Weekly Recap

7.07!

(Hannah Cunliffe-Oregon)

(New 60 Meter NCAA Record!)

Disclaimer: First I’d like to apologize for my absence last week. I was dealing with a cold and now I am fine.

This past weekend was the mega weekend before the post season starts. There were quite a few big meets at Arkansas, Clemson, New Mexico, Iowa State and at the Spire Institute. Based off the performances this past weekend the team race got a lot more clear along with finding out were some major athletes are health wise. In this recap I focus on the top three performances of each sex from this past weekend.

WOMEN

HANNAH CUNLIFFE (OREGON)- This talented sprinter is picking up right where she left off. Cunliffe broke the NCAA record in the women’s 60 meter dash at the Don Kirby Invite in New Mexico. Her time of 7.07 surpassed the previously held record of 7.08. She followed that up with a new national number 1 time in the 200 meter dash with a mark of 22.60. Cunliffe will look to add to the legacy of great female sprinters from Oregon

JAZMINE FREY (TEXAS A&M)- Breaking a national record seemed to be the theme this past weekend. Frey adds another national record to the ever expanding records at Texas A&M. Frey competed at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational in the women’s 800. Frey scorched the track with a winning time of 2:00.69. Not only is that her best indoors but that betters her outdoor best by three 3 seconds. The old record of 2:007.5 set by Nicole Cook of Tennessee was one of the longest running NCAA records. Frey just a sophomore has plenty of time to improve upon it.

ERIN FINN (MICHIGAN)- The long distance star had a break out race this season. Finn has been amongst the best distance runners in the country for quite some time. This past weekend at the Spire Institute Finn laid her claim to the number 1 mark in the women’s 5,000 against a great field. Her time of 15:34.36 was almost 30 seconds ahead of the runner up and garners a three-second lead between her and the number 2 ranked competitor in the nation.


MEN

FRED KERLY (TEXAS A&M)- Kerley competed at the Tiger Paw Invitational this past weekend at Clemson. Kerly launched a time of 45.02 in the men’s 400 dash almost breaking another school and national record. Kerly joins the all-time list for Texas A&M and was extremely close to going under 45 seconds indoors. Kerly already set a national record early in the season running the first leg on the men’s 4x400 relay. With the post-season right around the corner expect to hear and see his name a lot more.

EDWARD CHESEREK (OREGON)- It’s never surprising to see this name on my list. Cheserek is a mainstay to it every season. The senior has been a little more quite this year after being humbled at the Cross Country Championships. This past weekend at the Husky Classic at the University of Washington Cheserek ran a great race against some top tier competition in the men’s 5,000. Cheserek clocked in at 13:32.59 almost 2 seconds more than the runner up. His performance is even more impressive noting that the field had four of the top five performances in the country all season in that event.

GRANT HOLLOWAY (FLORIDA)- This freshman has been on my list multiple times this season and hear he is again. The talented freshman has been quite impressive all season as a hurdler and jumper. The talented superstar hopped in the men’s 60 meter hurdles to again assert his dominance against a stellar field. Holloway did just that clocking at 7.58. His time cemented his number 1 status and placed him amongst the greatest freshman ever.

Relay of the Week: Texas A&M Women 4x400 relay. Their time of 3:29.74 is the first by a team under 3:30 this season.

This weekend don't expect major action. This is a training week for most programs. The conference championships are coming.