NBNI Friday: Championship previews, links, results and more!
2015 New Balance Nationals Indoor
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FRIDAY PREVIEW
Championship Events on Day 1
Boys 5,000m | Girls 5,000m | Girls’ High Jump
Boys Distance Medley Relay | Girls Distance Medley Relay
Boys 5000m run: Armstrong going for it; Brannigan challenges
The boys’ 5,000 here has seen some epic performances from the likes of Lukas Verzbicas, Kirubel Erassa and Conner Mantz, who have all run under 14:30. When Elijah Armstrong took it as a soph two years ago, it wasn’t one of the faster years for the event as his 14:54.27 prevailed. The two years since have seen the Pocatello, Idaho standout go from being a young distance prodigy, who endured some tough defeats to other (often older) runners, to becoming almost unbeatable himself – most recently with his great 3,200 win at Simplot. The way he’s been running the past 9-11 months, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Armstrong not only get well into the 14:20s, but maybe sub-14:20 – even if Verzbicas’ 14:06.78 meet record is probably out of reach.
Will Armstrong be pushed? Certainly Mike Brannigan (Northport, NY senior) has the talent to do so, even if he doesn’t have the track 5k experience yet. Brannigan, of course, has been an NBN distance champ, too – taking the 2M last spring – and while he’s been beaten a few times this winter, has run some very good times at several distances. On a good day, he’ll give Armstrong a great battle.
Stats and facts
HSR: 13:57.04, Ed Cheserek, NJ, 2012
MR: 14:06.78, Lukas Verzbicas, IL, 2011
5000m run recent champs
2014: Conner Mantz, UT, 14:24.33
2013: Elijah Armstrong, ID, 14:54.27
2012: Daniel Lennon, NY 14:37.25
5000m run 2014 top 3-plus (non-returnees italicized)
1. Conner Mantz, UT, 14:24.33
2. Aaron Templeton, TN, 14:37.84
3. Elijah Armstrong, ID, 14:48.72
Top entries by current U.S. 5000m run rank
1. Chase Ballard, IN, 15:10.14
Top U.S. 2M performers entered in 5k (by 2M rank)
3. Elijah Armstrong, ID, 9:05.04*
5. Eric Van Der Els, CT, 9:08.67
9. Mike Brannigan, NY, 9:09.50*
*--3,200m +4.0
Girls 5000m run: Frazier battles top stars as triple bid starts
Can Ryen Frazier (Ravenscroft, NC senior) win the three longest races at NBNI – like Lukas Verzbicas famously did on the boys’ side in 2011? Or like Ryen’s sister Wesley did at NBNO two years later? Wesley Frazier has been one of the most successful and dramatic distance runners in NBN history, but Ryen’s potential started to become fulfilled last spring when she won the NBNO mile, then as she got better and better last fall, culminating in a Foot Locker runner-up performance. This winter, it’s been all about the mile for her, with her nation-leading 4:41.56 and a slew of other sub-4:50s.
Of course, to even win just the 5,000, Frazier will have to beat a stupendous group of distance runners. The girl who beat her at Foot Locker – and won impressively the girls’ 5k at NBNO last June – is in the house and the main reason Anna Rohrer (Mishawaka, IN senior) isn’t given favorite’s status here is because she’s raced just once (a 10:32 3,200) this winter, and whether or not she’s ready for a top-level performance is a bit uncertain. There’s also 2014 NBNI 5k runner-up Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar, IA junior), who also repped Team USA in the World Jr 3k, but also didn’t finish as well as she’d like in XC and hasn’t raced at all indoors; and Hannah Debalsi (Staples, CT junior), 2014 NBNO 2M champ and 2-time Foot Locker top-5 finisher, but about 14 seconds off her 2M best so far this winter. And if that wasn’t enough, watch out for Sarah Kettel (Capitol Homeschool, MI junior) who HAS raced a 5k this winter (17:12.15, oversize) and is a fast-rising star. All four are capable of winning and ... will we see another national record? The past four NBNI 5,000s have produced HSRs: Waverly Neer in 2011, Erin Finn in 2012, Wesley Frazier in 2013 and Tessa Barrett last year. NOTE: It's been reported that Hannah Debalsi is suffering from bronchitis and will miss this event.
Stats and facts
HSR: Tessa Barrett, PA, 16:11.85, 2014
MR: Tessa Barrett, PA, 16:11.85, 2014
5000m run recent champs
2014: Tessa Barrett, PA, 16:11.85
2013: Wesley Frazier, NC, 16:18.01
2012: Erin Finn, MI, 16:19.69
5000m run 2014 top 3-plus (non-returnees italicized)
1. Tessa Barrett, PA, 16:11.85
2. Stephanie Jenks, IA, 16:37.50
3. Claire Howlett, CT, 16:58.35
Top entries by current U.S. 5000m run rank
2. Sarah Kettel, MI, 17:12.15
Top U.S. 2M performers entered in 5k (by 2M rank)
1. Hannah Debalsi, CT, 10:26.09
3. Anna Rohrer, IN, 10:36.17*
6. Sarah Kettel, MI, 10:37.32*
*--3,200m +4.0
Girls High Jump – Finally another 6-footer?
The girls’ high jump here is typically won with leaps of 5-10 or 5-11, with Sheena Gordon’s meet record 6-0 from 2002 standing as the first, last and only 6-footer in meet history. That could be matched or beaten by one Nicole Greene (Ponte Verde, FL senior). She leapt 6-0 several weeks ago indoors and has more than half a dozen clearances at 5-10 or better dating back to 2012. The 6-0 was a breakthrough for her and she seems ready to become a relatively consistent 6-footer.
Three others have done 5-10 or better during their careers: Britten Duerden, LaTyria Jefferson and Cyre Virgo. Duerden (Morgan, UT senior) and Jefferson (DeSoto, TX senior) both hit that mark last spring, then went 1-2 at last June’s Great Southwest. Duerden, the Simplot Games champ at 5-9, is jumping in her first NBN meet while Jefferson was 10th here last year. Virgo (Fleetwood, PA senior), meanwhile, is looking to get back to her 2013 form, when she won this thing as a soph at 5-11.25 and hit the same level outdoors. She was runner-up here in 2014 and, while she’s cleared but 5-8 this winter, is very dangerous.
More than a dozen others are in the 5-8 to 5-9 range and could break through to 5-10 or better on the right day. With the entire top 6 returning from last year’s HJ, there’s plenty of experience.
Stats and facts
HSR: 6-3, Lisa Bernhagen, ID, 1984
MR: 6-0, Sheena Gordon, PA, 2002
Girls high jump recent champs
2014: Ellen DiPietro, MA, 5-10.5
2013: Cyre Virgo, PA, 5-11.25
2012: Kendell Willliams, GA, 5-11.25
Girls high jump 2014 top 3-plus (non-returnees italicized)
1. Ellen DiPietro, MA, 5-10.5
2. Cyre Virgo, PA, 5-8.5
3. Megan McCloskey, PA, 5-8.5
4. Crystal Jones, VA, 5-6.5
5. Nicole Grier-Spratley, VA, 5-6.5
6. Shayla Broughton, NY, 5-6.5
…
T10. LaTyria Jefferson, TX, 5-4.5
Top entries by current U.S. high jump rank
1. Nicole Greene, FL, 6-0
T3. Diane Bucci, MA, 5-9
T3. Britten Duerden, UT, 5-9
7 tied at 5-8
Boys’ Distance Medley Relay: Top NBNO finishers return to battle
To get a true indication of the favorites for the DMR here, it’s more helpful to look at last spring’s NBNO results than this winter’s top list. In that epic finish in Greensboro last spring, Spirit of Pre/Saline, MI and anchor Logan Wetzel just outlasted Darien TC/HS CT and anchor Alex Ostberg, 10:03.02 to 10:03.49. Those two anchors return here with their squads and while Darien hasn’t run the event this winter and Saline just once (with Wetzel under the weather), they look like the two favorites. Darien brought everyone back, with Ostberg having 4:06 speed (and current US#1 and favorite in the 2M) and Armstrong Noonan having recently PR’d at 9:09 for 2M. Wetzel has run 4:08 for a mile when healthy and while Saline lost two of their NBNO quartet, they’ve reloaded well.
Several other squads have run times from 10:18 to 10:30 this winter, and some have the potential to go closer to 10:10. Fordham Prep, NY has hit 10:18.87; Mansfield, MA 10:19.82 and Christian Brothers Academy, NJ 10:20.4 – all have anchors capable of the low 4:10s. Defending champ Cardinal O’Hara, PA will also be in the mix again with anchor Kevin James.
Stats and facts
HSR: Gloucester, MA, 9:59.94, 2000
MR: Cardinal O’Hara, PA, 10:00.75, 2014
Boys’ DMR recent champs
2014: Cardinal O’Hara, PA, 10:00.75
2013: Staples, CT, 10:07.01
2012: St. Benedict’s NY, 10:10.09
Boys’ DMR 2014 top 6
1. Cardinal O’Hara, PA, 10:00.75
2. Flyers TC/Chaminade, NY, 10:04.37
3. Warrior TC/West Chester Henderson, PA, 10:04.45
4. Northport, NY, 10:04.98
5. Kinetic RC/Saratoga Springs, NY, 10:07.11
6. Don Bosco Prep, NJ, 10:10.95
Top entries by current DMR rank
2. Fordham Prep, NY, 10:18.24
4. Mansfield, MA, 10:19.52
5. CBA, NJ, 10:20.4h
6. Cardinal O’Hara, NJ, 10:21.88
7. Syosset, NY, 10:23.27
9. Haddon Twp, NJ, 10:24.23
Girls’ Distance Medley Relay: Suffern looks for season’s first sub-12
In a season where no squad has really broken out to the true elite yet – a sub-12:00 clocking – the girls of Suffern, NY seem to be primed to hammer that barrier into submission. They edged another prime contender here, Haddonfield Memorial, NJ, back in mid-January, 12:01.1 to 12:03.4, and those are US#1 and #3 and the teams to beat here. Since that meet, however, long sprinter/mid-distance standout Kamryn McIntosh has exploded to prep history’s two fastest times over 600m. Expect her to take the 800 leg, with Suffern being well-staffed at each other leg – sprinter Imani Solan in the 400, and distance runners Mary Hennelly and Rachel Ludwikowski taking the opener and anchor. It’s a very young squad with no one older than 10th-grade.
Haddonfield Memorial, though, could be a time bomb if anchor Briana Gess continues to get healthy. In the past, she would emerge from basketball season (her other sport) with great times here at NBNI; this time, she didn’t play hoops but was recovering from an XC injury. If she can get back to the low 4:40s, it could be lights out. Impulse TC/Padua DE, Ursuline School NY, Friends Central NY, and Bronxville NY are probably the other teams most capable of sub-12:10 and perhaps sub-12.
Stats and facts
HSR: Mountain View, UT, 11:35.43, 2004
MR: Saratoga Springs, NY, 11:38.60, 2010
Girls’ DMR recent champs
2014: West Springfield, VA, 11:43.39
2013: Benjamin Cardozo, NY, 11:39.10
2012: Grosse Pointe South, MI, 11:39.29
Girls’ DMR 2014 top 6
1. West Springfield, VA, 11:43.39
2. Haddonfield Memorial, NJ, 11:43.94
3. Staples, CT, 11:45.79
4. Benjamin Cardozo, NY, 11:52.07
5. Freehold, NJ, 11:56.13
6. Unionville, PA, 11:59.67
Top entries by current DMR rank
1. Suffern, NY, 12:01.1h
3. Haddonfield Mem, NJ, 12:03.4
6. Ursuline, NY, 12:08.55
8. Shenendehowa, NY, 12:10.16
9. Friends Central, PA, 12:10.45
