Heptagonals Track & Field

Reynolds’ Worlds Experience Ends

July 21, 2010

Maalik Reynolds, an incoming freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, cleared 2.10 meters (6-10 3/4) in the high jump at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, today. But that wasn’t enough to advance to the finals.

A graduate of Westminister High School in Atlanta, Reynolds had cleared a personal-best 7-2 1/2 at the U.S. Junior Nationals last month to advance to the Worlds. Just today Reynolds was named as a High School All-American by USA Today.

Reynolds was one of three high jumpers named to the national newspaper’s All-America squad, which you can view by clicking here.

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Callahan’s PR Not Quite Enough

July 20, 2010

Oh boy. Let’s hope the IAAF can get its act together in Moncton, because getting results from the World Junior Championships were impossible. As of yet, several hours after the race ended, we have not seen official results for the 1,500-meter qualifying heats, but the folks at USA Track & Field have a fine summary of events. And here’s what Glen McMicken wrote about Princeton’s Peter Callahan in that event:

Despite a lifetime best, Peter Callahan of Princeton narrowly missed out on a finals berth with his 3:45.04. Running in the final of three sections, Callahan ripped through the first 400 in 58.9 and came through 800 in 2:00.3. He started moving up slowly and was at 2:45.9 with one to go, hitting the 1200 at 3:01. A swift final 300 saw him get close to advancing, but he finished sixth, just out of the reckoning. “My coaches told me to be careful because of all the bumping,” Callahan said. “It was a great experience for me to race these guys at this level, and I was very happy with my first international meet. I do feel like I could have moved up a little more in the middle of the race, but overall I am very happy to get a PR and hope this is just the first of many teams I make.”

His time would have been an auto qualifying (and winner) of the second heat of the day. If you are interested in following the Junior Worlds, you might want to check out the Canadian Broadcasting Company’s live stream at cbc.ca

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This Will Take Just Two Minutes

July 20, 2010

Before we start getting returns from the IAAF Junior Worlds in Moncton, you might want to take a look at 2007 Cornell graduate Morgan Uceny breaking the two-minute barrier in the 800-meter run for the first time.

This was the fast heat of the event at the Lignano Athletics Meeting in Italy over the weekend and Uceny finishes third in 1:59.29, behind fellow Americans Alysia Johnson (1:57.85) and Maggie Vessey (1:59.00). Brown graduate Anna Pierce was fifth in 2:00.79.

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Bearing The Red, White and Blue

July 18, 2010

As Glenn McMicken of the USATF previewed America’s chances at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, N.B., Canada, his lede of the story focused on a familiar figure:

When the 13th IAAF World Junior Championships get under way Monday at Stade Moncton 2010 with the opening ceremonies and the women’s 3000-meters, the flagbearer for Team USA will have more than just waving the red, white and blue on his mind. Conor McCullough, the silver medalist in the men’s hammer at the 2008 WJC, passed up competing in the NCAA championships for Princeton in June to focus on winning the gold here.

McCullough, who set an American Junior record in Des Moines at the national championships last month, was also selected as a team captain by his peers, along with Oregon distance runner Jordan Hasay.

By the way, the IAAF is already wondering if this won’t be the best World Juniors ever. And ESPN has posted previews for the Championships:

MEN — Running | Field

WOMEN — Running | Field

Posted in Athletes, Princeton | Tagged Conor McCullough | 1 Comment »

Taking The Fifth

July 17, 2010

The IAAF Junior World Championships begin Monday and we have a fifth Ivy Leaguer that will be in competition in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Incoming Penn freshman Maalik Reynolds, who will play basketball and compete on the track team for the Quakers, will represent the United States in the high jump after clearing 7-2 1/2 at the U.S. Junior Nationals.

The 2010 Georgia state high jump champion didn’t even get into the act at the U.S. Nationals until the bar was placed at 7-1 1/2. His 7-2 1/2 clearance — which is on video at the end of this post — is the same height as the Penn school record and an inch-and-a-half higher than Justin Frick’s winning Outdoor Heps mark.

Reynolds will enroll at Penn after graduating from Atlanta’s Westminster School this spring. “It pretty much had everything that I was looking for,” he said. “A good business school and a place where I could do both basketball and track with the least amount of stress from coaches.”

Reynolds will begin his quest at Worlds on Wednesday at 5:40 pm. Here is a rundown of the schedule for the five Ivy athletes (times are Eastern, Moncton is one hour ahead):

Tuesday, July 20
10 am — 1500m run qualifier (Peter Callahan, Princeton)

Wednesday, July 21
5:40 pm — High jump qualifier (Maalik Reynolds, Penn)

Thursday, July 22
10:45 am — 200m dash first round (Bruno Hortelano-Roig, Cornell)
6 pm — 200m dash semifinal (Hortelano-Roig)
8:05 pm — 1500m run final (Callahan)

Friday, July 23
10:20 am — 800m run first round (Anthony Romaniw, Dartmouth)
10:45 am — Hammer throw qualifier (Conor McCullough, Princeton)
5:30 pm — High jump final (Reynolds)
8:25 pm — 200m dash final (Hortelano-Roig)

Saturday, July 24
1:10 pm — 800m run semifinal (Romaniw)

Sunday, July 25
12:50 pm — Hammer throw final (McCullough)
1:55 pm — 800m run final (Romaniw)

UPDATE: The report is that the weather in Moncton will be tremendous!

Posted in Athletes, Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn, Princeton | Tagged Peter Callahan, Junior Worlds, Anthony Romaniw, Bruno Hortelano-Roig, Conor McCullough, Maalik Reynolds | Leave a Comment »

The Day Marley Took Over Harvard

July 16, 2010

Next week is the 31st anniversary of Amandla — a Festival of Unity held at Harvard Stadium. The concert was held in support of South Africa and in celebration of efforts to ease racial tensions in Boston.

Bob Marley and the Wailers were the headline act and none of it had to do with Heps Track. But the video below was cool, so we wanted to take a musical interlude.

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Penn Relays Loses A Friend

July 14, 2010

In the massive wake of the passing of George Steinbrenner, I have been reading about his contributions to the Penn Relays, which ‘saved’ the event. Contrary to some of the reporting, the Penn Relays would have existed without his largesse in the 1990s, but it could have been a diminished event with continued ramifications.

And it was through his connection with the Penn Relays that I had a memorable brush with “The Boss.”

On a typically busy April day in the Relays’ office, Director Dave Johnson was having a face-to-face conversation with Texas Coach Bubba Thornton and the office phone was ringing off the hook. I usually acted like I didn’t hear it, hoping someone else would take the call, but on this day I answered.

“Dave Johnson, please,” said the caller.

“May I ask who’s calling,” I asked. The response was a muffled mumble.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that,” I said. Again, the response was indecipherable.

“One more time?”

This time the answer was forceful and clear. “STEINBRENNER.”

With that, I politely told Coach Thornton that while he was important, he was going to need to wait for Mr. Steinbrenner. Without hesitation, Bubba raised his hands to acknowledge he’d been trumped.

He was one-of-a-kind and track and field — and the Olympic movement — is better for it. To read about his connection to the Olympics as well as track, you can read pieces from Eddie Pells of the Associated Press and Katie Thomas of the New York Times.

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Furey Goes Globe

July 13, 2010

John Vellante of the Boston Globe recently caught up with the new javelin thrower national champion — Dartmouth grad Sean Furey — who won the event with a 262-foot toss at the U.S. Outdoor National in Des Moines, Iowa, last month.

Wrote Vellante:

Now, with the national championship safely tucked away, Furey has his eye on the 2012 Olympics in London.

“I know I have a lot more in the tank,’’ said the 27-year-old Furey, a mechanical engineer at Raytheon in San Diego, who placed third a year ago. “So yes, the Olympics are a goal of mine. I’ll have to finish in the top three in nationals that year to get myself into the Olympic Trials. I’ll just prepare as I always have and whatever happens, happens. But this was a good stepping stone.’’ The national title was satisfying for Furey, but it was not his finest moment.

“Last year when I qualified for the World Championship finals in Berlin, that was probably the greatest and most memorable throw of my career,’’ he said.

“I was down to my last throw and it had to be big. I threw 260 feet. That pulled me into 11th place and the top 12 advanced to the final. I finished 12th . . . There were 50 throwers and I was ranked 40th, so finishing 12th was pretty good.’’

Posted in Alumni, Dartmouth | Tagged Sean Furey, Javelin | Leave a Comment »

Orange Takes Gold

July 11, 2010

For the fourth time in the last five NACAC Under-23 Track & Field Championships, an Ivy Leaguer has returned with a title. This time it was Princeton rising junior Donn Cabral, who won the steeplechase in 8:52.67 at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, Fla.

Cabral had finished as runner-up at the NCAA Championships and seventh in the event at the U.S. Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa, last month.

The championships, which take place every two years, consist 32 member nations from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Past Ivy championships include Harvard javelin thrower Chris Clever in 2002, Brown steeplechaser Anna Willard in 2006 and Cornell long jumper Jeomi Maduka in 2008.

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Uceny Marching To Stardom

July 10, 2010

Last Saturday we linked up an interview with Cornell grad Morgan Uceny and on Thursday she became one of America’s top 10 all-time in the 1,500-meter run, running a personal-best 4:02.40 at the Athletissima Lausanne in Switzerland. She was fifth in the race (and the first American).

Next up for Uceny is to crack the four-minute barrier in the 1500, a feat achieved by only five Americans ever including Brown graduate Anna Willard Pierce, who ran 3:59.38 last August in Zurich. Willard Pierce’s time is No. 3 all-time in the U.S. behind only Mary Slaney (3:57.12 in 1983) and Suzy Favor Hamilton (3:57.40 in 2000). The only other sub-four runners in U.S. history hit the milestone last summer (Jenny Barringer and Christin Wurth-Thomas). Uceny defeated Wurth-Thomas in Lausanne.

To see an interview with Uceny following the meet, check out this FloTrack video.

Posted in Alumni, Cornell | Tagged Morgan Uceny, Lausanne | Leave a Comment »