For those unable to attend, I thought I would offer some commentary on
several of the events at the just-completed Mt. SAC Relays:
The distance carnival was held Friday night under conditions unusual this
time of year in California: cold and windy, with rain. As I overheard one
coach say to another, "We came out here for this? We've got weather like
this back home!" Still, a hearty crowd of distance fans stayed in the
stands until the final race was completed close to 11:30 p.m.
Men's 5K: Those who in earlier messages sang the praises of Div. II runner
Jason Huggard got only half the story; he not only ran a good time, he made
the race. He continually pushed the pace, and made a bold move late in the
race, when the pace lagged a bit, to jump in front of Bernard Lagat and
keep things honest. Lagat, who appeared to be little more than jogging
through most of the race, unloaded with a 57 second last lap for the easy
win (13:30.54). Huggard held it together after Lagat flipped on the
afterburners and finished 3rd with a Div. II leading time of
13:37.63. Abdi Abdirahman took the lead for a few early laps, but never
really challenged Lagat -- certainly not to the extent that Huggard did so.
In an earlier 5K race, World XC Junior find Matt Tegenkamp won in 13:51.36.
Men's 10K: Another Div. II runner, Brandon Leslie of Adams State, should
get most of the credit for making this a race. He jumped to the lead
early, and opened up a gap so large by 5K that I thought he was a
rabbit. Soon after 5K, a chase pack of Weldon Johnson, Keith Kelly, Pablo
Olmedo (Mexico) and Murray Link caught up to Leslie. This group ran
together for several laps, until Leslie once again took the lead and forced
the pace. Kelly was the first to let go, and Link soon faded behind
Kelly. At the bell, it looked like a three man race among Leslie, Johnson
and Olmedo. On the backstretch, as the trio started to weave through
several lapped runners, Kelly suddenly exploded, made up an incredible
amount of ground in a short period of time, and took the lead on the final
curve (with several people noting that this looked to be a repeat of his
winning NCAA XC tactics. However, Johnson never let Kelly get to the pole,
and a classic stretch drive ensued, with Johnson inching even with Kelly,
then pulling slightly ahead only in the final 10 meters for the win
(28:32.37 vs. 28:32.55). Leslie held on for 4th in a Div. II leading time
of 28:39.17.
Women's 10K: Kathy Butler just dipped under the WC qualifying standard
with a solo 31:59.27. All the women in this race deserve medals, as they
withstood the worst conditions of the night. Things really got nasty
around miles 4 and 5, which I'm sure led many of the participants (as well
as spectators) to wonder if it wasn't time to switch to one of those
wimpy/indoor sports (golf? tennis?) which head inside or call it a day at
the first sign of precipitation.
Sunday, the invitational jumps/sprints/middle distance day, offered much
nicer conditions, with only a swirling wind to contend with.
100: Bernard Williams didn't do his Rock impersonation, but still blasted
to a WL 10.09 (+0.7).
200: Ato was very funny after an easy, eased up win in 20.76. Claimed
that meet director Scott Davis "guaranteed" him a tail wind on
1.9. Instead, coming off the turn, Ato ran into one of the few headwinds
(-1.1) of the day. Guess Scott will have to rent a few giant fans next
year to "guarantee" an aiding wind.
400: I saw Tyree run a WL time last week at the UCLA-Nebraska meet, and I
got to see him do it again (44.47) this week. I thought the Harrison twins
were the heirs apparent to MJ, but Tyree looks ready to contest for the
throne. He's looking scary running solo (Al-Bishi 2nd again this week in
45.64) this early in the season.
Mile: Lagat repeated last year's 5K/mile double, coasting to a
3:55.40. List member Kevin Sullivan closed well to take second in
3:55.90. HS star Ryan Hall hung with the big boys through 800 (2:00),
started to fade on lap 3 (3:03), then locked up on the final lap to run
"only" 4:10 and finish last.
110H: Crear very smooth, winning in 13.51 (+0.4) over Swift (13.61).
400H: Carter an easy winner (49.14) over Al-Somali (49.47) with,
fortunately, no sign of the "Is that all you've got?/Bring it on" wave from
the Olympics.
SP: Ho-hum, Godina throws another 70 footer (70-01/2). I'm afraid his
routine greatness makes us take him for granted.
JT: Greer PR 276-4 for the win.
PV: LoJo opened at 19-03/4 -- and cleared on his first attempt. Two other
Americans (Mack & Buller) over as well, but LoJo wins on misses. LoJo took
three shots at 19-6; none were particularly close. Also, I thought I heard
the announcer say that 19-03/4 was the highest opening height ever
(U.S.? World?) cleared in a PV competition. True?
400R: Mo Greene was in the house, but never out of his sweats, leaving his
HSI mates (Drummond, Williams, Bolden, McCray) to run 38.73 without him.
On the women's side, if you thought boy bands could make young girls
squeal, you should hear the impact Marion Jones has upon them. She
remained stately and gracious, despite the adoring mobs. Fun to watch the
Mike Tyson-sized entourage of police officers/press/groupies follow her
about the field. No wonder she married C.J.; she needs a guy that size
just to clear a path. MJ fell short in her 300m WR attempt, clocking
35.68. She looked great through the first 200, then seemed to run out of
gas. I didn't see a wind reading, but I suspect she hit the same head wind
that popped up for Ato.
My brushes with greatness: Carl Lewis (the meet's honorary referee) signed
my program and told me he wouldn't be taking his sister's place anytime
soon to provide TV commentary (bummer); John Smith asked me to sit down
(while I stood in what I thought was a deserted section of the grandstands
to snap a picture); Got a photo of the recently traded, new San Diego
Charger Tim Dwight (clocked 10.80/21.48) who, hopefully, won't become the
answer to the future trivia question: "Who did the Atlanta Falcons trade to
get 18 time All-Pro Michael Vick?"
In all, a great meet. I hope others who attended will chime in with
additions, corrections, and added color commentary.
Robert Tatar
Irvine, CA
