THE FIRST WEEKEND of January found track still sleeping off turkey/football overloads, but things immediately turned hot just 7 days later. And the next weekend did its part as well. Multiple records to report:
Junior 300 Record By Jacory Patterson
He came to Virginia Tech with solid all-around dash credentials of 10.42, 20.99/20.65w/46.98, but that didn’t prepare us for Jacory Patterson’s collegiate debut. The Hokie frosh blasted the 300 in 32.49, a World Junior Record that topped Brian Herron’s 32.84 from last year. “Right now, it really hasn’t sunk in,” the 18-year-old South Carolina native said. “But I’m really excited because I didn’t know that I was going to run that fast. It hasn’t sunk it. I still can’t believe it. I really just wanted to go 32.60, but I had a loaded heat, and I let lane 6 pull me the whole race. When I got past the 200, I just gave it all I got.”
Said Tech sprint coach Tim Vaught, “I knew from the intrasquad that we ran in December… he ran 32.80, and after the race, he told me, ‘Coach, I could have run faster. I didn’t get out that hard in the beginning.’ “I said, ‘Guess what? In this first meet, don’t hold back.’ I told him to go for it, and let’s see what happens.”
Junior Vault Standard To Nastassja Campbell
Pro Morgann LeLeux’s 14-6¾ (4.44) won the women’s vault at the Nelson Invitational, but the big news came from runner-up Nastassja Campbell, who claimed the American Junior Record with her 14-4¾ (4.39). Last year’s No. 3-rated HS All-America, the 18-year-old Texan opened with a make at 12-9 (3.89), needed 3 shots at 13-1 (3.99), was perfect at 13-5 (4.09) and needed another 3 at 13-9 (4.19) before attempting a PR 14-¾ (4.29), which she made on second attempt. Next up was the AJR of 14-3¼ (4.35), set by Nebraska’s Natalie Willer in ’09. Second time was again the charm for the Stephen F. Austin frosh as she cleared 14-4¾ (4.39). She finished her day with 3 misses at 14-6¾.
Collegiate Kilo Record For Danae Rivers
Penn State junior Danae Rivers blasted the Collegiate Record in the 1000 on her home track with a 2:38.58 at the Nittany Lion Invitational. That was more than 2 seconds under the old best of 2:40.79 set by Oklahoma State’s Kaela Edwards in ’17. Anna Shields of NAIA school Point Park took 2nd in 2:42.51. A 2:02.53 performer in the 800 outdoors, Rivers was 8th in last year’s NCAA.
Said Nittany Lion coach John Gondak, “I have been waiting for this day for a long time. I’ve watched this team practice for so long and I’ve seen a lot of individuals take their training to another level, their fitness, their approach, their mentality. It’s something I was really excited to see and today it really played out.”
Trey Knight Claims HSR In Weight
He’s still just an 11th-grader, but Trey Knight (Ridgefield, Washington) can throw his weight around with the big boys quite well, thank you. Last year’s top-rated hammer thrower didn’t win the 35-pounder here, but he did crush the High School Record with his third-round toss of 67-11¾ (20.72). The old mark, 65-8¼ (20.02) was set by Davis ranker (McIntosh, Peachtree City, Georgia) in ’10. Knight’s series: 61-2¾ (18.66), 62-5¼ (19.03), 67-11¾ (20.72), 62-7¼ (19.08), 62-9¼ (19.13), foul.
2 High School Records For Bullis, 1 For Ewert
Racing on Liberty’s banked 200 track in Lynchburg, big-name preps flocked to the Virginia Showcase, which featured a trio of national records. The boys relay teams from powerhouse Bullis (Potomac, Maryland) rewrote history. On Friday, they took down the HSR in the 4 x 400, clocking a 3:12.53 to better the 3:13.06 set by New Bern, North Carolina, in ’09. The splits: senior Andre Turay 49.46, junior Ryan Willie 48.52, junior Jay Pendarvis 47.99, junior Ashton Allen (46.56). On Saturday, three of the four returned in the 4×2 and clocked 1:25.60, crushing the 1:26.09 HSR set by Long Beach Poly in 2005. The order: Ashton Allen, Austin Allen, Turay & Willie.
On the girls side, junior Taylor Ewert (Beavercreek, Ohio) continued to rewrite the walk standards. She covered 3000m in 13:24.76, which not only crushed her own national standard (and American Junior Record) of 13:45.0 set last year, but also took down the absolute records, surpassing her outdoor 13:31.79 from last year’s Penn Relays. □
