May 17 – May 23

It’s finally here.  The heart of the track and field season has arrived, with state championships taking place all across the United States, with the next two weeks being filled to the brim with state action.

The Top Five

Distance runners in California came up big this past weekend, especially in the Southern Section Finals, which dominates this week’s Top Five.  However, it was Iowa’s Katie Flood who stole the show, wrapping up her Iowa state career in grand fashion.

5. Sean Krinik (Sr., Valencia, CA) & Chris Fitzsimons (Sr., Hamden, CT) – It’s taken a great deal of the season to get athletes under the 1:50 barrier for 800m, but now that it’s started, the athletes dipping under should be a regular occurrence for the rest of the season.  This past weekend, Sean Krinik and Chris Fitzsimons both dipped under the mark.  Krinik dominated the Southern Section (CA) Finals, winning by just over three seconds in 1:49.77.  Meanwhile, Fitzsimons won the Danbury Dream Invitational 800m dash in 1:49.8h.  Both runners are poised to run great this post-season.

4. Tatnall (DE) Girls – For quite some time now, Tatnall has been a national force when it comes to girls distance running.  The dominant power in the state of Deleware, the school showed their mighty skills yet again, this time at the DIAA Meet of Champions.  Reagan Anderson (Fr., Tatnall, DE) and Haley Pierce (So., Tatnall, DE) led the way for their team, sweeping the 800m, 1,600m and 3,200m events.  Anderson won the 800m and 1,600m events in an impressive double of 2:11.51 and 4:54.14, while Pierce won the 3,200m event in a US#3 time of 10:17.52.

3. Chloe Curtis (Sr., Redondo Union, CA) – Chloe Curtis is having one heck of a senior year.  The University of Washington-bound senior had a great weekend double at the CIF Southern Section Finals, winning both the 1,600m and 800m events.  Curtis won the 1,600m run in 4:50.43, which ranks her US#2 in the event, while coming back to win the 800m event in 2:11.20.

2. California Juniors – Even though two athletes from the CIF Southern Section (CA) are listed on our Top Five, we feel the need to mention a bunch of distance running performances by juniors from that section at #2.  Leading the way at the Southern Section Finals were Sam Pons (Jr., South Pasadena, CA) and Ammar Moussa (Jr., Arcadia, CA).  Pons won the DIII 3,200m and 1,600m events in 8:58.96 and 4:13.63, while Moussa won the DI 3,200m event in 8:58.88 and placed second in the 1,600m in 4:12.23.

Meanwhile, Moussa lost to fellow junior Jantzen Oshier (Jr., Trabuco Hills, CA), who is perhaps the most consistent miler in the country this spring.  Oshier won the 1,600m event in 4:12.05.  Last, but certainly not least, junior sensation Elias Geydon (Jr., Loyola, CA) didn’t run the fastest times of the weekend, but he still won his events, winning the DII 3,200m and 1,600m events.  California is loaded for next spring, but some memorable performances are still waiting to be had by this group in the coming week or two.

1. Katie Flood (Sr., Dowling Catholic, IA) – The greatest distance runner in Iowa state history, Katie Flood, closed our her state championship career over the weekend, winning four races (three individual and one relay), setting records and racking up some impressive performances.  The University of Washington-bound Flood won the 3,000m run, 800m dash, 1,500m run and guided her team to a 4x800m relay victory.

Flood dominated the competition, winning the 3k on Friday in a state record time (and US#1 time) of 9:27.25, eclipsing her own state record by 15 seconds.  Flood then came back later in the day to guide her team’s 4x8 to a state record with a 2:11 split, as her Dowling Catholic squad won in 9:15.65.  On Saturday, Flood outdistanced herself from US#2 Shelby Houlihan (Jr., SC East, IA) in the girls 800m dash, edging Houlihan 2:09.76-2:09.80 in an epic finish.  Flood then wrapped up her weekend, winning the 1,500m run in 4:31.33.  What a way to finish up her high school career!

State Meet Wrap-Ups

Each week from now until the Midwest Distance Gala, we’re going to do small state meet recaps on state championships around the U.S. (primarily focusing on the Midwest).  In each section, we’ll highlight the top distance performances.  Here’s this week’s State Meet Wrap-Ups:

Iowa State T&F Championships – Results

It was a weekend to remember at the Iowa State T&F Championships, as numerous athletes put up amazing performances, capped by Katie Flood’s (Sr., Dowling Catholic, IA) four win feat.

In the first distance event of the weekend, Dowling Catholic (IA) ran to a new state record time of 9:15.65 in the girls 4x800m relay, as Flood anchored her team to victory in 2:11.  In the boys 4x800m relay, Cedar Rapids Washington (IA) won with the fastest time of the weekend, winning the 4A race in 7:48.70, while Indianola (IA) won the slow heat in 4A in 7:51.76.

Later on Friday, Flood came back to win the 3,000m run, crushing her own state record by 15 seconds, taking home the win in a US#1 time of 9:27.25.  Teammate Ashlie Decker (Sr., Dowling Catholic, IA) placed second in 9:43.18, while senior Madie Hubbell (Sr., Des Moines Roosevelt, IA) ran a great third place time of 9:47.10.  What a fantastic race from all three athletes!

In the boys 3,200m run, Brogan Austin (Sr., Boone, IA) won a stellar 3A race, beating Johnny Fuller (Jr., Glenwood, IA) 9:21.42-9:22.42.  In the 4A race, Andrew Swanson (Sr., Pleasant Valley, IA) showed he was top runner, winning with a strong kick in 9:20.58.

The 800m dash was a great series of races as well.  Flood edged pre-race favorite Shelby Houlihan (Jr., Sioux City East, IA) 2:09.76-2:09.80 in a thrilling finish, easily taking the best race of the weekend award.  On the boys side, Brennan Davis (Jr., Indianola, IA) came up big-time with a 1:52.17 victory in the 4A boys event, winning by 3.5 seconds and proving in the right race he can push the 1:50 mark.

In the final event of the weekend, Brogan Austin capped a double win weekend, taking home the top prize in the boys AAA 1,600m event (the fastest time of the weekend) in 4:20.77, edging Evan Selsor (Jr., Winterset, IA), who finished second in 4:22.04.  In 4A, Andrew Larson won the 1,600m event in 4:23.23.

In the girls 1,500m run, Flood dominated in her final high school race, winning in 4:31.33, while teammate Decker finished second in 4:35.49. 

In 2A, Morgan Casey (Sr., NE - E. Central, IA) put on a show, winning all three individual distance events.  In the 3,000m event Friday, Casey won by 41 seconds in 10:02.10.  She then came back Saturday to win the 800m event in 2:17.89, then won by 11 seconds in the 1,500m, crossing the tape in 4:41.96.

Illinois Girls State T&F Championships – Results

Nearly perfect weather meant fast times were on their way this past weekend at the Illinois Girls State T&F Championships.  Leading off Saturday’s finals, Schaumburg (IL) beat York (IL) 9:06.83-9:10.91, in one of the fastest 4x800m relays in the country, as eight teams dipped under 9:20.

In the 3,200m event, the fastest time of the day came from Kayla Beattie (Jr., Woodstock, IL), who simply ran away from the Class AA field, winning in 10:30.62.  Meanwhile, AAA state cross country champion, and University of Wisconsin-bound, Lavinia Jurkiewicz (Sr., Whitney Young, IL) outkicked freshman sensation Courtney Ackerman (Fr., New Trier, IL), winning the tough battle 10:40.96-10:41.02.

Moving into the 800m dash, Class AA’s Amanda Duvendack (Sr., Metamora, IL) won in the fastest time of the day, crossing the finish line in 2:11.00, slightly ahead of Kelsey Cramsey (So., Effingham, IL), who finished second in 2:13.55.  In the AAA race, Annette Eichenberger (Sr., West Chicago, IL) beat Ruth Allen (Sr., Palatine, IL) in a fantastic race, as Eichenberger pulled ahead to win 2:12.26-2:12.57.

In the final distance event of the day, the 1,600m run, Karen Lesiewicz (Jr., Schaumburg, IL) earned her second title of the day, winning the event over McKinzie Schulz (Sr., Benet, IL) 4:54.98-4:56.60.  In the AA race, Margo Richardson (Sr., Mt. Vernon, IL) scored the win over Kayle Beattie, winning 4:57.94-4:58.08.

Perhaps the most impressive performance of the weekend, in Class A Kelly Curran (Sr., Bloomington Central Catholic, IL) won all three individual distance events, winning the 800m, 1,600m (5:09.75) and 3,200m (11:12.03), closing out her high school career on a very high note.

Articles of Interest

Nike Track Nationals Rankings Page (NTN)

MileSplit Track Chats: Ben Johnston / Kenny Krotzer

A Brief Chat with Lisa Koll (Runner’s World)

Half the Distance, Twice the Fun (Universal Sports)