Highlights by John Dye
Pocatello ID 2/19/00 -- "US#1" is DyeStat shorthand for a US leading athlete or performance. It was needed often today as the Simplot Games finals unfolded before an appreciative crowd of 15,000 in Holt Arena on the campus of Idaho State University.
The highlights were almost too numerous to mention, but here are the best:
GIRLS - Alicia Craig 4:51.65 (US#1), Aisha Margain 24.06 (US#1), Jenny VanKempen 2:12.42 (fastest 800 in the US this year), Emily Kroshus (fastest 3200 in the US this year), US#1 Alexis Joyce 7.46 60M, and Beau Walker 8.55 60H (US#1).
BOYS: Josh Rohatinsky 9:11.05 (US#1), Jake Garlick 48.63 (US#6), Chris Chappell 16-1 (US#2), Nik Arrhenius 61-4 (US#2), and Dwight Thomas 6.76 60M (fastest in the US this year).
GIRLS
Girls 60 meter dash US sprint leader Alexis Joyce, Denver CO jr, didn't match her best time of the year, but was a clear winner over Moorestown NJ sr Amandi Rhett, 7.46 to 7.56, with Union City CA sr Adrena Williams third at 7.58.
Girls 60 meter hurdles Montbello CO jr Beau Walker, who was also fourth in the 200 in a fine 24.85, won the hurdles in 8.55 as Latasha Pharr, second fastest qualifier, fell on the next to last hurdle.
Girls 200 Expectations of a brilliant final were fulfilled as US leading Aisha Margain, Berkeley CA sr, barely held off US #2 Natasha Staten, Philadelphia PA sr, 24.06 to 24.10, improving on the prior US bests this season by more than half a second. Also flirting with the previous US best were third place Dominique Darden, Philadelphia so, 24.79, and fourth place Beau Walker, Montbello CO jr, 24.85.
Girls 400 Acorn Oscar Bailey jr T'Carra Penick won in 56.69 (US#4), staving off a finishing rush by Nicole Leech, United Stars 7th grader, who was clocked at 57.16.
Girls 800 Jenny VanKempen, Leduc Track Club, Alberta Canada, 2:12.42, fastest 800 in the US this season, pulling along Philadelphia so Evelyn Dwyer 2:14.36 (new US#2) and Houston so Megan Rademacher 2:15.97, Utah jr Kassi Anderson 2:16.64, and Colorado jr Kellie Faircloth 2:17.27 into the US top 10 for the season.
Girls 1600 Campbell County WY jr Alicia Craig stormed to the top of the US girls list with a rousing 4:51.65 victory over Bingham UT so Laura Zeigle 4:53.39. Even adding a 1.6 second adjustment, Craig's run was faster than Marblehead MA sr Shalane Flanagan's 4:54.84 at the Millrose Games 2/4. Zeigle set the pace most of the way, with Craig drafting her in a two-girl race. Then Craig moved decisively to the lead in the last 100 meters, but Zeigle hung tough to the end. The swift pace included Cheyenne WY sr Katie Lyman 4:59.61 and twin Jackie Zeigle 5:05.85.
Craig has been limited to road work lately because of bad weather. She said she wanted to hit the first two splits right ("because coach says they are the most important") and she did -- 34 and 71. She gave credit to the competition. "Laura ran a great race - she is an amazing runner." Then Laura looked east and said a matchup with Shalane Flanagan would be terrific. But the two top milers are scheduled to be split between the two competing national indoor meets: the National Scholastic Indoor in New York and the Nike Indoor Classic in Bloomington IN.
Girls 3200 Calgary sr Emily Kroshus 10:32.41 smashed the old Simplot record by 22 seconds and was not impressed. "I ran 9:38 (3000 meters) two weeks ago." Kroshus is looking at Stanford and Duke for college next year. Bingham UT so Laura Zeigle, running her second distance race of the day, was second in 10:55.39, good for 4th on the US season list.
Girls High Jump Christina Fonnesbeck, Burley UT sr, 5-5
Girls Pole Vault Sidney MT sr Leila Ben-Youssef 11-6 won on fewest misses over Portland OR sr Corrie Drakulich and Canadian sr Karla McGee, who cleared the same height.
Girls Long Jump Rowan NC jr Latasha Pharr 18-9.5 over Mission Viejo CA jr Dana Bethel 18-6.25.
Girls Triple Jump Battle Mountain NV sr Tracy Argo won a very close event with a mark of 39-4 over Latasha Pharr 39-1.5 and Tamillya Brown, of EOYDC Track Club, 38-11.75.
Girls Shot Put US#2 Candace Workman, Clearfield UT sr, was a four foot winner at 45-4.
Girls Weight Throw Jessica Pluth, Performance Athletics sr, was a five foot winner at 51-6.25.
Girls 4x200 United Stars 1:37.44, anchored by Natasha Staten, over Acorn Oscar Bailey 1:39.89.
Girls 4x400 United Stars 3:44.26
Girls 4x800 Colorado Flyers
Girls Sprint Medley Teekay Track Club 4:12.39
Boys 60 meter dash Dwight Thomas 6.76 (fastest in the US this year) won decisively over US#2 Brandon Kincy, Denver CO sr, 6.90, and broke the meet record he set in the preliminary round Friday. Jamaican Thomas, representing the Zodiacs Track Club of New York, has not competed for a high school since winning the national indoor 200 meter title last year for High Point MD. He also won the Pan Am Junior 100 and 200 meter titles at Tampa last July for Jamaica.
Boys 60 meter hurdles Cheyenne WY sr Kiffin Wigert upset W. Jordan UT sr Jake Garlick, the US hurdle leader at 55 meters, 8.14 to 8.17.
Boys 200 Decatur Track's J. K. Haines 22.08 (US#6), with 1999 US leader Dwight Thomas third at 22.29 in the slow section after a sub-par qualifying time Friday. Simplot runs three final sections on time.
Boys 400 W. Jordan UT sr Jake Garlick shook off any disappointment at losing the hurdles by winning this in 48.63, third best in the US this season.
Boys 800 US#2 Damian Drummond, NY Robeson sr, won handily in 1:54.74 and then raced to the airport for a plane back to New York so he could run the 600 in Sunday's PSAL championships.
Boys 1600 Cascade OR sr Noel Paulson 4:17.32 (US#2) made it look easy with a 4 second victory over Orem UT sr Brett Andrus. Andrus made the pace with Paulson close behind in a two-man race, but Paulson took over at the start of the final lap and ran away.
Boys 3200 Provo UT sr Josh Rohatinsky ran all alone after the first 2 laps and had only the meet record (his own) to contend with. He beat it by 2 seconds in 9:11.05 for his third straight Simplot Games title and the fastest 3200 meters in the US this season. Orem UT sr Golden Harper completed the Utah dominance with a strong second place 9:22.55.
Rohatinsky said he wanted to go the first half in 4:30 or 4:35 and then go for the record. He passed 1600 meters in 4:36 and was spurred on in the last lap by the announcer calling for the record. Josh said he has narrowed his college choice to Oregon and Brigham Young. "It will be a tough choice."
Boys High Jump Bountiful UT sr Colby Fuller 6-7.
Boys Pole Vault Minden NV sr Chris Chappell, who has been getting a PR every week lately, soared 16-1, second best in the nation this season.
Boys Long Jump Dayton ID sr C. J. Crow topped a pack of six boys over 22 feet with a winning jump of 22-5.75.
Boys Triple Jump Idaho goes 1-2 with Hazleton jr James Sims 46-2 over Twin Falls sr Matt Anderson 45-4.25.
Boys Throws Mountain View UT jr Niklas Arrhenius got the only double of the meet by winning the shot put at 61-4 (US#2) and the weight throw at 67-1.
Boys 4x200 Boxelder TC, Brigham City UT, 1:32.76
Boys 4x400 St. Mary's Berkeley 3:24.75
Boys 4x800 Lajolla Coronado Panthers 8:08.39
Boys Sprint Medley Montbello 3:37.67
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Simplot Games Preliminaries PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS OF PRELIMS
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Dwight Thomas 6.89 broke the meet record for 60 meters eased up in the prelim (left); he also qualified for the 200 meter final unseeded sections with a leisurely 23.84 (start below)
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Damion Drummond, NY Robeson, US leader at 600 and 800 meters, tours an unpressed trial heat in 1:59.86 to advance to the seeded section in the finals. |
A stellar final in the girls 200 meters was set up when US leader Aisha Margain, CA Berkelkey, (right) ran 24.82 and Natasha Staten, PA Philadelphia, 24.87, the two fastest times of the 2000 indoor season except for Margain's 24.6h at Reno 2 weeks ago. A new US season best seems likely Saturday. All this without Lashinda Demus, who suffered airline flight delays in LA and missed the trials. |
Canadian Jenny VanKempen 2089 (left) was an impressive heat winner in the prelim's fastest time of 2:16.56. Evelyn Dwyer, PA Philadelplhia, (right) won her heat in 2:17.88.
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US leader Alexis Joyce, CO Denver jr's 7.68 was the fastest 60 meter qualifying time, but some competition may come in the finals from Amandi Rhett, NJ Moorestown, 7.70 (left) and Karina Francis, PA Philadelphia fr, 7.74 (right)
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US leading hurdler Jake Garlick, UT W. Jordan sr, had an easy qualifier in the 60 meter hurdles at 8.29
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