Post by bruce3404 on Jan 26, 2018 17:31:18 GMT -8
Anyone who cares no doubt has looked at results and I was impressed that relay splits were included. Some thoughts:
Both DMR teams came in with times that would have qualified last year; however, the men are only .26 seconds from the 12th best mark last year while the women are a more comfy 5.19 seconds better than last year's final qualifier. In both races, there was some odd pacing by former Ducks (Nadel/Winn) who both ran only the first 1000 meters of the 1200 leg; however odd, both Haney and Burdon ran solid splits. On the men's side, Cam Stone blew things open on his 400 leg, turning a reasonably narrow lead into a huge lead. The big disappointment was Stanovsek's 1:51.65 leg. A few seconds faster and the men wouldn't be in a position to look over their shoulders the rest of the season. Sam Prakel ran a solid 1600 to save the day.
I could see no real weakness on the women's side and was a bit surprised to see Frosh Sutherland run the 800, but her time (2:05.8) was pretty close to what Feldmeier ran at Nationals last year. Should the team remain intact, they will score some points in the championship meet. In fact, with the same time as today, they would have finished in the same position as last year-3rd. I'll take it! But will the coaching staff sacrifice Burdon's chances for points in the mile? The men's time would have been good for 2nd at last year's championships, but the big question is whether they'll sacrifice Haney's and Prakel's chances in the mile. Maton could step up, maybe Cooper Teare, but it's also possible either or both will qualify for an individual race. This will be a chess match right up until meet time, as it often is, of course assuming that they even qualify.
The only other finals of note tonight were the 60's and the 60H. Ari Washington got a horrible start and didn't even make the final, running a ridiculously slow (for her) 7.61. Dunmore's 7.29 was only .04 off her PR, so I'll expect big things from her in ABQ and while frosh Reed and Williams improved from the UW rust buster, they're both still .07 off their PRs. On the mens' side, Gillespie PRed by .02 and ran a time that would have qualified him for nationals last year. Both Schmidt and Swank-Jones made the final and both PRed. They probably aren't quite there for a shot at NCAA's, but they both will be back next year and could provide solid relay legs outdoors.
In the W60H, Alaysha Johnson blew the field apart, despite a pedestrian start. Her 8.10 should be good for a qualifier and freshman Kaylah Robinson ran back to back 8.38s, slightly better than her UW debut, but well off last year's 8.13 mark that would get her to College Station. The Duck men also qualified three for the final, but only Braxton Canady's 7.78 was a solid time, only .02 off last year's final qualifying mark. Again, ABQ should provide a nice boost for Canady as it will for Dunmore.
Pretty decent crowd which dispersed shortly after the Columbia Challenge section ended, with the rest of the evening being three more hours of HS and lower level collegiate races. Stanovsek's parents sat right behind me (so I had to keep my mouth shut, but his mom told a great story about this Ohio kid's love for the Ducks dating back to his early years running in HS and his fondness for Pre) and Stone's parents were also nearby, so we had a small, but vocal Duck cheering section. Strangely, I never caught a glimpse of RJ. Hopefully he was up in the stands recruiting.
Both DMR teams came in with times that would have qualified last year; however, the men are only .26 seconds from the 12th best mark last year while the women are a more comfy 5.19 seconds better than last year's final qualifier. In both races, there was some odd pacing by former Ducks (Nadel/Winn) who both ran only the first 1000 meters of the 1200 leg; however odd, both Haney and Burdon ran solid splits. On the men's side, Cam Stone blew things open on his 400 leg, turning a reasonably narrow lead into a huge lead. The big disappointment was Stanovsek's 1:51.65 leg. A few seconds faster and the men wouldn't be in a position to look over their shoulders the rest of the season. Sam Prakel ran a solid 1600 to save the day.
I could see no real weakness on the women's side and was a bit surprised to see Frosh Sutherland run the 800, but her time (2:05.8) was pretty close to what Feldmeier ran at Nationals last year. Should the team remain intact, they will score some points in the championship meet. In fact, with the same time as today, they would have finished in the same position as last year-3rd. I'll take it! But will the coaching staff sacrifice Burdon's chances for points in the mile? The men's time would have been good for 2nd at last year's championships, but the big question is whether they'll sacrifice Haney's and Prakel's chances in the mile. Maton could step up, maybe Cooper Teare, but it's also possible either or both will qualify for an individual race. This will be a chess match right up until meet time, as it often is, of course assuming that they even qualify.
The only other finals of note tonight were the 60's and the 60H. Ari Washington got a horrible start and didn't even make the final, running a ridiculously slow (for her) 7.61. Dunmore's 7.29 was only .04 off her PR, so I'll expect big things from her in ABQ and while frosh Reed and Williams improved from the UW rust buster, they're both still .07 off their PRs. On the mens' side, Gillespie PRed by .02 and ran a time that would have qualified him for nationals last year. Both Schmidt and Swank-Jones made the final and both PRed. They probably aren't quite there for a shot at NCAA's, but they both will be back next year and could provide solid relay legs outdoors.
In the W60H, Alaysha Johnson blew the field apart, despite a pedestrian start. Her 8.10 should be good for a qualifier and freshman Kaylah Robinson ran back to back 8.38s, slightly better than her UW debut, but well off last year's 8.13 mark that would get her to College Station. The Duck men also qualified three for the final, but only Braxton Canady's 7.78 was a solid time, only .02 off last year's final qualifying mark. Again, ABQ should provide a nice boost for Canady as it will for Dunmore.
Pretty decent crowd which dispersed shortly after the Columbia Challenge section ended, with the rest of the evening being three more hours of HS and lower level collegiate races. Stanovsek's parents sat right behind me (so I had to keep my mouth shut, but his mom told a great story about this Ohio kid's love for the Ducks dating back to his early years running in HS and his fondness for Pre) and Stone's parents were also nearby, so we had a small, but vocal Duck cheering section. Strangely, I never caught a glimpse of RJ. Hopefully he was up in the stands recruiting.
