Hi all,
In just a few days, a small part of our big team will be competing in the 2011 USATF National Club Championships at Icahn Stadium. If you're looking for a fun time, come on out to Randall's Island in NYC and see your teammates take on some of the best track and field athletes in the country! Not only will the times be fast, jumps be high, and throws be far...the GSTC will be in the hunt for some medals. See below for details!
Distance Races (10k-1500m)
GSTC superstar Jeff Perrella has the #1 seed in Friday's 10,000m at 30:04.20. He is undefeated in the gold and black, as he has handedly won gold medals at the Penn Relays Distance Classic, the USATF East Region Championships, Yale Invitational, and President's Cup 5k this spring. Look for Team Nebraska's Eric Rasmussen to challenge as the #2 overall seed, along with NYAC's Daniel Daly, the #3 seed. Teammate James Grimes, fresh off his final season at Georgetown this spring, comes in at the #4 seed in 31:08. He will battle a duo from Kansas City, Anthony Schultz and Aaron Davidson. With a hard collective effort and some luck, GSTC could put two in the top eight.
The 5,000m will be interesting Saturday duel, as Perrella and Grimes are the 3rd and 4th seeds, respectively. Top seed Oscar Ogwaro, from Team USA Georgia, has a seed of 14:18- but this is from Mt Sac in mid-April. According to tffrrs.com, his last three 5ks (in May) have been 14:45, 14:50, and 15:03. The #2 seed, Central Park Track Club's (CPTC) Christopher Spooner, will be racing the 1500m the day before, so this may come down to a battle of fatigued legs. With a pair of CPTC athletes seeded 5th and 6th, GSTC Taylor Burmeister comes in at #7.
In the 1500m, Chris Heibell's PR 3:49.92 will most likely fight for the gold medal between two others: Carlos Jamieson (CPTC- 3:48.33) and Chris Spooner (CPTC- 3:49.62). However, Spooner is also entered in the 5k later that weekend, so his approach to the double will be interesting to see. That said, although Jaimieson's last 1500m (4/15- 4:05) was soft, his 1:53.77 at the NJ Invite suggests he is race sharp and will give Heibell his biggest challenge,
Sprints (800m-100m)
Yanique Folkes (100m & 200m) and Ataysia Ingram (400m) will suit up on the ladies' side, while Kaseem Jackson (100m), Earl James (200m), Tony Harris (400m), Hakeem Miller (400m), and Duval Sewer (800m) have all qualified and will compete for the men's team. Out of this group, the one with the greatest chance of making the final is Miller, who lead-off last Tuesday in 49.20. With two solid weeks of training afterward, he has the tools to run 48low- which has a good chance to make the final. That said, the sprints in a very competitive field, so it will be a tough road for any of them to crack the top eight.
Hurdles
Lauryn Strebeck (100HH) and Alan Brussard (110HH, 400IH) will both compete in the hurdle events. While the highs is a secondary event to Strebeck's jumps (see below), Brussard 's specialties are the hurdling events. With PRs of 14.20 and 54.15, he should be a strong contender to make the finals for both events.
Relays
The distance medley relay of Taylor Burmeister (1200), Stefan Symbleme (400), Chris Schneider (800), and Chris Heibell (1600) has an excellent chance to capture the club national championship. Despite ranking fourth behind Team Nebraska Brooks, CPTC, and Kansas City Smoke, the GSTC will have three fresh legs- including their biggest weapon, Heibell, on the anchor leg. While all other teams will be running on tired legs, only Burmeister (5k) will have a race in his legs that day, so this may be a very close race, coming down to the strongest miler's kick.
The sprint medley of Earl James, Andre Sylvester, Gil Rozensher, and Duval Sewer are currently ranked 6th overall, and just two seconds seperate them from CPTC and ConnQuest's seed times. This entire unit will be fresh, so the chance to squeeze into a scoring, medal-earning top eight spot is very, very good.
The 4x800 relay is in similar contention to both score and medal, as they are currently the #4 seed. If Wismith Francois (2:01), Hedolis Jaquez (2:03), Kyle Flyer (1:59), and Ashwin Anantharaman (2:06) can all muster PRs, they could break 8:10 and challenge for a top-three spot.
The 4x400 relay, fresh off a dominating victory in NYC last Tuesday, will be on the scoring bubble. On paper, they are a 3:19 relay that could easily score, but the field is loaded, including Zenith Velocity (3:10), Shore AC (3:10), and New Horizon TC (3:11). If the group of Miller, Brussard, Jackson, and Harris runs well, look for a sub-3:20 effort and a place at the medal stand.
In the 4x100, Quanisha Booker, Yanique Folkes, Lauryn Strebeck, and Ataysia Ingram will fight for a spot in the top eight, as will Jose Baxter, Gleb Kalmykov, Ky Ross, and Christian Sylvester.
Jumps
Due to injuries, Strebeck will be the lone GSTC representative in the jumps. She is currently ranked #10 in the triple jump at 11.15m, and 16th in the long jump.
Throws
On Friday, Adam Dickert will make his GSTC and USATF debut both in the shot put and javelin. Similarly, Victor Batagliotti will make his first black and gold appearance in the discus on Saturday.
Some Fun Links
Status of Club Nationals Entries
Who Ya Got? A Tired Perrella vs a Non-Warmed Up Ross in the 400m!
Handoffs, July 2
More Handoffs, July 2
Post-Practice Chanting, July 5
July 2 Intervals
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