Distance Events Earn 2017 Relay Performance of the Year Awards

Track and field fans voiced their choices in this week's DyeStat's Relay Performance of the Year poll, while DyeStat's editors made their own selection.

Readers’ Choice: U.S. women's indoor DMR

With 39.40 percent of the vote, the U.S. women’s indoor distance medley won our Readers’ Choice vote, beating the Oregon women’s 4x400 relay and its second-place tally of 22 percent.

With New Balance professionals Emma Coburn, Jenny Simpson and Brenda Martinez coming together to showcase their middle-distance talents, the stage was set for a memorable performance Jan. 28 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Massachusetts.

When they were able to secure then Union Catholic NJ senior Sydney McLaughlin to run the 400-meter leg on the relay, it almost assured history would be made at the Reggie Lewis Center.

The four Olympians combined to run 10 minutes, 40.31 seconds to produce the fastest indoor time in history, eclipsing the 2015 world record of 10:42.57 set by the New Balance quartet of Sarah Brown, Mahagony Jones, Megan Krumpoch and Martinez.

Coburn opened the relay with the 1,200-meter leg in 3:18.40, followed by McLaughlin covering the second leg in 52.32.

Martinez clocked 2:01.93 on the 800 leg, putting Simpson in favorable position to take down the record over the final 1,600 meters. Simpson anchored in 4:27.66, helping the American quartet finish more than nine seconds ahead of the New Balance Europe lineup.

Only the U.S. outdoor distance medley relay of Treniere Moser, Sanya Richards-Ross, Ajee’ Wilson and Shannon Rowbury and their performance of 10:36.50 to win the 2015 IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas has been faster than Coburn, McLaughlin, Martinez and Simpson.

Editors’ Choice: American Fork 4x1600 relay

The readers made a strong choice in selecting the U.S. women’s indoor distance medley relay. However, with so many historic relays and all-time world bests, there were other performances to consider.

The Oregon outdoor women’s 4x400 not only clinched the NCAA Division 1 team title, but set the collegiate record by clocking 3:23.13 to hold off USC in 3:23.35.

Texas A&M, which had already set the indoor collegiate record by running 3:02.52 in January, rallied to win the NCAA Division 1 team championship by capturing the 4x400 on its home track in 3:02.80.

There were three world all-time bests, along with a Under-20 record and several national high school standards.

However, this year’s award goes to American Fork UT and one of the most exceptional performances by any high school quartet.

Carson Clinger, McKay Johns, Patrick Parker and Casey Clinger ran 16:41.30 at the 50th Arcadia Invitational to smash the national 4x1600 mark of 16:52.95 set the previous season by Great Oak CA at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays.

Great Oak ran 16:55.85 at last year’s Arcadia Invitational to break the 4x1600 record of 17:04.7 set in 1986 by McCulloch TX, along with the converted standard of 17:00.2 established in 1976 by South Eugene OR when it ran 17:06.6 in a 4xMile relay.

But American Fork, coming down from 4,600 feet of altitude, elevated the 4x1600 to even greater heights, relying on three legs under 4:09 to defeat fellow Utah power Lone Peak by nearly 50 seconds.

Carson Clinger opened the relay in 4:25.51, passing the baton to Johns in ninth place. From there, it was all American Fork.

Johns clocked 4:08.23 to give the Cavemen a 14-second advantage at the halfway point, with Parker running 4:05.43 to build the lead to 34 seconds, before handing the baton to two-time Nike Cross Nationals champion Casey Clinger.

With the crowd at Arcadia High motivating Casey Clinger with cheering and clapping throughout the final leg, the Gatorade National Cross Country Athlete of the Year anchored in 4:02.13 to create a standard that might not be approached for many decades to come.

Although Casey Clinger, Johns and Parker never broke 4:00 in the mile in an open race as prep athletes, their combined efforts validated their standing as perhaps the most talented trio ever to compete on the same high school team.