Off to Europe

After posting a lifetime best of 9:57.11 in the steeplechase at the Prefontaine Classic, former Utah Ute Shayla Houlihan is now off to run some races in Europe. More details will be forthcoming.

Prefontaine Classic

It was confirmed Monday evening that Shayla will be competing in the steeplechase at this Saturday's Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, OR. The Prefontaine Classic is part of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League series of meets. This series features the premier track & field meets held all over the world throughout the summer.

I.e. This is the next big step in her professional career. The meet will be aired live on NBC and Shayla's race is scheduled for 1:19pm (PDT). The start list has not been announced, but it is sure to feature many of the runners from this past weekends US Championship finals as well as some other international runners.

Another Medal

Volunteer assistant coach and Utah Alum, Shayla Houlihan, ran a gutsy race to finish sixth (10:09) in the steeplechase at the US Championships on Sunday. Competing in her first US Championships meet Houlihan qualified for the final with a new PR of 10:02. In the final she wasn't feeling her best, but was still able to put together a quality race to earn a medal (top six). Going into the final lap she was eighth, but her usual strong finish allowed her to pass two competitors over the final two barriers.

This was her first prelim/finals situation for the steeplechase and she handled it well. She was within seven seconds of her lifetime best that she had set three days earlier. Most (if not all) of the runners who finished ahead of her were 10-15 or more seconds off there personal best times.

The remainder of her season schedule is still being worked on. Check back here for more updates on her next race(s).

5th!!!

Freshmen Megan Combe (front) and Amanda Mergaert get a ride to the track courtesy of the Drake "Bulldog"

Freshman Amanda Mergaert closed out her outstanding track season by finishing fifth in the finals of the 1500 meter run at the US Junior Championships today. Her time of 4:35.37 came off of a slow early pace due to windy conditions. She was among the leaders with 400 to go when the lead group of fourt made a strong move to pull away from Mergaert down the backstretch. Mergaert was in seventh place with 200 meters to go before making her final move over the last 150 meters to finish fifth.

I thought she ran another very smart race, conserving energy early and covering every move the leaders made. However, a lack of experience in championship meets of this caliber was the difference. Her comfort level with going strong at 400 meters to go rather than waiting until 250m or 200m will improve with time and experience. There's no doubt she grew mentally and physically with this experience (as did all of our junior athletes who competed at this meet).

One more race....Former Ute and professional runner Shayla Houlihan will close out our week at the US meet by competing for a national title in the steeplechase tomorrow afternoon at 1:15pm (CDT). The meet will be televised live on ESPN from Noon-1:30pm and on NBC from 2-3pm. Be sure to wish her good luck via twitter!!

Welcome to Iowa

An old Iowa saying is that if the corn is growing right then it should be "knee high by the fourth of July". Another is that "days like these are corn growing days" in reference to the heat and humidity mixed with the thunderstorms. Well I've seen corn as high as my chest and the heat and humidity for this year's US Championship meet is more reminiscent of August than late June.

However, our athletes are handling it well. Our final three junior athletes all competed earlier today and the outcome was pretty much what we expected in regards to making finals. In the 1500 Amanda Mergaert and Megan Combe were both in heat one. The pace was quite slow through 800 meters (2:32), but then Amanda was able to move with the leaders and finish second in her heat (4:32) and advance to tomorrows final. Megan had not raced since the conference meet and just didn't look as sharp. Her final time was 4:50 which I know she was disappointed with. However, to be here and get this experience was a big step forward for her as a freshman.

Lauryn McKay gave her usual strong effort in the open 400 meters. Her time of 56.90 was good enough for 25th overall. I thought she opened well and looked strong down the homestretch. She is another gal who hadn't raced since the conference championship meet back in mid May. It is very difficult to come to this meet not being race sharp, however, if your unable to qualify for the NCAA meet there are no other options for races. That means race simulations in practice and trying to provide the best atmosphere possible even the majority of your teammates are done for the year and have gone home for the summer.

Again....this experience, regardless of how these junior athletes finish, will be invaluable as we make our move to the PAC 10 conference a year from now as well as future NCAA /US championship events.

Amanda will run the final of the 1500 meters tomorrow night at 5:25pm. See my previous post for links to watch the race on the internet.

A Solid Start...

Our first day of competition at the US National/Junior National championships was today. We had two athletes competing and both qualified for their respective finals. Freshman Angie Kaplar ran 14.14 to finish third in her qualifying heat and grab the eighth and final qualifying spot by .01 seconds in the 100 hurdle junior event. This event was loaded with other outstanding college freshmen and some of the best high school seniors in the country. Running in lane eight in the final Angie got a solid start, but clipped the ninth hurdle and ran 14.34 to finish eighth. Based on seasonal best times Kaplar was ranked ninth entering the meet so to make the final and move up a position was a great effort and an invaluable championship experience for her.

Former Ute and volunteer assistant, Shayla Houlihan (now running for Brooks) competed with the "big" girls in the 3K steeplechase marking her first championship appearance. It went as planned as she finished fourth in the first heat to grab one of the automatic qualifying spots and move on to Sunday's final. Her time was a new lifetime best of 10:02.17 which bettered her previous best mark by .83 seconds.

Overall, it was a great first day. This is a championship event and the goal for all of our women is to advance to the finals in their events. After that...anything is possible. It can be anyone's day.

Tomorrow is another big day as our other three freshmen will compete in their preliminary rounds. Amanda Mergaert and Megan Combe will run in the 1500 meter prelims and Lauryn McKay will line up in the 400 meter dash. Go to http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAJuniorOutdoorTFChampionships/schedule.asp for live results.

The meet can also be seen on line at http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAJuniorOutdoorTFChampionships/video.asp or www.flotrack.org

Yates Wins England U23 Championships

Sophomore Lucy Yates returned to her native England to compete at 800 meters in the Aviva England Under 23 Championships and World Trials only a week after her first appearance at the NCAA Championships. Her homecoming was a good one as she won the U23 Championships in 2:07.82. That time was only half a second from her PR. After a slow opening lap of 64 seconds she closed in 63 seconds, (including 29 seconds for the final 200) to pull away from an outstanding field of runners in windy conditions.