News
Published Jan 01, 0001
Andrew Wheating opts for the 1,500, and Ryan Bailey is missing from the start list.
DES MOINES, Iowa -- My flight in yesterday was crammed, the airport was busy and I had to wait about 45 minutes at the rental car counter for a vehicle to become available. A contingent from the Nike Oregon Project came in behind me. I left assistant coach Pete Julian and distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein at the counter. Hopefully, they aren't still there. The USA Track & Field Championships clearly are good for the local economy, so you can see why Des Moines -- aka Track Central -- is eager for the bigger and better U.S. Olympic Trials in 2020. This year's meet begins today with the first day of the decathlon and heptathlon for the USA Juniors. It gets going in earnest tomorrow. Here is the meet schedule for all five days. Here are the start lists. A few quick takeaways: it appears that OTC Elite's Andrew Wheating will concentrate on the 1,500, and that Concordia throwers Willy Irwin, Nate Moses and Gabriella Dixson did not make the final cut. I don't see former McKay High sprinter Ryan Bailey's name. Here is how to watch it, either on your television or computer. You will need both, depending on the day and the event. OK, more links: OTC Elite's Tyler Mulder says, now it's his turn. Comeback Kid Treniere Moser shelves the retirement plans. Mac Wilkins' throwers hope to make some noise in Des Moines. Ex-UO sprinter English Gardner is one of 10 women semifinalists for The Bowerman. USTFCCCA release on the women's semifinalists for The Bowerman. Olympian Lisa Uhl is happy to be back in Iowa after an unhappy two years in Portland. Uhl speaks with reporters in this RunnerSpace.com video. OTC Elite's Russell Brown will leave Eugene this summer and move to New York. High schooler Mary Cain is set to race the nation's best this week in Des Moines. Cain opts out of the 800. As usual, the experts at LetsRun.com are all over the mid-distances and distances. Here are their previews of: -- The women's 10,000. -- The men's 10,000. -- The women's 800. -- The men's 800. Who will be the odd man out in the 10,000? Cancer survivor Gabriele Anderson continues to beat the odds. Former world champ Jenny Simpson is back on track. Pat Price sorts through the mid-distances at the USA Championships for the Daily Relay. There will be nearly 30 current or former Ducks competing in the USA Championships. The Des Moines Register's gallery of athletes to watch at the USA Championships includes a number of athletes with local connections, among them Ashton Eaton, Galen Rupp, Geena Gall, Kara Patterson, Lopez Lomong, Dathan Ritzenhein, Nick Symmonds, and Andrew Wheating. Lolo Jones discovers that being a social media icon has its downside. Tyson Gay is happy to be healthy again. After a rocky start to 2013, Morgan Uceny is no longer the woman to beat. Colorado's Shalaya Kipp looks to make some headlines at the USA Championships. Injury free, Molly Huddle gears up for the USA Championships. The USATF preview of the USA Junior meet. Sprinter Vernonica Campbell Brown gets hit with a provisional suspension. The knee injury that kept David Rudisha out of the Prefontaine Classic still is a problem. The links package from LetsRun.com. The links package from Track & Field News. The USTFCCCA Daily roundup. Runner's World's daily wrap of racing news. The links from Duck Sports Now.
Lisa Uhl
-- Ken Goe
College track & field: English Gardner is one of 10 women's semifinalists for The Bowerman
Published Jan 01, 0001
Gardner recently signed a sponsorship deal with Nike.
The Bowerman is given annually to the top male and female athletes in college track & field. Gardner, who announced recently she would give up her senior season to turn professional, repeated as the 100-meter winner at the NCAA Track & Field Championships earlier this month at Hayward Field. She will be sponsored by Nike at the USA Track & Field Championships, which begin Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa. She holds the school and Pac-12 records in the 100 with a time of 10.96 seconds. Here is the complete list of women's semifinalists for The Bowerman. English Gardner
-- Ken Goe
USA Track & Field Championships: The Oregon Track Club's Tyler Mulder says it's his turn
Published Jan 01, 0001
Mulder's disappointment over not making the 2012 U.S. Olympic team has been a driving force/
EUGENE -- Tyler Mulder is ready to break through, past ready really.
He is tired of knocking on the door with only bruised knuckles to show for it. The Oregon Track Club elite runner was fourth in the 800 final at the 2010 USA Track & Field Championships. He was fourth again in 2011. He finished fifth in the 800 final at the 2012 Olympic Trials, so close to making Team USA the result still stings a year later. "I was really discouraged," Mulder said. "That was really, really hard for me, heartbreaking. I don't want to ever feel that again." Which brings us to the 2013 USA Championships, which begin Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Mulder has the best 800 time in the country this year, the 1 minute 44.79 seconds he clocked earlier this month at the Portland Track Festival while finishing first in a field that included Olympians Matthew Centrowitz and Andrew Wheating. He has the "A" standard for the IAAF World Track & Field Championships. If he finishes in the top three in this year's final in Des Moines he will make the U.S. team and compete later this summer in Moscow. "I'm not thinking about anything but winning," Mulder said. "Winning is my No. 1 goal. That has to be the only thing to shoot for. From there, it's making the world team. This is my coming out year. It's time for me to step up." Who knows what might have happened last year had not a hamstring issue sidelined Mulder during winter training? Mulder was physically fine by the time the Olympic Trials rolled around. But he lacked some base conditioning. Progressing through the qualifying rounds took a toll. At end of the 800 final, when he reached back for that last burst, it wasn't there. "I definitely feel I should have been on that team," he said. "It took me a while to get over it." Ultimately, Mulder refocused on this year, channeling the disappointment into preparation. He has paid careful attention to his body, taken all the necessary injury-prevention measures and stayed healthy. With the blessing of OTC Elite coach Mark Rowland, Mulder traveled overseas to compete in the Seiko Grand Golden Prix in Tokyo and in the Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar to test himself against world-class opposition. Mulder was second in Tokyo, third in the "B" race at Doha, and returned home better for the experience. "He needs to be a little more well-rounded to make that conversion from elite to world class," Rowland said. "I felt it was important to take him out of the bubble and have him run in a Diamond League event." Mulder traveled solo, which forced him to rely on himself in transit. "Sometimes I let athletes go on the road to see how they will respond, to put them in positions to toughen them up," Rowland said. There was some trial and error involved on the trip. Mulder conceded he didn't get enough rest on the flight to Tokyo. "Rookie mistake," he said. But Mulder returned to the U.S. to win at the Portland Track Festival by more than a second over runner-up Joe Abbott, a confidence-building springboard heading to the USA Championships. The doubled-barreled combination of confidence and top-shelf international experience can't hurt. Mulder joined the Oregon Track Club in 2010 without knowing anybody on the team well, never having met Rowland, because he wanted to train with Nick Symmonds, the two-time Olympian who has won the last five USA 800 titles. The idea was, to be the best he had to train with the best. Rowland has taken the long view with Mulder's development, eschewing short cuts so he as not compromise the process. "Sometimes it takes a fair amount of time to put the building blocks together, and the building blocks aren't just physical," Rowland said. "Clearly he is in good shape and pretty strong. Physically he was in reasonably good shape last year. He wasn't as confident, I think. I think he's a lot more grown up now, a lot more positive. Not as anxious." Mulder, who prepped at Unity Christian High School in Orange City, Iowa and won a NCAA indoor 800 title while at Northern Iowa, should be comfortable with the surroundings. He ran in Drake Stadium at the Iowa High School Championships. He was a regular participant in the Drake Relays. His Northern Iowa teams competed there. "When I was in high school it was the biggest stadium I ever had run in," Mulder said. "Now it doesn't quite have that feel, but it's still a great feel. It's a lot of fun to run there for me" Mulder has seven brothers and sisters. All live in Iowa. So do many high school and college friends. He should have plenty of support, just as he did at the 2010 USA Championships, also held in Drake Stadium. "It gave me chills when they announced my name in 2010," Mulder said. "The crowd definitely was a little bit louder for me, which was different but really special. I don't normally get chills, but that was a chilling moment. I just soaked it in." The men's 800 field is tough. Symmonds and Duane Solomon, fourth in last year's Olympic final all are entered. So is Brandon Johnson, who has run 1:44.85 this year, and Oregon's Elijah Greer, the reigning NCAA champion both indoors and outdoors. So is Charles Jock, the 2012 NCAA champion. If Mulder is in contention coming off the last turn in this year's final, maybe the fans will make a difference. "I hope it's loud," he said. Because this time Mulder doesn't want to stop in the doorway. He wants to kick the door in. The Oregon Track Club's Tyler Mulder (right) is tired of being only close.
-- Ken Goe
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Track & field notebook: Mac Wilkins' throwers could make some noise in Des Moines
Published Jan 01, 0001
English Gardner signs with Nike.
Oregon has a national reputation as home for post-collegiate mid-distance and distance runners. Mac Wilkins is adding throwers to the mix. The Concordia University throws coach is bringing a five-athlete contingent – including post collegians Liz Podominick and Jared Schuurmans – to Des Moines, Iowa for the USA Track & Field Championships. "Taking throwers to this competition always has been one of my goals," Wilkins said. "It's one of the measures of success for what I'm doing out here. I've never taken five before, so that's good." Podominick, the former Minnesota thrower, ranks No. 2 nationally this year in the women's discus. She threw 208 feet, 9 inches last week at the Concordia Throw Center, a personal record that leaves her five feet behind Gia Lewis-Smallwood, the U.S. leader Podominick has the IAAF World Championships "A" standard. So if she finishes in the top three in the discus final at the USA Championships, she will make the U.S. world championships team. "Very satisfying," Wilkins said of Podominick, who bounced back nicely from a hip injury that cost her some strength training over the winter. "We're not as strong as we had hoped to be," Wilkins said. "But she has a good foundation and her technique is become more solid. There still is some dynamic, rhythmic elegance missing. That takes time. But based on the results, she is doing well." Schuurmans, a former NAIA men's discus champion, is in contention for a spot on Team USA too. He has thrown 206-4 this year, a personal record. No U.S. man has reached either World Championships "A" or "B" qualifying marks of 216-6 and 210-0 respectively. The top four finishers at the USA Championships have until July 20 to chase a qualifying mark. "He has a chance," Wilkins said of Schuurmans. "So do some other guys." The top seven throwers are within 2 feet, 7 inches of each other. Three Concordia athletes – Gabriella Dixson (discus), Willy Irwin (shot) and Nate Moses (discus) – have provisionally qualified of the USA Championships, but as of late Monday afternoon had not been accepted into the meet. Irwin and Dixson swept the NAIA outdoor titles in the shot and discus this year. Moses, who redshirted this season, won the 2012 NAIA discus title and competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials. GARDNER MOVES FAST: Barely a week after announcing during the NCAA Championships that she would give up her senior season and turn professional, former Oregon sprinter English Gardner has signed with the sports management company HSInternational and, apparently, Nike. Gardner announced the HSInternational deal on her Twitter feed, complete with a photo of her wearing a cap with the company's name on it. She is listed as a Nike athlete in the entries for the USA Championships, for which she has declared in both the 100 and 200 meters. Gardner won a second consecutive NCAA outdoor title in the 100 this year with a time of 10.96 seconds. It's a school and Pac-12 record, and the second-fastest run by at U.S. woman this year behind Carmelita Jeter's 10.95 PATTERSON TO THROW: Two-time Olympian Kara Patterson, who has been MIA this year while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, has declared for the USA Championships. Patterson prepped at Skyview High School in Vancouver. She has won four USA outdoor titles.
-- Ken Goe
USA Track & Field Championships: Comeback kid Treniere Moser leaves the retirement plans behind
Published Jan 01, 0001
Moser is one of the favorites in the women's 1,500 meters.
Treniere Moser is so tough and stubbornly determined that when she fell on the home straight of the 1,500 semifinals at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, she crawled across the finish line. But guts and determination take an athlete only so far, By the close of the 2012 outdoor season Moser – formerly Treniere Clement – could see the end. She was 30. She hadn't broken her personal record in the 800 since 2005 or in the 1,500 since 2006. She won the last of her three U.S. championships in 2007. "I was putting a lot into it and I was getting nothing in return," Moser said. "It was just really hard, because I pride myself on being a hard worker and it was just not showing at all. I thought it was me. I thought my best days were over." Except it wasn't, and they aren't. A year after a move to Portland, a coaching change, a shift in training philosophy and a string of superlative performances, Moser is one of the favorites in the 1,500 at the USA Track & Field Championships, which begin Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa. "It's so exciting," Moser said. "I feel like a racehorse in the cage, raring to go." It's funny how things work out, because the turnaround only happened after Moser decided to retire. Her husband, Paul, who hopscotched around the country with Moser while she pursued her professional running career in Knoxville, Tenn., and Austin, Texas, got a marketing job offer from Nike. The couple decided it was his turn to put his career first. They made the move to the Pacific Northwest, and Treniere Moser began looking at options for life after running. But she couldn't quit cold turkey. So, there she was doing a workout last fall with professional runner Sara Vaughn on the Nike campus when Oregon Project coach Alberto Salazar happened by. It wasn't a total coincidence, Paul Moser and Salazar know each other. They had talked about Treniere. Salazar decided to take a look. "What I saw was someone who could have very good form if she got stronger," Salazar said. That led to a two-hour meeting with Treniere Moser, Salazar and Oregon Project assistant Pete Julian. Salazar blew Moser away. He calmly told her he could fix the problems. He said, in time, she could run as well as she ever had. All she had to do was trust him and tackle a workload that would take everything she could give. "Honestly," Moser said. "I couldn't believe it. He just seemed so positive and confident that he could help me. At that point, I didn't think anybody could help me." But she listened just the same. Moser had been in London as a spectator for the 2012 Olympics. She watched Mo Farah and Galen Rupp, both Salazar-trained athletes, go 1-2 in the 10,000 final. When Salazar threw the lifeline, she grabbed it. At first, she wondered about her sanity. The Salazar-designed workouts were as intense as anything she ever had done. The volume of the work was larger too. Before her first long run, Salazar asked Moser how far her longest training run ever had been. When she answered 12 miles, he told her to do 13. "He always is pushing just a little extra, getting that little extra out of me," Moser said. Weightlifting, which had been part of her training regimen early in career, again became important. The inside joke now is that the 5-foot-3 Moser is stronger some of her male teammates. "They get intimidated by some of my lifts," she said, smiling. She began seeing results quickly in practices and workouts, but it didn't translate to competition during the indoor season. When Moser became frustrated Salazar counseled patience. "You have to give it time," he said. "Sometimes it takes a year. It took her seven or eight months. I raced her a lot this winter so she would get out there and get aggressive. I knew all along her workouts were far ahead of her performances. It only was a matter time before she busted through." The break out came at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational, where Moser won the 1,500 in 4:06.40. Next, Salazar slotted her into the 5,000 at the Oxy High Performance meet, and Moser responded with a second-place finish behind Molly Huddle. Moser's time of 15:11.00 bettered the World Championships "A" standard by seven seconds. Then came the 1,500 at the Prefontaine Classic, and in a pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming race, Moser smashed her seven-year-old PR with a time of 4:02.85 that still ranks 10th in the world this year. "I think Treniere's expectations for the season were based on her prior years," Paul Moser said. "For her to come across with PRs is more than I think she imagined." With every race the possibilities expanded. Really, with every practice. As the school year has wound down, Moser has been doing some workouts with high school phenom Mary Cain, who isn't a part of the Oregon Project but is coached by Salazar. Cain's perceptually sunny disposition reminds Moser that running is supposed to be fun. Cain just turned 17 and Moser will be 32 in October. They complement and push each other. Salazar believes 4:00 is within reach for Moser, which is why they are targeting the 1,500 in Des Moines. She also is entered in the 5,000, which almost certainly is her event of the future. But it's a fallback race this year. The thing is, now Moser has a future. The 2016 Olympic Games suddenly are no longer are out of the question. Who would have thought that when her 2012 season ended in disappointment, and Moser was weighing the pros and cons of graduate school and the job market? Well, grad school can wait. The USA Championships are up next, and we'll see what follows. After five emotionally tough years – a period Moser refers to as her drought – she is back. "It's the little things that make me so happy for her," Paul Moser said, "like reaching back and wanting to kick with 200 to go. "Now it's there."
-- Ken Goe
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