College Track

The biggest splash that came out of Eugene was a 5'4" bundle of running joy and a little tw Photo by Eric Taylor

tinge in the leg of sprinter Tyson Gay in a heat of the 200m dash.

Gay had already shown that he was one of the fastest humans ever when he clocked a blazing 9.68 to win the 100m dash.

That was the fastest time under any conditions, his time was wind aided, but he had made his mark and the spill he took in the 200m caught the attention of everybody at Hayward field as well as fans around the world.

"Before I went out on the track I felt a little tightness in my hamstring. So I had kind of a bad feeling. When I came off the curve the first two steps were fine, and then I felt it, sort of a pull, about 40 meters in. Once I was on the ground it didn't hurt as much as when it happened." said Gay after the fall.

Tyson Gay underwent an MRI late Saturday afternoon at Slocum Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Eugene. The MRI showed a mild strain in the semitendinosus muscle.

He is expected to engage in "active rest" for up to 12-14 days, with light physical activity increasing through that period, and then resume training. Tyson's only confirmed pre-Olympic competition is the 100 meters at the Aviva London Grand Prix on July 25, and that is still on the schedule.

Of course there were many different stories at the track and field Olympic Trials. A couple of high schooler's did their thing at the 2008 Trials.

100m sprinter Jeffery Demps did his best to keep up with Tyson Gay in a quarter final heat by breaking off a 10.01 to finish second to Gay who set an American record, winning in 9.77.

And then there was San Louis Obispo's Jordan Hassey. She was only going to race in a heat and then catch a plane to Poland for the world youth games. Photo by Eric Taylor

Who knew she would make the finals of the 1,500 with a chance to go the the Olympic's.

She did not get a ticket to China, but Jordan did set an American prep record, passing other runners on a last lap dash to a 4:14.50.

Kara Goucher claimed her first national title and Abdi Abdirahman out-dueled an Oregon fan favorite to highlight competition Friday night at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field.

The 2007 World Outdoor bronze medallist in the 10,000m, Kara Goucher's domestic resume heading into the women's 5,000-meter final was dominated by one, hyphenated word: runner-up.

Two-time 10,000m runner-up and 2006 USA 5,000m runner-up. She's a bridesmaid no more. Goucher came out on top of a historic, three-woman duel that saw American record holder Shalane Flanagan, Jen Rhines and Goucher scorch the track over the final three laps.

Early in the race, leading duties were handled by Lauren Fleshman. One mile in, Ari Lambie took over and paced a pack that included Flanagan, Goucher, Rhines, Fleshman and Sara Slattery through 3,000m in 9:12.68.

Two laps later, with 1200m to go, Flanagan took off, running the next 400m in 66 seconds, followed by a 66.5 split as the trio of Flanagan, Rhines and Goucher hit the bell lap at 13:55.5 - in that order.

A lead-running virtuoso and three-time USA champion at 10,000 meters, Abdi Abdirahman quickly went to the lead of the men's 10,000m final and began clicking off 66-to-67-second laps.

Abdi led Fasil Bizuneh and Galen Rupp through 3,000m in 8;17.97, and the University of Oregon's Rupp later moved into second with 14 laps to go.

By 5km, passed in 13:49.53, it was Abdi, Jorge Torres and Rupp as the pace remained steady with 67-second laps - roughly 27:40 pace. A chase pack trailed approximately 35 meters behind, composed of Dathan Ritzenhein, Adam Goucher, Josh Rohatinsky, James Carney and Ed Moran.

Abdi seemed content to lead, with Torres occasionally moving even with him, but with two laps to go, Rupp took the lead in a bid to steal the victory. Abdi was having none of it and retook the lead with one lap left.

He stretched his lead over the final lap as fireworks exploded near the stadium and won his fourth national title in 27:41.89, a time that was true to the pace he had run virtually since the gun. Rupp was second in 27:43.11, with Torres third in 27:46.33

Chaunte Howard served notice that she is once again a medal threat in the high jump and Amy Acuff became the first woman ever to make four Olympic Teams in that event in a strong competition.

The 2005 World Outdoor silver medalist, Howard became a mother last year, yet she clearly is back in top form. The 24-year-old Georgia Tech product cleared all but her opening height of 1.84m/6-0.5 on first attempts, ultimately winning her second U.S. title with a height of 1.97m/6-5.5 to make her second Olympic Team.

One of the world's most experienced jumpers and a six-time national champion, Acuff at age 33 made her fourth Olympic squad with a clearance of 1.93m/6-4, with Sharon Day third at 1.91m/6-3.25.

A.G. Kruger was perhaps under the most pressure of any athlete on this night. As the only athlete in the men's hammer final to have the Olympic "A" standard, he had to win his event in order to ensure a trip to Beijing.

He came through by winning his third straight national title and making his second Olympic Team with a throw of 75.81m/248-9. Kevin McMahon was second with a mark of 74.49m/244-5 and Jake Freeman was third with 73.59m/241-5.

Another American record and some dramatic close calls highlighted the final day of competition Sunday at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials where a Hayward Field record crowd of 21,176 fans brought the eight-day attendance total to 167,123.

The top three finishers in each event at these Olympic Trials, who have met Olympic performance standards, will earn the ultimate prize of a spot on the Team USA roster for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

American record holder and World Indoor silver medalist Jenn Stuczynski kept the track world on the edge of its collective seat in the women's pole vault, contested in swirling winds.

Far and away the top American vaulter, with a best mark this season that is 8.5 inches better than her next-best compatriot, Stuczynski spent the first 90 minutes of competition sitting on the sidelines as other vaulters took attempts at lower heights. When she entered, at 4.60m/15-1.25, only two other vaulters were still jumping:

Something happened on the way to the bar for Stuczynski: she missed her first two attempts at 4.60m. Were she to miss her third and final attempt, she would have made no height and would fail to make the Olympic Team.

With a huge sigh of relief, the two-time USA outdoor champion cleared the bar by nearly a foot, setting Olympic spots for her, Steiner Bennett (4.60m/15-1), and Bartolina (4.55m/14-11). Stuczynski was the only vaulter of the three to clear 4.65m/15-3.75, and she immediately had the bar raised to 4.76m/15-7.5 in an attempt to break Stacy Dragila's 2004 Olympic Trials record of 4.75m/15-7.

She easily soared over it on her first attempt, then raised the bar to 4.92m/16-1.75, 1 cm better than her own American record of 4.91m/16-1.5. After a close miss on her first attempt and a less-close miss on her second, she easily made it on her third try. With all other competition concluded, the full house of 21,000-plus remained in their seats and Stuczynski took two unsuccessful tries at a world-record height of 5.02m/16-5.75.

In 2004, Lolo Jones had just completed her senior year at LSU and had been fourth at the NCAA Championships. At the Olympic Trials in Sacramento, she crashed a hurdle, dashing her Olympic dreams. Four years later in Eugene, she was dominant in all rounds and left no doubt that the 2008 Word Indoor gold medalist must be considered a contender for gold in Beijing.

Jones was astounding in Sunday's final, executing flawlessly and winning in 12.29 seconds (+3.8mps), tying the #2 time ever run under any conditions (windy or not). Damu Cherry was a distant second in 12.58, with Dawn Harper third in 12.62 as all three made their first Olympic Teams.

Nichole Denby was fourth in the same time, missing out on Beijing by .007 seconds. Defending Olympic gold medalist Joanna Hayes, visibly limping, was seventh in 12.96. In the semifinals, Jones posted a 2008 world-leading mark by winning the second heat in 12.45 (+1.45). A favorite not advancing to the final was two-time world champion Michelle Perry, who has been struggling with a thigh injury and has competed with her left thigh taped.

She was sixth in the first semifinal in 12.79 and did not advance. Like Jones, David Oliver completed a sweep of the 2008 U.S. indoor and outdoor titles in the men's hurdles.

Though slow out of the blocks, Oliver rallied past two-time Olympic silver medalist, defending Olympic Trials champion and 2007 World Outdoor silver medalist Terrence Trammell to win the 100H in 12.95 (+2.5). Trammell was second in 13.00 and World Outdoor bronze medalist David Payne third in 13.25, a beneficiary of an untimely fall by Anwar Moore, who was in third but fell over the final hurdle and finished eighth in 16.64.

Oliver also ran an outstanding semifinal race, crossing the line .01 under the American record, in 12.89, but aided by an illegal 3.2mps wind. It was the fourth-fastest time ever run under any conditions. Trammell won the second semi in 13.08 (+2.0mps).

In perhaps the most tactical race of these Olympic Trials, world champion Bernard Lagat withstood a relaxed pace, pushing and shoving to win his second title of the Olympic Trials. The two-time Olympic 1,500m medalist for Kenya and the 2007 world champion at 1,500 and 5,000 for Team USA, Lagat will compete in both events in Beijing.

Lagat went to the lead at the gun, but 2000 Olympic Trials champion Gabe Jennings sprinted to the lead after 200m. Running 60-second laps, the tightly packed field came through 800m in 2:00.70 with Jennings, Lagat, Said Ahmed, Leonel Manzano and Lopez Lomong at the front.

Approximately 1,000m into the race, Ahmed literally pushed his way between Jennings and Lagat to take the lead, and the race was on. With 300 to go, it was Ahmed, Lagat and Manzano, and 100m later Lomong had moved up to third. That finishing order remained the same as the three men, all of whom are naturalized U.S. citizens, will represent the United States for the first time at the Olympics.

Lagat won in 3:40.37, with Manzano second in 3:r0.90 and Lomong third in 3:41.00. William Leer was fourth in 3:41.54 and Alan Webb fifth in 3:41.62.

A graduate of Washington State University, Lagat has lived in the United States for 12 years and became a citizen in 2004. The 2005 and 2008 NCAA champion, Manzano was born in Mexico but raised in Texas.

A Lost Boy of Sudan, Lomong fled the country in 1991 and spent 10 years in a refugee camp in Kenya. He was relocated to Tully, N.Y., where he graduated high school in 2004 before attending Northern Arizona University, for whom he was the 2007 NCAA 1,500m champion.

Terrific 200s, Walter Dix once again made good on the tremendous promise he has shown as a collegiate athlete at Florida State. The 22-year-old won his first national title in the 200 on Sunday, coming from behind to overtake the defending Olympic gold medalist by the smallest of margins.

Gold medalist Shawn Crawford came off the turn running powerfully, with Dix and Rodney Martin trailing him slightly. Roughly 70 meters from the finish line, two-time World Outdoor medalist Wallace Spearmon launched his late-race push as Dix gained incrementally on Crawford.

At the finish, Dix and Crawford both were timed in 19.86, a Hayward Field record, as Crawford leaned so severely he nearly fell. Dix was given the win by .005 seconds in the photo finish, with Spearmon third in 19.90.

The 2007 NCAA 100 and 200 champion, Dix was runner-up in the 100 meters at the Olympic Trials and will compete in both events in Beijing.

The women's 200 had drama of its own. The world's dominant 200m runner, two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist Allyson Felix was a heavy favorite to win her specialty event entering the Olympic Trials, even though she had yet to run a 200m in 2008.

But coming off the curve in Sunday's final, it was 100m champion Muna Lee, running in lane 6 to Felix's lane 5, who held the lead. A composed Felix pulled even with Lee, then kept pushing to win in 21.82 (+5.6mps).

Lee finished in 21.99 as Marshevet Hooker lost her balance one stride before the finish and fell across the line third in 22.20, just .01 ahead of Lauryn Williams in fourth.

Dominant Rowbury Shannon Rowbury likewise entered the Olympic Trials as the prohibitive favorite in the women's 1,500 meters, and she delivered in convincing fashion. Strong and swirling winds kept the field packed tightly through the first two laps as Treniere Clement handled leading duties through 400m in 68.17 and Lindsey Gallo paced 800m in 2:15.73.

Just past 1,000m, Rowbury took off and put on an impressive display of confident running as only Christin Wurth-Thomas and Erin Donohue attempted to move as well. Rowbury crossed the finish line in 4:05.48 - a very fast time in unfavorable winds - as Donohue (4:08.20) passed Wurth (4:08.48) in the final straight for second and third, respectively. Beijing will be the first Olympic Team for all three women.

ASU got off to a good start Friday in the shot put. Senior Jessica Pressley (18.79 meters) finishing first, junior Sarah Stevens (17.11 meters) second and senior Tai Battle (15.22 meters) fifth.

Pressley's heave was a school record and the fifth best toss in NCAA history. Arizona State also earned 21 points in the Hammer throw.

Stevens won with a throw of (66.11 meters) with Battle (63.18 meters) and Pressley (60.47 meters) finishing third and fourth respectively.

Oregon sophomore Andrew Wheating (1:46.83) won the 800. The Ducks locke up the Pac 10 title when they placed five runners in the top eight of the 5,000m run.

Freshman Diego Mercado (second, 14:17.82) lead the charge for the Ducks in the 5K. Cal's Yosef Ghebrav (14:19.85) finished third. More click here

Distance runners shine bright under the lights at the Payton Jordan Invitational

The Payton Jordan Track and Field meet more than lived up to it's billings as some of the top runners in the world showed up at Stanford's Angell Track and Cobb Field and put on a show that made the packed house glad they came out for the night meet on a Sunday.

The meet started at 3pm, but the show really got cooking after six when the distance carnival started.

There were 70,000 meters of races that were ran under the lights and just about every race had somebody braking a record of some kind.

The biggest record was an American record in the 10,000m. An American collegiate record and a California high school record along with a couple of other countries national marks were also set st Stanford.

Shalane Flanagan resides in near by San Francisco and she put on a show for the home folks by running a American record 30:34.49 in the 10K. Flanagan's time is a world leader for 2008 and is the second fastest 10,000 ever by a woman on North American soil.

She had some company. Nine other runners bettered the Olympic A qualifying standard (31.45) on a Stanford track that is one of the best for distance running in the USA.

Texas Tech's Sally Kipyego finished third and in the process broke her own American colligate record, crossing the line in 31.25.45.

She has the fastest time in the NCAA by over 45 seconds and the time automatically qualifies her for the NCAA Championships in June.

If you blinked you might have missed her. Prep Jordan Hassey made the trip up north and ran with the big girls. The Jr. from Mission College Prep clocked a 4:17.46 finishing 10th in the top section of the 1500m.

Shannon Rowbury of Nike won going away in a very fast 4:07.59. Hassey played it cool the first lap and she found herself in a position that she is not used to.

Was she in over her head against a field that was littered with pro and All American athlete's. Jordan was just fine. She came on to pass several runners to finish in sight of the leaders.

Bernard Lagat made his way out west in his quest to represent the USA in this year's Olympic games and won the top section in the 5,000m in 13.16.29.

He finished just ahead of Colorado's Brent Vaughn (13.18.46) and Boaz Cheboiywo of Nike (13.19.21). Lagat paced himself well letting Cheboiywa lead for most of the way before picking up the pace the last few laps.

Stanford's Andrew Dargie got a win for the host school when he held of Oregon's Marcus Dillion to win the 400m dash in 46.70 to Dillion's 47.31.

Cal freshmen Cherrelle Garrett continued to have a strong first year in college by winning the 200m dash in a time of 23.88. Oregon's Andrew Wheating busted out a 1.47.82 to win the open 800m.

Ashton sister, Julian got off to a great outdoor season by running a 13.81 in the 100m hurdles in a Friday qualifying heat.

Julian had company. James Logan's Briana Stewart ran a 13.96. Julian's time is the fastest time by a high schooler in the nation so far this season.

It was Valley Christian's (San Jose) Dahlys Marshall that won the finals Saturday. Julian busted out of the blocks and was well ahead by the seventh hurdle.

She hit the eighth hurdle, however, letting Dahlys slip by. The field included 2007 CIF State champion Vashti Thomas (Mt. Pleasant, San Jose), who had the 4th fastest time at the meet (14.16).

Iowa St.'s Lisa Koll set an American collegiate record in the 10,000m run, winning in 32.11.13 during Friday's night Distance Carnival.

Stanford's Russell Brown held it down in the 1500m run by winning the top section in 3.42.58 to edge Wisconsin's Craig Miller who crossed the line in 3.43.14.

The Bishop O'Dowd girl's 4x400m relay team looks ready to try and defend their CIF state championship. They won the race in 3.54.25.

O'Dowd's relay team of seniors Shane Mullany Banks (headed to Louisville) and Brazile Clark (Cal) and juniors Lia Rivers-Birt and Damajerie DuBose ran together for the first time this season at Stanford.

They held on to beat the always fast James Logan foursome who finished second in 3.54.57. They will look to do battle all season long.

Once again the junior colleges in the area held their own against all the four year schools at Stanford. The Laney girls showed they will be a force to be reckoned with after several fine marks at Stanford.

Defending Juco state champion Candise Maxwell won the 1oom hurdles with a time of 13.84. The Sophomore from Laney crossed the line ahead of Fresno St.'s Kystina Jackson (14.22) and Alabama' a Talaya Owen's (14.24).

Laney was second in the 4x100m relay (46.65) just behind Fresno St. who won in 46.44. Long Beach St. was third (46.70). Laney was 3rd, 4th and 5th in the women's 100m dash.

Maxwell was 3rd (11.88), Shahnel Woodley was 4th (11.90) and B.J. Triplett was 5th (12.04).

Sacramento City Sophomore Neelon Greenwood just missed winning the triple jump, finishing second with a jump of 49'5". Neelon would win the long jump with a leap of 24'3.5".

The outdoor track and field season got underway last weekend. College and high school athlete's got things rolling with meets all over the country.

Two world records got set in Valencia highlighted by Russia's Yelena Soboleva dropping more than three tenths of a seconds off her old world record, posting a 3.57.71.

She had a great field pushing her to the new record. Four runners broke the four minute mark. Fellow Russian Yuliya Fomenko crossed the finish line in 3.59.41 followed by Ethiopia's Gelete Burka (3.59.75) and Maryam Jamal of Bahrain (3.59.88).

American Bryan Clay captured his first indoor world championship Heptathlon with 6371pts. Clay won four events on his way to the victory.

The 4th annual California Relays produced several fast times in the first big meet of the high school season in California. A new track at Cerrito's College in Norwalk, Ca showed that it is ready for action.

It was a CIF state meet preview for SoCal teams as over 60 high schools sent their track and field athlete's to compete.

Kori Carter, a sophomore from Claremont High ran a national leading 42.69 in the 300m hurdles. She added the 100m hurdles win, crossing the line in 14.27.

Rancho Cucamonga showed they will be a force this year with their performances at the Cal Relays. Charles Saseun dropped 10.6 on the field in the 100m dash.

Rancho also passed the stick around the track in 41.99 to win the 4x100 relay. Rancho Cucamonga Girls 4x100 (49.04) and 4x400 (3:55.08) brought home wins showing that they should be a force when the CIF State meet returns to Cerrito's in late May.

Long Beach Wilson's Angele Cooper blasted her way to wins in the 200 (24.91) and 400m (56.57) dashes. 2007 cross country champ Chris Schwartz (Foothill, Bakersfield), made a smooth transition to the outdoor season by posting win in the1600 (4:20.67) and 3200 (9:23.32).

Livermore's Diana George did not let the SoCal runners have all the fun. She made the trip down to check out the new digs and she came back with a first and second place finish in the 1,600 and 800m runs.

She won the 1,600 with a fine early season time of 5.04.44, six seconds ahead of Mira Costa's Vianna Hochstrasser. George finished two seconds behind Culver City's Anniya Louis (2.17.39) in the half with a time of 2.19.58.

Northern California will get a chance to see what time it is when they compete at the Stanford Invitational April 4th and 5th.

One of the biggest meets of the year, the Stanford Invitational will put some of the best high school, Jr. college and NCAA athlete's on the same track and the same time.

Photo by Eric Taylor Once the queen of track and field and one of the most popular athletes of any sport.

Marion Jones was sentenced to jail in New York federal court to six months two years probation and community service for lying about her use of steroids during her career.

Jones had pleaded guilty in October to charges of lying to a federal agent in 2003 about her use of steroids.

Before the sentencing, Jones broke down as she asked Karas not to send her to prison. "I plead with you to alleviate the situation by not separating me from my boys, even for a short period of time," she said.

In a memorandum filed December 31 with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Jones' attorneys had argued that jail time was unnecessary because "any deterrent message to the public has already been sent."

Jones told the court in October that her then-coach, Trevor Graham, first gave her steroids in 1999, telling her it was flaxseed oil.

She said she took the steroid known as "the clear," or THG, from that time until 2001, including during her competition at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney.

Her admission contradicted years of public denials from her regarding steroid use.

In 2004, she filed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Victor Conte, founder of BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative), marketer of THG, accusing him of trying to "destroy her career and reputation" when he said he supplied her with performance-enhancing drugs.

The USA heads off to the world championships next month in Osaka, Japan with a few new faces sprinkled in among the squad.

Sanya Richards sent a shock wave through the world's track and field nation with her fourth place finish in the 400m dash at the 2007 USA Track and Field Championships

Take the 100m dash. Tyson Gay ran away with the title running the fastest time into a head wind in history.

The last time Dix and Holiday saw each other it was at the 2007 NCAA Championships were Dix ran the fastest time in the world this year while Holiday finished second.

They are both on their way to Japan. The US Championships were not so kind to 400m champ Sonya Richards. The reining world champion placed fourth in the 400m final, failing to make the team in the open 400.

She gets to run in the 4x400m relay, but her race was a shock to every one who watched her come off the final curve tied for the lead only to watch her fade down the stretch.

Dee Dee Trotter would run a life time best of 49.64 to tale the title while NCAA champ Natasha Hastings of South Carolina was second in 49.84 and Mary Wineberg rounded out the world team coming home in 50.24.

Richards bounced back to take second to Allison Felix in the 200m dash to claim a spot on the team. She will no doubt be in the 4x400 relay pool as well in Osaka.

Felix, the defending Olympic and world champion won in 22.34. They will be joined by Torri Edwards who makes her return to the world stage after fighting steroid allegations the past three years.

The women's 800m could have witnessed a changing of the guard. Alyisa Johnson, a Jr.at Cal, came from behind in the last 50 meters to win the US Championships adding to her Pac 10 and NCAA titles she won a few weeks ago.

Alyisa Johnson won her first US Championship in the 800m in 2007

Johnson was passed by Hazel Clark with 90 meters to go, but Clark could not hold off Johnson.

It was a rematch of their quarter final race where Clark edged Johnson to win with a time 2:02.59. sixteen year old Chanelle Price, a high school sophomore, went out quickly and lead the first lap.

Johnson took over the second lap as she pulled the field with her. It was the second time Johnson has broken the two minute mark in the past three weeks.

In the Heptathlon Washing St's Diana Pickler overcame her disappointment of her last place finish at the 2007 NCAA Track and Field Championships to finish second to Hyleas Fountain. Virginia Johnson was third.

Pickler was leading the heptathlon at the NCAA championships when she was disqualified from the two hundred meter for running out of her lane. She won her heat, but would end up finishing last in the event.

Former Cal Bear Grace Upshaw showed that she still had some gas in her tank when she went out and won the long jump with a mark of 22'1.5".

Virginia Powell won a close 100m hurdles final, clocking a 12.64 to edge out Michelle Perry (12.72) and Lolo Jones (12.79). Just on the outside looking in was Nichole Denby was ran a tough luck, but fast 12.82 for fourth place.

There they were. Celebrating in the middle of the track, about twenty young women scored enough points at the California State Community College track and field championships to hold off a team of five women.

That's right, five Laney College in Oakland, Ca. went into the state meet with an outside chance of taking home a title, but it was not to be.

The Eagles fell just seven points short of a title scoring 83pts. You get ten for a win and eight points for second all the way down to a single point for 8th place. Five girls and 83pts is a lot, but not enough to top AMC's 90.5 points.

Laney's five girls combined to win four events, Charonda Williams defended her state title in the 100m dash (11.56) while added the 200 title (23.53), long jump (19'5") and 4x100 relay (45.28) while helping to set a school record in Laney's second place finish in the 4x400m relay (3:53.09).

She had a hand in 50pts, scoring more then 75% of the teams at state. Candise Maxwell was first to cross the line in the 100m hurdles winning with a pr of 13.78.

"We did about what I thought we would do." said head coach Curtis Taylor. "We scored as many points as we could and I am proud of the girls. They worked so hard this year and it paid off for them today".

That hard work also paid off for Merritt's Che Ballenger. A former state finalist in the 800 while at Oakland Tech, Che ran 153:11 to win a state title on a windy day in San Mateo.

"I was waiting until the second lap to make my move. I wanted to make sure that I plenty of kick left for the second lap. The race went just like I thought it would." said a happy Che after claming the 800m championship.

Other highlights at the state meet were Pasadena's Edino Steele. He had a hand in 40 of his teams championship winning 75pts.

Steele blew away the field in the 400m dash winning in 45.71. He helped his team to victory in the 4x100 (40.26), 4x400 (3:11.82) while winning the 200m dash in 20.76.

East LA College Oscar Ogware pulled off quite an impressive triple at state. He won the 10,000m run (31:21.30), the steeplechase (9:05.91) and the 5,000m run (15.16.51)

San Francisco City College saw their three year men's track and field championship streak come to an end in 2007. They finished sixth with 35pts.

Nicole crosses the finish line in 2:02.77 to win the 800m at the 66th Modesto Relays

Women's 800m runner Alice Schmidt did not mind the cross track cutting wind that blew all day to bust out a 2:02.77 to win going away.

Schmidt was three seconds faster than second place Madeline of Australia who crossed the line in 2:05.45.

Schmidt ran 1:59.35 last year and the quick time she ran at Modesto should bode well for her as the outdoor season heats up.

2004 Olympic long jump gold medal winner Dwight Phillips did not have good luck with the wind at Modesto. He had no trouble with the rest of the field, winning with a jump of 27'2", but the jump was wind aided.

The Modesto Relays puts high school and little kids in the youth division on the same track at the same time as defending Olympic champions and you do not find that anywhere else on the west coast.

One such "little kid", Mission Valley track club young star Ciarra Brewer jumped with the big girls as she always does at Modesto. Brewer, all of 13yrs old and not even in high school yet leaped 19'3" to take fifth in the long jump.

She was not far off the winning jump of 21'8" by Tianna Madison. Nicole Forrester won the women's high jump with a clearance of 6'4". Mireya Beltran was second (6') and Inika McPherson was third (5'10").

On the men's side Christian Cantwell was on center stage winning the shot put with a toss of 69'10.75". The shot put was conducted in the middle of the infield on the 50-yard line after Cantwell lobbied for the event to be moved from a field off to the side of the grandstands to the middle of the action.

Jeffery Chakouian was second with a heave of 66'7" and Sheldon Battle was third in 66'4.5". Olympian Toby "crash" Stevenson showed he still has some gas left in the tank by winning the pole vault with a clearance of 18'5".

Ageless wonder Jeff Laynes anchored the USA Red Team to a win in the 4x100m relay in 39.31. Laynes won the Pac10 100m dash title way back in 1989 and he is still going strong trying to make the olympic team in 2008 at the age of 39.

Hughes stadium played host to a mini state meet preview at the Meet of Champions in Sacramento. Javid Best, from Richmond's Salesian High lower the state leading time and set one of the many meet records in the 100m dash.

Best won the 100 in 10.36 then bounced back to take the 200m dash in 21.16. The 100m time is the 3rd fastest in the nation by a high schooler to date.

Alex Kosinski (Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills) put the nation on notice with a national record of 4:38.15 in the 1600m run. She was not finished. Kosinski, a senior, also ran the fastest time in the 800m run winning in 2:07.84.

Holy Names Ke'Nyia Richardson was a busy young woman at the meet of champions. She took first in the 100m hurdles (13.63) just ahead of defending state champion Julian Purvis (13.81).

Richardson placed second in the long jump (19-4) behind Hercules senior Jamesha Youngblood who set a meet record with a leap of 20'6".

Ke'Nyia set her own meet record in her favorite event, the triple jump Richardson got busy and broke off a 43'3" jump to beat a second place Youngblood by three feet.

Freshmen Ashton Purvis had herself quite a day as well. She continues to battle Mt. Eden's Cherrelle Garrett in the sprints. Purvis set meet records winning both the 100m dash (11.40) and the 200m dash (23.50).

The skies managed to stay dry and the 2007 Oakland Relays went off without a hitch.

The city of Oakland welcomed athlete's from over 40-schools out to Laney College to see how far they have come in the 2007 track and field season.

The boy's squad from Deer Valley and the girl's from St. Mary's came away with team titles in the day long relays. Deer Valley scored 117-points, lead by three first place finishes.

Taiwon Jones (11.09, 100m), Jaron Butler (51.14, 400m) and Matt Landrum (1:57.54, 800m) all brought home a victory. The St. Mary's girls were lead by Brittney Domnie win in the 300h posting a 47.97. St. Mary's took the 400m relay (49.63).

Aziza Baker wrapped up St. Mary's win by taking both the high jump (5') and triple jump (36-2.1/2). St. Mary's out scored Skyline 91 to 74.

The Skyline girls had a good day at Laney. Danita Hudson won the 100m hurdles (15.34), Malaina Payton won the long jump (17'-8") and Amy Cordisco busted out eight laps around the track to win the 3,200 in 11:33.08.

Pinole Valley's Rashad Smith swept both hurdles events winning the 110h in 14.36 and the 300h in 39.44. He also anchored PV in the 200m relay, leading them to the win .Castlemont's Janetria Johnson took first place in the shot put with a toss of 33'-6".

Over 3,500 prep track and field athlete's descended on Arcadia High School in LA country last weekend. They put on quite a show Saturday night in the invitational section of the meet.

Twenty four national leading mark were set in the meet. It's still early, but numerous athlete's showed that they will be a force to be reckoned with when the state meet rolls around in June.

St. Elizabeth triple jumper Ne'Nyia Richardson won with a national best 43'11.5". Richardson has started her outdoor season off with a bang. She leads the state in the triple and long jumps (19'10.5"). She has also run a 13.88 in the 100m hurdles.

Mt. Eden (Hayward) senior Cherrelle Garrett showed LA that she is for real by clocking a 11.65 to win the 100m dash just ahead of St .Elizabeth (Oakland) freshmen Ashton Purvis (11.66).

Purvis returned the favor in the Deuce, clocking a winning time of 24.00 to Garrett's 24.08. The biggest splash was made by Carlmont Sophomore Justine Fedronic. All she did was set a meet record while setting this year's national standard in the 800m with a time of 2:08..08 in her win.

Fedronic has also posted a 1,600m time of 4:55.29. That is well off the pace of Mission Prep's Jordan Hasay. Hasay paces Cali with a 4:39.13 in the 1,600. Just to show you she is not joking, Hasay broke off a state leading 10:04.07 in the 3,200.

Inglewood senior Dondre McDonald set the standard in the state to date with a 10.58 in the 100m to get the best of Salesian's High's (Richmond) Javid Best who placed second (10.59). Best would get the better of McDonald in the 200m dash with a state leading 21.40. McDonald finished second in 21.69.

Bishop O'Dowd senior Miranda Wilson won the shot put with a state leading toss of 44'11.1/4" down at Arcadia. There is still a long ways to go in the season and that everybody seems to have loosened up a little bit look for times and marks to improve as the season goes on.

You do not want to peak to early, shoot your wad and have nothing left for the end of the year. That is what you are remembered by, what you do at state.

The big boys might have come out at night, but hundreds of NCAA athlete's made a statement at the Stanford Invite run at Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field.

15 Stanford athlete's came away with regional marks lead by Graeme Hoste who won the pole vault, clearing a height of 16' 9 1/4".

Both Jacob Gomez 14:02.80 and Brett Gotcher 14:08.45 got under the NCAA west regional standard in the 5,000m.

teams from all over the country came out west to compete on Cobb Track trying to get an early season mark. The college's were not the only thing going on at Stanford over the weekend. JC's and high schools added to the flavor of the meet and there was always something going on.

The Laney College women's 4x100 m relay squad showed they could run with the big girls by placing second in the 4x100 final to Baylor with a time of 45.55. Baylor won in 45.17 and Stanford was third, crossing the line in 45.74.

Salesian High's Javid Best stretched his legs out a little by dusting off the track with a 10.67 in the prelim's. He won the final in 10.78 while coming in second in the open 400m with a 48.70 just behind james Logan's Quentin Powell who crossed the line in 48.62. Complete meet results click here 2007 Stanford Invite photo's click here

Some of the best high school, college and professional track and field athlete's will come together for the 2007 version of the Stanford Invitational March 30th and 31st.

Host Stanford is coming off a great indoor season that was capped off by eight Cardinal's being named first team All Americans after their showings at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Erica McLean took first in the triple jump with a personal best of 45-07 ¾ (13.91 meters). The Cardinal will now jump into their outdoor season. Meet info and tickets click here

The 2006 CIF State Track and Field Meet is June 2nd and 3rd at Cerrito's College in Norwalk, Ca

Mr. Klech continued to impress with his many skills on the track last weekend in San Jose. The skies over San Jose City College stayed dry and David put on a little show of his own as he begins to fine tune in an attempt to compete for four different titles at the state championships later this season.

Pleasant's Jeneba Tarmoh ran back to back 11.88 and 11.89 to win the open 100m dash.

Ke'Nyia Richardson (Holy Names) had the second longest triple jump by a prep athlete this year with a 41'03" at the 2006 Hampton-Phillips Relays.

Klech went 14.15 on his way to a 110-hurdles victory, he took 3rd in the long jump (21'8.5"), 1st in the high jump (6'8") before capping his day off with a 51.14 in the 400m hurdles, smashing his meet record by almost a full second.

"Last year at state is was a lot for me to handle. I did not realize how much I had to focus for each event. Everybody at the state meet was so good and I was not ready to compete in all the events.

It takes a lot to win any event at a meet like that." said Klech about his first attempt to win four titles at the 2005 CIF state meet.

This year is feels that he is ready to take on the state's best in four different events.

"In this meet I wanted to come out and compete in each event and work on focusing on each event.

I am a lot stronger at this point in the year then I was last season and I feel that I am mentally stronger then I was last season."