Upload a Photo Upload a Video Add a News article Write a Blog Add a Comment
Blog Feed News Feed Video Feed All Feeds

Media

Photos (2177)
View
Videos (580)
View
News (71)
View
Blogs (0)
View
 

Folders

 

 

Preview - 10 College/Professional Storylines to Follow at Mt. SAC Relays 2019

Published by
DyeStat.com   Apr 17th 2019, 3:30pm
Comments

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Here are 10 storylines involving collegiate and professional athletes to follow at the 61st Mt. SAC Relays at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif.

Programming note: You can watch the live Webcast here of the meet Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The broadcast and on-demand videos will only be available for RunnerSpace +PLUS subscribers. Subscribe here.

A Diamond League caliber duel

Most Diamond League races would find it difficult to rival the collection of talent present Saturday in the invitational women’s 100-meter hurdles, highlighted by world record-holder and reigning USATF Outdoor champion Keni Harrison and last year’s NCAA Division 1 winner Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who now train together under coach Edrick Floreal in Austin, Texas.

Harrison finished as the world leader last year at 12.36 seconds, with Camacho-Quinn ranked third at 12.40. The meet record is 12.43, set in 2013 by Yvette Lewis and matched last year by Olympic gold medalist Brianna Rollins-McNeal.

Rollins-McNeal was originally entered in the 100 hurdles, which would have marked the first domestic matchup against Harrison since the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, but she is instead competing in the 100-meter dash and 4x400-meter relay.

Camacho-Quinn and Harrison, who both competed at Kentucky, also train with Pedrya Seymour of the Bahamas, who boasts a personal-best 12.64. Camacho-Quinn and Seymour both clocked 13.10 on March 30 at the 92nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

Norway’s Isabelle Pedersen and Americans Evonne Britton and Bridgette Owens, along with Seymour, are additional professionals competing in the elite section against collegiate standouts Chanel Brissett and Dior Hall of USC, along with Jamaican Rushelle Burton of Texas.

The first section includes collegiate leader Naomi Taylor of Houston, World U-20 bronze medalist Cortney Jones of Florida State, former NCAA Division 1 indoor 60-meter hurdles champion Sasha Wallace and Texas redshirt athlete Tara Davis competing unattached.

Path to repeat no easy feat

Michael Norman is the collegiate record holder in the men’s 400 meters and is also the defending champion after running 44.53 seconds last year representing USC at El Camino College for the third-fastest time in meet history.

But Norman’s quest for back-to-back victories will be a challenging one and might require him breaking the 1992 meet record of 44.45 held by Steve Lewis in order to do so.

Norman was the world leader last year with his 43.61 from the NCAA Division 1 final, but he hasn’t competed in an open 400 since, only running a leg on a 4x400 relay so far this year March 16 at the Trojan Invitational.

Norman will also have to contend with Belgian standout Kevin Borlee, along with training partner Rai Benjamin, the collegiate record holder in the 400-meter hurdles.

Adding even more depth to the section are American professionals Dontavius Wright and Marcus Chambers, along with Houston’s Obi Igbokwe, Iowa’s Mar’yea Harris and Texas freshman Jonathan Jones.

Also competing in earlier sections will be Belgium’s Dylan Borlee, as well as American professionals Michael Cherry and Arman Hall.

The last male athlete to win back-to-back invitational 400 titles was Asian record holder Yousef Masrahi of Saudi Arabia in 2013-14.

A family reunion

Vashti Cunningham has been a fixture at the annual event since her high school days competing for Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas.

But Saturday’s meet could take on added significance for the reigning USATF Indoor and Outdoor high jump champion, with the scheduled return of her brother Randall Cunningham to competition for USC for the first time in more than 13 months since suffering a broken left tibia after winning last year’s NCAA Division 1 Indoor title in College Station, Texas.

It would mark the first time since the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials that the siblings have competed together at the same meet.

Vashti is not only looking to become the first athlete to win four consecutive invitational titles in the women’s high jump, but also extend her streak of overall victories to six in a row, including her sophomore and junior years in high school.

Debbie Brill of Canada (1970-72) and former Arizona standout and 2012 Olympic silver medalist Brigetta Barrett (2011-13) both won three straight invitational crowns, which Vashti equaled last year.

Both Randall and Vashti competed at the 2016 Mt. SAC Relays together at Cerritos College.

Randall is scheduled to square off against Canadian professionals Derek Drouin, Michael Mason and Django Lovett, along with USC teammate Ernie Sears, in addition to the Georgia trio of Keenon Laine, Darius Carbin and Antonios Merlos.

Vashti will face strong challenges from Swedish star Erika Kinsey and Canada’s Alyx Treasure.

Champions collide in sprint spotlight

The only two collegiate athletes in meet history to produce winning wind-legal marks under 11 seconds in the women’s 100-meter dash will line up side by side Saturday in pursuit of more invitational glory.

Former Oregon star and PUMA professional Jenna Prandini, now training in Texas, won three consecutive 100-meter titles at the event from 2014-16, highlighted by a wind-legal 10.92 effort in 2015.

USC sophomore Twanisha Terry prevailed last year in 10.99, still the fastest wind-legal performance of her career.

In addition to Prandini and Terry, Trinidad and Tobago professional Khalifa St. Fort, former LSU star and first-year Nike professional Mikiah Brisco, Kentucky graduate and Nike athlete Javianne Oliver and Brazil’s Vitoria Rosa are also scheduled to compete, in addition to the Texas tandem of Teahna Daniels and Kynnedy Flannel.

Prandini is the only collegiate female sprinter to win the 100 in consecutive years, with Terry looking to repeat this season after winning the NCAA Division 1 Indoor 60-meter title March 9 in Birmingham, Ala.

A trip down memory lane

There will be a new champion in the invitational men’s 100-meter dash Saturday, with Ronnie Baker not pursuing a third consecutive title this year.

But there will also be plenty of familiarity among the competitors, especially former two-year college standouts Ameer Webb, Cravon Gillespie, Kyree King and Just’n Thymes.

All four athletes captured California Community College Athletic Association state championships before advancing in their careers.

Gillespie, now at Oregon, and former Ducks standout King both competed for Mt. SAC. Webb represented Cerritos College and Thymes was a star at Riverside Community College.

Webb is the only previous invitational winner in the group, prevailing in 2016 in a wind-aided 9.90 seconds.

Along with Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Mohammed, several Brazilian athletes are also expected to compete in the invitational section, in addition to Houston standouts Mario Burke and Travis Collins, along with former Cougars standout Cameron Burrell.

Gillespie, King and Webb are also entered in the invitational men’s 200 meters. Webb also prevailed in the 200 in 2016 in 19.91.

International royalty on the runway

Athletes from five countries, including three of the past four invitational champions, are scheduled to compete Saturday in the women’s long jump in one of the deepest fields in meet history.

Great Britain’s Lorraine Ugen, the world leader last year at 23-1.75 (7.05m), has the potential to challenge the 1984 meet record of 22-10 (6.97m) held by Carol Lewis.

But she will also be tested by former event winners Christabel Nettey of Canada, Jessamyn Sauceda of Mexico and Texas redshirt athlete Tara Davis competing unattached.

Reigning USATF Outdoor champion Sha’Keela Saunders, who trains in Texas, is also entered, along with American triple jump record holder Tori Franklin.

Great Britain’s Jahisha Thomas, a first-year professional following All-America honors in the long jump and triple jump at Iowa, is also expected to compete, along with Canada’s Aasha Marler, Brazil’s Eliane Martins and Americans Malaina Payton and Darielle McQueen.

Grand stage inside the cage

With ongoing construction of Hilmer Lodge Stadium resulting in the meet being held again at El Camino College’s Murdock Stadium, the men’s and women’s hammer throw competitions are the only events that have remained on the Mt. SAC campus during the transition.

That will be the case again Thursday when both defending champions return, looking to become the first American athletes to repeat in several years.

Alexander Young, the 2017 USATF Outdoor champion and last year’s runner-up, is attempting to become the first back-to-back men’s invitational winner to represent the U.S. since two-time Olympian Ken Flax achieved the feat in 1991-92.

Hungary’s Balazs Kiss, a former USC standout, and Slovakia’s Libor Charfreitag – who excelled collegiately at Southern Methodist – have both produced six-year winning streaks at Mt. SAC in the hammer throw since Flax secured back-to-back titles.

Andersen, a Northern Arizona graduate, is trying to follow the success of American Amber Campbell (2010-12) by repeating as champion. The last female athlete to capture back-to-back hammer titles is Canadian star Sultana Frizell (2013-15).

Young will be challenged by two-time winner Marcel Lomnicky of Slovakia, 2017 champion Diego Del Real of Mexico, reigning NCAA Division 1 champion and Dutch record holder Denzel Comenentia of Georgia, along with fellow Americans Sean Donnelly, Rudy Winkler, Daniel Roberts, Conor McCullough and Colin Dunbar.

Andersen will square off against reigning NCAA Division 1 champion and first-year professional Janeah Stewart, along with fellow American Jeneva Stevens. UCLA’s Alyssa Wilson and Florida State’s Veronika Kanuchova are the top collegiate entries.

A star-studded relay showcase

With any invitational, nothing is guaranteed until a relay lineup steps on the track, but the entries for the women’s 4x400-meter relay could cap the Saturday afternoon session in impressive fashion, and that doesn’t even include the past two NCAA Division 1 champions in USC and Oregon.

A quartet scheduled to compete as Hayes All-Stars, representing coach Joanna Hayes, is projected to include first-year New Balance professionals Sydney McLaughlin and Kendall Ellis, along with Jasmine Blocker – a member of 4x400 relay gold medal lineups for the U.S. last year at both the inaugural Athletics World Cup and NACAC Championships – and former USC standout Jaide Stepter.

Another group expected to represent Hurdle Mechanic is scheduled to include Olympic gold medalists Dalilah Muhammad and Brianna Rollins-McNeal, along with former NCAA Division 1 champion Sasha Wallace and Panamian national team member Gianna Woodruff.

USC, Oregon and Texas are also scheduled to race against the professional lineups. Oregon has won the past two 4x400 relay titles.

The meet record of 3:26.87 belonging to a Reebok all-star team has stood since 1992.

Renewing relay acquaintances

In addition to several of the top collegiate programs, USC stars past and present are scheduled to meet in the invitational men’s 4x400 relay, with former Trojan teammates Michael Norman, Rai Benjamin and Ricky Morgan Jr. expected to join LSU graduate Michael Cherry representing Hudson Smith International.

That group will clash with current USC athletes Zach Shinnick, Eric Allen Jr., Ayden Owens and Isaiah Jewett, along with quartets from Houston, Texas, Western Kentucky, Oregon and Iowa. The Hawkeyes boast the second-fastest collegiate performance in the country this year at 3:03.10.

No team has run under 3:03.0 since a U.S. all-star team clocked 3:01.57 in 2004. The meet record of 3:00.48 has stood since 1992.

Hudson Smith International is also expected to be represented in the men’s 4x100 relay, taking on a Sprint King’s group that includes Cameron Burrell, Kyree King, Marcus Chambers and Damarcus Simpson, as well as a group from Brazil, plus USC, Oregon and Houston, which ranks second collegiately this season at 38.45.

Ready to go the distance again

The defending champions in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters are also scheduled to return Friday, looking to produce rare repeat winners in each event.

Great Britain’s Aimee Pratt is scheduled to run the invitational 3,000 steeplechase Friday after capturing the title last year in 9:54.16. The last female athlete to prevail in back-to-back years was Jamaica’s Korene Hinds, who won four in a row from 2005-08.

Georgia’s Jessica Drop ran a personal-best 15:38.57 in the 5,000 last year to become the first female collegiate athlete to win the event since 2013.

Saucony professional Molly Huddle is the last individual to capture consecutive women’s 5,000 crowns in 2011-12.

Perhaps the rarest of the repeat feats is in the women’s 10,000, with Finland’s Camilla Richardson attempting the daunting double after prevailing last year in 32:39.01.

The last female athlete to secure back-to-back 10,000 victories at the Mt. SAC Relays was Mexico’s Olga Appell Avalos in 1994-95. She is one of only two individuals to produce consecutive victories in the women’s 10,000 since it was added to the schedule in 1980, the other being Lynn Nelson in 1986-87.

All three men’s winners in the same distance events are also scheduled to return from last year.

Australian Kale Adams of NCAA Division 2 power Adams State is looking to become the first repeat champion in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase since Kenya’s Solomon Kandie (2004-06).

Brazil’s Altobeli da Silva is pursuing back-to-back 5,000 victories, with the last male athlete to accomplish the feat Bernard Lagat (2000-02).

American Sid Vaughn Jr. of HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite is seeking consecutive 10,000 titles, with the last male athlete to triumph in consecutive years Ireland’s Frank O’Mara (1990-91).



More news

History for DyeStat.com
YearVideosNewsPhotosBlogs
2024 1091 353 13738  
2023 5382 1361 77508  
2022 4892 1212 58684  
Show 25 more
 
+PLUS highlights
+PLUS coverage
Live Events
Get +PLUS!