Although many of the most highly-anticipated match-ups did not take place, there was still plenty of action and excitement to go around at the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic.
Among those who did show up, nobody put on a better show than the sister act of Natalie and Nachelle Stewart from Spanish Fork, Utah. Natalie, at left, won the 400 in 53.55, more than a second ahead of her closest competition. Nachelle, at right, dominated the 800 with a time of 2:12, almost five seconds in front of second place. Natalie also helped Utah to a convincing victory in the 4 X 800. Both sisters ran on Utah's 4 X 400 relay that came within an eyelash of upsetting perennial meet champion Texas with a time of 3:42.84.
The upset special of the day came from Terra Evans of Arizona. Evans stunned heavily-favored Victoria Jordan of Texas, winning the girls 100 meter elite race in 11.39. Evans won the race out of lane one, a feat almost unheard of in elite sprint events. When asked about winning from lane one after the race, her reply was one that should be the mantra of underdogs near and far, "If you're on the track, you can win out of any lane." Evans' improbable first-place finish was, at least in part, a reflection of running with a fully healthy hamstring for the first time this year. From here, Evans looks to compete in the junior national meet with the hope of making the junior national team. Speaking of her race at Great Southwest, she smiled and said, "It lets me know more or less where I am." It also serves notice that she will be more of a force to be reckoned with at the junior national level than most people were counting on. Jordan would turn the tables later in the day, however, edging Evans in the 200 meters. There will be no surprises next time, however.
Another athlete present at Great Southwest with high hopes of making the junior national team is thrower Mason Finley, at left, of Colorado. While the day's discus marks fell a little short of expectations, Finley still threw nine feet better than second-place Geoffrey Tabor of Oklahoma. Though his marks in the shot put and discus fell short of his season best marks, Finley was pleased nevertheless to be able to compete at Great Southwest, "I love these meets where it's the top kids in the nation." Next up on Finley's schedule are Nike Outdoor Nationals, followed by junior nationals. He hopes to be back into the 210s and 220s for the discus for those meets.
Another category of events where the national elites did put in their appearances as anticipated at Great Southwest was the hurdle races. Reggie Wyatt, Jacquelyn Coward, Ryann Krais, and Donique Flemings each came to the meet with high-level performances on their minds.
On Thursday and Friday, Krais was unstoppable in the heptathlon, winning with a spectacular 5522. Early in the afternoon on Saturday, Coward put on a clinic in the 100 hurdles, winning in a wind-aided 13.00. Flemings finished second in a very respectable 13.46. It was the 300 hurdles that pitted all three of the nation's top high school female hurdlers in the same final. Coward got out very quickly and appeared to have a small lead over Krais and Flemings over the first two hurdles. Disaster struck on the third hurdle, however, as Coward went down going over the hurdle. Krais began opening a lead, but ran into trouble of her own on the sixth hurdle, allowing Flemings to pull slightly ahead with only two hurdles remaining. In what was probably the tightest finish of the day, Krais nipped Flemings at the finish line.
Krais offered some of her thoughts on the weekend after her hurdle race. The decision to go to Albuquerque was an easy one as post-season track meets go, "It was my last possible chance to do the 300 hurdles, and it also had a heptathlon, so it [the choice] was easy." Speaking of Coward's fall on the third hurdle, Krais could empathize with her plight, "It's a hurdle race--it happens to everybody. Been there and done that." It was only fitting that an athlete of Krais's accomplishments should go out with a win against elite competition. Although she had spent the two previous days engaged in the grueling heptathlon competition, she didn't feel that fatigue was a factor in her 300 hurdles race, "In the race, it [fatigue] doesn't matter any more--you just go."
The Great Southwest hurdle events had one more piece of brilliance still to play out, though. Reggie Wyatt of California won the boys' 300 hurdles with an eye-popping 35.71.
In other events, Arizona swept the boys' horizontal jump titles, with Will Claye winning the triple jump in a wind-legal 51-0.25. Bryce Lamb, at left, won the long jump with a best leap of 25-9.25, a remarkable performance even with an aiding wind. Colorado dominated the distance events, going 1-2-3 in both the boys' 800 and 3200, and claiming three of the top six spots in each of the 800, 1500, and 3200. Freshman Eleanor Fulton, above right, of Colorado won in a rather tactical race at 1500 meters. Fulton admitted to being tired after the 4 X 800 and trying to go out easy in the 1500, "I was just going to hang in there with whatever place I had." The field obliged, however, and let Fulton maintain contact. With about 150 meters left, she sensed an opportunity and made a move, overtaking first Rachel Velarde of New Mexico and then Colorado teammate Laura Tremblay down the final stretch.