Joshua Hernandez spun his way to a hammer throw title and a #4 national ranking. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Two tough, and sometimes grueling, days of multi events are done. And the events like steeple and hammer throw that are difficult to fit into an ordinary day of track and field are also done. The Great Southwest Classic has begun recognizing its first event winners for 2015.
Ed Griffith, locked in a tight battle for the top position in the boys decathlon coming out of day one, went on to a convincing victory in day two. The turning point in the two-day competition was the first event of the second day, the 110 hurdles. Griffith posted a solid 14.85, but, just one heat earlier, Jerrick Powell caught a hurdle and nearly went down, arresting his fall with his left arm.
Powell's hurdle time of 17.48 turned out to be only the secondary issue. A shoulder injury would create pain for him the rest of the day, most evident in the pole vault.
Griffith would never look back from the 300-point gap he opened on Powell in the hurdles. At the end of the day, Griffith's 6627 points would put him 452 points ahead of Oklahoma's Hayden Ashley, while Powell would slip to third.
Griffith has remaining high school eligibility and the look of a promising future in multi events ahead of him. In the ultra-competitive Lone Star state, Griffith advanced to state in the long jump and regionals in both hurdle events.
The girls decathlon would be decided by a still larger margin of 1009 points by Kaija Bramwell, the Arizona Division 3 state pole vault champion. In a small field of five, Bramwell would win seven of the ten events along the way, missing only with the 100 hurdles, high jump, and 1500 meters. Bramwell was never threatened, seriously or otherwise, in the individual point total.
And, in yet another runaway victory, California's Lyndsey Lopes put 304 points between herself and the heptathlon field. Although Lopes won only the hurdle portion of the competition, it was her consistency across the events that separated her from the rest of the field.
Even in the final event of the competition, Lopes battled to a fourth in the 800, an event she barely needed to show up in the maintain her dominating lead and capture the title.
As an interesting sidebar on Lopes, she set aside her senior scholastic season to work on multi events. The Clovis, California, native has signed to compete with the University of Southern California in the fall.
As the multi events wound down, attention shifted quickly about a quarter mile to the west, where the hammer throw competitions would be held.
Texas would take its second individual title of the day when Joshua Hernandez bounced the steel ball off the hardened surface of the UNM hammer throw venue 208 feet and 11 inches from the front lip of the ring. One other throw, plus a fouled attempt also went beyond 200 feet. His best toss of the day moves him to #4 in the national rankings.
Showing that opportunity is where you make it, Hernandez is the same young man who placed fifth at last year's Great Southwest meet with a throw of 139-8.
The girls hammer throw had a repeat winner from last year. Although Haley Showalter did not quite reach her mark of 193-4 from last year, her winning toss of 191-even does her a bit more comfortably atop the national rankings than before the meet, and it is her best mark in the event since last year's Great Southwest meet. The throw was also 45 feet in front of second place.
The final individual event titles of the day would be decided in an event of barriers and water jumps, the 2000 meter steeplechase.
Two years ago, Utah swept this event at Great Southwest. Last year, New Mexico swept the event. This year, even though both New Mexico winners returned from last year's competition, it was Colorado's turn to sweep the steeplechase titles.
The girls steeple would fall into the hands Tabor Scholl in 7:21.90. Like Lyndsey Lopes, Scholl gave up her senior high school season to work on accomplishing some goals. So, this was Scholl's first competition against strictly high school competition of the season. It was also her first-ever steeplechase competition. Clearly, she made the most of that opportunity.
Carisma Lovato, last year's winner, finished in second in 7:32.39, almost a carbon copy of last year's time.
Also winning his first-ever steeplechase competition was Loveland, Colorado, junior Marcus Quere. Quere spent the first two laps measuring the competition and the next three putting them away. His eventual margin of victory would be just over three seconds ahead of Idaho's Carlton Baird, stopping the clock at 6:26.87.
Alex Heffelfinger, last year's winner, closed some territory on the final lap, but ended up in third for his efforts.