Posted: June 5, 2007

Athletics: USATF News & Notes, Volume 8, Number 50

Visa Championship Series Update Jenn Stuczynski and Tyson Gay have the respective leads in USA Track & Field's Outdoor Visa Championship Series following Saturday's Reebok Grand Prix in New York City. Stuczynski became the first American woman to clear 16 feet in the pole vault Saturday with her winning leap of 45.88 meters/16 feet, 0 inches to set her second American record and world leader in two weeks. The performance was worth 1,218 points using IAAF scoring tables and extended her lead in the Visa Championships Series. She broke Stacy Dragila's 3-year-old American record on May 20 at the adidas Track Classic (4.84m/15-10.5). Two weeks later in New York, she had the bar set at 16 feet and took two solid tries that failed. On her third attempt at the height, Stuczynski gave the bar a brush, but it stayed up, giving her the American record as well as the U.S. all-comers record. Tyson Gay came dangerously close to a world record Saturday in the NY Metro men's 100 meters. World ranked #2 in the event, Gay had a quick reaction time of .162 seconds, after which he blasted the rest of the race to run 9.76. His time was under Asafa Powell's world record 9.77 but is considered wind-aided because the tailwind of 2.2 meters-per-second was just over the legal limit of 2.0 mps. The time was worth 1,291 points on IAAF scoring tables and keeps her four points ahead of hurdler Ginnie Powell. The current Visa Championship Series standings follow listing the ranked athlete's name, points, site the name of the meet where the performance took place and their respective mark. Men's standings 1. Tyson Gay - 1,291 pts. - Reebok Grand Prix - 100m - 9.76/+2.2mps 2. Terrence Trammell - 1,278 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - 110mH - 12.95/+1.5mps 3. Wallace Spearmon - 1,248 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - 200m - 19.82/+1.3 4. Christian Cantwell - 1,238 pts - adidas Track Classic - SP - 21.96m/72-0.75 5. Breaux Greer - 1,232 pts - adidas Track Classic - Javelin - 90.71m/297-7 6. Kenneth Ferguson - 1,215 pts - adidas Track Classic - 400mH - 48.15 7. Jeremy Wariner - 1,207 pts - adidas Track Classic - 400m - 44.60 8. James Carter - 1,204 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - 400mH - 48.37 9. Jarred Rome - 1,179 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - Discus - 66.84m/219-3 10. LaShawn Merritt - 1,175 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - 400m - 45.09 11. Alan Webb - 1,163 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - Mile - 3:52.94 12. Rob Myers -1,154 pts - adidas Track Classic - 1,500m - 3:36.49 13. Russ Buller - 1,139 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - Pole Vault - 5.60m/18-4.50 14. Khadevis Robinson - 1,025 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - 800m - 1:46.38 15. Anthony Famiglietti - 1,025 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - 5,000m - 13:54.92 Women's standings 1. Jenn Stuczynski - 1,218 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - Pole Vault - 4.88m/16-0 2. Virginia Powell - 1,214 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - 100mH - 12.45/+1.4 3. Allyson Felix - 1,204 pts - adidas Track Classic - 200m - 22.18/+2.0 4. Torri Edwards - 1,203 pts - adidas Track Classic - 100m - 10.90/+2.0 5. Michelle Perry - 1,197 pts - adidas Track Classic - 100mH - 12.58/+1.4 6. Rachelle Smith - 1,196 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - 200m - 22.31/+1.6 7. Hazel Clark - 1,170 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - 800m - 1:59.07 8. Dee Dee Trotter - 1,163 pts - adidas Track Classic - 400m - 51.13 9. Shayne Culpepper - 1,158 pts - adidas Track Classic - 1,500m - 4:05.98 10. Lauren Fleshman - 1,111 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - 5,000m -15:38.94 11. Becky Breisch - 1,076 pts - Reebok Grand Prix - Discus - 61.96m/201-3 The Visa Championship Series will resume June 10 with the 2007 Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., and conclude with the AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, June 20-24 in Indianapolis. For more information on the 2007 Visa Championship Series, visit USATF.org. Great performances highlight California High School Championships In one of the most memorable weekends in the 89-year history of the event, the 2007 California State Track & Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., featured many fantastic performances, including two national records. The unquestioned headliner was Bryshon Nellum of Long Beach Poly HS, who led his squad to the men's team title for the ninth time in the school's history, which is a state record. Nellum won the men's 200m and 400m sprints for the second consecutive year, and added wins in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. Out of the 46 points tallied by Polly, Nellum played a key role in amassing all but six of those points. In winning the 200m and 400m, Nellum posted nation-leading times of 20.43 an 45.54, with the former being a California state record at 200 meters, bettering Olympian Quincy Watts' mark that stood for 20 years. His winning 400m performance ranks fifth on the all-time state performers list. Nellum's four gold medals equaled the feat of Maunal Arts' Harry Lamport, who won four events at the 1916 championships. Elsewhere, Mt. Pleasants' Vashti Thomas broke away from a talented field late in the race en route to a win in the girls 100m hurdles in the national prep record time of 13.03 seconds. Her performance bettered the previous record set by Nichole Denby seven years ago by 0.17 seconds. Another national record was set by Taft High School's Jeshua Anderson, who won the boys 300m hurdles in 35.28 seconds, which sliced 0.04 seconds off of George Porter's mark established 22 years ago. In qualifying, Anderson crossed the finish line just 0.2 seconds from the record, which foretold Saturday's record-breaking performance. A third national record came in the girls' pole vault, where Tori Anthony of Castillejs HS was the victor with a clearance of 4.29meters/14 feet 1 inch, which bettered Mary Saxer's standard set two years ago by four inches. Anthony posted the national high school indoor record earlier this year in clearing 4.33m/14-2.50 For more information on the 2007 CIF State Track & Field Championships, including the complete results, visit: www.cifstate.org. Phillips headlines long jump field at Nike Prefontaine Classic World and Olympic champion Dwight Phillips will take on a strong field - including the world's top jumper in 2006 - in the men's long jump at the 33rd Nike Prefontaine Classic, held at the University of Oregon's historic Hayward Field in Eugene. The fourth event of USA Track & Field's 2007 Outdoor Visa Championship Series, the Nike Prefontaine Classic will be televised live on NBC, Sunday, June 10, from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Others to keep an eye on include Panamanian standout Irving Saladino, who ended the 2006 season ranked #1 in the world after winning 15 of 17 competitions. Also look for reigning U.S. Outdoor champion Brian Johnson, 2005 U.S. Outdoor champion Miguel Pate, reigning world indoor and outdoor triple jump champion Walter Davis and 2005 World decathlon champion Bryan Clay. Also in Eugene on Sunday, the first-ever Pre Classic women's triple jump will take place, headlined by 2004 Olympian and two-time U.S. Outdoor champion Tiombe Hurd. The Hayward Field stadium record of 14.04 meters/46 feet .75 inch, was set by Hurd at the 2001 USA Outdoor Championships. Challengers will include Anastasiya Zhuravlyeva of Uzbekistan, who ended the 2006 season ranked #10 in the world, and Canadian champion Tabia Charles. Tickets are available at the Casanova Center ticket office in Eugene by calling 1-800-WEBFOOT, or online at GoDucks.com. USATF welcomes you to pay with your Visa. For more information on the 2007 Visa Championship Series, visit USATF.org. Sorensen sets world masters record 1996 Olympic Trials men's 1,500m runner-up Jim Sorensen set a world masters record Sunday night at the 2007 USATF West Region Track & Field Championships in Los Angeles, Calif. Sorensen became the fastest over-40 1,500-meter runner in history in finishing in 3 minutes 44.06 seconds, which bettered the previous record of 3:44.06 by Luiz Jose Gonsalvez as a 41-year-old in 1999. Sorenson's next stated target is the M40 men's mile world record of 4:02.53, which is owned by Great Britain's David Moorcroft.