Nike Indoor Nationals 2009

 KYtrackXC.com celebrates the start of 2010 with a week long look back at the Top 10 Performances from the 2009 Track and Cross Country Seasons. Performance #9 and 10 Performance #7 and 8 Performance #5 and 6 Performance #3 and 4 Performance #2

Team NSSF has been selected for the Fourth Caribbean Scholastic Invitational. Twenty-eight male and female, freshmen, sophomore and junior student-athletes will be making the trip to Puerto Rico in June.

He was inspired to run by one Olympic champion and has been compared to another. Tavaris Tate wouldn’t mind one day joining their company.  So far the Mississippi native and Starkville High senior is taking the right path to achieving that success.  This past weekend, Tate solidified his position as the top quarter-miler in the country, capturing the 400-meter run at the Nike Indoor Nationals. He won a close race over Seton Hall (N.J.) Prep senior Clayton Parros, circling around the oval at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center with a time of 47.84 seconds to Parros’ 47.85 effort.

In an effort to honor the top track and field performers from Kentucky, KYtrackXC.com will have a weekly set of Athletes of the Week.  There will be Middle School, High School, and College awardees.  Former Kentucky High School Track and Field athletes currently running in college are eligible for the College award, even if he or she attends a school out-of-state.

Just about 5:30 on Sunday night, the Nike Indoor Nationals came to close. For the boys, the final day of the three-day meet couldn’t have had a better ending. The hundreds of spectators that filled the seats at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center were treated to an exciting afternoon that included a pair of national records among a cluster of spectacular performances. Here’s a recap of a long day of track & field that was worth the price of admission and perhaps a few dollars more:

Robbie Scharold is a junior at Campbell County.  He finished 10th overall in the 800m Run at Nike Indoor Nationals.  He ran a personal best time of 1:56.57.  He wrote a daily blog about his experiences in Boston at Nike Indoor Nationals.  

Emma Brink, a sophomore at Sacred Heart finished 5th in the One Mile Run at Nike Indoor Nationals Sunday.

Briana Nelson and Jasmin Stowers won their respective events at Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston.

Photo courtesy of Mona Ramadane

Albemarle HS, VA shatters the Boys 4x800 National Record 7:36.99!!!! New National record for Wayne Davis South Raleigh HS, NC 7.60! in 60m Hurdles US #3 All-Time 60m Dash for Devon Smith Westlake HS, MD 6.63 US #3 All-Time Shot Put for Stephen Saenz Rio Grande City HS, TX 71-0 1/2 New US #1 Boys Mile Andrew Springer Westerly HS, RI wins the boys mile with a 28.6 last 200m to hold off Pat McGregor Hoover HS, AL and Mac Fleet Univeristy City HS, CA  4:08.47 New US #1 Girls Mile Emily Lipari Rosyln HS, NY kicks home to US #1 4:47.44 in the mile   Day 3 from Nike Indoor Nationals (Click Events for results) Girls 1 Mile: New US#1 Emily Lipari Rosyln HS, NY 4:47.44 last 100m surge sprint by Melanie Thompson Voorhes, NJ & Corey McGee Pass Christian HS, LA Boys 1 Mile: Andrew Springer Westerly HS, RI wins the boys mile with a 28.6 last 200m to hold off Pat McGregor Hoover HS, AL and Mac Fleet Univeristy City HS, CA  4:08.47  Girls 400m: Back to back titles for Briana Nelson J.L. Mann HS, SC 54.15 NEW US #1 Boys 400m:  US #1 Tarvis Tate Starkville HS, MS 47.84 holds off Clayton Parros Seton Hall Prep HS, NJ 47.85 Girls 60m: US#2  University of Texas bound Chalonda Goodman Newnan HS, GA 7.42 Boys 60m: US #1 Devon Smith Westlake HS, MD US #3 All-Time 6.63 Girls 60m Hurdles: Jasmin Stowers Pendleton HS,SC new US #1 8.30 Boys 60m Hurdles: US #1 Wayne Davis South Raleigh HS, NC 7.60 NR Girls 800m: Laura Roesler Fargo South HS, ND 2:08.80 in first race of season Boys 800m:  Bill Ledder Gonzaga College HS, VA 1:52.75 Girls 2 Mile:Jordan Hasay Misson College Prep HS, CA 10:10.89 MR Boys 2 Mile: Lukas Verzbicas Lincoln-Way Central HS, IL 8:57.44 National Freshman Record Girls 200m: Chalonda Goodman Newnan HS, GA  adds 2nd title of day 23.96  Boys 200m: Fuqauwn Greene New Bern HS, NC 21.53 Girls 4x800: Hammer TC (Southern Regional HS, NJ) just misses National record 8:54.11 MR Boys 4x800:  Albermarle HS, VA shatters National Record 7:36.99 Girls 4x400: Blazin Raiders (Eleanor Roosevelt HS, MD) 3:43.52 MR Boys 4x400: Track Eastern Carolina (New Bern HS, NC) wins another relay title 3:15.02 MR   Field Events Girls Pole Vault: Arian Beaumont-Courteau Montreal, Canada sets new Canadian HS record 13-8 1/4 Boys Long Jump: US #24 ranked Zach Smith Kentlake HS, WA pops off a huge 23-11 jump on his last chance to seize title Girls Shot Put: Julie Labonte makes the trip state side worth it winning her 2nd National title in the SP this weekend 51-9 3/4 Girls Long Jump: Brittany Porter Triple Action HS, GA pops a US #1 and huge personal best 20-7 1/4 Boys Shot Put: US #1/ #3 All-Time Stephen Saenz Rio Grande City HS, TX 71-0 1/2 MR Boys High Jump: Erik Keynard Rogers HS, OH ups US #1/ 39 All-Time  7-3  

  In pursuit of a national record at the Nike Indoor Nationals on Saturday afternoon, the Knights Track Club’s 4x1 mile relay team earned that mark with ease inside the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center. Despite leadoff runner Ryan Sleeper falling to the surface before the first 200, the quartet of Sleeper, Tyler Corkedale and twin brothers Jim and Joe Rosa, who are all teammates at West Windsor-Plainsboro (N.J.) High North, smashed the old mark by more than four seconds, combining for a time of 17 minutes, 21.58 seconds. Track Eastern Carolina (TEC), a talented 4x200-meter team from New Bern (N.C.) High, also were eyeing a national mark.. One tough exchange and a little nudge along the way prevented that from happening. Nonetheless, the foursome of Faqauwn Greene, Daishawn Styron, Anthony Hendrix and Andrew Hendrix left the track with a new meet record with a combined time of 1:27.91. That clocking smashed the old mark of 1:28.90.

Boys DMR - Albemarle boys set a state record and US #2 all-time performance in their 10:02.13 meet record victory against two formidable New Jersey squads in West Windsor North Plainsboro and Morris Hills. The squad's splits went as followed: Zachary Vrhovac 3:06.5, Garrett Bradley 51.6, Luke Noble 1:54.5, and Anthony Kostelac 4:09.3. Boys Triple Jump - David Wilson responded well to challenge from a hometown favorite taking the lead away from him at 49'11" with his 51'5.75" leap in the finals. The George Washington senior claimed the NIN title with a meet record and US #10 all-time performance. Saturday's National Champions at NIN Albemarle - Boys DMR - 10:02.13 US #2 All-Time David Wilson (George Washington) - Boys Triple Jump - 51'5.75" Western Branch - Girls Shuttle Hurdles Relay - 34.05 Saturday's All-American at NIN: Bethel - Girls 4x200m Relay - 2nd, 1:40.65 Western Branch - Boys 4xMile Relay - 2nd, 18:00.11 Western Branch - Boys Shuttle Hurdles Relay - 2nd, 30.17 Blacksburg - Girls 4xMile Relay - 2nd, 20:33.16 Nefertiti Smith (Norfolk Collegiate) - Girls Pentathlon - 3rd, Jasia Richardson (J.R. Tucker) - 3rd, 40'4.25" Scott Newton (Collegiate) - Freshmen Mile - 4th, 4:35.84 Western Albemarle - Boys Distance Medley Relay - 4th, 10:12.96 Western Branch - Boys 4x200m Relay - 5th, 1:31.36 Hannah Brown (Blacksburg) - Freshmen Mile - 5th, 5:18.02 Booker T. Washington - Girls Sprint Medley Relay - 6th, 4:09.41 Erika Morgan (Western Branch) - Girls High Jump - 6th, 5'4.25" Lots of more coverage to come from a jam packed Saturday of events and even more busy day on Sunday. MileStat.com is on-site in Boston with coverage.  

Sunday Coverage Complete Results Sunday Boys Story & Summary by Stephen Mazzone Sunday Highlights: Albemarle 7:36.99 4x800 National Record! Wayne Davis NC 7.30 60H National Record! Stephen Saenz TX 71'0" Shot Put US #3 All-Time - Devon Smith MD 6.63 US #3 All-time. Photo Gallery - Select photos of winners posted. Many more pictures to come. Saturday Coverage Saturday Results Boys Story (excluding DMR & SMR) by Stephen Mazzone Saturday Highlights: The Rosa twins and the West Windsor Plainsboro North took down the national record in the 4xmile by four seconds in 17:21.58. Meet records in the 4x200 from Eleanor Roosevelt (1:39.33)and New Bern NC (1:27.91). Interviews, stories and photos to be posted later. Friday Coverage Friday Results Friday Highlights: National Record performances by Connor McCullough in the weight throw (92'7.50") & Lukasz Verzbicas (14:18.42). Meet summary with quotes and performances entered into database from day 1 events.

 Day 2 at NIN was all about breaking records, at day's end  7 meet records were broken, including one National Record. Check out the action New National 4xMile Boys Record for Knights TC (West Windsor Plainsboro North, NJ) 17:21.58 Lead by the Rosa brothers (Jim and Joe),  Knights, TC took 4.4 seconds off the previous national record. Both DMR meet records are shattered, first the girls as Hammer TC (Southern Regional HS, NJ) clocks US #1 DMR 11:41.12, #3 US ALL-TIME followed by Albemarle HS, VA boys 10:02.13 US#1/ #2 ALL-TIME  US #1 miler Jillian Smith brings Southern Regional HS from behind with a 4:44.8 leg to smash meet record and record #3 All-Time mark.   In the boys race it was anchor leg Anthony Kostelac's strong last 200m that propelled Albemarle to the meet record with his (4:09) leg.  Two new US #1's and one meet record in TJ US #1 Triple Jumper David Wilson George Washington HS, VA ups his best jump to 51-5 3/4, breaks 9 year old meet record in the process On the girls side it was US #1 Ciarra Brewer Logan HS, CA upping her mark to 42-0 1/2 in the process Ciarra set a new sophomore national record. 4X200 Relay: Two Meet Records gone: First meet record of the day goes down in the Girls 4x200 Relay as the Blazin Raiders (Eleanor Roosevelt HS, MD) break 2 year old record with 1:39.33. Track Eastern Carolina (New Bern) takes down boys meet record with blazing 1:27.91 Another race another meet record for Track Eastern Carolina (New Bern) as they take down Sprint Medley record 3:27.64 Winners (click events for full results)   Boys Mile Racewalk:  Alejandro Chavez TX  6:39.79 Girls Mile Racewalk:  Ashley O'Shea NY 7:42.3 Freshman Girls Mile: Samantha George  NC  5:09.37 Freshman Boys Mile: Dustin Wilson  PA 4:32.61 Girls 4x200 Relay: Blazin Raiders Eleanor Roosevelt, MD 1:39.33 MR  Boys 4x200 Relay: Track Eastern Carolina (New Bern) NC   1:27.91 MR Girls Shuttle Hurdles: Western Branch, VA 34.88 Boys Shuttle Hurdles: Sheepshead Bay, NY 30.13 Girls 4x1 Mile Relay: Newton South , MA 20:25.90 Boys 4x1 Mile Relay: West Windsor Plainsboro North (Knights TC), NJ  17:21.58 NR Girls 400m Trials: US #1 Briana Nelson Greenville, SC 55.85 leads qualifiers Boys 400m Trials:  US#1 Tarvaris Tate Starkville HS,  MS 47.85 leads the qualifiers Girls 200m Trials: US #2 Chalonda Goodman Newnan HS, GA  24.15 leads qualifiers Boys 200m Trials: US #2 Taravis Tate Starkville HS, MS 21.49 leads qualifiers Girls Distance Medley: US #1/All-Time #3 mark for Hammer TC (Southern Regional HS, NJ) 11:41.12 MR Boys Distance Medley: US #1/ #2 ALL-TIME Albemarle HS, VA 10:02.13 MR Girls Sprint Medley:  Blazin Raiders (Eleanor Roosevelt HS, MD) set new US #1 mark 4:02.32 Boys Sprint Medley: Track Eastern Carolina (New Bern) 3:27.64 MR Boys Pole Vault: US#2 Chase Cooper Smoky Hill HS, CO  16-0 Boys Triple Jump: US #1 David Wilson George Washington HS, VA sets new #1 mark 51-5 3/4 MR Girls Triple Jump: US #1 Ciarra Brewer Logan HS, CA ups her mark 42-0 1/2 Girls High Jump: Alexandria Morgan Mountain Brook HS, AL 5-8 1/2   Girls Pentathlon: Amazing 800 meter leg by Shakeia Pinnock Aurora, IL shocks the field with a 2:15.09 800m comes from 4th place to the top of the podium. 3627 Boys Pentathlon:  Nieman Wise Lake Brantley HS, FL 3805

National Champions **WAYNE DAVIS II, NATIONAL RECORD 7.60, 60mH *Samantha George, Millbrook, ran 5:09.37 to win the Girl's Freshmen Mile @ NIN *New Bern wins 4x200 at NIN with a new Meet Record, 1:27.91 *New Bern gets 2nd win, 1600 SMR in 3:27.64, another NIN Meet Record *New Bern gets 3rd of the meet and 3rd Meet Record, 3:15.02 *Justin Crawford, Ashbrook, won the 60mH at NSIC, 7.85/7.84 in semis, US#2 *Lincoln Carr wins Triple Jump at NSIC in 49'3.5" *Fuguwan Greene nabs 4th Nat'l title with solo win in the 200m, 21.53 Top 5 @ NIN - Results Aslynn Halvorson, Butler, 4th in the Weight Throw, 53'9.25" Aslynn Halvorson, Butler, 4th in the Shot Put in 42'2" Torrance Hunt, Jordan, placed 2nd in the 60m dash, 6.72(6.70 prelims) Lamont Jackson, RJ Reynolds, was 5th in the 200m dash, 22.05(21.95 prelims) Top 5 @ NSIC - Results West Charlotte, 4th in the 1600 SMR, 3:32.94 Lincoln Carr, Pine Forest, 3rd in the Long Jump in 23'03.50" Hunter Furr, Mount Tabor, 4th in the 60m dash in 6.96 West Charlotte, 3rd place in the 4x200 relay, 1:29.67 NIN Prelims: Sunday: *Wayne Davis II, SE Raleigh, 7.83 in the 60mH to move to the semis *Sherice Walker, Cummings, qualified for the semis in the 60mH *Teaunna Cuthbertson, North Rowan, qualified for the semis of the 60mH *Danielle Davis, SE Raleigh, qualified for the semis of the 60mH *Dominique Weathers, Vance, moves onto the semis in the 60m *Nyosha Bryant, West Charlotte, qualifies for the semis in the 60m *Gabrielle Gray, High Point Central, qualified for the semis in the 60m *Torrance Hunt, Jordan, runs the fastest time in the prelims of the 60m, 6.70, US #3 *Daishawn Styron, New Bern, moves to semis of the 60m dash Saturday: *Lamont Jackson, RJ Reynolds, ran 49.54 to qualify for the finals of the 400m dash *Lamont Jackson ran 21.95 to qualify for the 200m finals *Fuquwan Greene, New Bern, ran 21.99 and qualified for the finals of the 200m NSIC Prelims: Saturday: *Justin Crawford, Ashbrook, fastest headed to finals in 60mH, 7.84 *Hunter Furr, Mount Tabor, qualifed for the 60m finals in 6.94 *Cory Wilkerson qualified for the 60m finals in 6.99 *Stormy Kendrick, Forestview, wins semi #1 and qualifies for the finals of the 60m *Brittany Carroll, Harding, nabbed the 8th spot and heads to the finals of the 60mH *West Charlotte boys qualify for the 4x200 finals in 1:29.75 *Cory Wilkerson qualified for the finals of the 200m, 22.10 *Varonica Johnson, Myers Park, ran 24.66 to qualify for the 200m finals *Stormy Kendrick, Forestview, ran 25.02 to qualify for the 200m finals *Sanura Eley-O'Reilly, Jack Britt, qualified for the 400m finals in 56.65 *Mimi Morlu, Providence Day, ran 56.71 to qualify for the 400m finals *Xavier Jones ran 52.36 to qualify for the 7th/8th grade 400m finals, qualified 2nd Friday: *Justin Crawford of Ashbrook qualifies #1 in te 60mH at NSIC *5 boys qualify for 60m semis, led by Hunter Furr of Mount Tabor in 6.96(4th) *5 girls qualify for 60m semis, led by Stormy Kendrick of Forestview in 7.64(3rd) *2 girls qualify for the 60mH semis, led by Brittany Carroll of Harding in 8.99(13th) *West Charlotte boys qualified 5th in the 4x400 in 3:21.91

Recap of the Kentucky Athletes at Nike Indoor Nationals.

National meets and the last in-state qualifier for the OATCCC Ohio Indoor State Championship Meet are in store for this edition of the weekend wrap up.  Ohio seemed to have a minimal amount of entries in the national meets, but there were still some top notch athletes trying to make their mark on the national scene.

Connor McCullough smashes national record in weight throw! Photo by Derek Veilleux Freshmen phenom Verzbicas makes Haile's 5K HSR short lived Photo by Derek Veilleux There were only two events held on Friday at the Reggie Lewis Center for the 2009 Nike Indoor Nationals and there were two national records. If the trend continues through Saturday and Sunday, there is going to be major revisions done to the national high school track record book. Connor McCullough had shattered the national record in the weight throw one year ago in a victory at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships. The senior from California made his first trip to the East Coast this year for the weight throw competition on Friday at NIN. When he was finished, McCullough had bettered his old national record mark on two attempts with his final attempt making the new national record nearly five feet better than a year ago with a monster throw of 92'7.50". When asked if he thought he could throw as far as he did, "Not at all, I didn't expect to throw this far." While McCullough became a national record holder as a junior, Lukasz Verzbicas may be one of a kind in setting a national record holder as a freshmen. Verzbicas simply dominated a field of upperclassmen runners as the ninth grader from Lincoln-Way Central in Illinois won by a whopping 43 second margin of victory. The difference between himself and his competition was almost impressive as his final time. Foot Locker Nationals champion Solomon Haile had set a new high school indoor record in the 5K only hours earlier at NSIC, but Verzbicas made it extremly short lived as he crossed the line in a new national record time of 14:18.42. Verzbicas knew that Haile had set the record earlier in the day at 14:22, and his dad told him to shoot for 14:16 going into the race. Lukas talked about his desire to double back and win the 2 mile on Sunday. "I won't be going for the national record, I just want to win, I know it's going to be difficult." Also when asked about his plans for the outdoor season, he responded "I hope to run, but I will be focusing on the triathlon." If today was a glimpse at the future, it's certainly going to be a bright one for the youngster. Their female counterparts did not set any national records, but US #1 performances were at least produced by Lauren Chambers of Georgia in the weight throw at 58'10.25" and Chelsea Oswald of Ohio in the 5000 meter run at 17:03.82. A freshmen national record was set by the race runner-up to Oswlald, Samantha Nadel from North Shore High School of New York in 17:15.38. Oswald executed her race plan to a T. She sat back early and let everyone else set the pace, and when it was time to go she had plenty left in the tank as she accelerated over the last mile to easily pull away from the field. Oswald said "I set a new PR. I didn't know I could run that fast." Nike Indoor Nationals - Day 1 Results Photos Day 1

Abington, running as the Ghost Track Club, finished 2nd in the 4x400 with a fantastic time of 3:19.03. Penncrest 4th in 4x400 with a time of 3:20.87; Wallace 4th with 55.81; Furcht 2nd with 9:11.54; Lavong 4th with a 61-09.50.

Only two events are being contested on Friday at the Nike Indoor Nationals as the meet has extended from its usual Saturday-Sunday two day format to accomodate the weight throw and 5000 meter run. The weight throw has stacked fields with the US leaders for both boys and girls and many of the US top 10 performances also present. Meanwhile, the 5000 meter run is definitely missing many of the considered elite distance runners in the country, but will be a good opportunity for a next tier of runners to step up and become Nike national champions. Pictured right: Chelsea Oswald of Ohio, a Foot Locker finalist this past fall, is one of several contenders in a fairly wide open girls 5000 meter race on Thursday evening at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Heat sheets for the 2009 Nike Indoor Nationals to be held this weekend at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.

New Jersey Athletes Head to NYC and Boston for Season Ending Competiton. Many of the Gardan State's Indooor Warriors will lace 'em up one last time this weekend at either the National Scholastic Indoor Championionships at the Armory T & F Center or the Nike Indoor Nationals in the Reggie Lewis Center. Both meets offer interesting matchups involving teams and individuals many events. We will run down the Jersey entries and more as preview to these "national championsip" meets.     What: National Scholatic Indoor Championships (NSIC)   When: March 13-15   Where: The Armory Track & Field Center  NY, NY- Directions   Meet Schedule  Entry Lists - All New Jersey Entries by Event   ________________________________________________________   What: Nike Indoor Nationals (NIN)      When: March 13-15              Where: The Reggie Lewis Center. Boston MA -  Directions     Meet Schedule Entry Lists

PA's top sprinters, and one of the all-time top 800 runners take on top talent in Boston at NIN. And watch those Shuttle Hurdles and the Shot.

  Quick Striders and Mann junior Briana Nelson talks about the upcoming Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston and outdoor. 

Some years ago, Track Eastern Carolina Coach “Big Dave” Simpson felt that having kids under 13 in his club was too much like running a day care. Odds are he’ll be singing a different tune next weekend.   A former teammate told Simpson of 12-year-old twins Anthony and Andrew Hendrix who were running 2:15 halves at the local recreation center. At about that time, Simpson ran into Nicholas Sparks training his son Miles on the oval. Soon thereafter, young Fuquawn Greene was in also in the picture. Something was brewing in New Bern, N.C.   But that was five years ago. Now heading up what is possibly the most talked about indoor team in the nation, Simpson is days away from taking these New Bern High School boys on a mission to break records at the 2009 Nike Indoor Nationals.  That’s right – the focus in Boston on March 14 and 15 is not just to win – but to set a new standard. Read more...

Entries as of March 2nd for the 2009 Nike Indoor Nationals to be held March 13th through March 15th at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.