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Women's Steeple
a weekly newsletter by James Fields
3/22/00 Report
Results and other news
Florida State Relays - Wildcat Inv - West Valley Relays - Stanford Report - Funded Steeple Race - Clinic Considered - Which Foot - Lists - About Us
RESULTS
Florida State University Relays -
Tallahassee, FL
Women's 2 km Steeple (no water jump) 17 Mar 2000 1-Raina Larsen, unattached
7:02.59; 2-Tammi Green, Liberty University 7:20.81; 3-Shannon Lindberg, Central
Connecticut 7:32.20; 4-Kingsley Broughton, FSU Track Club 7:39.09; 5-Katie
Benson, Jacksonville University 7:54.33; 6-Kelly Hill, Dickinson College
8:04.77; 7- Katie Lerz, Central Connecticut 8:10.16; 8-Tina Huggler, Wagner
College 8:17.88; 9- Danielle Bergantino, Central Connecticut 9:03.21.
Wildcat Invitational - Taft,
California - 18 March 2000
High School Girls 2000m Steeplechase 1-Melissa Miller, Taft HS 8:52.33;
2-Lyndsey Dennis, Taft HS 8:59.21; 3-Shannon Phillips, Desert HS 9:01.09;
4-Jessica Acuna, Ridgeview HS 9:01.77; 5-Monique Rodriguez, Stockdale HS
9:26.24; 6-Mandee Stewart, Taft HS 9:35.89; 7-Stacy Edwards, Kern Valley HS
9:46.64; 8-Jodi Calderon, Stockdale HS 9:56.40; 9-Andrea Osteen, Stockdale HS
10:12.55; 10-Lindsey Caldron, Stockdale HS 10:19.05; 11-Valerie Porter,
Stockdale HS 10:31.08; 12-Angela Zavala, Arvin HS 10:39.16; 13-Anna Bliss,
Stockdale HS 10:50.40.
West Valley Relays - Saratoga,
California High School
Girls 2km Steeple - 18 Mar 2000 1-Antoinette Spasaro, Santa Teresa HS 9:13.76;
2-Akia Hasan, Mount Pleasant HS 9:36.09; 3-Katharine Hill, Los Altos HS
10:18.53; 4-Katrina Vinson, Santa Teresa HS 12:04.41.
STANFORD UPDATE
The Stanford University Invitational meet on 25-26 March 2000 has among its entrants at least a half-dozen women steeplers whose performances have been reported in previous issues of the Steeple Report: Marie Davis, Amy Forrey, Sarah Forrey, Tara Haynes, Michelle Ishio, Elizabeth Jackson. But they will run in other events; last Friday the meet website showed the women's 3000m steeplechase canceled -- as it was last year when 15 American women steeplers were entered in the meet. Cancellation was assured this year by the entry standard of 9:50, a time never achieved in three decades of steepling history by any western hemisphere woman. The USA best-ever is 10:06.76; the Canadian best is 10:14.86.
FUNDED STEEPLE RACE
The women's 3000m steeplechase will be a featured events for the University at Albany's 6th Annual Spring Classic on Friday, 12 May 2000. The race will include invited athletes who have met the qualifying time of 10:38 for entry into the USA Olympic Trials at Sacramento in July. The University and the Adirondack USATF have provided travels funds for qualified athletes in these events. Interested women steeplers should contact Dr. Kevin Williams kevinw@csc.albany.edu. The women's steeplechase is scheduled for 8 p.m. and is open to college, club, and unattached USATF runners. Last year, nine women competed in the 3000m steeplechase at this meet and Williams hopes to have an even larger field this year. He says "The goal is to get a quality field together and to help the top steeplers get competition against each other." In addition, tentative plans are being made to include HS 2000m steeple races for boys and girls in the meet. Anyone interested in these races should contact Williams soon.
CLINIC CONSIDERED
The Women's Steeple Development Committee is exploring the option of conducting a steeplechase clinic at Albany on 13 May 2000, the morning following the big race. Top runners and coaches would work with athletes, demonstrating hurdling, water jump techniques, etc. Before plans for the clinic can be finalized, however, the Committee needs to know the level of interest in the clinic. Those who may be interested in attending the clinic are encouraged to e-mail Dr. Williams kevinw@csc.albany.edu .
WHICH FOOT?
(Training Tip) A steepler wrote to us that our Training Tips since 1998 have said "nothing about which foot you should step the water barrier with. My natural lead leg is the right leg, and I started out stepping with my right. ... a former steepler in college and now coaching steeplers ... told me that I needed to step with my left leg so that when I landed my dominant leg was taking the weight of the jump. Do you have any suggestions or imput about this?"
Most athletes prefer one foot to the other for pushing off from the long jump board, feeling that the chosen foot gives them more upward thrust to get height off the ground. It seems natural to use that same foot to get the body up and onto the water jump barrier, because overcoming gravity requires a lot of power. This means the non-thrusting foot will be placed on the crossbar atop the water jump barrier. What happens next varies among athletes because not all of them increase their speed in the final strides before the barrier, a suggested method of acquiring velocity across the water jump. My photographs show many USA women steeplers are relatively erect as their weight passes over the barrier, using their non-jumping leg, to push off from the barrier in a forward, and sometimes upward, direction. They use gravity to descend toward the water at the departure end of the pit. I say "relatively" because photos of world-class steeplers show many of them bending at the knee of that leg which bears their weight as they move forward across the barrier toward the water. This is easier to do with speed acquired by the suggested acceleration in those final strides preceding the barrier.
A bent or compressed knee, aiding the pushoff from the barrier, can help propel the athlete further in the forward direction and it appears to create a faster traverse of the water jump. The quoted coach may have had that in mind when he talked about "taking the weight of the jump." However, I believe that more severe "taking the weight" occurs when the athlete lands on the sloped surface of the pit after descending from the height above the barrier. My belief is reflected by the rules which since 1973 have specified that, to ensure safe landing of the steeplers, the bottom of the water jump at the further [departure] end shall be covered by matting of suitable material. That landing pad could be provided by an industrial strength door mat of one-inch thickness but it needs to cover the full 12-foot width of the pit and extend back 2.5 meters from the departure end; that's a really big mat.
I don't agree with those who seek to keep steepler feet dry by techniques designed for a landing beyond the water where no such matting will be available to cushion the landing.
There are two other factors to consider. The first is relatively simple; an athlete's choice of alternate techniques is often determined by what "feels right" which is an individual matter beyond coaching dictates. The second factor is more complex. Foot traffic in a steeple race can create a situation in which a dozen athletes attempt to clear the same barrier within a second or two of each other and all but the leader(s) have difficulty seeing the top of a hurdle in time to adjust their steps. Consequently, some steeplers may develop the ability and strength to push off from either left or right foot for hurdling; that could make moot any question about which foot is "correct" for any phase of clearance.
LISTS
Expected races last weekend in Connecticut and Virginia produced no marks, so we lack enough to start our annual USA rankings via lists of best marks reported. Rankings should be possible after results are received from meets this weekend and next.
ABOUT US
The Steeple Report has been distributed free via internet since Spring 1996 as a volunteer service. Copyright 1998-2000 by James Fields. We welcome information about and for girls and women steeplechasers -- including results, scheduled events, and training ideas. Send messages, including additions or revisions for our mailing list, to paradocs@esper.com.
