collegiate update

[jacknyc]

Lots of conference championships this weekend.


Matt Scherer ran a collegiate leading 45.19 to win the 400 at the Pac 10 championships. A fantastic time. Also took 4th in the 200m. Domenik Peterson took 4th in the 100 and 2nd in the 200 - 20.71. Nate Probasco grabbed 2nd in the 200m at the Big 12 championships. Aaron Buzard ran a 45.51 for 2nd (missed 1st by 2/100s!) at the Big 10 champ. John Biacofsky won the 100 at OAC championships in 10.35.


I'm sure there are others.....

 

[jaxvid]

John Biacofsky won the 100 at OAC championships in 10.35

Thanks for the update jacknyc, wow 10.35 is a pretty good time!

 

[SteveB]

Actually Nate Probasco won the Big 12 200m with a 20.86. He was second in the prelims. George Pincok of Colorado was 4th and Trey Hardee was 6th. Good job Nate!! Hardee was also 6th in the 110mh. Fabrice Lapierre and Arturs Abolins finished 2nd and 3rd in the long jump. Trey Griffin slipped from his early season performances and didn't make the 100m final. Overall, pretty good meet for white sprinters and jumpers at the Big 12.Edited by: SteveB

 

[jacknyc]

Jared Connaughton won the 100 and 200 at the Southland Conference Championships.
His time in the 100m was 10.33.

 

[surfsider]

Am I wrong to feel like things are starting to turn just a little bit? Seems like a some depth is starting to develop among the white sprinters. Good updates guys.

 

[jacknyc]

Things are definitely turning in the long sprints!
I think right now that 4 of the top 6 US 400 meter times are by white guys - Jeremy Wariner, Andrew Rock, Mitch Potter, Matt Scherer. Probably 5 in the top 10, with Aaron Buzard. Jeremy Wariner alone has turned the tide in this event.
In the 200 meters, there are more guys out there now and they are doing well. Just waiting to see if one of them can break through to the top level. Perhaps Wariner.
However, in the 100 meters, things are dismal in my estimation. There is just nobody running fast enough times to really be considered among the top US or World sprinters.
But things can change. There had been no competitive white US 400m runners for 20 or 25 years, and now there's several. The 200m runners are showing progress, and if somebody can break through there, it might encourage others. And then one of those 200m guys could step down to the 100m to make an impact.
Let's hope the progress continues.

 

[white lightning]

Hey jacknyc,do you have any guys that you think might take it to the next level in the 100 meters?My pick at the moment for the future is still Craig Pickering.He will be 20 this fall but has already run a 10.22!He set new pb's indoors this year over 60 meters although he didn't compete that much.I expect him to lower his times this season as long as he stays healthy.My other picks for younger guys would be John Woods,Trey Griffin and especially J.Connaugton.I think that Jared still has alot of upside and he is only a junior.Watch out for him next year as he continues to improve.

As far as the older guys,I will go with Matic Osovnikar,Matt Shirvington(Yes Shirvo isn't done yet),and Andrey Yepishin.I would have to say that Morne Nagel & Nic Macrozonaris are probably about done.Do you have some guys to add to this list.Thanks again.

 

[jacknyc]

I don't really see any of these guys taking it to the next level in the 100m, but I do hope I'm wrong.
J. Connaughton seems to be improving, and we hadn't even heard of him before this season. So he is definitely one to watch. Trey Griffin, unfortunately, seems to be getting slower as the season progresses.
Osonikar and Yepishin maybe...they set NRs during this indoor season, but they weren't very impressive last outdoor season.
I think the big question mark is Craig Pickering. He had a great season last year, and, yes, he did set a 60m PR this season, but his times were actually very average. (I don't think he had run the 60m much before this season).
It will be very interesting to see if he continues to progress. I think that is the key. There are/have been lots of guys with potential, who have a good season, but they stop progressing. For example, just recently Dusty Stamer, Steve Koehnemann, Matt Bruno, and now maybe Trey Griffin. Or Nick Smith. He was hot for a year, and now has been running very slow times. There was another guy from Scotland in the 80s, Jaime Henderson, who won the Euro Junior Champs and ran faster than Pickering, and that was it. I never heard anything about him ever again. So you never know. If a guy can run good times consistently, and progress season to season, then he really has the potential to take it to the next level.
We'll have to wait and see how Pickering and the others do this year.
Finally, I just read about this South African kid...Wilhelm van der Vyver, 16 yrs old, who has run a 10.58.
Maybe he'll keep progressing.

 

[SteveB]

Unfortunately, I don't think that Griffin will be around track after this season. He is in graduate school and his goals are to work in commercial real estate, not track. It's a shame because he had so much potential coming out of high school when he was running consistent 10.3's. Too bad nobody offered him a track scholarship out of high school. No telling where he could have ended up.

 

[white lightning]

Just to let you guys know,today at 2.00 PM is the Big 12 Outdoor Championships with 2 hours of coverage out west.The Pac Ten Championships starts at 3.00 PM and will have 2 hours coverage also.It should be fun to watch.

Wariner,Rock and Pickering are also running this weekend.Wariner in the 200,Rock in the 400 at the Home Depot Invitational in Cali.Pickering will race tommorow for the first time this season.Good luck to these guys!

 

[jacknyc]

Craig opened his season with a 10.43 for 3rd place.
I hope Rock and Wariner do better in their races.

 

[snowflake]

jared connaughton was voted outstanding outdoor athlete of slc and outstanding track athlete. he was voted inddor athlete of the year also

 

[white lightning]

That time for Pickering as in the other thread is wrong.He finished in 2nd by 1/100th of a second in rainy conditions today.He ran a 10.30 in the race.I'm not sure where you found that other time from Jacknyc.No big deal but Craig is looking to be in very good shape for this early in the season!Rock won his race in a 44.8 and Wariner races in the next half hour.Good luck to him.

 

[jacknyc]

Unfortunately, Jared Connaughton has decided not to run in the 100m at the NCAA Midwest regionals, so we won't get a chance to see how fast he can go with some good competition. Shame.
However, he will be running the 200m (seeded #3).
Matt Scherer is the #1 seed in the West Regional, and Aaron Buzard is the #1 seed in the MidWest Regional.

 

[white lightning]

That's a damn shame.He probably was told by his coach that he would have a better chance to finish in the top 3 in the deuce.I disagree with that thinking.Stick with your events and let the cards fall where them may.He ran in the high 10.2 range and that is about where he would need to make the semis or finals.Good luck to him though as well as the other guys.

 

[white lightning]

Some quick results from the Midwest Nat'l Champs.Trey Hardee advanced to the finals of the 100 running a 10.28 to edge out teammate T.Griffin.This sucks for Griffin but damn can Hardee run for a big man.Is there any thing this guy can't do?

J.Connaughton advanced in the 200 with a 20.70 to the finals.Nate Probasco was just edged out for the final running in the 20.9 range.Maybe Jared not running the 100 will help him to win a major final in the deuce.He ran the 2nd quickest time of the day.

A.Buzzard advanced to the finals in the 400.I'm sure I missed someone so I'll let you guys fill it in.Good luck to these guys tommorow.

 

[white lightning]

Trey Hardee did not show in the finals.It's too bad because I wanted to see him set a new p.b. I wish Trey Griffin could have taken his place.

J.Conn took 3rd as is mentioned in another thread in a time of 20.67!That is respectable but I was hoping for a little faster time since he skipped the 100.He will be back as he is only a junior.

A.Buzzard won his event.Congrats to him on picking up where Potter & Steele left off.

On a side note,what happened to John Biafcosky?He must have gotten hurt.It says he finished last in the 100 finals with a time over 50 seconds!He also didn't even run in the 200 final.Does anyone know what happened?I hope it wasn't a serious injury.

 

[jacknyc]

Scott Mayle and Fabrice LaPierre won the LJ competitions in the midEast and midWest regionals.