I've become a huge Crystal Palace soccer fan and each week on their forums they have a thread on that week's upcoming game: Crystal Palace vs ____ Suggested Team and Formation
I propose we start doing the same for each big meet on LetsRun.com. Sure we often have individual threads on races, and our previews (which usually come out later in the week) but if we have a thread a week out, people will know what's going on in advance and there will be some anticipation.
This week the USATF Championship Series kicks off with the Armory Track Invitational in NYC. The meet will be on TV on NBCSN from 4:30-6:30 pm.
Pro entries are below.
Among the most intriguing races:
1) DMR World Record Attempt by a Nike team of Mike Berry (400), Erik Sowinski (800), Matt Centrowitz (1200),and Pat Casey on the anchor (1600). The indoor WR* (this isn't an IAAF official event) was was set by Jason Vigilante's UT team in in 2008 and is 9:25.97 (Kyle Miller 2:54.11, Danzell Fortson 46.90, Jacob Hernandez 1:47.00, Leonel Manzano 3:57.96). A bunch of pros should in theory beat this. For reference the outdoor WR is 9:15.56 so they have 10 seconds to work with.
There is a Kenyan team in the field of Nkanata, Lalang, Mutai, Kipketer. Considering Lalang, Mutai, and Kipketer are fairly common names, I'll confirm their identities before speculating how they'll do.
2) The women's 800m has 3 of America's brightest young stars: World ranked #2 Ajee Wilson vs now full time pro Mary Cain vs NCAA champ Laura Roesler. None of them has run a solo 800 this year (Cain ran a 2:07 as part of a 600/800 double). Mary Cain is still a junior and there was talk in another thread of her breaking the WJR of 2:01:01 by Meskerem Legesse. That's a huge ask but Cain has run sub 2:00 outdoors. Regardless this is the best "race" in my book in the meet.
3) Galen Rupp and his training partner Cam Levins are doing the mile/two mile double. Considering how well Rupp ran last year indoors, he likely will win both but there is only 30 minutes between the two. What got little fanfare is that this originally was possibly going to be a 2 mile WR attempt by Rupp but that is off. There was mention of it in a original press release and rabbits were being lined up for it, but now Rupp is doing the mile/2mile double so the 2 mile WR attempt is off. Last year in Boston Rupp ran 8:07:41 for 2 miles beating the AR after being on WR pace early.
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/01/galen-rupp-breaks-american-two-mile-record-runs-807-41-boston/
4) Women's 2 mile features Jordan Hasay vs Abbey D'Agostino vs Marielle Hall vs Treniere Moser
Hasay made big strides in her first year as a pro it will be interesting to see how D'Agostino and Hall do in the first year as pros.
Anyone know what the American 2 mile record is? TFN doesn't list one.
Full entries from meet website below.
So let's hear your thoughts on the meet. What splits do you see for the DMR and who takes down the women's 2 mile?
http://www.armorytrack.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45586&do=news&news_id=310150
Gender Event Name(s) Nation Affiliation
Men's Distance Medley Berry, Sowinski, Centrowitz, Casey USA USA
Men's Distance Medley Nkanata, Lalang, Mutai, Kipketer Kenya Kenya
Men's Distance Medley O'Lionaird, English, Gregan, Travers Ireland Ireland
Men's Distance Medley Merber, Rutt, Loumax, Murray NJ-NY Track Club
Men's Distance Medley Duke University
Men's Distance Medley University of Wisconsin
Men's Distance Medley Columbia University
Men's Distance Medley University of Mississippi
Men's Distance Medley Villanova University
Men's Distance Medley Princeton University
Men's One Mile Run Galen Rupp USA Nike OP
Men's One Mile Run Cam Levins CAN Nike OP
Men's One Mile Run John Coghlan IRE NYAC
Men's One Mile Run Jesse Garn USA Binghampton
Men's One Mile Run Liam Boylan-Pett USA NJ-NYTC
Men's One Mile Run Christian Gonzalez USA NJ-NYTC
Men's One Mile Run Chris O'Hare GBR adidas
Men's One Mile Run Chartt Miller AUS Iona
Men's One Mile Run Thomas Awad USA University of Pennsylvania
Men's Two Mile Run Galen Rupp USA Nike OP
Men's Two Mile Run Cam Levins CAN Nike OP
Men's Two Mile Run Andrew Springer USA NJNYTC
Men's Two Mile Run Mitch Goose GBR Manhattan Project
Men's Two Mile Run Suguru Osako JAP Nike OP
Men's Two Mile Run Ben Blankenship USA Nike OTC
Men's Two Mile Run Lee Emanuel GBR HOKA
Men's Two Mile Run Trevor Dunbar USA Nike
Men's Two Mile Run Taylor Gilland USA Boston Sharks
Men's Two Mile Run Reed Connor USA Unattached
Men's Two Mile Run Chris Kwiatowski USA NB Pacers
Women's 800m Ajee' Wilson USA adidas
Women's 800m Mary Cain USA Nike OP
Women's 800m Laura Roesler USA Nike
Women's 800m Stephanie Charnigo USA NJ-NYTC
Women's 800m Natoya Goule JAM Clemson
Women's 800m Katie Kirk IRE New Balance
Women's 800m Charlene Lipsey USA adidas
Women's 800m Kimarra McDonald JAM Unattached
Women's 800m Megan Malasarte USA Brooks
Women's Two Mile Run Marielle Hall USA Nike
Women's Two Mile Run Jordan Hasay USA Nike OP
Women's Two Mile Run Treniere Moser USA Nike OP
Women's Two Mile Run Abbey D'Agostino USA New Balance
Women's Two Mile Run Ashley Higginson USA Saucony
Women's Two Mile Run Buze Diriba ETH adidas
Women's Two Mile Run Nicole Tully USA HOKA / NYAC
Women's Two Mile Run Kerri Gallagher USA Oiselle / NYAC
Women's Two Mile Run Frances Koons USA Georgetown Running Club
Women's Two Mile Run Dana Macke USA unattached
Women's Two Mile Run Liz Costello USA New Balance Boston
Men's 300m Lalonde Gordon Trinidad Nike
Men's 300m Manteo Mitchell USA Nike
Men's 300m Brycen Spratling USA Unattached
Men's 300m Joel Redhead GRN Grenada
Men's 300m Jermaine Brown JAM Mizuno
Men's Triple Jump Will Claye USA Nike
Men's Triple Jump Omar Craddock USA Jump Corps
Men's Triple Jump Mamadoue Gueye Senegal CPTC NB
Men's Triple Jump Chris Benard USA World Express
Men's Triple Jump Troy Doris USA Unattached
Mens Triple Jump Fabian Florant Asics
Women's High Jump Chaunte Lowe USA Nike
Women's High Jump Erika Hurd USA Univ of Cincinatti
Women's High Jump Maya Pressley USA Unattached
Women's High Jump Priscilla Frederick ANT NYAC
Women's High Jump Jeanelle Scheper USA Unattached
Men's Pole Vault Sam Kendricks USA Nike
Men's Pole Vault Jack Whitt USA Nike
Men's Pole Vault Mike Arnold USA Raise the Bar
Men's Pole Vault Shawn Barber CAN Akron University
Men's Pole Vault Shawn Francis USA Twin Cities Track Club
Mens Pole Vault Victor Weirich USA