12.57!
(Janeek Brown-Arkansas)
The regular season is winding down. We are heading towards
May and the post season is almost here. We were treated this past weekend to
some truly great performances. The world’s largest Relay Carnival and most
attended event on American soil the Penn Relays gave us some noteworthy
performances. Let us recap not only our new number one performances but the big
headlines from this weekend.
Grant Holloway retakes the number one ranking in the 110
hurdles on his home track. The talented junior looked smooth in victory
clocking in a time of 13.25 at the Tom Jones memorial. The race was wind legal
and solidified him as the world number one as well. His rival and fellow SEC
counterpart Daniel Roberts of Kentucky perhaps had the more not worth
performance. Although his time of 13.28 was wind assisted he did beat defending
Olympic Gold Medalist Omar McLeod at the Drake Relays in cold, rainy weather. Their
battle at the SEC Championships along with Isaiah Moore of South Carolina will
be great.
Janeek Brown of Arkansas by way of Jamaica also had a impressive
weekend over the hurdles. She clocked the world leading time of 12.57 in the 100
hurdles en route to victory at the National Relay Championship and followed
that up with the number two ranked time in the 200 with 22.67. The only athlete
that claim that impressive sprint hurdle double in history is Jackie Joyner-Kersee,
impressive company to be with.
No relay of the week but let us give credit to what the Houston
men did this past weekend at the Penn Relays. The men swept the sprint relays
winning the 4x1, 4x2 and the 4x4 in a NCAA leading time of 3:02.61. Senior
Mario Burke was a part of all three and add his fourth gold medal by winning
the 100 quite the impressive weekend for him and the Cougars. This is only the
sixth time it has ever happened.
The University of Pennsylvania experienced their first Penn wheel
in the Distance Medley Championship of America race. The prestigious Ivy League
university held off Notre Dame traditional distance power Villanova to win the title
on their home field. Their winning time was 10:59.44 and was the only sub 11
minute performance in the entire field.
The USC women’s 4xx100 relay of Dior Hall, Angie Annelus,
Lanae Tava Thomas and Twanisha Terry improved their national leading time with
a win over rival UCLA in their annual dual. Their time of 42.77 further cements
them as the favorites to win the NCAA title as they are still the only team
under 43 seconds.
Mondo Duplantis of LSU reclaimed his number one ranking in
the Pole Vault. The superstar dominated the field on his track winning with a mark
of 19 feet 5 ¾ inches. That is the second-best mark in NCAA history and world
number one. Duplantis is truly having one of the greatest freshman seasons in
NCAA history.
Aliyah Whisby of Georgia had tied the NCAA lead in the long
jump last week. This past weekend she became the sole number one leader in the
long jump by leaping to 22’2 ¼ at the Torrin Lawrence Memorial on her home
track. The talented sophomore is now currently the only athlete over 22 feet in
the women’s long jump and looks to continue that great jumping tradition at
Georgia.
Portious Warren of Alabama has now put her name in the shot
put as a national contender. The senior became the first woman over 60 feet
this season with her winning throw of 61’0 ¾ in the shot put. She has nearly a five
foot lead over the SEC conference giving her plenty of time to continue her win
streak.
Bryce Hoppel of Kansas continues to have an impressive year.
The junior clocked in at 1:45.87 to win the open 800 at the National Relay Championships
at the University of Arkansas. He is currently ranked number two in the NCAA
but with a indoor NCAA title and his ability to perform at the highest level he
seems to be in great position to add to his trophy case.
Daniel Michalski of Indiana gave us another reason to celebrate
all that is the Penn Relays. The senior ran a dominating race in the 3,000-meter
steeplechase in less the ideal weather conditions. He clocked a NCAA leading of
8:34.26 over a quality field. His lead was more than 16 seconds ahead. If there
were any doubts about Indiana’s ability to develop great distance runners, they
have been answering the bell all season long.
A THOUGHT…
With the creation of the National Relay Championships and
the withdrawal of many premier colleges from the Penn Relays the meet has lost
some of it’s luster. It cannot be ignored and what is truly sad is that this
meet is the United States premier annual meet on its home soil. The Jamaicans
have come and conquered this meet not only in the high school division but in
the professional division as well. The absence of many elite programs adds to
that sting. It is as if the colleges take the meet for granted since national exposure
is no longer needed because of web streaming and social media.
As a fan of the meet who attended in 2017 and 2018 the
atmosphere is hard to bead. The constant energy that flows and the excitement
does not happen anywhere else. It is truly disappointing that premier universities
are so into themselves and desire to be spoiled or given special treatment decided
to withdraw. The sport needs to continue to grow and college track and field
can truly help. M hope is that the university coaches get over themselves and return
to this great meet. This is not to step them from attending the Drake Relays
but the fan fare that comes with the Penn Relays cannot be ignored or replaced.
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