C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-I-O-N!!!

....It's time party and have a good time....

University of Utah history was made today by Senior Amanda Mergaert.  Watch the video to find out what she did!  I'm incredibly proud of her.  What a senior season!  Enjoy!

NCAA Press Conf Pt1

Click HERE to watch the 2012 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships live on line on Saturday, November 17th.  The live stream will begin a few minutes prior to the start of the women's race (12pm EST).

Back to Back to Back

It was a "Red Letter" day for our women's cross country team.  For the first time in program history we beat our rivals from BYU and finished sixth overall.  Leading the charge as she has for the last three years was senior Amanda Mergaert.  She's been a "big moment" runner throughout her career and nothing changed as she breezed to a fourth place finish (her third consecutive top ten Regional meet finish).  The goal was to qualify for her third consecutive NCAA Championship meet using as little energy (mental or physical) as possible and she did that.  Running with the top group the entire way, Amanda looked relaxed and cool as she met her goal for this race.  As a coach it's hard to ask for much more.

Sophomore newcomer Giselle Slotboom had the best race of her young career finishing 12th overall and claim All Region honors for the second consecutive year.  (She was all Region in the South Region a year ago as a member of the Jacksonville State team).  She broke 21:00 (20:57) for the first time ever over the 6K distance.

Sophomore Susannah Hurst just missed all Region honors with a 29th place finish.  She had rough go of it at this meet as a freshman, so for her to respond this year and just miss the top 25 was a great effort.  Another sophomore, Nikki Rietz, had the best race of her career to finish as our fourth runner.  Not far behind Rietz was freshman, Andrea Chavez, closed out our scoring runners.  Soph's Kate Stringfellow and Lauren Mills also competed and ran hard.

Overall, I was very pleased.  Certainly, beating our rivals from down south for the first time was fun.  We have a great deal of respect for them and what they have accomplished in the past.  However, our girls have worked extremely hard over the last eight years to continue to move our program forward towards national prominence and this is simply another step in that goal.

Amanda will compete in her third straight NCAA cross country championships this Saturday in Louisville, KY.  She ran very well (despite running with a cold) on this course a month ago at the Pre National meet.  Feel free to go to our facebook page and wish her good luck.  Facebook...Search: University of Utah Track & Field.

FTT...For The Team

For those of you who have been waiting for the latest post I apologize for the tardiness...especially after such a great performance.  However, I had to return to Iowa to be with my family as we remembered by 92 year old grandmother who passed away last week.  She lived a great life and was at the top of the list when it came to supporting our entire family and all of our different endeavors.  She came to everyone of my high school track and xc meets.  Her imprint on all of us will continue to be alive and well.

Before returning home my team had business to attend to in the form of the PAC-12 Conference Championships.  A year ago we were 8th, but several girls were tentative and unsure of what to expect.  This year we had a great race plan and everyone worked extremely hard to execute it.  UCLA hosted the meet on a course full of turns and little rhythm buster ups and downs.  It was also slightly warmer than expected and the area was under a wind advisory...so not ideal running conditions.  However, our group was determined to deliver their best race of the year and that is exactly what they did.  We scratched and clawed for every position.  Going into the final 1K I would guess we were in ninth place trailing Cal and ASU by a few points each.  However, our plan was to be more conservative in the first half of the race due to the course layout and conditions.  That plan payed off as we gained 12-15 positions in that final K (including at least six by my count in the final 300m) that secured a 7th place finish.

~The teams that place ahead of us were ranked 3-4-5-6-21-24 in the country.
~We were only 28 points behind #24 UCLA.
~We return six of our top seven and 10 of our top 12 runners next year.

Senior Amanda Mergaert continues to close the gap on some of the top women in the country as she was with the lead group at about 2K to go.  She finished 6th and became our first ever First Team All PAC-12 runner. Soph Susannah Hurst moved up 17 places from a year ago to finish 28th. Newcomer Giselle Slotboom ran one of the gutsiest races any of us have ever witnessed.  She was clipped from behind early in the race causing the back of her shoe to become lodged under her heel.  With the shoe ready to fall off she grabbed it mid stride and ran with one shoe for the remaining 5K of the race.  She placed 38th, including out sprinting two competitors in the final 300m.  There were several spots on the course between fairways where the ground was covered with dirt, rocks, tree roots, and branches.  Needless to say....that was a terrific, gutsy effort from a determined young gal.  Frosh Andrea Chavez and Soph Nikki Rietz closed out the scoring for us and secured the final points we needed to place seventh.  Kate Stringfellow and Lauren Mills were right behind as our 6-7 runners.  Senior Megan Combe ran the final xc race of her career as our eighth runner.  

I'm really proud of the way our team approached this meet.  They answered the bell and were all accountable to each other and our tradition of meeting or exceeding expectations when it counted the most.  We will continue to work hard and fine tune our efforts as we prepare for the NCAA Regional Championships in 11 days at Colorado State.

It's Conference Week....baby!!!

"The best week of the year."  
    ~Alyssa Abbott, 2006-2012 
         (8x NCAA Track/XC qualifier)

Click HERE for some inspiration and a preview of where we get to train everyday. 

Enjoy!

Post Pre Nats

Some Pre Nats race video combined with a portion of my press conference.  Enjoy!

...and Down the Stretch We Come

I guess it's fitting that we end the regular season at the home of the world's most famous horse race.  We were in Louisville, KY this past weekend for the Pre Nationals race.  Since this is the first time in a decade that the NCAA Championships will be hosted at a new venue there were many teams from all over the country there to check out the course.  I think it will be a great change as the course runs fast and fair.

Overall, I thought we ran pretty well.  Our top three women ran terrific races placing 15th, 45th, and 64th...all of them gained several positions in the last 400 meters.  Some of our younger runners also ran their best races of the year which allowed us to finish 15th out of 39 teams in the seeded race.  We still need to see improvement from everyone if we are going to be able to reach our seasonal goals.  So the next few weeks will be critical in regards to having sharp practices and maintaining our health.

Beyond the race we had some time to take in a few sites including Churchill Downs.  I think we saw a little more of it that security would have liked, but what they don't know and didn't see doesn't really matter.  They were filming a movie about former Derby winner Mine That Bird which was fun to watch.  Beyond that it was fairly quiet since the fall racing season has yet to begin.  Yes, that is the girls on the track in that last picture.  Thank goodness for lax security.

Stanford Race Clips

We had a solid day at the Stanford Invite placing fourth out of nearly 30 teams.  Individually we had three top 20 performances.  Senior Amanda Mergaert opened her season with a third place finish and four second course PR.  She ran with the leaders until about 4K of the 6K course.  Sophomore Susannah Hurst had the best race of her young Utah career with a 10th place finish and a PR as well.  Newcomer Giselle Slotboom ran to 18th place (including passing six runners in the last 450 meters).  Andrea Chavez, running her first ever race at the 6K distance, was 50th overall with a strong kick.  Sophomore Kate Stringfellow rounded out our scoring with a 107th place finish.  True freshman Charlotte Kuzminsky, sophomores Lauren Mills and Nikki Rietz, and upperclassmen Megan Combe and Hillary Troutner also competed.

I thought we had some great races and some others who just didn't run the middle of the race as well as I know they can.  For our freshmen this was their first ever race at 6K so I know they will only improve as they learn how to push themselves better in the middle of the race.  Many of our kids had great kicks and improved several positions in the last kilometer which tells me they are fit.  Now they just need to develop enough confidence to open up more mid race and go for it.

We now have a great two week training cycle to help build that confidence and continue to improve our fitness level before we go to Louisville, KY to run at the Pre National race.  Many of the best teams in the country will compete at this meet so we will get an idea of where we are with a month before the NCAA Regional and National meets.

In Came the Fog...

After a solid performance at the Stanford Invite this past weekend (video and results coming tomorrow in next post) we went to San Francisco for some sight seeing and dinner.  As we rolled into town, the fog was rolling in off of the Pacific making for unique and ominous weather.  However, the rain held off and we were able to drive through a very busy Golden Gate Park and then make our way around the west side through the Presidio and over to the Golden Gate Bridge.  We finally ended up in North Beach for dinner at Cafe de Maria's which was very good.  

As you can see from the pictures the seeing part of sight seeing was a little difficult.  Amidst the fog and base of the GG Bridge is a huge cargo ship passing under the bridge out to sea.  It was constantly blasting it's fog horn to alert other ships in the area.  

Piece by Piece

On a near perfect morning to run our team stepped up and went a perfect 5-0 in dual team scoring at the MSU Bobcat Invitational.  Our top five was comprised of three sophomores and two freshmen.  Newcomer Giselle Slotboom led us in her first race as a Ute as she finished fifth overall.  Andrea Chavez and Susannah Hurst also garnered top ten finishes (8-9).  True frosh, Charlotte Kuzinsky shined again in her second ever collegiate race finishing 16th overall.  Montana native Nikki Rietz was 24th to round out our top five.  Our top three were all under 18:00 for the 3 mile course.  Lauren Mills and Kate Stringfellow provided great depth with 37th and 42nd place finishes.  Megan Combe also showed great improvement from her first race with a top 50 (49th) performance.  Hillary Troutner and Nikki Dotter were 66th and 76th overall.  

Up next:  We will be off next weekend before heading to the Stanford Invitational on September 29th.  

Yum Yum!!!

A huge thank you from our team goes out to longtime Crimson Club and Utah Athletics supporters, Dr. Craig Lee and his wife Linda for hosting a dinner for our team at their amazing home last night.  (Yes, we check with the compliance office and did all the proper paperwork).  They fed us an amazing meal that included BBQ ribs and chicken, salad, fruit, potatoes, rolls, and cupcakes.   Our team enjoyed a wonderful meal and some social time together in the Lee's backyard on a perfect evening for such an event.

Under the Lights

We knew it would be difficult to have the type of success at the Nevada Twilight that we had a year ago.  Capturing the team title by going 1-4 is never something you expect to do.  This year we brought a less experienced group with four runners who were making their season debut.  With this meet being the middle of three consecutive Saturday races I am using the first two meets to test out different lineups and race most individuals in only one of those meets.

We were able to grab 3rd place in the team standings and had three runners finish in the top 25.  In her first ever collegiate race, freshman Charlotte Kuzminsky captured 12th place and led our team effort.  Sophomores Lauren Mills and Kate Stringfellow were 21st and 22nd.  Hillary Troutner and Lucy Yates were 26th and 27th.  Megan Combe rounded out our six runners in 29th.

We opened too conservatively and then had to fight to get back into the shorter than normal race.  I thought we made a great effort  and several of the gals ran even 2K splits which is a good sign that they are developing.  However, the races are going to continue to get longer and the competition will not get any easier.  So we will continue to work hard and prepare for the upcoming meets.  Next Saturday we will be in Bozeman, MT for the Montana State Invite.  It's a three mile race held on a beautiful golf course.  The last two miles are flat and fast, so we will have to be ready to change gears.

This week is homecoming and rivalry week so their is sure to be lots of extra fun and energy on campus.

Off to the Biggest Little City...

For the second consecutive we will race at the Nevada Twilight meet on Saturday night in Reno, NV.  Last year we went 1-4 with then senior Alyssa Abbott returning to her hometown to set a course record leading a dominating Utah performance.

This years race is scheduled for 9:10pm local time and will again be 4K in length.  This year's Utah team will be significantly different than the one that ran last year.  With another great race looming next weekend at Montana State I will be holding out several of our top runners.  This gives some of our younger runners an opportunity to adapt to college running with shorter than usual race.  It also gives some of our runners who might normally be non scorers a chance to be top runners and score for us.  It will be a different challenge and I want to see how they respond in that role.   It's part of developing depth that can help us later in the season.  Check back here after the race for results and hopefully a few pics.

The XC Season is Now Open

We finally opened the 2012 cross country season this past Saturday morning up in Logan at the Aggie Invitational hosted by Utah State.  This has been our opening meet in all but one of my eight seasons at Utah.  However, this is the third different course we have competed on.  That makes it slightly more difficult to gauge our overall improvement as a program.  However, as season openers go I saw some things I liked (we were aggressive, we positioned ourselves well early in the race) and some things that we need to fix (we were too aggressive at the start burning too much energy early, we must finish better even when we are tired).

We only ran a select group of runners who I felt were ready to race.  We held out several of our top runners due to extended track seasons, injury, or training schedule.  Most of them will open their seasons this coming Saturday at the Nevada Twilight.  The early season meets do not have any affect on conference or national rankings/standings.  I like to take advantage of that by getting our younger runners in some early races and trying some different combinations of runners.  This allows us to optimize training and practice time and race when I feel individuals are ready to make solid contributions rather than racing just because it's on the calendar.

I thought our top three (Susannah, Andrea, and Nikki) all ran solid races.  I liked the positions they were in early in the race, but they have to get to those spots using less energy.  Kate had her best summer of training ever and was a little more controlled in her early pace, but just needs some races. For some people no matter how great their training has been, they simply need races to maximize those efforts.  I would know because I definitely fit into that category and I think that is the case with Kate.  Megan ran her first race in almost two years after finally recovering from foot surgery.  She had an accessory navicular bone in her foot removed.  After a solid summer of training she will now work to get back into race form.

Next Saturday we will be at the Nevada Twilight and again we will race without all of our runners.  At least three runners who didn't compete in Logan will open their seasons. Two or three of our gals who ran at USU will not race.

The following video from USU was taken at 1000m into the race.

  

What Can't You Do?!?

If you've never been to Salt Lake City and wondering what there is to do....here is just a one weekend sample...

1.  Bingham Canyon Mine....While the Great Salt Lake gets all the attention for it's massive size and being seven times saltier than the oceans it is this copper mine located just south of the lake and west of downtown SLC in the Oquirrh Mountains that is the only man made thing on earth that can be seen from outerspace.  The mine opened in 1903 and has been producing copper, gold, and silver among its many metals.  Today the mine is 2 3/4 miles wide.

2.  City Creek Mall....SLC's newest mall spans two full downtown blocks.  It has over 70 retailers with Macy's and Nordstrom serving as the anchor stores.  Porsche, Tiffany's, and Coach are among the many high end retailers in this new mall that features several fountains and a retractable roof.

3.  Concert City.....SLC has several incredible concert venues including three outdoor amphitheaters and two large arenas.  The top acts from around the world always find their way to SLC.  Imagine sitting at an outdoor garden in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains on a warm summer evening watching your favorite artists play their best songs.  I have done this twice in the last two weeks.

All of that in a weekend and I haven't even mentioned any of the outdoor recreational activities (hiking, biking, running, climbing, skiing, etc).

Camp Closes With Excellent Progress

We had our final run at camp this morning before returning to campus.  It was a perfect morning for a relaxing recovery run on a great single track dirt trail near the reservoir.  Although, a little tired from our hill session yesterday I thought everyone had a great run.

With camp coming to an end I am excited to get the school year started.  Our team did a great job during the summer with their training.  I feel like we could be as deep as we have been in my seven years here at Utah as long as we can stay away from the injury bug.  I'm really proud of this group for the time and effort they have all put in.  It should be a fun and exciting year for them.

After our run I served pancakes (regular and blueberry) along with all the other usual distance runner breakfast items.  Finally, it was get cleaned up and packed up.  We will begin our regular season training early tomorrow morning with another great trail run not far from campus.  School starts Monday.  I hope everyone enjoyed the camp reports. Be sure to check this site regularly throughout the season for updates and results.

Afternoon Hill Workout Goes Well

This afternoon's workout session was our best thus far.  I thought everyone gave a terrific effort and worked well together.  Like every team we have some who can count hill running as a great strength and we have others who are still developing the skill.  The goal was to get some quality work in, but not too much as all of our gals are running the most miles they will run all year as they finish their summer training and transition into the racing season.  We were at North Fork Park along Cold Water Canyon running up a gravel road in the camping area.

The afternoon was not without a few laughs and lessons.  We had a group of our most experienced runners go for their cooldown which lasted over 40 minutes by the time we found them.  They weren't lost, but rather there was a small communication gap that led to the pick up vans being in the wrong pick up spot.  Fortunately, a little bit of driving around in and out of the park allowed us to all meet up and get back to camp for dinner.

Dinner was good as usual as I grilled up some very lean burgers (beef and black bean).  I forgot how hard it is to perfectly cook a really lean (96/4) hamburger.  They go from rare to well done very fast.  The black bean burgers were surprisingly very good as well.  Lots of fruit, veggies, and salad as well.

Our head track/xc athletic trainer, Hanah,  led the evening session with girls.  She spoke about nutrition and the importance of not being iron deficient (especially with endurance athletes).  It turned into a great discussion with our girls asking questions and adding input about their own particular situation when it applied.

It's hard to believe we only have one more run in the morning before returning to campus.  It's been an outstanding camp in a new spot that we have all really enjoyed.  Check back tomorrow for my final camp report.  I'll continue to add more pictures throughout the weekend and next week.

Utes Show Well on Day 3 Morning Session

Our morning run up to Green Pond and Snow Basin Ski resort was outstanding.  The single track pictured above was the trail we followed which included a couple of cows meandering on the mountain side. I was pleased with how everyone handled the extra elevation and ran in groups.

The other pictures are from our picnic lunch at Cemetery Point Beach.  Although, we forgot cups for the chocolate milk so Lauren and others resorted to plates.   It was a perfect way to end the morning session.  We have a big hill workout planned for this afternoon where I hope to have video and pics to post later this evening.

Camp Report Day 2

Day two at camp was very productive for everyone and as a team.  The workouts went well for most everyone.  We did some threshold running and several of the girls were running at paces that were where they were at the end of last year.  That always makes a coach feel good.

Kory M was back taking more video and pictures for a team video that will appear on our website later this season.  As usual Kory brought his crazy sense of humor and a lot of energy to a 7am morning run...fun stuff.  The pics he took were amazing again.

We had a couple of team activities.  One (Footsteps) was quite competitive.  It included dividing into two teams of seven and getting each team member from one side of our driveway to the other using only multiple sizes wood.  Each team had six pieces of wood to cover about 40 feet.  They each had a different strategy which made it really fun to watch.  They all worked well together which was the point of the exercise.

The other activity as you can see above was a petting farm.  It featured all kinds of farm animals that we could feed and pet.  They also had a 700+ lb pig!  Lots of fun and great learning about the world of agriculture.  The owner was very impressed with our team and all the great questions they asked.

The dinner menu included baked chicken, salad, bread, and watermelon.  Check back tomorrow for a Day 3 camp recap.  Tomorrow we have two runs, a picnic, and swimming in the reservoir.

Utes Open Camp

With seven returning letter winners we should have a great nucleus in place as we open the 2012 cross country season with our annual preseason camp.  We have moved to a new location this year.  Our camp headquarters are now just north of Eden, UT.  Pineview Resevior and the surrounding parks and trails will serve as our training ground this week as we begin year number two in the Pac-12.

Although we have several runners in different places with their training right now due to extended track seasons, youth, and a couple of injuries I feel very good about this years group of young women.  We have the talent and discipline to challenge for the NCAA Championships if everyone can stay healthy and we can have a breakthrough or two from some of the younger runners.

Today featured a couple of easy recovery runs with travel (including grocery shopping at a very difficult bulk chain store that will not be named here).   They almost lost $600 because they wanted to fight over who could use a specific membership card.  Rule one in business...the consumer is always right!  No wonder the economy is in the tank.  People WANT to buy goods, but some businesses quibble over small details.  (Another discussion for another time:)  Spaghetti dinner prepared by the team was also very good.  Our evening run was at North Fork Park which is along the Ogden River.  The girls really enjoy looping through the campground and trails with dirt/gravel roads. We even had our New Media videographer, Kory with a K Mortensen up here shooting video and taking pictures as part of a new Utah cross country multi media package that he is putting together.  (Look for that later this season at www.utahutes.com.

Ok...a long, but fun and productive day has come and went.  I can't believe that summer is over and cross country season is upon us....awesome!!!!

Check back for a Day 2 update tomorrow.  Tomorrow will feature two runs (a recovery run at the reservoir in the morning and some threshold training in the afternoon).  Lot of fun team building activities including a local petting zoo are scheduled for tomorrow.  I'll try to get some pics and video of that posted as well.

Go Utes!

Where Olympic Champions Are Made

At the University of Utah our athletic slogan is "Where Champions Are Made".  It might be time for a one word addition to that slogan....

"Where Olympic Champions Are Made"

Athletes training on the University of Utah campus at McCarthey Family Track & Field combined for four Olympic medals including a pair of golds in the men's 5K and 10K by Mo Farah of Great Britain.  Galen Rupp and Leo Manzano of the USA added silvers in the 5K and 1500m, respectively.

All four of these men along with several other Olympic competitors (men and women) trained at MFTF this spring as part of their Olympic preparation.  Their coaches (Alberto Salazar and John Cook) brought their groups of Olympic hopefuls to the University of Utah and Salt Lake City to take advantage of the benefits of altitude training.  That training included running on the trails in nearby Park City and on the newly built MFTF at the University of Utah.

I think the best runners in the world coming to train in SLC and at our track says it all.  Our altitude and our climate combined with the great trails keeps them coming back.  Rupp and Farah came for a eight week stretch last year as well.  This was Manzano's first time coming to SLC and he loved it as well.

Between our track, the Utah Olympic Oval (our indoor track), and all the trails and parks it will be very tough to find a better place to train than the University of Utah and surrounding area.

Pictured is junior Rebekah Winterton with Olympic silver medallist, Galen Rupp.

More Silver...

The University of Utah's McCarthey Family Track & Field produces another Olympic medal as Leo Manzano who trained here in June brought home the silver medal for the US in the 1500m race at the London Olympics.

Manzano bided his time at the back of the lead pack most of the race before moving into fifth around the final turn.  He stalked the leaders with his patented kick and caught all but one runner.  American Matthew Centrowitz who also trained on our track in June was just off the medal stand as he finished fourth.

The MFTF medal count is now up to three with three more chances to go in the women's 1500m (Shannon Rowbury) and the men's 5K (Farah and Rupp).

The world's best come to the University of Utah and Salt Lake City for their altitude training!!!

Gold AND Silver

Mo Farah and Galen Rupp (seen above training at our outdoor facility) went 1-2 in the 10,000m run at the London Olympic Games on Sunday.  Both are trained by Amercian distance running icon, Alberto Salazar, who brings his two runners to the University of Utah to train six to eight weeks in the spring each year.  Farah represents Great Britain while Rupp became only the third Amercian to win a medal (and the first since Billy Mills won the event in 1964) at the 10K distance.

Three other Americans (Matthew Centrowitz, Leo Manzano and Shannon Rowbury) who also trained at the University of Utah this spring have all qualified for the semi finals in the men's and women's 1500m races.  Centro is also coached by Salazar while longtime coach John Cook oversees Leo and Shannon.

McCarthey Family Track and Field at the University of Utah has become a training hub for some of the world's best distance runners!!!

We Got a Winner!

Just over a year ago upon her graduation senior Alyssa Abbott received a very prestigious NCAA Post Graduate scholarship.  This year the PAC-12 has honored her with their Post Graduate scholarship.  After sitting out two years in both cross country and indoor track due to injury during her Utah career, the NCAA granted Abbott a sixth year of eligibility in those sports.  She took full advantage by finishing 24th at the PAC-12 championships and helping the Utes finish 8th in their first ever league meet.  Then she finished 14th in the NCAA regional meet and just missed qualifying for the NCAA championships.  On the indoor circuit she led off the school record distance medley relay team in 3:24 for 1200m.  Their time of 11:05 was the first time in NCAA history for that time not to qualify for the championships.  Abbott graduated last spring with a 3.899 GPA in exercise sport science.  She is currently enrolled in Utah's physical therapy program.  Congrats!

Day 8...The Big Finale

The anticipation of Day 8 was big because there were seven event finals and six of them had huge story lines.  Both long hurdle races and both 1500 races along with the men's 200 final were the talk of trials for many. The fact that they fell on the final day added to the drama.  The men's hurdles were full of drama as a former world champ was left home and a past Olympic gold medalist made his fourth team. The women's race was a mix of long time vets and a collegian who didn't even make the NCAA final (she fell) are off to London.  The women's 1500 and long jump competitions saw the favorites do their thing and advance.  The men's 1500 was going to leave some real talent at home.  The US depth in this event has really grown and is still quite young.  However, a couple of hometown guys and a big time kicker were able to secure spots.

The women's 100 was looking forward to a run off today for the third and final spot due to a dead heat in the final,  however one of the competitors gave up the spot.  She will still represent the US on the sprint relay team.

As you can imagine it was an amazing experience being among over 20K fans each day watching the events live.  Everyday there were amazing performances despite weather conditions that were often less than idea.  This was my fourth OT's in a row and it was probably the best one yet as I was able to see several meet records, yearly world bests, and a World Record.  There is no doubt the 2016 OT's (where ever they are held) have a lot to live up to in order to compare to this year's version.

Day 7 featured a great mix of Olympic returnees, first time qualifiers, and a view into the future of US Track and Field.  The women's HJ was probably the most intriguing event as the this years NCAA Champ was bookended by two vets.  Another trials record went down when 6-7 was cleared.  A high school sophomore finished fifth after clearing 6-2.25.

The women's multi team was decided before the final however, the third placer still needed to run under 2:20 to secure the A standard.  A lifetime best 2:17 did the trick.  The men's triple jump went as expected.  The women's 200 final was explosive and featured the silver medallist in the last two World Championships plus the 100m and 400m champions along with all of the top four from the women's 100m.  Somebody really good was getting left home.   A lifetime best by Alyson Felix of 21.69 broke yet another trials record. 100m champ Carmaleta Jeter was second and 400m champ Sanya Richards Ross was third.

The men's 110 high hurdle final was also very fast.  After a sub 13 second race in the semis the final featured two more.  First time Olympian, Aries Merritt (12.93) ran within .04 of the American Record to beat US Indoor Champ Jason Richarson who ran 12.98 for the second straight race.

Today's pics...The actual ducks here are much friendlier than some of the Duck fans.  A true taste of a London Pub with fish and chips as the main course.

Day 6...VIP

Don't get me wrong...the races and results from Day 6 at the track were nothing short of extraordinary.  The women's steeple saw the three young runners make their first Olympic team.  The men's and women's 1500 semis were nail biting homestretch drag races.  The husband of the winner of the women's shot put has become a good friend.  So that was obviously exciting.  The women's multi event  is underway along with heats of the men's 110 high hurdles and semis of the women's 200's. The women's 200 final should be about as even of a race as there will be.

Ok...as long time radio newsman Paul Harvey would say...and now for the rest of the story.  Upon attending a social function sponsored by our friends at Gill Athletic Equipment Co. there was another party in the adjacent room.  That's where the pictures below came from.  Some of the most influential, respected, and successful Olympians were present.  Who do you recognize?  (Hint...All were Olympic Gold medallists).  Extra credit for their event and year.  I wasn't necessarily invited to this party...but to use the men's room you had to go through this party.  So was it really my fault that I "crashed" the party and asked for a few pics.

In the Clutch on Day 5

Day 5 featured a bevy of clutch, walk off type, moments for several spots on the US team.  The mix of light rain and cool temperatures returned for the finals of the men's vault, men's discus, and both 5K's.  Favorites Brad Walker and Jeremy Scott survived the weather to go 1-2 in the vault.  The other three events had the team decided on the final throw, in the final few meters, and literally on the last stride.  Several other prelim and qualifying rounds were held as well.

In the men's discus event winner Lance Brooks achieved the Olympic qualifier on his final throw.  After five previous throws that were all within two feet he picked the perfect time to get the standard.

The men's 5K featured a large pack of challengers until 800 to go, but the three prohibitive favorites Rupp-Lagat-Lamong made the team in that order.  Rupp beat Lagat for the first time ever in a time that was far from their PR's.  However, besides beating Lagat for the first time in 13 tries the time was significant as it broke the OT record....set in 1972 at Hayward Field....by Oregon and US legend Pre.

The women's 5K started off slow, but the pace picked up and five women eventually reached the Olympic Standard time.  Down the final stretch the race for third seemed secure, but third placer Julia Lucas who led much of the last half of the race was fading fast which opened the door and at the line on the final step Kim Conley was able to pass Lucas and acheive the qualifying standard by .21 seconds.  Lucas was fourth NCAA champ Abby D'Agostino was fifth only .18 sec in back of Conley.  What a crazy finish.  Thank goodness they didn't tie....that might have required a full race run off!

Today's pictures feature the huge entry lines that have been part of this meet which is on pace to break the OT attendance record by averaging well over 20K spectators each day.  I headed out to the Oregon coast on one of the off days.  Nike Camp Victory (Fan Zone) has built a wall keeping track of the top three in each event.  I thought a World Record was worth another photo op.

Day 4 Battles

Day 4 of the Trials featured a unique array of events.  800m finals, 5K and Steeple prelims, Jav/HJ/TJ Finals, and PV/Discus prelims. The rain was back, but the air was thicker than the first two days of the trials in which some of the top performances in the world (including a world record).

Day 4 featured plenty of drama for clear favorites.  World leader in the high jump, Jesse Williams finished fourth but will go to London because the 3rd place finisher doesn't have the Olympic A Standard.  Multi time US Champ Jamie Nieto and NCAA Champ Erik Kynard will join Williams.

Nick Symmonds came from seventh place with 300m to go to blow by the field and run a world leading 1:43.92 (fastest time ever by an American at Hayward Field).  He was followed by the ageless KD Robinson who at age 35 is an Olympian for the second time ('04) after finishing 4th in '08.

In the women's 800, front runner and favorite Alysia Montano held off the field down the homestretch to make her first team.

The women's TJ and men's jav had similar storylines surrounding the Olympic A standards that determined those trips to London.  Only one TJ'er, champion Amanda Smock, who has the B standard will go.  In the Jav it was 3-4-5 who will go to London because the top two don't have the mark and both just missed it.  Winner Sam Humphries of Texas A&M missed the mark by about five inches.

The men's distance races saw virtually all of those expected to qualify do just that.  A questionable decision by USATF to allow Alan Webb into the 5K field reared it's ugly head as the one time phenom faded hard in the last mile and failed to qualify.

The women's distance races were much different as a few favorites faded while there were a couple surprise qualifiers.  A former US Indoor champion, a former NCAA champion, and the third fastest 5K'er this year all failed to advance while reigning US champion Lauren Fleshman qualified despite only running 12 miles a week since March due to IT Band problems.

Former Ute and school record holder in the Steeple (10:43), Shayla Houlihan ran among the leaders for the first four laps in her prelim. However, she faded over the final three laps and failed to qualify.  As her coach, I know she was disappointed about not making the final, but qualifying for this meet was a major goal of hers as she began to improve throughout college and into her post collegiate career.  She improved nearly two minutes from her very first steeple as a sophomore to her current PR of 9:51.  I am proud of her effort and commitment to improving and reaching one of her big goals.

The men's vault qualifying saw some familiar faces along with some up and comer collegians advance despite abysmal vaulting conditions that featured swirling head winds and a constant mist.

Break Time....the trials will resume on Thursday.  I'll be back with more pics and notes then.  Todays pics....the wet start of the women's steeple prelims, 800m Men's Champ Nick Symmonds straight from the track to celebrating in uniform, and a special treat....World Record Holder in the 400m hurdles (46.79, 1992) Kevin Young enjoy some nightlife in Eugene after session one.  That dude could probably still break 50 seconds.  He looked fit!

Day 3...Finally No Rain

Day 3 at the Olympic Trials was the first day without rain during the competition.  Most of the favorites and a few newcomers in today's finals.  Gatlin, Gay, Richards-Ross, Trotter, Merritt, Suhr, Brown-Trafton, Thurmond, Hoffa, Cantwell, Goodwin and Claye earning spots on the US Team.  One notable casualty was past Olympic Champ Jeremy Warnier who was fifth in the 400m.  Competition was dramatic with several of the winning efforts coming on final attempts or late stages of a race.

Day 4 is a special one personally as I will coach my first ever athlete at the Trials.  Former Ute steepler and school record holder will be on the track at 4:50pm local time in heat one of the steeple prelims.  Top five and next fastest four times advance.  Another exciting step forward for our program.

Today's pictures feature the campaign to promote the Trials...notably sponsored by Nike.  All the athlete/hotel shuttle buses are wrapped with current Nike Olympic athletes and slogans.

Record Setting Day 2

Day two of the 2012 Olympic Trials will likely go down in history forever and never forgotten those of thus that were there.  Historic Hayward Field continued to earn it's place as one of the best track venues in the world as home state hero and former Duck, Ashton Eaton scored 9,039 points to set a new World Record in the Decathlon.  The mark is obviously a new American Record, Trials,  Hayward Field record as well.  The best comparison we could come up with was a perfect game in baseball. He broke two individual decathlon event records (100m and long jump) along the way and won seven of the ten events.  (Yes, they keep records for each of the events within the multi event).  Eaton needed a two second lifetime best in the final event (1500m) to break the record in front of a raucous Eugene crowd.  He was on pace for two laps and then fell off pace two seconds with 400 meters to go.  World famous and longtime self proclaimed decath-nut announcer Frank Zarnowski made sure we all knew the splits Eaton needed to hit to stay on pace.  With 350m to go Eaton found the reserve he needed and the turnover picked up as his posture lifted and the crowds down the backstretch around Bowerman curve and then down the homestretch pushed him to the record with two seconds and 13 points to spare.  Eaton is only the second man to ever break the 9000 point barrier.

Day two was another rainy overcast afternoon of track and field.  The meet actually was delayed about 20 minutes due to a heavy downpour that rolled across the venue right as the track session was to begin.  The women's 100m and 100m hurdle teams were set as well.  The men's shot put and high jump along with the women's disc and triple jump prelims were held.  Men's putter Adam Nelson and high jumper Andra Manson were the notable athletes to not advance.  The semi finals of the men's and women's 400m and 800m set the fields for those finals as well.  Regardless of who actually makes those teams, the US will be very well represented as virtually all the favorites advanced.

Today's photos include:  another rainy day at HHF, Eaton leading the decathletes on a victory lap, a huge banner featuring legendary coach Bill Bowerman in the OT Pavillion that surrounds the stadium, and a local pub noting the distance (in miles) to the other Pac-12 institutions.

Olympic Trials Day 1

As I attend my fourth consecutive US Olympic Trials the feeling and belief that this meet is the "World's Greatest Track & Field Meet" comes roaring back to life.  Even with lots of "Oregon Sunshine" (as the locals like to call it) reigning/raining down on the opening day at Hayward Field the competition was fierce and Olympic team spots were awarded and lost.  This meet has a finality that seem both fair and cruel at the same time.  While finishing in the top three is the general consensus of success it's not quite that clear cut.  Time/Distance/and Height standards also come into play and must be met as well.  Virtually all of the favorites moved through in the men's 400 and 800 prelims as well as the women's 100/100H/400/and 800 prelims.  The women's pole vault was cancelled due to the poor jumping conditions.  There were two world records set in the men's decathlon (yes, they keep separate event records within the multi events) which means the American record is in jeopardy.  The only finals on day one were the men's and women's 10K's which had completely different story lines.  The men's race had one distinct favorite along with another for US record holder needing to finish in the top three AND run the Olympic A standard.  The local favorite won as expected and broke the Trials record.  Along they way he helped his teammate (who finished a heartbreaking fourth at the Olympic marathon trials earlier this year) get his A Standard and finish third in a driving almost pounding rain at times.  

*Editor's note....both of those runners train at our track at the University of Utah during specific high altitude training periods. 

The women's race was much different although had an even more exciting finish.  Only four runners in the field had run the Olympic A standard time.  One of those runners announced she will only run the marathon in London.  So unless someone in the field could unleash a huge personal best all the other three runners had to do was finish the race.  One collegiate runner pushed the pace earlier in an attempt to go after the standard, but no one followed and by half way it was apparent that no would reach the standard and the team was set.  Although the race did finish with a flurry down the homestretch for the top three places.  The women's fourth place finisher at the Olympic marathon trials turned into a sprinter in the final 80 meters to run down the pre race favorite and an up and comer collegian who was fresh off of winning the NCAA 10K.  So in a weird twist of qualifying and Olympic standards it was first, fourth, and seventh who will be going to London.  

*Editor's note....The top three in the women's 10K would have likely been different had one notable runner competed.  However, due to being a qualifier in the marathon her and her coach decided that the Trials 10K might be getting "greedy".  So she ran a 10K time trial at a local high school track earlier in the day in a time that would have made it four runners sprinting the final homestretch that evening.  However, she enjoyed cheering on her teammates from the stands with her husband and son who you will see here.  They have also trained at our facility. 

Top Five...Again!!!

For the third consecutive year we had top five finisher at the US Junior Championships.  Freshman Susannah Hurst earned a medal by finishing fifth in the 5K (17:28) on a very warm (90 degree) Saturday evening in Bloomington, IN.   Kaitlin Urmston also competed and finished 10th in the javelin with a toss of 137-1.  Overall, it was a great experience for both athletes as they competed against the best Under 20 athletes in the US.