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Opening Day at HaywardPublished by
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Opening Day at Hayward Opening Day at Hayward Ten XO athletes braved the wind at Hayward Field’s opening meet, the Oregon Preview. On days as windy as these, when the wind measured as high as 6.8 meters per second (well over the allowable 2.5 m/s) the wind instruments are often turned off and all results are presumed tainted by the wind factor. Such was the case in XO jumping star Simi Adeagbo and her lifetime best triple jump of 13.57 meters, a meet record and what would be a USA Nationals qualifying mark save for the “NWI” next to her mark indicating “no wind instrument”. “It was a personal best for me and it was a good series. Unfortunately with meets as big as Nationals, [meet officials] will need to have a wind measurement to verify the [validity of the] mark.” Simi will have to wait for a calmer day to land her mark to send her to Nationals. Just off the track in the throwing arena, Cari Soong was representing the other half of the women’s XO team in the hammer throw. In what turned out to be a thrilling contest for spectators, Soong threw a monster into the wind (60.62m) that landed well short of her personal record, but still good enough to earn a meet record. Soong was met with strong opposition in unattached University of Oregon junior, Britney Henry, who launched one better at 61.33, good for a USA “B” qualifying mark. The two women were well clear of the field and Soong notched a solid second place finish. The men’s hammer featured two XO athletes, Adam Kriz and Justin Carvalho. Finishing first and third respectively, the two rounded out a solid XO throwing corps. “The wind didn’t really affect the hammer today,” said meet winner Adam Kriz (62.22m). “It was good to get the win, but it’s early in the season and both Justin and I look forward to better marks down the road.” Kyley Johnson showed his mastery of the high jump in his second win in as many contests this outdoor season. “I felt like I had some room going over 7-0.25,” Johnson relayed of his day, “but the wind was knocking the bar off sometimes and making things difficult at the higher heights.” Happy with both the mark and the win, Johnson looks forward to a promising outdoor season. Colin McArthur opened up his season in a big way landing a colossal 23-10.25 in the men’s long jump. “The wind certainly helped and it would have been nice to go over 24’,” McArthur said, “but it was my best ever at this meet, I’m happy with that.” McArthur won the wind-aided contest by over four inches. On the track, Eric Dahl finished in a blur after a late start left him with work to do in the men’s 100 meters. With the wind favoring the back stretch of the track, the sprints were moved there but had to be hand-timed as no electronic system was set up to record that side of the track. With the closing speed he showed today, we look forward to what Dahl can accomplish in calmer conditions and a better start later this season. Moving up to the 800 meter distance a race where time was only evidence of the day’s wind (five or six seconds slow) Ullman and Krempley were both unfortunate victims. “We basically ran the exact same race,” said Ullman of the two who were in separate heats today. “We both ran smart, hit the wind, and got tossed around like flags while the smaller more compact and strong runners [like winner Symmonds of Willamette and runner-up Withers unattached from Oregon] were able to power through it.” Both Ullman and Krempley look forward to next weekend’s Stanford Invite where fast 800s are abundant. XO miler, Brayce Forsha, ran a conservative and smart 1500 meter race early in the afternoon before the wind reached it’s worst. Finishing second in 3:51.94, less than three tenths behind University of Portland’s winner, Brendan Robinson (3:51.68) Forsha looked strong and collected throughout. “I just tried to stay on the leader and draft as much as I could,” said Forsha afterwards, “cuz the wind was starting to pick up and play a factor.” Forsha will join Krempley, Johnson and Ullman at Stanford next weekend. Moving up one more time in distance to the men’s 3000 meter race where Rick Fuller and Ben Mangrum fought the day’s elements for seven and a half laps, Fuller claimed the runner-up position with a respectable 8:41, while Mangrum showcased his kick in the last hundred, picking off three runners to earn tenth place in the 22-man field in a time of 8:54. “I let Steve [Laurie of Team Eugene, winner] do all the work cuz I knew I wasn’t gonna catch ‘im anyway!” remarked a smiling Fuller after drafting off and finishing second behind Laurie. “I tried to go early but it was brutal out there today.” XO athletes will look for kinder conditions
in the upcoming weeks. Some of the team will travel to Palo Alto
for the Stanford Invite, a meet where middle and long distance
runners flock to take advantage of warm weather and fast races.
The focus will then return to Hayward Field and it’s series
of high-caliber meets. The outdoor season is underway in Eugene!
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