http://www.nationalscholastic.org/ en gayle.rich@carpedrm.com Copyright 2008 2008-07-09T13:36:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/article/world_junior_championships1 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/article/world_junior_championships1#When:13:36:00Z Photos by Joy Kamani are posted in the Gallery section of the site. 2008-07-09T13:36:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/spierscorner/article/top_hs_jr_lists10 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/spierscorner/article/top_hs_jr_lists10#When:14:53:00Z These are the US High School and Junior lists of the season as of 7/17/08. HS 2008 Girls HS July 17 2008 Boys HS July 17 JR 2008 Girls JR July 17 2008 Boys JR July 17 2008-07-18T14:53:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/world_junior_championships_notes_day_6 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/world_junior_championships_notes_day_6#When:20:35:00Z A blog of the experiences of Jim Spier throughout the World Juniors. The Media Party – I'm not really a party animal, so I got most of this second hand. We got invitations for the media party at our hotel at the meet on Thursday. It was to begin at 10:40pm and was to include "Culinary Specialties". So Joy Kamani and I went. It was a sit down dinner (to begin with). They brought out ton of pork, chicken, rice, vegetables, etc etc etc. And it kept on coming. There were about 60 people there. After I ate I decided to pack it in and go to bed. It was about 11:30pm. At about 1:00am, I was awakened by what I thought was gunfire. I looked out the window and saw (and heard) fireworks going off in the driveway of the hotel. Joy had stayed and related the following: After dinner, a bottle of vodka was place in front of every other person at the table. Then the drinking began (Joy swore she only had one shot). Anyway, after about 1-1/2 hours, they decided to go outside and shoot off some fireworks. Joy figured that was it for the night. She retired to bed, but most others decided to back inside and continue with the vodka challenge. The Park – The last day of the World Championships is always the shortest. Only a few events are contested today. It starts at 4:00pm and lasts only 2 hours or so. So we were looking for something to do in the morning and early afternoon. We found the Lesny Fauna Park, a monstrous (almost 400 acres) wooded park with a small zoo, walking and biking trails, a ski jump and lots of other activities. To get the park was a challenge. We had to take the #58 bus to the #1 or #2 tram and take the tram all the way to the end of the line. The problem was that we really didn't know where to get off the bus. We kept our eye out for the tram lines and luckily spotted it. Then we were going to enjoy a nice enjoyable ride on the tram, into virgin territory. We knew the line, because it's the same line we took to the stadium each day. So we passed the stadium and were going to ride, ride and ride until we got to the end of the line. And ride we did, about another 100 meters. It was the next stop past the stadium. That was it. But it was worth it. It's really a terrific park, sort of unlike anything I am aware of in the U.S. It's really spread out so we did a lot of walking (like 2 hours worth). Highly recommended, especially if you have overeaten the way I have this week. Here's the web site address: www.myslecinek.pl Medal count through yesterday Medal Table Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 USA 9 3 2 14 2 Germany 6 0 2 8 3 Kenya 3 4 1 8 4 Cuba 1 2 5 8 5 Ethiopia 1 2 4 7 6 Russia 3 3 0 6 7 Jamaica 1 4 0 5 8 Belarus 0 4 1 5 -------------------------------------------- Day 5 recap Women 3000 – Laurynne Chetelat finished 6th, perhaps the highest finish ever for American. She got at PR and #5 all-time high school. 100h – Teona Rodgers won the gold. 4x100 – The US won the gold. 4x400 – The US ran the fastest time in the qualifying round. LJ – no US finalists Heptathlon – Ryann Krais finished a resepectable 9th, #3 all-time high school Men 110h – Booker Nunley advanced to the final, Ronald Brookins did not. 4x100 – The US won the gold 4x400 – The US ran the fastest time in the qualifying round PV – Joe Berry finished 7th and Maston Wallace 10th Hammer – Walter Henning and Conor Mc Cullough finished 1-2, the first medals ever for the US in this event. Kosinski - Hasay Day 6 Women 1500 US Medal history No US Medalists Gutsy races by Jordan Hasay and Alex Kosinski in what began as a painfully slow pace (74 seconds for the first lap). Hasay finished 4th and Kosinski 6th, the best performance ever for American athletes. Women 4x400 gold4x400 gold US Medal history 1986 - gold 1988 - silver 1994 - gold 1998 - bronze 2002 - gold 2004 - gold 2006 - gold It's 4 in a row for the US, with Lanie Whitaker, Jessica Beard, Erica Alexander and Takecia Jameson. The splits on the IAAF web site are incorrect. The should be (approximately) 53.1, 51.0, 52.6, 53.4. Erica Alexander 4x400 DT US Medal history 1994 - Suzy Powell - bronze 1996 - Seilala Sua - silver Anna Jelmini made the 8 person final but could only manage 7th (162-3). Erin Pendleton was 11th at 158-11. Men 5000 US Medal history No US medalists How do you compete against 13:08.57! That was what Abraham Cherkos of Ethiopia ran to win. Then two others followed at 13:11! This was a race with an African pack and a non-African pack which developed early. When you see the complete results, you'll see what I mean. Matt Centrowitz finished 11th in 13:58.31, a PR for him. Ryan Collins was 16th in 14:30.16. Booker Nunley - 110h - silver110m Hurdles US Medal history 1988 - Stephen Brown silver 1988 - Elbert Ellis - bronze 1994 - Dudley Dorival - silver 1994 - Darius Pemberton - bronze 1998 - Sharif Paxton - silver 2002 - Antwon Hicks - gold 2004 - Aries Merritt - gold 2004 - Kevin Craddock - bronze Booker Nunley, though having the worst start of the field (as he did in the semis) finished second in 13.45 to a very strong Russian hurdler. He now owns the 3 fastest US times for high schoolers. He is the leader of 3 North Carolina hurdlers who are the top 3 hurdlers in the US (Spencer Adams and Wayne Davis are the other two). 3000 Steeple US Medal history No US medalists (On Ethiopia or Kenya have won gold medals – no other country has). The Kenyans took 1-3, with a Ugandan with the Kenyan name of Kiplagat taking second. Curtis Carr got a PR of 8:53.79 for 10th, and Dylan Knight finished just ahead of him in 9th at 8:52.90, just off his PR. Men 4x400 gold 4x400 US Medal history 1986 - gold 1988 - gold 1990 - gold 1992 - gold 1994 - gold 1996 - gold 1998 - silver 2000 - no US team 2002 - gold 2004 - gold 2006 - gold (In 2000, when the meet was in Chile, it was held in October. The US sent a skeleton Team. That year the winning time was the slowest winning time ever). Another gold (4 in a row). The splits on the IAAF web site are incorrect. It was Boyd 46.0, Miller 46.4, Wilder 45.3 and Anderson 46.1, approximately). HJ US Medal history 1986 - Hollis Conway silver 2002 - Andra Manson gold ----------------------------------------------------------- This has been another enjoyable meet. I've been to all of the World Junior Championships except the first (1986) and this was on a par "presentation-wise" with any I've been to. Of course the music was a bit loud, but I think it's just me getting older. The English language announcer, Marton Gyulai, was terrific. He was informative, "loose" and sometimes funny. He would say things like " … he ran a helluva turn", or "give it up for so and so". He was just fun to listen to. Some other observations: No US flags: apparently someone forgot to bring them. Virtually every gold medalist or gold medal team took a victory lap with their country's flag. But no one from the US, the team that won the most golds, had the opportunity to do that. This was one of the greatest performances by a US team, garnering 17 medals, 11 of them gold. Apparently the conflict with NON did not hurt the team. Of course, two-thirds of the team were collegians, so that helped. A scary thought: Kirani James of Grenada who finished second in the 400m at 45.70, will be eligible for the IAAF World Youth Championships (17-18) next year. A guy no one had really ever heard of, Josephat Bett of Kenya, who had a previous best of 28:10, set a meet record in the 10000 of 27:30.85. The US has made marked improvement in many events. The most obvious is the incredible 1-2 finish in the men's hammer. But some of the other unprecedented performances were Laurynne Chetelat in the 3000 finished 6th and Jordan Hasay and Alex Kosinski in the 1500, finishing 4th and 6th. It's always enjoyable meeting the parents of some of the athletes. We seemed to run into the Taylors (Christian's parents and his sister Kaitlyn) and Amber Purvis' mom on a daily basis. They are terrific, supportive people. We also met Luke Laird's (javelin) parents who had come from Kansas to see their son compete. --------------------------------------------- We're headed back to the US tomorrow, via Warsaw. There are no easy air connections from Bydgoszcz, so we'll take the train (4 hours) to Warsaw, stay overnight there, and get a 6:30am flight back home. I go Warsaw-Munich-Washington-Raleigh. It will be a long day. Normal life resumes at the end of the week. On to cross-country. 2008-07-13T20:35:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/world_junior_championships_notes_day_5 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/world_junior_championships_notes_day_5#When:20:41:00Z A blog of the experiences of Jim Spier throughout the World Juniors. Medal count through yesterday Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 USA 5 2 2 9 2 Germany 4 0 1 5 3 Russia 3 3 0 6 4 Kenya 2 4 1 7 5 France 2 0 0 2 Romania 2 0 0 2 6 Cuba 1 2 3 6 7 Ethopia 1 1 3 5 -------------------------------------------- Day 4 recap Women 200m – Tiffany Townsend finishes fifth. 800m – no US finalists 1500m – Jordan Hasay and Alex Kosinski advance to the finals. 100m H – Teona Rodgers advances to the finals. 400m H – Takecia Jameson finishes first 4x100m – US team advances to the finals Long Jump Qualifying – Shakia Forbes and Jamesha Youngblood do not advance to the finals Heptathlon – Ryann Krais sits 6ths after the first day. Erin Sampley no-heights in high jump but continues anyway Pole Vault finals – Rachel Laurent finished 4th and Leslie Brost finishes 8th Discus – Erin Pendleton and Anna Jelmini advance to finals. Men 200m – Curtis Mitchell finishes 4th and Antonio Sales 6th 800m – no US finalists 110m H – Ronald Brookins and Booker Nunley advance to the semis 400m H – Jeshua Anderson finishes 1st and Johnny Dutch finishes 2nd 4x100m – US team advances to the final. 10000m Racewalk – no US competitors. High Jump qualifying – Eric Kynard and Ryan Fleck do not advance to the finals. Triple Jump final – Austin Davis finishes 6th and Christian Taylor finishes 8th Javelin final – no US finalists Women 3000 US Medal History No US medalists An amazing race for Laurynne Chetelat, finishing sixth in 9:15.11, #5 all-time high school. We believe it's the best finish ever for an American. Women 100m Hurdles US Medal History 1986 Tania Davis bronze 1994 Latasha Colander silver 1996 Joyce Bates gold 2004 Ronetta Alexander gold 2006 Tiffany Ofili bronze A great race for Teona Rodgers who ran another 100 meters around the curve after the finish, screaming gleefully. She ran 13.40 with a negative 2.5 wind. Women 4x100 US Medal History 1986 gold 1988 bronze 1990 bronze 1992 silver 1996 gold 1998 gold 2002 silver 2004 gold 2006 gold US got the gold for the third championships in a row Women Long Jump US Medal history No US medalists No US finalists Women Heptathlon US Medal history No US medalists A great competition for Ryann Krais, totally 5457 points, not the HSR, but #3 all-time. Men 110m Hurdles semis – Ronald Brookins finished fourth in the second of three semi heats. Going into heat 3 he was the second time qualifier (top 2 in each semi advanced automatically). He got knocked out after semi 3, won by Booker Nunley. Nunley was last out of the blocks, but recoved nicely by the 50 meter mark. Men 4x100 US Medal history 1988 gold 1990 gold 1992 silver 1994 silver 1996 gold 1998 silver 2002 gold 2004 gold 2006 silver Another gold for the US. They have medalled every year except for 2000. Men Pole Vault US Medal history 2000 Rocky Danners bronze Joe Berry and Maston Wallace could only manage 16-9.75 and finished 6th and 9th respectively. Men Hammer US Medal history No US medalists I almost fainted when the public address announcer said, "The US is 1-2 at this stage in the competition". Who would have thought? This was after the qualifying round, with the top 8 athletes having 3 more throws. Walter Henning took the lead on his first throw with 249-10. Conor Mc Cullough was in 8th through 10th, then on his final throw in qualifying, threw a PR 248-11! As everyone knows by now, they ultimately did go 1-2, the first ever medals at the World Junior Championships. 2008-07-12T20:41:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/368_world_junior_championships_notes_day_4_evening http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/368_world_junior_championships_notes_day_4_evening#When:19:53:00Z A blog of the experiences of Jim Spier throughout the World Juniors. Medal count through yesterday (from IAAF site) Medal Table Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 GERMANY (GER) 4 0 0 4 2 UNITED STATES (USA) 3 1 2 6 3 KENYA (KEN) 2 3 1 6 4 RUSSIA (RUS) 2 2 0 4 5 ETHIOPIA (ETH) 1 1 3 5 6 CUBA (CUB) 1 1 2 4 7 UKRAINE (UKR) 1 0 1 2 8 ALGERIA (ALG) 1 0 0 1 8 CHILE (CHI) 1 0 0 1 8 JAMAICA (JAM) 1 0 0 1 8 NIGERIA (NGR) 1 0 0 1 8 ROMANIA (ROU) 1 0 0 1 13 PR OF CHINA (CHN) 0 2 2 4 14 BELARUS (BLR) 0 2 0 2 15 CROATIA (CRO) 0 1 1 2 16 BULGARIA (BUL) 0 1 0 1 Women 200m Final US Medal History 1990 - Zundra Feagin - silver 1994 - Lakeisha Backus - silver 1998 - Shakedia Jones - silver 2002 - Sanya Richards - bronze 2004 - Shalonda Solomon - gold We have not been as dominant in this event as one would think, with only one gold in the meet's history. It was a Caribbean sweep here, with Sheniqua Ferguson (also bronze medallist in the 100m) in 23.24, Meritzer Williams of St. Kitts (23.40) and Janelle Redhead (Grenada) at 23.52. Tiffany Townsend of the US was fifth in 23.64. Women 800m Final US Medal History 2006 - Rebakah Noble - bronze Women 100h Semifinals – Teona Rodgers won her heat and advanced to the final Women 400m Hurdles Final US Medal history 1986 - Kellie Roberts - silver 2002 - Leshinda Demus - gold 2006 - Nicole Leach - silver A great race for Takecia Jameson, improving on her world junior lead and getting a PR of 56.29. Janell Bellille of Trinidad, one lane to her left led slightly for 7 hurdles at which point Jameson overtook her, then improved her lead down the stretch. Women Pole Vault final US Medal history First contested in 1998, there have been no US medalists This was a great meet for Rachel Laurent, who came very close to getting the first medal ever for a US athlete. She finished fourth at 13-9.25. Leslie Brost, who enjoyed a great run this year, finished 8th at 13-5.25, equal hr best. Men 200m Final US Medal history 1986 - Stanley Kerr - gold 1986 - Derrick Florence - silver 1988 - Kevin Braunskill - gold 1990 - James Stallworth - bronze 1994 - Tony Wheeler - gold 1996 - Bryan Harrison - bronze 1998 - Russell Frye - bronze 2002 - Wes Felix - bronze A shutout for both the men's and women's 200m. It's only happened twice before – in 1992 and again in 2000 (when the meet was held in Chile and there was a skeleton US squad). Like the women, the US is not as strong in this event as one would think. The last medal was six years ago, a bronze by Wes Felix. Men 800m Final US Medal history No US medalists Men 400m Hurdles Final US Medal History 1988 - Kelly Carter - gold 1992 - William Porter - bronze 1996 - Angelo Taylor - bronze 2002 - Kenneth Ferguson - silver 2002 - Bershawn Jackson - bronze 2004 - Kerron Clement - gold 2004 - Brandon Johnson - silver 2006 - Chris Carter - gold Jeshua Anderson and Johnny Dutch repeated the US "sweep" of 2004. The ran virtually together for seven hurdles at which point Dutch seemed to lose his concentration. Anderson took over at that point and extended his lead for a significant win Men High Jump Qualifying – Neither Eric Kynard (6-10.75) nor Ryan Fleck (6-8.75) advanced Men Triple Jump Final US Medal history 1994 - Leonard Cobb - silver 1998 - Greg Yeldell - bronze Austin Davis finished 6th (51-9.25) and Christian Taylor 8th (51-2.75) Men Javelin Final US Medal history No US medalists (The closest we came was the gold by Tommi Viskari of Finland in 1990; he was an exchange student in NY that year) Heptathlon shot put - We believe Ryann Krais got a PR. She is now ahead of high school record pace. Ryann Krais Heptathlon Projection after shot put   Proj Based on Past   Proj Based on Ambitious   2008 World Jr   Past   Ambitious 100h   13.93w 988   13.6 1036   13.73 1017   13.73 1017   13.73 1017 HJ   5-8 891   5-9 916   5-7.75 879   5-7.75 879   5-7.75 879 SP   33-9.5 549   36-0 593   34-7.75 566   34-7.75 566   34-7.75 566 200   24.31w 951   24.25 957     24.31w 951   24.25 957 LJ   18-10.25 774   19-6 831     18-10.25 774   19-6 831 JT   104-11 514   120 602     104-11 514   120 602 800   2:17.71 855   2:14.0 907     2:17.71 855   2:14.0 907 5522 5842 5556 5759 Day 1     3379     3502           3413     3419 Scores after 3 events. 1.Maksimava - Belarus - 2660 2.Schafer - Germany -2606 3.Gizbullina - Russia - 2558 4.Fedorova - Ukraine - 2491 5.Dumitrescu - Romania - 2482 6.Treiel - Estonia - 2474 7.Ogrodnikova - Czech Republic - 2468 8.Krais - USA - 2462 Heptathlon 200m - A big negative wind (-2.5) hindered Ryann Krais chances for the high school record. She did move up the standings to 6th place. With a decent wind, she would have been in at least third. Ryann Krais Heptathlon Projection after shot put   Proj Based on Past   Proj Based on Ambitious   2008 World Jr   Past   Ambitious 100h   13.93w 988   13.6 1036   13.73 1017   13.73 1017   13.73 1017 HJ   5-8 891   5-9 916   5-7.75 879   5-7.75 879   5-7.75 879 SP   33-9.5 549   36-0 593   34-7.75 566   34-7.75 566   34-7.75 566 200   24.31w 951   24.25 957   25.04 883   25.04 883   25.04 883 LJ   18-10.25 774   19-6 831     18-10.25 774   19-6 831 JT   104-11 514   120 602     104-11 514   120 602 800   2:17.71 855   2:14.0 907     2:17.71 855   2:14.0 907 5522 5488 5685 5759 Day 1     3379     3502           3345     3419 Scores after 4 events: 1.Schafer - Germany - 3536 2.Maksivmva - Belarus - 3460 3.Gizbullina - Russia - 3388 4.Sprunger - Switzerland - 3350 5.Sadeiko - Estonia - 3350 6.Krais - USA - 3345 2008-07-12T19:53:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/us_wins_both_4x100m_relays http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/us_wins_both_4x100m_relays#When:17:04:00Z Details to follow later in Spier's Blog. 2008-07-12T17:04:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/world_junior_championships_news_flash_teona_rodgers_wins_100_meter_hurdles http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/world_junior_championships_news_flash_teona_rodgers_wins_100_meter_hurdles#When:16:05:00Z Rodgers bests an outstanding field. Details in Spier's blog later tonight. 2008-07-12T16:05:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/henning_mccullough_take_gold_silver_at_wjc http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/henning_mccullough_take_gold_silver_at_wjc#When:15:57:00Z Walter Henning & Conor McCullough achieved what no other Americans have ever done... both medaled today at the World Junior Championships in the Hammer. Details coming in Jim Spier's Day 5 Blog. Photos posted in the Gallery. 2008-07-12T15:57:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/world_junior_championships_day_4_morning http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/world_junior_championships_day_4_morning#When:00:04:00Z A blog of the experiences of Jim Spier throughout the World Juniors. Last night - The meet ended at 8:30. We figured we had time to go to Old Town and be back in time for the last shuttle back to the hotel (10:30pm). So we took the trolley (5 stops), had a nice meal, and headed back to the trolley. We ran into USC and LSU coaches, at the meet to find athletes for their programs. We got back on the trolley and got to the shuttle stop by 10:20pm, in plenty of time for the shuttle. We were joined by two IAAF journalists from Great Britain. We waited ... and waited. .. and waited, but no shuttle. At about 11:10pm we decided to find a taxi. We got back to the hotel at about 11:30. I headed to my room expecting the worst. Someone had cleaned it! They also took one of my two clean towels and my shampoo. But at least the room was clean (the first time in 3 days). JD Miles - He's here again. JD is a 77 year old retired Navy guy who loves junior age track. I first met him in Lisbon in 1994. He had been to each World Junior Championships from 1992 to the present except for Jamaica (2002) and Grossetto (2004). It's not so much that he attends, these, but how he gets to them. As a retired serviceman, one of the benefits is to use Air Force transport planes to get to anywhere in the world, assuming there is space available. For this trip, he hitched a transport and then took a train to Bydgoszcz, about a 5 hour trip. But this was one of his easy trips. To get to Lisbon in 1994 took him a week. I don't recall the exact route, but I do know it was by way of Frankfurt and Athens, and took him a week to get there. JD grew up in Peoria, IL, but moved to California in 1951. I believe his wife is deceased, but he did meet someone recently, and he moved from California last year – to the Bronx, NY, where his new female friend lives. For those who know the Bronx, he moved to 199th Street and the Grand Concourse. He loves the NYC subway system and lives near a convenient stop in the Bronx (Most people move from the Bronx to California, not the other way aournd. But JD is a track guy, so we understand). ----------- Day 3 Recap for US Team Men 200m round 1 and semifinals – Antonio Sales and Curtis Mitchell both advanced to finals 400m Final – Marcus Boyd finished first and ONeal Wilder finished third. 1500m Final – Evan Jager finished 8th. 400m Hurdles semis – Johnny Dutch and Jeshua Anderson were leading qualifiers for the final 3000m Steeple – Both Dylan Knight and Curtis Carr advanced to the finals. Pole Vault – Maston Wallace (=3) and Joe Berry (5th) both advanced to finals. Triple Jump – Christian Taylor (9th) and Austin Davis (7th) both qualified, and both on their last jump. Hammer – Conor Mc Cullough third leading qualifier; Walter Henning 7th. Decathon – Women 200m round 1 – Tiffany Townsend and Ashton Purvis advanced to semis. 200m semis – Tiffany Townsend advanced; Ashton Purvis missed qualifying for finals by .01. 400m final – Jessica Beard finished 2nd and Lanie Whitaker finished 7th 100m Hurdles Round 1 – Teona Rodgers advanced to the semis; Vashti Thomas did not 400m Hurdles – Takeica Jameson advanced to the finals. 3000m Steeplechase final – no finalists High Jump final – Shanay Brisco finished =10th Triple Jump final – no finalists Shot Put final – Chinwe Okoro finished 10th Javelin final – no finalists Day 4, Morning Heptahlon 100m Hurdles Erin Sampley looked very good, running 13.89. Ryann Krais ran faster than her Great Southwest time into a slighly negative wind. Here are her projections after this event based on what she had done in the past and what would be her most optimistic performances, after one event: Ryann Krais Heptathlon Projection after hurdles   Proj Based on Past   Proj Based on Ambitious   2008 World Jr   Past   Ambitious 100h   13.93w 988   13.6 1036   13.73 1017   13.73 1017   13.73 1017 HJ   5-8 891   5-9 916     5-8 891   5-9 916 SP   33-9.5 549   36-0 593     33-9.5 549   36-0 593 200   24.31w 951   24.25 957     24.31w 951   24.25 957 LJ   18-10.25 774   19-6 831     18-10.25 774   19-6 831 JT   104-11 514   120 602     104-11 514   120 602 800   2:17.71 855   2:14.0 907     2:17.71 855   2:14.0 907 5522 5842 5551 5823 Standings after one event: 1.Ryann Krais - USA - 1017 2.Erin Sampley - USA - 995 3.Natalya Gizbullina - Russia - 994 Men 110m Hurdles, Round 1 – Booker Nunley looked to be the class of the field as he and Ronald Brookins both qualified to the semis. Women's Discus Qualifying – Anna Jelmini finished fourth in her group and will p19-19robably qualify for the final.(164-5). Erin Pendleton came through in a big way in Group B, throwing 164-5 , qualifying for the final 11th overall. After the other throws in Group B, Jelmini wound up 10th overall, as both Americans advanced to the finals. Women's Long Jump Qualifying – neither Shakia Forbes (19-7) nor Jameisha Youngblood (19-1.25) advanced to the final. Women's 1500m Qualifying – Alex Kosinski looked superb in winning (!) her heat. Those things are not supposed to happen in a World Junior championships (meaning, an American winning one's heat). In fact, she got a PR of 4:19.14 and looked relaxed doing so. Of course, running close to 4:10 in the final will probably be a requirement for getting a medal. In another qualifying heat, Jordan Hasay ran an intelligent race, but last week's Olympic Trials activities and the long travel (she arrived 3 days ago) seemed to take its toll. She got bumped around quite a bit and could not respond when the leading trio (she was fourth at the time) made their sprint move with 280 meters to go. She hung on for fifth, being passed down the stretch. The look on her face showed that she was hurting. However, she did qualify on time. I can't recall when two Americans have made the 1500m final (and, since there was no Junior annual this year from the IAAF, I can't easily find out). Heptahlon High Jump - Erin Sampley no-heighted (4-11.5), so we'll see if she continues the competition. Ryann Krais jumped close to her PR of 5-8, clearing 5-7.75. If she equals or betters all of her Great Southwest marks, she projects to get the high school record by 6 points. Ryann Krais Heptathlon Projection after High Jump   Past   Ambitious   2008 World Jr   Proj Based on Past   Proj Based on Ambitious 100h   13.93w 988   13.6 1036   13.73 1017   13.73 1017   13.73 1017 HJ   5-8 891   5-9 916   5-7.75 879   5-7.75 879   5-7.75 879 SP   33-9.5 549   36-0 593     33-9.5 549   36-0 593 200   24.31w 951   24.25 957     24.31w 951   24.25 957 LJ   18-10.25 774   19-6 831     18-10.25 774   19-6 831 JT   104-11 514   120 602     104-11 514   120 602 800   2:17.71 855   2:14.0 907     2:17.71 855   2:14.0 907 5522 5842 5539 5786 Day 1     3379     3502           3396     3446 Standings after 2 events: 1. Natalya Gizbullina - Russia - 1947 2. Carolin Schafer - Germany - 1917 3. Ryann Krais - USA - 1896 4. Yana Maksimava - Belarus - 1875 5. Lea Sprunger - Switzerland - 1847 2008-07-12T00:04:00-05:00 http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/world_junior_championships_notes_day_3_evening http://www.nationalscholastic.org/blog/article/world_junior_championships_notes_day_3_evening#When:00:51:00Z A blog of the experiences of Jim Spier throughout the World Juniors. The electrical connection I don't know why this has to be so difficult. We're in the press tribune, 8 rows near the finish line, all about 50 feet long. They are not temporary, but have a faux granite top and are held up by a brick wall support. The chairs are permanent, and bolted to the concrete. They are lower than they should be and there's no moving them. So typing is difficult. About every six feet on the concrete support below each desk is a small door about 1 foot square. Inside each door is a compartment about 1 ½ feet deep. On that wall, in the back of the compartment, are the electrical sockets. They are about 1 foot off the ground. Each socket has a little door with a hinge. In order to access them, one must get down on one's hands and knees and feel around for the socket, while holding the little door open covering each socket. Not only that, but we Americans have to first install an adaptor for our American plugs. It's something that requires single hand dexterity, because two hands won't fit. So you have to somehow hold the little lid of the socket open with your thumb while guessing where socket it with the rest of the fingers on the same hand. Mike Kennedy and I have it down to a science by now, but it's no fun. Day 3 Evening Women's High Jump Final – Shanay Briscoe finished tenth, clearing 5-10. Women's 200m Semifinals – Tiffany Townsend won her semi heat and automatically advanced to the final. Ashton Purvis finished fifth in her semifinal, missing a time qualifier by .01. Men's 200m Semifinals – What was Antonio Sales thinking? He ran neck and neck with Jamaica's Nickel Ashmeade, then let up at the end, thinking he had qualified automatically. He did not, because he did not notice, two lanes over, Ramil Guliyev of Azerbeijan, who got the second place auto qualifier, albeit in the same time (20.90) as Sales. Sales will have to wait for two more semis to see if he gets in on one of the two fastest non-auto qualifying times. Curtis Mitchell! Wow! Who's he? He's a freshman from Daytona Beach, FL who just finished his freshman year at Southwestern JC in California. The tall American, looked stellar from lane 7, broke 21 seconds for the first time in a big way, running 20.74! Antonio Sales got lucky and did make the final. Men's 400m Finals – This was a bit of a surprise, albeit a pleasant one. The money was on either O'Neal Wilder of the US or Kirani James of Grenada. But Wilder went out way too slow and Kirani James and Marcus Boyd appeared to be the candidates from the gold. Boyd, in lane 8, took control with 100 meters to go and won with a PR and World Junior Leader of 45.53. His prior best was 46.02 Men's 1500m Final – This was a great race. Everyone was in it, even Evan Jager, who was fourth with 1 lap to go. The sprint began then, with Kenyans and the Ethiopian swapping leads. They appeared to have the three medals locked up, but Algerian Imad Touil, in fifth with 30 meters to go, made a big charge on the outside of the pack to get the win. The Kenyans, who finished 2nd and 4th, seemed to be in shock. They both took a victory lap anyway, both with Kenyan flags. Women's 400m Final – We knew it would be a challenge for the Americans, and it was. Nigerian Folashade Abugan was in control the entire race to win in 51.84. Jessica Beard was second in 52.09. Lanie Whitaker finished in 7th with 53.98. Women's Triple Jump – There were no Americans in the final. We have a long way to go to catch up to the rest of the world in this event. Here are the top three and their performances: 1.Dailenys Alcantara - Cuba - 46-9 2.Josleidy Ribalta - Cuba - 45-5.25 3.Paraskevi Papahristou - Greece - 45-1 There was no one happier than Papahristou. It seemed that she was kissed by every Greek in the stadium. She was also handed a cell phone and spoke to a few people back home. Decathlon – A great battle for the gold, with Jan Felix Knobel of Germany edging Edward Mihan of Belarus by 2 points, 7896 5o 789, 7896 to 7894! Into the final event, Mihan had to beat Knobel by 17 seconds. He beat him by 16.51 seconds, not quite enough for the gold. Weston Leutz of the US finished 10th with 7178 points, a personal best. Chase Dalton was right behind Leutz in 11th, scoring 7174 points,. Women's Javelin – no American finalists, but a world junior record. Vira Rebryk of the Ukraine threw 206-8 on her 2nd throw Ryann Krais' chances in the heptathlon Ryann is on the verge of breaking Shana Woods' high school record in the heptathlon of 5533. She came painfully close in Albuquerque, save for the wind. She has a formidable task ahead of her. The high school record seems possible, but getting a medal at the World Junior Championships will take an extraordinary effort. She is currently ranked fifth of all the competitors, and that is based on her windy 5522 mark at the Great Southwest. Here is the current top 5: 6027 - Yana Maksimava - Belarus 5676 - Natalya Gizbulina - Russia 5659 - Carolin Schäfer - Germany 5524 - Helga Margrét Thorsteinsdóttir - Iceland 5522Aw - Ryann Krais - USA Ryann usually has a very good first day. The javelin and shot put have been a challenge for her. Maksimava is a 6-0 high jumper and a 45-8 shot putter, and obviously does other things very well. It appears that a score close to 5700 points will be required to get a medal. Here is the best of all possible worlds for Ryann 100hh - 13.60 - 1036 HJ - 5-9 - 916 SP - 36-0 - 593 200m - 24.25 - 957 - 3502 first day total LJ - 19-6 - 831 JT - 120-0 - 602 800 - 2:14.0 - 907 - total - 5842 Of course this is very optimistic. But it is within the realm of possibility for her to score between 5600 and 5700 points 2008-07-11T00:51:00-05:00