Monday, February 09, 2015

Rankings: NCAA DI

NCAA DI Rankings are HERE
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News: Team USA Minnesota/Alan Steinfeld Award; Erin Teschuk; Finisher's Medal; USATF MN 2014 Award Winner Photos; Ultrarunning and pot





WSJ on the allure of a finisher's medal HERE.

USATF Minnesota 2014 Runners of the Year photos are HERE.

WSJ on ultrarunning and pot, a not so unlikely combination? HERE

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Sunday, February 08, 2015

News: USATF Memo on the IAAF Nomination; USATF, USATF XC Champs Race Video Replays; Abda; Indoor Mile Stats; Sponsor Battle; Treadmill Running

USATF Memo on the deliberations of the USATF Board regarding the recommendation of a candidate for the IAAF Council is HERE.

RW article USATF is HERE.

USATF Webcast replays of XC Championship races are HERE






The battle for sponsor dollars between athletes and organizations. Federations want to protect their sponsor deals.  Athletes want to have the ability to market themselves through all avenues, including logos on their uniforms.


NYT on why treadmill running can feel harder to some HERE.
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Saturday, February 07, 2015

Updated: Two-Day Meet Results: Meyo; Sevigne; Thundering Herd Classic

Meyo Invitational complete results are HERE.
Gopher women's summary is HERE.
Mason Ferlic 8th in mile in 4:03.24.
Christy Cazzola 6th in women's mile in 4:43.64

Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational results are HERE.
Gopher women's summary is HERE.

Thundering Herd Classic results are HERE.
NDSU men's summary is HERE. Women's Day 2 summary is HERE.
MSU Moorhead summary is HERE.
U-Mary women's summary is HERE. Men's HERE.
Concordia Moorhead men's summary is HERE. Women's HERE.
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Updated Results: Ted Nelson Classic; Gene Glader Classic; Dennis Young Classic; Wartburg Select; Michael Smith; Ben Blankenship; Harun Abda

Ted Nelson Classic results are HERE.
Mankato State men's summary is HERE. Women's HERE.
Winona State summary is HERE.
St. Cloud State summary HERE
Gustavus summary is HERE

 Gene Glader Classic results are HERE.
St. John's summary is HERE.
Bethel woman's summary is HERE.  Men HERE
St. Mary's Summary is HERE.
St. Kate's summary is HERE.
Macalester men's summary is HERE. Women's HERE.
Hamline men's summary is HERE. Women's HERE.
Augsburg men's summary is HERE. Women's HERE.
St. Olaf  Not Posted

Dennis Young Classic results are HERE.
Southwest Minnesota State summary Not  Posted

Wartburg Select results for men HERE. Women HERE.
St. Thomas summary is HERE
Carleton men's summary is HERE. Women's HERE.

Lake Superior Challenge results are  HERE.
St. Scholastica men's summary is HERE. Women's HERE.
UMD men's summary is HERE. Women's HERE
Concordia St. Paul summary is HERE.
Bemidji State summary is HERE.
St. Ben's summary is HERE.






New Balance Indoor GP Meet results by event are HERE. Highlights: Ben Blankenship second in the mile in 3:53.13.  Hassan Mead third in the 3k in 7:48:72. Harun Abda in the 1000 meters in 2:20:33.
Ben Blankenship FloTrack interview HERE.

Summaries will follow as available
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Updated USATF XC Champs Top 25 Results M&W

Full results for all the races from Masters to Juniors are HERE
Highlights: Keegan Hurley 18th  in 27:19 and Sean Heaton 45th in 31:05 in the men's Junior race.
Shaelyn Sorensen finished 6th in 22:21to earn a spot on the US Junior team.  Bailey Ness was 10th in 23:04.  Patricia O'Brien was 18th in 23:59.  Emily Castanias was 19th in 24:02.

In the Open women's 8K Meghan Peyton was 14th in 29:20.  Ladia Albertson-Junkans was 24th in 30:24.

In the Open men's 12K Jon Grey was 10th in 37:33. Eric Finan 24th in 38:52. Garrett Heath 26th in 38:55.  Jon Peterson 30th in 39:09. Former Team USA Minnesota runner Patrick Smyth was 5th in 37:01 to earn a spot on the US team. .





If you were eatching the USATF.TV coverage of the men's junior race you know that Obsa Ali was in fourth and on his way to making the US team.  Then on the finish line video he was nowhere in sight.  Obsa's tweet below confirms he's OK.


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News: Training Advice for College Freshmen; Supplement dangers; TC Kids

Hassan Mead and other runners give advice to high school athletes who are making the transition to college athletics HERE.

Potential danger of dietary supplements HERE.


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Friday, February 06, 2015

Results: Thundering Herd Classic; Meyo Invitational; Frank Sevigne Invitational; Women's Collegiate Vault Recordholder's Showdown; USXC

Live results by event from the Meyo Invitational HERE.
Men's 5K HERE(Edina grads Will Burke runs 14:50.11, Matt Lumbar 14:53). Women's 5K results are HERE. (Gophers Jamie Piepenburg 17:11.93)
Women's DMR results HERE. (Gopher women  11:43.49)
Women's 600 results HERE (Gopher's Lauren Domski 1:33:73)
Gopher women's summary is HERE.

Live results from the Frank Sevigne Invitational are HERE.
Gopher women's summary is HERE

Live results for Thundering Herd Classic HERE.
Women's DMR results are HERE.
U-Mary women's summary is HERE.
NDSU women's summary is HERE.












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News: Keys to Success; Multi Sports; Gender Equity; Herauf

A TedX talk from Professor Tim Noakes on the importance of coaching, teamwork, and belief in oneself as key elements of success in sports and life HERE.

Sports skills are not confined to one sport.





 .  Gopher pentathlete Jess Herauf was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week for her school record in the pentathlon last weekend HERE
Jess Herauf  U of M Photo
Rather late on this one
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Thursday, February 05, 2015

News: Gender Equity; Keeghan Hurley; Fred Kurz; Specialization; US Championships









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Wednesday, February 04, 2015

News: KM on XC; MIAC AOW; USATF Commercial

A lead in to the USATF XC Championships: Kenny Moore on cross country HERE.

MIAC Athletes of the Week are HERE.

Team USA Minnesota's Emily Gordon gets her blog back up to date HERE.

Lauren Fleshman on USATF You're Welcome commerical HERE.
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Tuesday, February 03, 2015

News: NSIC Weekly Summary and AOW; Mountain Man Mead; Running Health Research; Best Distance, Blankenship; Bend

NSIC weekly summary and Athletes of the week for men HERE, women HERE.


Studies that say you are running too much, too fast, etc. Really?  A look behind the headlines HERE and HERE

Determining your best distance HERE.




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Rankings: NCAA DII; DIII

MSU Mankato still number one in NCAA DII men's rankings; U Mary 18th and UMC 22nd in women's HERE.

NCAA DIII rankings are HERE. Wisconsin teams continue to inhabit the top 5 in men's and women's rankings.
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Monday, February 02, 2015

Rankings: NCAA DI; Top 10; Weekend Recap; T&F News College Dual Meet Rankings-Gopher Women 6th, Men 8th

NCAA DI rankings are HERE.

USTFCCCA Top 10 rankings for each event(all levels-DI, II,  III, NAIA, NJCAA, etc.) HERE.

USTFCCCA weekend collegiate recap HERE.

Jesse Squire's T&F News college dual meet rankings for men HERE, women HERE.

Ben Blankenship during 2-mile at the Armory
on Saturday. Photo Run

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Science: Nutrition; Birthdates

Nutritional "triggers" and performance: You are what you eat? HERE.

Some of Global Senior Director of Gatoade Sports Science Institute and visiting professor at Loughborough University(UK) School of Sport, Exercise and Health, Asker Jeukendrup's, papers on sports and nutrition HERE.


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Saturday, January 31, 2015

Updated Results: Jack Johnson Day 2; St. Ben's Alumni Meet; Falcon Winter Classic; Mich/MSU Dual; Cobber Invite; Warren Bowlus Open; Blankenship; Michael Smith; Camel City Events

Jack Johnson Classic results are HERE.
Gopher's men's summary is HERE, women HERE.
MSU Mankato men's summary is HERE, women's HERE.
UMD women's summary is HERE.
MSU Moorhead summary is HERE.
St. Ben's Alumni Meet results are HERE.
St. Ben's summary is HERE

Falcon Winter Classic women's results are HERE, men HERE
Macalester women's summary is HERE, men's is HERE..
St. Thomas men's summary is HERE
Hamline summary is HERE..
Augsburg men's summary is HERE, women's is HERE.
St. Kate's summary is HERE.
Concordia St. Paul summary is HERE.

Michigan/Michigan State dual meet men's results are HERE, women HERE.
Michigan men's summary is HERE.Mason Ferlic PR in mile 4:05.72. Will Burke 9th in 3K in 8:25.50

Cobber Invitational results are HERE.
U-Mary summary is HERE.
Bemidji State summary is HERE.

Warren Bowlus Open results are HERE.
UMD men's summary is HERE.
Winona State  summary is HERE.

Wildcat Open men's results are HERE, women's HERE.


Wisconsin summary of Armory collegiate title HERE Michael Van Voorhis in 22nd in 3K.in 8:31.03
Wayzata Smith twins, Michael and James, results at the Kane Invitational HERE.

Harun Abda interview after Camel City 800 runner up effort(1:49.51) HERE. Full 800 race results HERE.
Will Leer second in men's mile in 3:57.54  Full race results HERE.
Heather Kampf third in women's "Mellow Mile" in 4:31.24.  Full results of all races HERE. Includes men's and women's elite mile, 800, 3000, etc.


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Friday, January 30, 2015

Updated Results: Jack Johnson Classic; St. Olaf Quad; Lihrman

Live results from the Jack Johnson Classic HERE. Gopher JJC preview for women HERE, men HERE.
Full Day One Results are HERE.
Gopher men's Day one Summary HERE, women HERE
MSU Moorhead Day One summary HERE.
Concordia St. Paul multi eventers summary is HERE(scroll down to the end of the summary).
St. Cloud State summary HERE.

St. Olaf Quad results HERE.
Bethel women's summary is HERE, men HERE.
St. Thomas women's summary is HERE.
Gustavus women's summary is HERE, men HERE
St. Olaf summary when available
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Thursday, January 29, 2015

Mac's Mission

Mac Wilkins. Photo courtesty of
USATF
Mac Wilkins is on a mission.  He wants to return his event to the status it once held in the US.  "I came from an era when the discus in the US was successful because there were a lot of entrepreneurial geniuses," Wilkins said.  It was the era of Olympic and World Champions who were from the US, not Germany or elsewhere.

Since that time--Wilkins was the last Olympic medallist winning a silver medal in the 1984 Games along with John Powell's bronze--medals have been hard to come by for US male throwers.

Stephanie Brown Trafton won a gold medal in women's discus at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Prior to that for the women there was only Leslie Deniz's silver from 1984. The peak of US women's discus throwing came in the 1928 and 1932 Games where Lillian Copeland won a silver in 1928 and a gold in 1932 where she was joined on the podium by Ruth Osburn who won the silver.

One medal in 30 years for the men is not acceptable for Wilkins, who has made a commitment in his post competitive life to attempt to change that.  He coached at Concordia College in Oregon and also created a throws center there to help train elite throwers who were attempting to fulfil their dreams of World and Olympic glory in the discus.  He also made frequent trips to the SPIRE Academy in Ohio to conduct clinics and teach the next generation of throwers and coaches. The rationale being that you want to tutor kids at a young age about the correct technique, so they don't have to attempt to relearn or retrain themselves later.

The discus is unique on the Olympic program as the only event at either the World Championships or the Olympics where a World Record has not been set in those competitions.  Wilkins knows a bit about setting records as he broke the men's discus record three times in one day back in 1976 becoming the first man to throw over 70 meters.

In 2013 Wilkins took a position at the USATF High Performance Center in Chula Vista to continue the work he began at Concordia through at least the 2016 Olympics in Rio.  "I'm a resource for anybody who's attempting to follow their dreams...to help set up the best out-of-college throwers to go pro."  Throwers are not the "rock stars" of track and field, and there is very little financial support to allow those with Olympic aspirations to be able to reach the top of their sport without significant financial hardship.

Wilkins is hoping that USATF's recent talk of using some of the increase in sponsor money for the athletes results in monetary support for those who need it most.  That attempts, such as the staging of the shot put competition in the shadow of the Capitol Dome in Sacramento, improve the image and public recognition of the throws.

Wilkins is putting his efforts into the fundamentals, teaching the coaches and athletes of today at a young age the basics of training, the road to success in the event.  His trip to the Minnesota High School Track and Field Coaches Clinic is part of that effort.  Wilkins wants to spread around his love for the event, his passion.  "It's an act of love, an act of passion," he says about his "evangelical" mission to spread the gospel of discus throwing.  If you have  that passion, says Wilkins.  "You are compelled to share your passion.  It doesn't do any good to keep it to yourself."

Wilkins will be presenting four sessions at the clinic, two on Friday and two on Saturday.  The full schedule is HERE.
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

News: MIAC & UMAC AOW; Devin Monson; Mark Wetmore; Annie Bersagel: Camel City Elite Mile

MIAC AOW of the week HERE.

UMAC AOW are HERE.

Devin Monson gets promoted at Rogue HERE.

Colorado coach Mark Wetmore previews the upcoming season, talks distance running on the USTFCCCA podcast HERE.

Interview with Annie Bersagel HERE.

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Renaldo Nehemiah Pays It Forward


Some of the greatest high hurdlers of all time. (From L to R) Renaldo Nehemiah,
Aries Merritt, Harrison Dillard, and Colin Jackson. Photo courtesy of IAAF
It seems fitting that the keynote speaker at this year's Minnesota State Track & Field Coaches Association Clinic has a Super Bowl ring. Renaldo "Skeets" Nehemiah was on the San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl champion team in 1984, but is better known as one of the top 110-meter high hurdlers in the world. He was the first to break the 13 second barrier in that event, and was a talented enough sprinter, sans hurdles, to be the MVP at the Penn Relays. As a high schooler, however, he was a star quarterback.

Further evidence of his multi talented athletic prowess was his four wins in the made for TV Superstars events in the 1980s. The track coaches gathered in Bloomington this weekend won't be after anecdotes on fly patterns or whether or not deflated footballs matter, but rather Nehemiah's wisdom on how to be the best at running fast over a lane of 42-inch high hurdles. Talking from his office in Reston, Virginia, Nehemiah, who now represents clients such as Olympic champion sprinter Justin Gatlin and 400 meter Olympic champion Kirani James, answered questions about his event and the things that have changed since he was the best in the world.

Technology, Nehemiah noted, has had the biggest impact on the event from camera phones, ubiquitous access to high quality video, to the composition of the track.  The hurdles are lighter and the tracks faster than in his prime, Nehemiah said. These changes have influenced how races are run and won. In his day, Nehemiah added, the composition of the track wasn't a factor. People didn't talk more about the track's features--how "fast" it was--as much as about the strengths and weaknesses of the individual athletes.

A Roger Kingdom would assault the event, crashing through hurdles with raw power, while a technician, such as China's Liu Zhang was more like Nehemiah, a virtual ballet artist who "flowed" over the hurdles much as Mikhail Baryshnikov would flow across the stage at Lincoln Center. Balance, said Nehemiah, is the key to master hurdling. At its core hurdling is an all out sprint interrupted by a series of graceful bounding through the air. A key factor in getting from start to finish as fast as one can, he noted, was combining innate athleticism with something as simple as keeping the arms moving forward in a straight line, as they would in a 100 meter sprint.  Not crossing the body, which can cause the body to pitch from side to side in wasted motion and energy instead of flash forward with all the momentum and drive pushing toward the finish.



Proper technique with the lead leg and trail leg are other skills need to be ingrained in the hurdler's "muscle memory" at an early age, so that those skills don't have to be reprogrammed later. It's far more efficient to teach the basics properly early in a hurdler's career than attempting to change a learned behavior that has been already hard wired into the neurological system, he said.

In events that are decided by razor thin margins even seemingly small "mistakes" can be the difference between winning and losing. So teaching the basics early is vital to an athlete's success. Something you can't teach, however, Nehemiah believes is the most important attribute for any athlete--the desire to get the best from yourself, to be the best you can be.  That drive for success, athletic perfection, is an essential element of an athlete's success. That devotion to always learning, always pushing for something better, never resting on one's laurels or becoming complacent is something of a cliche. Probably because it is an essential attribute for those who want to succeed in any endeavor, Nehemiah says.

It has been a feature of Nehemiah's since his earliest efforts at locomotion. His nickname, Skeets, was given to him by his parents to describe the swiftness and determination Nehemiah had during the crawling stage of his infancy. At that early age, Nehemiah was focused on the basic premise of all racing--getting to the finish line as quick as possible. Without coaching or other incentives aside from completing his task as quickly as possible, Nehemiah was creating the building blocks of a career in sprinting and hurdling.

When he talks to the coaches this weekend his task will be just as simple. He does the talks, imparts what he's learned during his career in order to give back to the sport that has given him so much. Sharing and learning so the next generation will be able to enjoy the activities that have been the foundation of his athletic pursuits for decades.

If you want to read more about Nehemiah's stats, development as an athlete go HERE.
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