This month we track down Nicole Leach.  While at West Catholic HS in Philadelphia, Leach and her team (including stand-out, Latavia Thomas) set the National Record in the 1600m Sprint Medley Relay (3:52.22) in 2004 and won our 2005 Outdoor Nationals 4x400 relay. In her 400m hurdle race she placed second behind Krystal Cantey of Sicklerville, NJ and both of them broke the meet record - 56.83 and 57.26.

Nicole Leach created an impressive track record both in high school and college.  We remember her best for her stellar performances as a member of the West Catholic High School team and for her performances on the 2004 and 2008 World Junior and 2005 Pan Am Junior teams.  She was a 4-time All-American, 2-time USA Junior 400m hurdles Champion, 7-time Catholic League Champion, 10-time indoor state champion, indoor Junior class record holder in the 400 meters, indoor state 400m record holder and earned the No. 3 all-time spot on the high school list for her 52.19 indoor 400 meters in 2005.

She also set records in the 100m (12.05), 200m (24.37), 400m (54.13) and 400mH (59.85) and set the Penn Relays record in the 400mH, earned two Penn Relays MVPs and ran on the national record setting sprint medley relay.  Her PRs in high school included 52.19 (indoor 400m), 57.25 (400mH) and 23.93 (200m).  She was also selected as a Track & Field News All-American in 2005.

In 2006, while a student-athlete at UCLA,  she earned gold on the World Junior 4x400 relay team in Beijing.  In 2007 she was the NCAA 400m hurdle champion and represented the US at the World Championships and earned two bronze medals at the Pan Am Games.  She was an Olympic Trials qualifier in 2008 and NCAA champion again in 2009.

NSSF: Who inspired you to run track?
I wasn't inspired to run track initially. I became involved in track as a result of my older cousin playing football. I would race all my cousin's football teammates after his little league practices and one day a club track coach spotted me and spoke to my dad about me joining the team. However, once I became involved in track and field my inspiration to continue and to compete at a professional level came from Michael Johnson. Watching him consistently break records and win medals was definitely something I want bad.

NSSF: What was it like being a student athlete and running at your High School?
Looking back, it was pretty easy. In high school everything was fun, even though I complained every moment I could. Almost all of my races were off of adrenaline. I thought I knew a lot about track but I really did not. The only thing I really knew was that when the gun goes off I need to run, and be at the finish line first. HAHA! West Catholic High School at the time had a good reputation in track and field as well as academics so me and my goals fit right. Also, I loved my teammates. We would have so much fun traveling the country and competing with the best high schools. Honestly, it was the fun I would have with them that made being a student athlete easier. We would stay up late and play uno or rent movies in the hotel and then wake up the next morning with that "fighter" mind-set ready to compete. Having teammates that shared the same goals and mind-set as myself makes the journey a lot easier.

NSSF: What was it like being a student athlete and running at UCLA?
It was at UCLA when I really decided that I was going to be a professional athlete. It was clear at UCLA that I had a job to do each season and that everyone (coaches, teammates, friends, etc.) expected me to get the job done. It was never intimidating either. I got the vibe that people who went to UCLA meant success so I decided to join in on the success. After my first 400h opener, which was a PR, I learned that I was capable of living up to the UCLA standards so from there on I carried myself and competed in that way.

NSSF: What is your favorite memory from high school?
My all time favorite high school memory was when I won, the indoor 400m NSIC race with a time of 52.19. I not only shocked the world that day but I shocked myself. I was under a lot of pressure to win that race and the fact that I not only won but broke a class record was exciting. I never doubted my capabilities but I never considered my self to be "that good."

NSSF: What is your favorite memory from college?
My favorite college memory was of course winning my first NCAA title. That is the biggest accomplishment you can achieve as a college athlete so I was glad that I was able to do so.

NSSF: What was your most exciting event or race?
My most exciting race was at the UCLA-USC dual meet my junior year. I ran the open 400m, which I took second but PR'd with 51.6, and about 50 mins later I was back on the line to run the 400h. I was dead tired and my legs were heavy. However, I got the job done. I won with a 55.3 and broke my own dual meet record. The excitement I got from the crowd at that moment was unreal. I had never been so tired and happy at the same time. 

NSSF: What have you been doing since you left UCLA and how long have you been doing it?
I'm currently still training and getting ready for the 2012 Olympics. Things are going well. I've had my downs at being professional athlete however, it is fixable and I have the right group of people to help me change that around.

NSSF: What advice would you give to other student athletes? Simple, whatever you want to do just do it! Don't limit yourself or let anyone else limit you. Find a supportive and stable group of people to be in you corner, and work hard!

NSSF: Final thoughts?
I wouldn't change a thing about the decisions I have made in life!

  NEPTUNE, N.J. - This Monmouth County, New Jersey, township of some 27,000-plus, was named for the trident-bearing God of the Sea.

  But it’s been Neptune’s dry-land citizen-athletes who have been putting their community on the sporting map for years and years and years. Especially those of the footracing variety.

   Neptune High School has been the home base of a long line of outstanding track and field teams and these Fliers, both male and female, are no strangers to the record books of all varieties.

   One more entry on the record list appears imminent.

   The United States girls national scholastic 800-meter record of 2:00:07, set by Kimberly “Kim” Gallagher of Upper Dublin High in Fort Washington, Pa. all the way back in 1982, is clearly on the brink of erasure.

   Friendly rivals based on opposite coasts will lead the assault on 2:00.07 this spring and summer.

   Out West, there’s Amy Weissenbach of Harvard-Westlake High of North Hollywood,  who ran 2:02.04 last year and was named Gatorade National High School athlete of the year.

   Back East, there’s Neptune’s own Ajee’ (pronounce it Ah-Zhay) Wilson, who clocked a 2:02.64 in winning the gold medal at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille, France, last July, and beating Weissenbach in the process.

  With Wilson victorious over the Stanford-bound Weissenbach in their biggest confrontation thus far, she became the winter-book choice to be the first to “break 2  and relegate Gallagher’s name to a secondary role in the archives.  Through the indoor season of 2012, and now into the early stages of this spring outdoor campaign, Wilson has continued to bolster her credentials.

  Not only is she expected by many to run the first sub-2, but she’s the strongest of candidates for  the IAAF World Junior Championships, set for July 10-15 in Barcelona.

  Oh yes, there’s that other event scheduled for London some two weeks after the World Juniors conclude.  Yes, Ajee’ Wilson, already a nine-time New Jersey state champion and the USATF 2011 Youth Athlete of the Year, is an USA Olympic Team candidate, too, and we’ll see her in the Trials..

  She’s been a competing track athlete since age 9.  She’s long been “traveling the circuit.”  And one of the biggest things she’s learned is not to look too far beyond her next scheduled race.  Yes, Ajee’ Wilson surely knows that she’s in an anything-can-happen, and often-will kind of sport. It’s always been a step-by-step process.

 “When I was real young, my mom (Mrs. Tonya Wilson, herself a former track standout at Asbury Park High School and Trenton State College) put us in a bunch of different sports, just to keep us active,” she tells you in a trackside interview at Neptune’s track stadium.

  “My dad, Zach Wilson, was an athlete, too. He ran track, played football and baseball, did a lot of different things.

   “As a kid, I tried soccer, softball, basketball, but soccer was really my favorite. We never really thought about track. But then my (younger) sister, Brietta, just decided to do track and I guess that started us all off.

  “ ‘You can do it, you can do it,’ Brietta kept telling us. I eventually said ‘OK.’ I guess Brietta was right.”

   Right on the button.       

  “Initially, I really didn’t like running that much,” admitted Wilson. “But now I’ve come to love it, and a big reason is all the great people I’ve met and the places I’ve been able to travel to.
 
 “I guess that’s a main thing now.”

   As she went through her strides at the Neptune track, she wore an “Australia” cap,
a souvenir exchanged with a new friend from Down Under, acquired in Lille. And a token of what she now likes most about her sport.

 
 “I haven’t been to Australia yet, though. Maybe someday.”

  From her earliest days on, Wilson rose through the ranks quickly, running up the ladder of local and state meets, regional events and the National Junior Olympics.

 One of the first times she was ever clocked for two laps, as a pre-teen, she stopped the watches at 2:27, and her potential became clear.

    By the time she entered her freshman year of high school (she actually attends the Academy of Allied Health and Science, while competing for Neptune High, located just across the street), she was a known candidate for much higher honors.

   Neptune High is a member of the Shore Conference (schools in Monmouth and Ocean counties) and has long been recognized as a gold mine of talent.  Shore Conference schools have produced an array of Olympians, internationalists and record-breakers, such stars as Frank Budd, Barbara Friedrich, Bill Reilly, Quentin Wheeler, Milton Goode, Andrew Valmon, Pam Dukes and many more.

  Neptune’s own most famous alumna was hurdles and sprint great/ NCAA champion/ Pan Am Games and World Championships team member Pam Bowles.  It was Bowles’ return to coach the Neptune High girls team a few years ago that signaled the school’s track resurgence and now it’s Bowles coaching Wilson, along with club coach Derek Thompson.

   The Shore Conference’s alumnae lineup of girls middle distance racing talent in recent years is lengthy: Cate and Maggie Guiney, Amanda and Katy Trotter, Mary Banks, Lindsay Gallo, Ashley Higginson, Danielle Tauro, Amanda Marino, Allison Linnell, Jillian Smith, Molly McNamara, and more.

  Now it’s Wilson who transcends them all.

 After winning the 2010 USATF Junior National 800 title in 2:05.74 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, outfooting several noted collegians in the process, she headed for the IAAF World Juniors in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. 

  “I was really nervous going into that one,” she remembered. But she showed rare cool in claiming a solid fifth place in 2:04.18, spotting up to three years of age and experience to some rivals.

 A victory in the USA World Youth Trials in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, became her ticket to the 2011 World Youth Championships in France.

 When she ran that 2:02.64 in Lille, it finally bested the New Jersey state record of 2:03.54   set by eventual four-time Olympian  Joetta Clark, then of Maplewood’s Columbia High School, in 1979..

  Her Lille review: “I got out pretty well, and was with the lead pack much of the way. With about 300 left, I started moving up. Then with 200 left, I just moved past everybody.

  “I was just happy the way that raced turned out.”

  And who wouldn't ?

 Amazingly, she did it despite turning an ankle - kidding around playing soccer with sister Brietta - just a month before.

 With 2:02.64 in the books, she continued widening her horizons as a Neptune senior this winter, running few high school-only events to focus on open-level racing against some of the nation’s and the world's top senior-level performers.

  At the U.S. Open Meet at Madison Square Garden, she ran a 2:09.09 for second place in the elite 800 back of Ethiopian ace Fantu Magiso, who ran 2:07.54.  Next, she clocked a 2:04.13 running fourth at the Millrose Games at the Armory.

  In a quick trip to Jamaica, she displayed her eye-opening speed, zipping a 52-second,400, running third leg in the 4x400 relay at the Gibson Relays, rallying her American team to a 3:37.23 triumph over Jamaica’s best youngsters.

   Returning to NYC to complete her indoor season, she blazed to a 2:06.58 win over Bronxville, N.Y. star Mary Cain to take the gold in the New Balance Indoor Nationals.at the Armory.    The hot pace continued through the early phases of the 2012 Northeast outdoor campaign.

   Racing against fields of elders, she won her section of the women’s 1,500 meters at Widener University’s Danny Curran Meet,  took her 1,500 section in 4:28.59 at Princeton’s Sam Howell meet, then showed typical cool in coming from behind to cruise to a 2:05. 28, meet-record 800 win at Princeton’s Larry Ellis Memorial Meet. In each of the three, she outran fields of top collegiate talent.

  Speed as well as strength play vital roles in her training.

  She’s capable of running 200s in the 23s, 400s in the 50s or 51s. 

   For the past year, she’s had multiple coaches.  It’s the best of all worlds.

  At Neptune High, she drills under Dawn Bowles, as well as Darren Boone, Bowles’ husband and assistant coach.

  “What she’s capable of is beyond anyone’s thoughts,” said Bowles. “I don’t put anything past her,. She’s mentally there, she’s physically there, she’s not afraid of any competition. The sky’s the limit.

  “Two minutes?  Yes, it’s truly, truly do-able. 

  “Every year, she’s improved at least three seconds (over 800.) She’s already run 2:04 in 2012 and that was indoors.  So 2:01, 2-flat, I definitely see it coming this year.”

   Adds Boone: “Knowing Ajee’ since the sixth grade, she’s just as world class in the classroom and in the community as she is on the track.

   “Ajee’ can take this sport as far as she wants. She can see the world.  She can reach the heights, As to her potential, no one knows her limits.  We know she will run great miles, but her greater strength is in the 800.  She is built for that distance.

  “Her work ethic overshadows her true talent.  No matter how well she does, it never is good enough.  We’re just seeing the beginning of a great history for Ajee’ Wilson. She can take it as far as she wants."

    Most Sundays, she’s off to Philadelphia to train with Coach Derek Thompson.

   “They’re both really great,” Wilson says of the co-op partnership agreement.  “Dawn is very understanding. There are no conflicts.   It works out very well.”

  With the National Juniors - and the Olympic Trials - on the horizon, Wilson’s high-school-only starts may be limited.  But such is the price of widening horizons.

   “Whatever happens in those big meets, I’ll just take things in stride,” she tells you. “I just want to be as ready as I possibly can.  I think I can handle it.

   “The Olympics? I can’t really think of that right now.  If I think too far ahead, I’ll just get too nervous or psyched out.

  “Breaking two minutes?  That would be awesome.  If it happens, it happens.  If it doesn’t, that would be fine with me, too.

   “Kim Gallagher, I know she won those two Olympic 800-meter medals (silver in 1984, bronze in 1988), but I really don’t know much else about her. But she must have been a really great runner.”

   With all of Wilson’s credentials, and an excellent academic record (3.5 grade-point average),  virtually every major collegiate team in the nation came courting.

   But she chose Florida State (where she’ll major in exercise science, pointing to a career in physical therapy) simply because that’s where I felt most comfortable.  It was the best fit for me.

  “Still, making that college decision was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done.  Yes, definitely saying no to the others (including J.J. Clark, Joetta’s brother, at Tennessee), was so hard.  Every school I visited I loved. Every one of them was so good.

   “Each of them made it so hard for me to say no.”

   Starting this fall, however, she’ll “just do it’‘ as a Florida State Seminole,

  “Ajee’ has a tremendous amount of talent and is fueled by the intense desire to win,” said Florida State distance coach Karen Harvey. “She has proven to be one of the best middle distance runners in the world.”

   FSU also recruited England’s Georgia Peel, another brilliant young middle distance runner,  to its Class of 2016.

   “They are world-class, world champion and world finalist people,” gushed Florida State head coach Bob Braman. “They’re very special people. They may be their national (junior) record-holders before the year is over.”

  Before becoming training partners and teammates, however, they expect to challenge each other on some of the world’s biggest stages.  Look for the fireworks.  Track and field fans can’t wait.

4/23/2012
 
INDIANAPOLIS – USA Track & Field’s board of directors has selected Max Siegel to serve as CEO, President and Chair Stephanie Hightower announced Monday.

The board voted unanimously to hire Siegel after two CEO searches that took place over the course of 16 months. He will become the fourth CEO in the organization’s history when he assumes his duties on May 1 as part of a two-year contract. Chief Operating Officer Mike McNees had served as interim CEO since September, 2010.

“The search for our next CEO was a process that we believe will fundamentally change USA Track & Field,” Hightower said. “It forced our board to put into focus what our greatest needs and priorities are. And in the end, it brought us an executive in Max Siegel who blends a knowledge of our sport and its political considerations with an impressive record of success in the broader sports and entertainment markets.”

“I am honored by the opportunity to serve as USA Track & Field’s CEO,” Siegel said. “Since I first got involved with USATF in 2009, I have been passionate about the potential for financial growth and mainstream cultural visibility.

“This sport has it all: charismatic stars, great stories, unmatched diversity, grassroots participation in the tens of millions, a multi-billion-dollar sporting-goods industry, and a passionate base. Connecting those dots is what the board, our staff and volunteers will work together to achieve.”

Working in various executive capacities in the sports and entertainment fields over the last 20 years, Siegel’s track record has consistently been that of financial growth and competitive success.

He previously served as President of Global Operations at Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he sold tens of millions of dollars in sponsorship; and as Senior Vice President at Sony/BMG and as President of Zomba Gospel, Tommy Boy Gospel and Verity Records, where he led one of the most profitable divisions in the Sony BMG system. As a music executive, he increased top-line revenue and reduced expenses to yield unprecedented profit in the gospel industry. He was part of the executive team overseeing the careers of stars such as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Usher.

The owner of Rev Racing, Siegel took NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program and advanced it from a fledging effort to add diversity to the sport into a competitive juggernaut on the racetrack. In 2011, his team’s drivers won 50 percent of all races on the K&N Pro Series East circuit, NASCAR’s top developmental circuit.

Siegel is a former director on the boards of USA Track & Field and the USA Swimming Foundation with more than 20 years as a high-profile executive and attorney in the sports, entertainment and media industries.  Additional Olympic-family experience includes work with USA Gymnastics, USA Skiing, USA Swimming and the Goodwill Games while he was an attorney with Indianapolis-based Baker & Daniels in the 1990s. In addition to representing sports figures such as Hall of Famers Reggie White and Tony Gwynn during their careers, he has created literary, television and film properties, including the 2010 BET Networks series, “Changing Lanes,” and the 2011 ESPN documentary, “Wendell Scott: A Race Story.” Scott was among the recently announced list of nominees eligible for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Siegel also is the author of “Know What Makes Them Tick: How to Successfully Negotiate Almost Any Situation.”

“Countless members of the track & field community had suggested that we consider Max for the position, citing his success as an executive, his rolodex and his ability to bring people together to get things done,” Hightower said. “Selecting Max unanimously has brought a renewed unity to our board and will enable the organization to recalibrate our structure and function so we can move forward as a professional organization.”

The first African-American to graduate with honors from Notre Dame law school, Siegel is a native of Indianapolis and resides in the city.

Jared Slinde
Communications Manager
USA Track & Field
317.713.4690

April 23, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS – Dr. LeRoy Walker, the first African-American Olympic coach of Team USA and first African-American President of the U.S. Olympic Committee, died Monday at the age of 93. Walker was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1983 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1987.

A pioneer in the sport of track and field, Walker was the former longtime coach at North Carolina Central University and served the sport as both a coach and an administrator. He was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class in 1995, served as President of the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1992-96 and was named the first President Emeritus of the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1996. He held a doctoral degree from New York University.

Walker began his career at North Carolina Central in 1945 when he accepted a position as a football and basketball coach. He then started a track and field program as conditioning for his football and basketball players. He retired from coaching in 1973 before serving as Vice Chancellor from 1974-83 and as Chancellor from 1983-86.

During Walker’s run at North Carolina Central, he coached athletes to 11 Olympic medals and sent track and field athletes to every Olympic Games from 1956 until 1980. He coached National Track & Field Hall of Famer Lee Calhoun to consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 110-meter hurdles in 1956 and 1960. Walker coached a total of eight Olympians, 30 national champions and 80 All Americans. In 1976 he became the first African American head coach of the men’s U.S. Olympic team.

His involvement also included time spent as chairman of the AAU men’s track & field committee (1973-76) and the coordinator of coaching assignments for the AAU and TAC (1973-80). He was the TAC president from 1984-88 and later served as senior vice president for sport of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.

Walker is the author of three major books surrounding track and field and physical fitness and became the first African American president of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD).

A 1940 graduate of Benedict College, Walker earned 11 letters in football, basketball and track and field before earning a master’s degree at Columbia University in 1941. Following graduation he served as department chairs of physical education and recreation at Benedict and Bishop Colleges before moving to Prairie View A&M University. Walker also worked as director of the Army Specialized Training Program.

Walker has received 14 different hall of fame inductions, which also includes the North Carolina Central University Hall of Fame. He was the first African American to receive the James J. Corbett Memorial Award (1993), the top honor granted by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

SATURDAY'S REPORT

Cedric Walker and I are here in Bermuda for the CARIFTA Games.  The Games, founded in 1972,  are meant to enhance relationships between the countries represented and impress upon all the commonality of purpose shared between the Caribbean Islands.  Since its inauguration the Games have grown from strength to strength and has been described by IAAF President Lamine Diack, (himself a frequent spectator at the GAMES), as being on par with the World Championships.

Bermuda is a bit different from most Caribbean islands.  Most notably because this time of the year its actually cold!  Well... cold by Caribbean standards which means very low 70s during the day and dipping into the 50s at night!  The island is stunning with its pastel painted houses, white roofs, pink buses and pink sand.  But, its cold- and very windy! And, yes, its a cold wind!

However, the competition is anything but cold.In fact, its downright hot. The battle lines have been drawn and the traditional rivalries, particularly between Jamaica and the Bahamas has begun. This evening's session which featured finals in the 1500m, 400m and 100 meters gave us just a taste of what's coming over the next two days.

We left the stadium prior to the conclusion of some of the field events.  But, with just the finals in the above 3 running events tallied, Jamaica leads the Bahamas 7-5 in the gold medal count.

Jamaica swept the 1500 meters winning both the male and female sections of both the Under 17 and Under 20 divisions.  They had only one win in the 400 coming from Yanique McNeal in the girls Under 17 division.  The remaining three races were won by Bahamanians including Rashan Brown  who represented this hemisphere at the 2010 World Youth Olympics in Singapore, and O’Jay Ferguson, the current Bahamanian National High School record holder in the event and now a student at Western Texas College in Snyder, TX.

The two nations split the 100 meters with Jamaicans Shauna Helps  winning the Under 17 girls and Jazeel Murphy taking out the field in the Under 20 boys.  Murphy, who won the 2011 CARIFTA Games 100 at 10.27, has been dubbed the “next great sprinter” from Jamaica.  This evening’s 10.31 was wind-aided (+5.7) but he has a personal best of 10.27.

Cliff Resias won the Under 17 boys 100 for the Bahamas and Anthonique Strachan clocked 11.22 (with a +4.4 wind) to win the Under 20 girls race.  Strachan equalled Veronica Campbell-Brown’s Pan American Junior 200 meter record last year running 22.93 in the heats but has a personal best of 22.70. She represented the Bahamas earlier this year at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

 

Tonight, the winds continue to howl.  Tomorrow’s forecast promises more wind and it will be a nippy mid 60’s for the evening session.  Competition tomorrow will include the 3/400 meter hurdles, 800 meters and the 4x100 relays.  And, the stadium will be packed and perhaps even noisier and vibrant than it was today.

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Full results can be seen at http://ondirunevents.com/meetmanager/ and the live feed is located at  http://www.lime.com/carifta/live.jsp?cy=BM Be forewarned... it is not free. We will do our best to tweet updates provided we have access to the internet in the stadium.

 

SUNDAY'S REPORT

The weather improved significantly today- warmer temperatures, sunshine and less wind.  The stadium was filled to capacity and louder and more jubilant than yesterday!

Competition began with a little controversy over the disqualification the evening before of Minzie JeVaughn in the Under 20 100 meters.  JeVaughn was disqualified for a false start which was not called back by the recall starter.  A protest was lodged and won by the Bahamanians who originally placed third in the race and it was eventually upheld today.  Plans to rerun the race in order to overcome any unfairness to the other competitors were also reversed and the results from Saturday evening stand.

Jamaica continued its medal run today ending the evening with well over 40 medals!  They won most of the events including the boys pole vault, three of the 800 meter races and 4x1 relays, and the boys Under 17 3000 meters.  Host nation, Bermuda, collected its first gold in the boys Under 17 triple jump and a silver in the boys Under 20 800 meters.  

Competition concludes tomorrow with  a full day of events including the hurdles, 200 meters, 4x400 relays and much anticipated boys Under 20 triple jump which will feature the Collie-Minns twins, Lathone and Lathario from the Bahamas who placed first and third at last year's World Youth Championships in France.

CARIFTA Games Final Medal Count 

Congrats to Shelbi Vaughn for her tremendous national record discus throw this past weekend at Texas Relays.  191’06”  Wow! She’s also ranked US#2 in the shot put.

Lots of movement in the Spier's Top 5 outdoor lists this past weekend.  Incredible performances by Marvin Bracy at Texas Relays (10.06 +2.4), Felix Oby became the first on the list with a wind-legal triple jump over 50’, Tyler Schultz put the shot 67’ 02”, Marcus Vaughn of Washington is the new 800 meter leader  and DeSoto HS leads the nation in both the 4x1 and 4x2 and are second behind Celina HS in the 4x4.

On the girls’ side, Jennifer Madu had a spectacular weekend with jumps of 42-01 and a wind-aided 20- after placing second to Sydney Conley who had a wind-legal 20-03 jump.  Brianna Nerud leads the steeplechase list, Wesley Frazier the 2 miles, The Woodlands HS girls posted new US#1s in the 1600m medley and DMR.  And, those ladies from Lancaster HS in Texas hold new US#1s in the 4x2 and 4x4 relays.  See the complete Spier's Top 5 List here.

NSSF Board Member, Tracy Sundlun for USATF CEO

NSSF Board member and co-founder, Tracy Sundlun, is in contention for the position of CEO of USA Track & Field.  The position has been vacant for a year and a half.  The NSSF endorses Tracy without reservation as we believe he is exactly what our governing body needs.  Please read our endorsement by Jim Spier which is accompanied by Tracy's resume, a document which expresses why he would be the ideal USATF CEO candidate and Tracy's Proposed USATF Initiatives.

Web Site Updates

In case you haven't visited our site recently, we're continuing to bring you fresh updated relevant content.  This week's specials include a new article in Ask Sparky on How To Do The Burpee; and we talk with Deworski Odom, the only athlete to set two national records in two different events back-to-back on the same day.  That article is in our "Where Are They Now?" section.

Select Meets Weekend

Another big weekend coming with three NSSF Select Meets:  The Arcadia Invitational in California, the Mobile Challenge of Champions in Alabama, and the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda.  We will be bringing you coverage of the CARIFTA Games Saturday through Monday so check our CARIFTA Games web page frequently for updates.

New Balance National - Outdoors

NBN-O Registration is open. We've added new events in all divisions. Please be sure to read the entry information carefully and don't forget to get your USATF card before coming to the meet to save time.

Project Kultan Keihaus Goes to Finalnd

This is an extension of the two Javelin Performance clinics held in October and December of 2011.  The NSSF will sponsor six elite athletes to the IAAF Training center in Kuortane, Finland in August.  They will be accompanied by coach Barry Krammes, and NSSF chaperones.  The group will depart the U.S. on Tuesday, July 31, 2012, and return on Wednesday, August 8, 2012.

The two 2011 clinics were extremely successful with several of our participants already achieving personal bests this season. Two of our javelin clinic kids opened with spectacular throws -  Christine Streisel (Tamaqua, PA)  opened her 2012 season with a PR and US leading mark of 160-11, #19 all-time.  Sean Keller (Heritage, Vancouver, WA) was only about a foot off his 2011 best when he opened at 230-7, also a US leader. The goal of the training in Finland is to expose selected athletes to Finnish coaching and training methods.   The Finns have been the most successful country historically at the Olympic Games and at the World Championships.

Any other interested parties may attend but would assume all financial responsibility.  Our group will fly to Helsinki and then take a minibus to Kuortane, about 215 miles from Helsinki.  There are excellent all-inclusive (meals included) accomodations in Kuortane.  If you are interested, please contact jim.spier@nationalscholastic.org and he will put you in touch with the Kuortane hotel/apartment reservations as well as the local travel agent in the U.S. who is handling air.

Dates and details for the Kultan Keihaus Javelin Performance Clinics to be held in North Carolina this fall will be announced shortly.

The Games have produced a plethora of World Record holders and World Track & Field Champions and Stars over the years including Usain Bolt, Kim Collins, Darrel Brown, Pauline Davis-Thompson, Merlene Ottey, Obadele Thompson, Debbie Ferguson, Cydonie Mothersill, Kareen Streete-Thompson, Alleyne Francique, Veronica Campbell, Marie Jose-Perec and Meleanie Walker, just to name a few. Indeed over 30 Olympic Games medallists can trace their origins to the Carifta Games.

Schedules, news, records and other information can be found on the CARIFTA Games website.

The Games are a gold mind of talent and U.S. college coaches planning on attending should register prior to arrival by emailing fevans@gov.bm in order to recrive Access Accrediation from the Bermuda Track & Field Association.

I have known Tracy since 1981. It was then that Tracy began transforming the Metropolitan Athletics Congress (the New York City branch of USATF) from an almost non-existent body to one that would eventually put on 70 track and field meets annually in the area. It became the first such organization to have a full time staff.

In 1984, with the help of Mike Byrnes and myself, Tracy was the driving force for the first ever national high school meet of its kind - the National Scholastic Indoor Track and Field Championship. It was the first meet to offer travel expense reimbursement to high school athletes. Twenty-seven years later there are outdoor and cross-country versions of this meet which are the highlights of their respective seasons. Tracy was and has been very much involved in those as well.

In 1998, Tracy left the MAC to join forces with Elite Racing. With Tracy as the Executive VP, the organization grew from organizing a few road races and the first-ever Rock and Roll marathon (San Diego) to one which now organizes dozens yearly in the U.S. and around the world.

Tracy has had a wealth of experience in virtually every area of track and field: coaching, sales, administration, television, athlete management, charity fundraising, politics and government relations. I'm not sure any other candidate can match that record. Take a look at the documents noted below for proof of that claim. They include not only his qualifications, but creative ideas on how to make USATF a positive force in the sport.

Speaking for the Board of the National Scholastic Sports Foundation, I heartily endorse Tracy Sundlun for CEO of USATF.

Associated documents:


Tracy Sundlun - Resume

Tracy Sundlun - Why He is the Ideal USATF CEO Candidate 

Tracy Sundlun - Proposed USATF Initiatives

Toni Reavis' Endorsement of Tracy Sundlun