2017 Tracktown Summer Series Finale: Andrews Gets the Standard but Not the Win, Windle Leads PR Parade, Eccleston Wins and So Does NY Empire
by LetsRun.com
July 6, 2017
NEW YORK, NY. – A slew of exciting distance races highlighted the 2017 Tracktown Summer Series championship meet in New York City, as Robby Andrews hit the World Championship standard in the 1500, but his eagerness may have cost him the win, Drew Windle continued to work his magic and led a PR parade in the men’s 800m, and Amanda Eccleston turned the tables on Hannah Fields in the 1500.
We have no idea if America will support a domestic track and field league in the US, but the fans who turned out for the meet at Icahn Stadium had to leave thinking they were entertained as the New York Empire team won the the meet over the Portland Pulse despite Portland winning the concluding 4×400 with a dive at the line in the final event of the meet.
Recap of the meet below starting with the distance races.
Men’s 1500: Johnny Gregorek wins in 3:35.00 as Robby Andrews hits the IAAF standard
The U.S. men’s 1500 team for next month’s World Championships is now set as Robby Andrews joined Johnny Gregorek and Matthew Centrowitz by booking his ticket to London, clocking 3:35.25 tonight in New York. That was only good enough for second in the race, as Gregorek took the win in a new PR of 3:35.00, but that mattered little to Andrews, whose family went bonkers after he crossed the finish line.
Andrews got out well in this one but was not as aggressive as he was on Sunday in Portland and at 400 meters (57.4 for the rabbit, roughly 58.0 for Andrews) he was the third racer behind Gregorek and USAs 4th placer Craig Engels. The pace remained quick as the field began to string out on the second lap, and the places up front were the same at 800 with Andrews (1:56.5) in third behind Gregorek and Engels. Still, they were behind pace. From 700 to 1100, Andrews split 58.76 and at the bell, he was being shuffled back as Kyle Merber and Colby Alexander looked to move by him. At the bell, Andrews needed a 55.36 or faster to get the standard.
But unlike in Portland, Andrews did not fold and instead muscled his way into second place by 1200 (2:54.4) as Gregorek still led.
Andrews was now in position to win, but the time was what mattered to him and he still had some work to do on that front.
On the backstretch, Gregorek and Andrews began to separate, but Portland winner Ben Blankenship did his best to close that gap and moved up into third with 200 to go.
Coming around the final turn, however, it was a battle between Gregorek and Andrews. Andrews swung wide, dug deep for his kick and his legs responded. He began to pull away from Gregorek, but he could not maintain his speed and with 50 meters to go began to tie up, allowing the indefatigable Gregorek to repass on the inside and take the win. Andrews still had enough to get the time, however, as he crossed second with Blankenship third and Engels fourth in a big PR of 3:35.95.
It was a quick race overall as the top five men all ran 3:36.10 or faster. Previously, only one American — Centrowitz — had run that fast outdoors in 2017.
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Johnny GREGOREK | New York Empire | 3:35.00 | ||
2 | Robby ANDREWS | San Francisco Surge | 3:35.25 | ||
3 | Ben BLANKENSHIP | Philadelphia Force | 3:35.29 | ||
4 | Craig ENGELS | Philadelphia Force | 3:35.95 | ||
5 | Colby ALEXANDER | San Francisco Surge | 3:36.10 | ||
6 | Kyle MERBER | Portland Pulse | 3:36.65 | ||
7 | Cristian SORATOS | Portland Pulse | 3:37.15 | ||
8 | Pat CASEY | New York Empire | 3:41.97 | ||
Joe MCASEY | Pacer | DNF | |||
Daniel WINN | Pacer | DNF |
QT: Andrews Gets the Time
The finish of this race was a bizarre one. Andrews is known for his finishing speed and once he hit the front and blew by Gregorek, we assumed this one was over. Instead, Andrews totally ran out of steam and Gregorek came back on the inside for the win. Our working theory is that Andrews was so eager to hit the 3:36.00 time, he just mistimed his kick a bit or went too hard too soon. If his focus was on the win, he might have a) held off his kick a bit or b) not gone quite as hard past Gregorek. Nonetheless, Andrews got his the job done, he got the world champs standard and doesn’t have to hop on a plane to Europe worrying about running 3:36. Afterwards, Andrews said he will not go to Europe to race, but will stay in the US to train, and likely will just run an 800 before Worlds (probably in the US).
Tonight was all about hitting the standard before his friends and family. Andrews admitted he was nervous about hitting the standard saying, “Nothing’s given. I think I’m in the best shape of my life, but until you do it, it’s kind of up in the air…. I’m not the best [in] time trials, that’s probably why (coach Jason) Vig(ilante) was nervous.”
Andrews credited the rabbits for doing an “absolute perfect job” and gave credit to the other runners in the field. “It’s been a wild week or so…I think everyone had a little more time to think about the race and really put their shoulder into it a little bit (going with the pace)… We had a great race. Johnny’s going to Worlds for a reason.”
Andrews said he actually had the early pace be slower than some others wanted. There were calls for them to try to hit 2:52 for 1200. Robby felt that was too fast, and the other runners were fine with deferring to Robby’s wishes (they hit 2:54.4 for 1200).
Interview with Andrews
QT: Johnny Gregorek once again proves his worth
Gregorek may have surprised some fans by taking third at USAs, but his run tonight showed once again why he’s going to Worlds as he defeated a quality field in a fast time. Gregorek showed good fight in coming back to win after being passed in the homestretch, and his time of 3:35.00 was a PR of just over a second from this meet last year.
“The World team was definitely a surprise…that kind of gave me the confidence to be in the position I was today,” Gregorek said. “I’ve historically run at the back, gotten knocked around a lot. And today, I just figured I’d put myself up there, run like I belong here, close like I belong here and that’s what happened.”
Gregorek said he’s now off to Belgium, where he’ll race a few times before heading over to London for Worlds.
QT: Craig Engels explains his decision to join the Nike Oregon Project
Engels was happy to have run a big PR tonight (3:37.65 down to 3:35.95) and though he hit the World Championship standard, unfortunately (for Engels), Andrews did too. Now he’s off to Europe, though he doesn’t know where.
“I just listen to what my agent says,” Engels said. “Open up his emails, and I’m there that day.”
Engels, who just graduated from Ole Miss, is the newest member of the Nike Oregon Project and we asked whether he was concerned about the allegations against the group and its coach Alberto Salazar.
“No. I mean, allegations are allegations, everyone’s got their own opinion. I’m gonna be clean no matter what I do and I believe that the group’s clean, that’s why I joined them. Training with the best people in the world can’t hurt me so why not give it a shot?”
Engels said that Pete Julian (who also coaches Eric Jenkins, Shannon Rowbury and Suguru Osako) will be his coach within the group, but Salazar will likely have input as well as Julian works closely with Salazar.
Men’s 800 Drew Windle Works His Magic Again and Leads a Slew of PRs
Never count Drew Windle out of a race. In 6th place with 200m to go, and 4th with 40 meters to go, Windle used his late-race magic to edge past Erik Sowinski and win the 800 in 1:44.63 to Sowinski’s 1:44.66 as four men broke 1:45 with Edward Kemboi third in 1:44.77 and Andres Arroyo fourth in 1:44.98.
The fifth place guy didn’t break 1:45, but he ran 1:45.04, and it was a huge PR for Jesse Garn, whose previous best was 1:45.82.
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Drew WINDLE | Portland Pulse | 1:44.63 | ||
2 | Erik SOWINSKI | San Francisco Surge | 1:44.66 | ||
3 | Edward KEMBOI | New York Empire | 1:44.77 | ||
4 | Andres ARROYO | New York Empire | 1:44.98 | ||
5 | Jesse GARN | Philadelphia Force | 1:45.04 | ||
6 | Shaquille WALKER | San Francisco Surge | 1:46.04 | ||
7 | Harun ABDA | Portland Pulse | 1:46.64 | ||
8 | Casimir LOXSOM | New York Empire | 1:47.34 | ||
9 | Curtis BEACH | Philadelphia Force | 1:47.36 | ||
Chris GEISTING | Pacer | DNF |
QT: Windle Earned This One
Garn wasn’t the only guy with a PR as everyone up front brought their “A” game. Kemboi ran 1:44.77, his previous lifetime best was 1:45.58 (previous season’s best was only 1:46.44), Arroyo ran 1:44.98, his previous lifetime best was 1:45.74. Sowinski didn’t PR but it was his fastest time since 2014 as his previous season’s best was 1:45.24.
And we can’t forget about the winner. Windle’s winning time was an improvement on his lifetime best of 1:44.95 from USAs. Afterwards, Erik Sowinski said Windle with his great final 100m, is the exact type of guy Team USA needs at Worlds.
Time | Previous PR | Difference | |
Drew Windle | 1:44.63 | 1:44.95 | .32 |
Edward Kemboi | 1:44.77 | 1:45.58 | .81 |
Andres Arroyo | 1:44.98 | 1:45.74 | .76 |
Jesse Garn | 1:45.04 | 1:45.82 | .78 |
All the guys above need to thank rabbit, Chris Giesting, who took the field out in 49.47 and he was followed perfectly by indoor 600m world record holder Cas Loxsom in 49.61. With that type of pacing, the field was primed for a PR, with perfect weather in NY (70s and no wind).
Windle is on a roll and he knows it. He says he will look to keep the momentum going, though he will likely run only one more race before Worlds.
Erik Sowinski interview
Women’s 1500: Amanda Eccleston wins it at the line
Last week at Stanford, Hannah Fields edged Amanda Eccleston at the line in a tight women’s 1500. The shoe was on the other foot tonight as it was Eccleston running down Fields on the home stretch to win a close one, 4:05.51 to 4:05.76.
Very little changed over the first three laps of this one as Fields was the first racer behind the rabbit at 300 meters with Alexa Efraimson on her outside shoulder, and those two would stay in those positions through 400 (66) and 800 meters (2:13). On the backstretch of the penultimate lap, U.S. steeplechase champ Emma Coburn tried to move up but Efraimson would not let her past and at the bell, everyone save for Katrina Coogan was bunched tightly together. It remained tight up front with 200 to go as Fields still led with Efraimson, Eccleston and Johnson in hot pursuit. Efraimson went for the pass with 150 to go but could not get separation and Fields led off the final turn. It looked to be a battle between those two in the home stretch, but Eccleston was closing hard on the outside and timed her kick to perfection, winning thanks to a 62.41 final lap.
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Amanda ECCLESTON | Philadelphia Force | 4:05.51 | ||
2 | Hannah FIELDS | San Francisco Surge | 4:05.76 | ||
3 | Alexa EFRAIMSON | San Francisco Surge | 4:06.25 | ||
4 | Lauren JOHNSON | Portland Pulse | 4:07.20 | ||
5 | Emily LIPARI | Philadelphia Force | 4:07.67 | ||
6 | Megan MOYE | New York Empire | 4:08.22 | ||
7 | Emma COBURN | New York Empire | 4:11.89 | ||
8 | Katrina COOGAN | Portland Pulse | 4:19.94 | ||
Stephanie VAN PELT | Pacer | DNF |
Quick Take: Amanda Eccleston gets revenge and heads to Europe on a winning note
Eccleston said that her training hasn’t been as great this year as it was in 2016 when she almost made the Olympic team, but the last two races were both solid results and the win tonight was a good note on which to head into her European season. Eccleston said that she may not be able to run 4:03 (her PR from last year) right now, but she’s hoping she can get back to that level in a few weeks.
Mixed 3,000: Paul Chelimo cruises to the men’s victory as Stephanie Garcia wins battle of the sexes
The men’s and women’s 3,000s were contested simultaneously, with the women receiving a 71-second head start and the first person to cross the finish line receiving an extra $1,000 to donate to charity of their choice.
With that in mind, the women made sure to grind the pace from the front and they hit 1600 in 4:47 (8:58 pacer). After rabbit Kim Conley stepped off, Garcia allowed it to slow, splitting 73.99 from 1800 to 2200 (the slowest lap of the race) and with two laps to go, there were still four women in the lead pack, with Nicole Tully, Marisa Howard and Megan Rolland trailing close behind.
But Garcia got serious over the next lap, dropping a 67.44 to open things up. At that point, only Tully was close, and though Tully wound up splitting a similar time for her final lap (68.68 to Garcia’s 68.31), she could not close the gap enough to make it competitive.
But what about the men? Paul Chelimo showed at USAs that he doesn’t need any rabbits to run fast, and he had passed the two rabbits in tonight’s field after the first lap. But rather than pursue a really fast time, Chelimo was content to control the race from the front and serve as a de facto rabbit himself, breaking the wind for Portland Pulse teammate Lopez Lomong.
As a result, the pace over the second half of the race (64.33, 64.02, 63.68, 56.76) was not fast until the final lap, and even then, Chelimo only really pushed it over the final 100. Had Chelimo pushed the pace more over the second half of the race, he likely would have been able to catch Garcia, but as it was, he was 100 meters behind at the bell, a deficit that proved to be too much.
But Chelimo’s primary goal was to score max team points and he managed that as he took a comfortable victory in 7:47.96 and Lomong followed in second in 7:48.77. NC State alum Graham Crawford impressed in third as he scored his second PR in eight days, clocking 7:49.12 for third.
The men’s failure to chase down the women meant that Garcia earned the $1,000 charity bonus, and it was well-deserved as her 8:52.74 winning time was a PR. In fact, with Garcia leading them out, the first four women all set personal bests tonight.
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Paul CHELIMO | Portland Pulse | 7:47.96 | ||
2 | Lopez LOMONG | Portland Pulse | 7:48.77 | ||
3 | Graham CRAWFORD | New York Empire | 7:49.12 | ||
4 | Anthony ROTICH | San Francisco Surge | 7:51.12 | ||
5 | Mason FERLIC | San Francisco Surge | 7:52.04 | ||
6 | Donn CABRAL | New York Empire | 7:52.78 | ||
7 | Josh THOMPSON | Philadelphia Force | 7:57.76 | ||
8 | Travis MAHONEY | Philadelphia Force | 8:00.48 | ||
Meron SIMON | Pacer | DNF | |||
Alex LEIGHT | Pacer | DNF |
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Stephanie GARCIA | New York Empire | 8:52.74 | ||
2 | Nicole TULLY | New York Empire | 8:54.28 | ||
3 | Marisa HOWARD | San Francisco Surge | 8:57.15 | ||
4 | Megan ROLLAND | Portland Pulse | 9:00.48 | ||
5 | Sara SUTHERLAND | Philadelphia Force | 9:05.08 | ||
6 | Alexina WILSON | Philadelphia Force | 9:16.80 | ||
7 | Lianne FARBER | San Francisco Surge | 9:19.77 | ||
8 | Ashley MATON | Portland Pulse | 9:30.00 | ||
Ashley HIGGINSON | Pacer | DNF | |||
Kim CONLEY | Pacer | DNF |
Quick Take: Props to Paul Chelimo for running in the TrackTown Summer Series
Chelimo could easily have hopped on a plane after USAs and run in Lausanne today, where he would have had a great chance to PR and break 13:00 in a race that was won in 12:55. Instead, he chose to stay stateside as he wanted to help grow the sport in the U.S. Though he set no PRs, he won both races impressively and brought some star power to the TrackTown Summer Series.
“It was really tough to pass [on] Paris and Lausanne because after USAs, I was in really good shape, it would [have been] a good way to go to Europe but I just wanted to promote track and field in the United States…
“We’ve gotta make track and field big, you know? If everybody goes to Europe, all the big stars in the United States go to Europe, you know, track and field, it’s not gonna have good exposure. I just wanted to stay and I’m going to do [the TrackTown Summer Series] next year, definitely.”
Chelimo also said that he’s not planning on racing in Europe before Worlds and that he’ll focus on “killer training” instead.
Usually our thinking is a guy like Chelimo needs to go and test himself against better competition in Europe, but Chelimo didn’t run a single race between the Olympic Trials last year and the Olympics and he went from being a guy no one knew about to an Olympic silver medallist.
Women’s 800: Sanne Verstegen holds off Chrishuna Williams
Verstegen, who won a week ago at Stanford, got out best and at the bell, she held a lead of five meters over Kendra Chambers at the bell. Chambers began to fade on the backstretch, however, as 2016 Olympian Chrishuna Williams moved up into second. At first, Williams was unable to make any headway cutting into Verstegen’s lead, but as they entered the homestretch, she gradually ran her down. In the end, it was close, but Williams ran out of room, with the Netherlands’ Verstegen winning in 2:00.22 to Williams’ 2:00.34.
Ce’Aira Brown of the Portland Pulse/NJ*NY Track Club was third in a PR of 2:00.84. Brown has now lowered her PR by almost two seconds in 2017 as she began the year with a best of 2:02.82.
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sanne VERSTEGEN | New York Empire | 2:00.22 | ||
2 | Chrishuna WILLIAMS | Portland Pulse | 2:00.34 | ||
3 | Ce’Aira BROWN | Portland Pulse | 2:00.84 | ||
4 | Cecilia BAROWSKI | San Francisco Surge | 2:02.04 | ||
5 | Kenyetta IYEVBELE | Philadelphia Force | 2:02.68 | ||
6 | Alena BROOKS | Philadelphia Force | 2:03.37 | ||
7 | McKayla FRICKER | San Francisco Surge | 2:04.33 | ||
8 | Kendra CHAMBERS | New York Empire | 2:06.56 | ||
Stephanie VAN PELT | Pacer | DNF |
5K road race: Tommy Curtin & Kim Conley win
The men’s race was a close affair, with just 1.2 seconds separating the top five and all seven elite finishers crossing within five seconds of one another. Part of the reason for that was the fairly relaxed pace, as nobody came close to breaking 14:00 In the end, it was Virginia Tech alum Tommy Curtin who earned the win over recent Ole Miss grad MJ Erb, 14:11.9 to 14:12.2.
In the women’s race, two-time Olympian Kim Conley won by a more comfortable margin of 3.8 seconds as she took the win in 16:07.8 over Penn State alum Tori Gerlach.
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tommy CURTIN | New York Empire | 14:11.90 | ||
2 | MJ ERB | Portland Pulse | 14:12.20 | ||
3 | Edwin KIBICHIY | Philadelphia Force | 14:12.50 | ||
4 | Trevor DUNBAR | San Francisco Surge | 14:13.00 | ||
5 | Stanley KEBENEI | Portland Pulse | 14:13.10 | ||
6 | Craig LUTZ | Philadelphia Force | 14:14.80 | ||
7 | Reid BUCHANAN | San Francisco Surge | 14:16.10 |
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kim CONLEY | New York Empire | 16:07.80 | ||
2 | Tori GERLACH | Portland Pulse | 16:11.60 | ||
3 | Kellyn TAYLOR | Philadelphia Force | 16:15.50 | ||
4 | Liz COSTELLO | Portland Pulse | 16:19.20 | ||
5 | Alia GRAY | Philadelphia Force | 16:42.00 | ||
6 | Ashley HIGGINSON | New York Empire | 16:52.60 | ||
7 | Caroline WILLIAMS | San Francisco Surge | 17:19.40 | ||
Lauren PAQUETTE | San Francisco Surge | DNF |
Sprints and Field
Mixed hammer throw: Gwen Berry & Colin Dunbar-Hatton take the victories
The Portland Pulse scored max points in the hammer as the Pulse’s Gwen Berry (74.45m) and Colin Dunbar-Hatton (72.66m) were the top women’s and men’s throwers on the night.
Athlete | Affiliation | Best Mark | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gwen BERRY | Portland Pulse | 74.45m (244-3 ) | ||
2 | Colin DUNBAR-HATTON | Portland Pulse | 72.66m (238-5 ) | ||
3 | Alexander YOUNG | Unattached | 72.60m (238-2 ) | ||
4 | Sean DONNELLY | Philadelphia Force | 72.31m (237-3 ) | ||
5 | Amber CAMPBELL | Philadelphia Force | 72.00m (236-3 ) | ||
6 | DeAnna PRICE | San Francisco Surge | 71.56m (234-9 ) | ||
7 | Kibwe JOHNSON | New York Empire | 71.53m (234-8 ) | ||
8 | Conor MCCULLOUGH | San Francisco Surge | 69.06m (226-7 ) | ||
9 | Amanda BINGSON | New York Empire | 63.63m (208-9 ) |
Women’s long jump: Quanesha Burks records her longest jump in two years to win
Burks was only 11th at NCAAs for Alabama, but she has been much better since, taking 4th at USAs to earn a spot on the Worlds team and winning both of the TT Summer Series meets. In the first one, at Stanford, she took down 2012 Olympic champ Brittney Reese and tonight she logged her longest jump since 2015, going 6.83 meters in the third round.
Athlete | Affiliation | Best Mark | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Quanesha BURKS | San Francisco Surge | 6.83m (22-5 ) | +0.5 | ||||
2 | Sydney CONLEY | Portland Pulse | 6.38m (20-11¼ ) | +1.6 | ||||
3 | Malaina PAYTON | New York Empire | 6.28m (20-7¼ ) | +0.3 | ||||
4 | Kylie PRICE | Philadelphia Force | 5.78m (18-11¾ ) | +1.9 |
Men’s triple jump: Omar Craddock’s first attempt holds up for the win
Craddock, the 2012 and 2013 NCAA champ, went 16.48 meters in round one and that would be enough to the win. It’s a good thing, too, as he recorded just one more legal jump on the night (15.88 meters in round five). Donald Scott came close in the final round (16.38m) but wound up 10 centimeters short.
Athlete | Affiliation | Best Mark | Flight (Pl) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Omar CRADDOCK | San Francisco Surge | 16.48m (54-1 ) | +0.6 | 1 (1) | |||||
2 | Donald SCOTT | Portland Pulse | 16.38m (53-9 ) | +1.1 | 1 (2) | |||||
3 | Josh HONEYCUTT | Philadelphia Force | 16.23m (53-3 ) | +0.2 | 1 (4) | |||||
4 | Tony CARODINE JR | New York Empire | 15.95m (52-4 ) | +0.8 | 1 (3) |
Men’s high jump: Erik Kynard cruises to the win
Kynard was only third at USAs, but he gained revenge on the US champ Bryan McBride as Kynard cleared two more bars than anyone else tonight, winning with a jump of 2.30m (7’6.5”).
Athlete | Affiliation | Best Jump | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Erik KYNARD | San Francisco Surge | 2.30m (7-6½ ) | ||
2 | Bryan MCBRIDE | Portland Pulse | 2.20m (7-2½ ) | ||
3 | Deante KEMPER | Philadelphia Force | 2.20m (7-2½ ) | ||
4 | Kris KORNEGAY-GOBER | New York Empire | 2.15m (7-½ ) |
Women’s high jump: Inika McPherson wins without a miss
McPherson, who will compete next month in London, cleared 1.80, 1.85 and 1.90 without a miss and at that point she was the only woman left in the competition. She then moved the bar up to 1.96, which would have tied her PR, but she missed all three attempts at that height.
Athlete | Affiliation | Best Jump | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Inika MCPHERSON | San Francisco Surge | 1.90m (6-2¾ ) | |||
2 | Liz PATTERSON | Portland Pulse | 1.85m (6-¾ ) | |||
2 | Amina SMITH | New York Empire | 1.85m (6-¾ ) | |||
4 | Brigetta BARRETT | Philadelphia Force | 1.80m (5-10¾ ) |
Mixed Shot: Ryan Whiting and Michelle Carter Win Combined Competition
Athlete | Affiliation | Best Mark | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Darrell HILL | San Francisco Surge | 20.87m (68-5¾ ) | ||
2 | Ryan WHITING | Philadelphia Force | 20.73m (68-¼ ) | ||
3 | Kurtis ROBERTS | Portland Pulse | 20.36m (66-9¾ ) | ||
4 | Stephen MOZIA | New York Empire | 20.10m (65-11½ ) | ||
5 | Michelle CARTER | Philadelphia Force | 18.76m (61-6¾ ) | ||
6 | Daniella BUNCH | Portland Pulse | 18.41m (60-4¾ ) | ||
7 | Felisha JOHNSON | New York Empire | 17.94m (58-10¼ ) | ||
8 | Brittany SMITH | San Francisco Surge | 16.98m (55-8½ ) |
Men’s 100: Mike Rodgers rolls to the win in 10.15
Rodgers won in Portland on Sunday and was easily the best tonight as he started best out of the blocks and would hold his advantage all the way to the line. It was a 1-2 finish for the New York Empire as Jeff Demps was second in 10.25.
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Michael RODGERS | New York Empire | 10.15 | +0.0 | |||
2 | Jeff DEMPS | New York Empire | 10.25 | +0.0 | |||
3 | Marqueze WASHINGTON | Portland Pulse | 10.26 | +0.0 | |||
4 | Kyree KING | Portland Pulse | 10.31 | +0.0 | |||
5 | Sean MCLEAN | Philadelphia Force | 10.33 | +0.0 | |||
6 | Remontay MCCLAIN | Philadelphia Force | 10.38 | +0.0 | |||
7 | LeShon COLLINS | San Francisco Surge | 10.39 | +0.0 | |||
8 | Quentin BUTLER | San Francisco Surge | 10.53 | +0.0 |
Women’s 100: 31-year-old Tawanna Meadows springs the upset to win from lane 8
World Indoor 60m champ Barbara Pierre got her usual good start but both Simone Facey (2nd at the Jamaican Trials) and Meadows were closing hard. Meadows, who did not even advance out of the first round at USAs, had the best finish of anyone in lane 8 and won in a season’s best of 11.16.
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tawanna MEADOWS | Philadelphia Force | 11.16 | +1.2 | |||
2 | Barbara PIERRE | San Francisco Surge | 11.20 | +1.2 | |||
3 | Simone FACEY | New York Empire | 11.21 | +1.2 | |||
4 | Joanna ATKINS | Portland Pulse | 11.27 | +1.2 | |||
5 | Destiny CARTER | Philadelphia Force | 11.31 | +1.2 | |||
6 | Charonda WILLIAMS | San Francisco Surge | 11.32 | +1.2 | |||
7 | Jeneba TARMOH | New York Empire | 11.46 | +1.2 | |||
8 | Mikele BARBER | Portland Pulse | 11.64 | +1.2 |
Men’s 110m Hurdles: Devon Allen Wins
Devon Allen and his Philadelphia teammate Jarret Eaton got the win.
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Devon ALLEN | Philadelphia Force | 13.36 | +0.2 | |||
2 | Jarret EATON | Philadelphia Force | 13.37 | +0.2 | |||
3 | Milan RISTIC | San Francisco Surge | 13.45 | +0.2 | |||
4 | Eddie LOVETT | San Francisco Surge | 13.47 | +0.2 | |||
5 | Aaron MALLETT | New York Empire | 13.50 | +0.2 | |||
6 | Cameron HALL | New York Empire | 13.54 | +0.2 | |||
7 | Ryan FONTENOT | Portland Pulse | 13.63 | +0.2 | |||
8 | Nick ANDERSON | Portland Pulse | 13.86 | +0.2 |
Women’s 100 hurdles: Queen Harrison overcomes shaky start to win in 12.75
Most of the U.S.’s top sprint hurdlers were in Lausanne today (Americans swept the top six places in that Diamond League race). Harrison, fourth at last year’s Olympic Trials, took on the athletes who decided to stay stateside and won as expected, though she was fairly slow out of the blocks as she was careful not to false start after the field was shown a green card.
Athlete | Affiliation | Time | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Queen HARRISON | New York Empire | 12.75 | +1.7 | |||
2 | Janay SOUKUP | Philadelphia Force | 12.83 | +1.7 | |||
3 | Bridgette OWENS | San Francisco Surge | 12.87 | +1.7 | |||
4 | Evonne BRITTON | New York Empire | 12.97 | +1.7 | |||
5 | Raven CLAY | Portland Pulse | 13.09 | +1.7 | |||
6 | Jade BARBER | Philadelphia Force | 13.23 | +1.7 | |||
7 | Alexis PERRY | Portland Pulse | 13.28 | +1.7 | |||
8 | Melia COX | San Francisco Surge | 13.61 | +1.7 |
Mixed 4×400 Portland Wins a Thriller
Paul Dedewo of Portland fell/dove across the line to defeat Winston George and the New York Empire, but unless Portland won and New York was last, the Empire were guaranteed to be the 2017 TrackTown finale team champions.
Team | Time | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | PORTLAND PULSE | Portland Pulse | 3:13.88 | ||
2 | NEW YORK EMPIRE | New York Empire | 3:13.94 | ||
3 | PHILADELPHIA FORCE | Philadelphia Force | 3:14.75 | ||
4 | SAN FRANCISCO SURGE | San Francisco Surge | 3:15.54 |
Team Title: New York City Empire Win
Everyone on the New York City Empire got a $1000 bonus for being the winning team.
Team Scores |
---|
NYC 200.5 PDX 196.5 PHL 189 SFO 180 |
And the most popular person at the meet was the Atlanta Braves’ “The Freeze” who raced some fans at 100m and no joke got a Sports Center interview after the meet. Sports Center didn’t cover the meet at all but they talked about the freeze.
Discussion: