrew Trumbetti of Demarest (N.J.) is the U.S. leader with the 12-lb shot at 57-03.75 indoors and Amir Patterson of Crespi (Encino, Ca.) is next at 54-10¼ outdoors. The rest of the world uses the 5-kg (11-lb) shot and Henning Prufer of Germany is the leader at 59-5 ½. Matthew Zajac of E.C. Glass (Lynchburg, Va.) is the U.S. leader at 174-11 with the high school 1.62-kg discus and Anthony Dudley of Parkland (El Paso, Tx.) is next at 169-04. The rest of the world uses the 1.5-kg discus and Patrick Muller of Germany is the leader at 177-2. Prufer is second at 175-6.

In the javelin, the world youth leader with the 800g javelin is Robert Toth of Hungary at 199-6. The U.S. is led by Denham Patricelli of Tahoma (Maple Valley, Wa.) at 191-4 and Curtis Thompson of Holy Cross (Lumberton, N.J.) at 175-7. Outside the U.S., athletes born in 1996-1997 rarely, if ever, throw the 800g or 700g javelin in 2011. The U.S. throws the 12-lb hammer and is led by Colin Minor of South Brunswick (Southport, N.C.) at 174-3. The rest of the worlds youth throwers use the 5-kg (11-lb) ball and are led by Joaquin Gomez of Argentina at 240-7.

If you feel you belong on this following list please contact Mike Kennedy at mkentrk@aol.com with your performance including meet, site and date of that performance including wind reading.

NBNI Index

Girls High Jump (Friday, 6 p.m.)
This should be a great battle between a trio of jumpers who have cleared 5-10 or better, led by 2011 runner-up and top returnee Madeline Morrow OH. Morrow was known last year for a big handful of great duels with fellow Ohioan Taylor Burke (2011 NBNI champ), who has now moved on to college. But she’ll hardly have the stage to herself. Multi-event star Kendell Williams GA, always a national championship threat in any one of several indoor or outdoor events, is entered here – though she recently said she might just focus on the 60H and pentathlon. The HJ has perhaps been Williams’ best event (and favorite) this year, so it would be surprising if she skipped it. If she’s here, she’ll likely battle Morrow to the final jump. A later add to the field is fast-rising Rhode Island star Dakota Dailey-Harris, coming off her New Englands title a week ago. Finally, the deep field includes 13 jumpers at 5-8 or better, so if the stars falter at the higher elevations, it could be anyone’s gold.
Top Three Picks: 1. Williams, 2. Morrow, 3. Dailey-Harris.
Winning Height: 5-11.25

Girls Distance Medley Relay (Friday, 6:10 p.m.)
The last time a powerhouse girls distance program from Michigan was a threat for a national relay title was back in the early 2000s when Rockford was fielding some of the nation’s best. Now enter the girls of Grosse Pointe South, which won the Michigan D1 state XC title (MI teams aren’t allowed to run NXN) and feature the Meier twins – both sub-4:50 milers (See Baker’s Dozen story about their record chances). There are a handful of other teams that could run in the mid-11:40s to 12:00, including LaSalle RI (US#3 11:53.36), Ocean Lakes VA, and meet-record holder Saratoga Springs (US#4 11:55.14), but it’s hard to imagine anyone beating the Michigan squad. Defending champ Fayetteville-Manlius is only running the 4x800.
Top Three Picks: 1. Grosse Pointe, 2. LaSalle, 3. Kinetic (Saratoga).
Winning Time: 11:34.50, USR

Boys Distance Medley Relay (Friday, 6:40 p.m.)
CBA NJ assistant coach Chris Bennett said Friday that their US#1 squad was pulling out of this event, better to focus on Saturday’s 4x1 Mile relay – the assault on a record taking precedence over scoring a potential sweep of the three longest relays. That leaves the door wide open for US#2 St. Benedict’s NJ to take the win, with star Ed Cheserek’s path to a potential DMR/SMR/2M/1M quadruple growing a bit easier. That’s not to say there are no other contenders. Marshfield MA with its distance duo of Kevin Thomas and Joel Hubbard, Piscataway NJ with Tim Ball, and Pembroke MA with Wesley Gallagher all have a chance to run 10:10 or better. Still, if Cheserek gets the stick within 6-8 seconds of the lead, it’s lights out.
Top Three Picks: 1. St. Benedict’s, 2. Marshfield, 3. Piscataway
Winning Time: 10:06.40, USR

Girls 5,000 (Friday, 7:10 p.m.)
The rematch of Erin Finn MI, Haley Pierce DE, and Wesley Frazier NC is the story here (see Doug Binder Story, SteveU’s Baker’s Dozen) and, as has been mentioned, Brianna Nerud NY is also highly capable of winning. If Pierce is on form, she should win, but the fact that she has been prone to an occasional collapse or major mid-race fade opens the door for anyone else. Whoever is most on their game definitely has a national record shot.
Top Three Picks: 1. Pierce, 2. Finn, 3. Nerud
Winning Time: 16:31.20, USR

Boys 5,000 (Friday, 7:55 p.m.)
There aren’t going to be any record chases this year, but the 5k should still be a very good competitive race with national class talent. Dallin Farnsworth ID and Dustin Wilson PA are both familiar with the 5k on the track; Farnsworth was 4th in this race last year and Wilson was 5th in the NBON 5k last June. On top of that, they were 11th and 13th, respectively, at Foot Locker Finals last fall. Farnsworth is really on a roll, though, coming off his meet record Simplot 3,200 win. Also, New Yorkers Thomas Awad and Dan Lennon should be solidly in the mix, especially Awad, whose marks have been strong nearly all winter.
Top Three Picks: 1. Farnsworth, 2. Awad, 3. Wilson.
Winning Time: 14:33.70