SVSU - Athletics: News Listing
Nick Ekel Places 3rd in 10,000M at Junior Nationals
Author: Matthew Woodbury
Created: Jun 29, 2009
EUGENE, Ore. - The Saginaw Valley State University men’s track and field team was represented at the 2009 USATF Junior Nationals by freshman Nick Ekel (Elsie, Mich. / Ovid Elsie HS) who finished in third place with a time of 31:36.16 in the 10,000 meter run, beating his previous best by 28 seconds. Ekel’s third place finish was the best finish ever for anyone from Saginaw Valley.

The 2009 U.S. Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships serve as the selection meet for the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, which will be held at Hasley Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad on July 31st and August 1st & 2nd. Ekel will serve as an alternate for the United States at the Pan American Junior Athletic Championships becoming the first Cardinal to serve in that capacity.

Michigan All Stars track club helps youths get a leg up on and off the track - Ann Arbor Sports – MLive.com
Michigan All Stars track club helps youths get a leg up on and off the track
by Seth Gordon | The Ann Arbor News
Tuesday June 30, 2009, 9:55 AM

Austin Sanders didn’t know what to think the first time Michigan All Stars track coach Rad Greaves asked him to take off his shoes and walk up and down the track before practice.

It’s an exercise Greaves picked up from the UCLA track team to stretch muscles in the feet - which, apparently, can’t be done with shoes on.

“I thought it was kind of funny with no shoes, but it does help stretch out your feet and get you ready for the speed stuff,” said Sanders, who will be a sophomore at Pioneer High School. “A lot of the stuff he teaches us helps out.”

As much as Greaves enjoys teaching new techniques or helping his kids to lower their times on the track, he sees the true function of the All Stars as much bigger in scope.

Heptathlete Wade qualifes for Worlds | hometownlife.com | the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies
Heptathlete Wade qualifes for Worlds

BY BRAD EMONS
OBSERVER STAFF WRITER
• June 30, 2009

Bettie Wade admits she can be her own worst critic at times.
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But after the former Farmington High standout earned a third-place finish with a personal best 5,908 points in the women’s heptathlon at last weekend’s USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships – along with the spot in the IAAF World Championships next month in Berlin – even she found some solace in what can be described as a trying year.

“I’m very excited,’’ said the recent University of Michigan grad. “But it’s been a rough season in my eyes because I’ve had high hopes and lofty goals. But I also feel thankful and blessed to qualify.’’

The women’s heptathlon, consisting of seven events over two days, was made famous by American Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

But after Friday’s opening day of events at the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Wade questioned whether it was time to move on to a different life.

Clifford bounces back in big way — Brighton senior overcomes injury to top All-County girls track team | livingstondaily.com | Livingston Daily

By Rick Shepich
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
• June 30, 2009

Initially, it appeared as though Megan Clifford’s season might be over.

Clifford, an all-state hurdler as a junior and one of Brighton’s best all-around track and field athletes, landed awkwardly while long jumping in an April 28 dual against Howell.

“It felt like my leg pretty much broke in half at my knee and it hyperextended,” Clifford said at the time.

For someone as competitive as Clifford, though, the result in the long jump that night was as important to the discussion as the injury.

Traverse City Record-Eagle - Article: Bear Lake teen plays for three schools
Bear Lake teen plays for three schools

Spalding plays for Onekama, Bear Lake, Brethren

BEAR LAKE (AP) — Patrick Spalding doesn’t wear his varsity jacket much.

It’s not that he doesn’t have reason to — the Bear Lake junior plays four different sports.

However, it would likely raise a few eyebrows and force Spalding into answering a number of reasonable questions about the different letters on his colorful coat.

The red and white “BL” is for Bear Lake.

The dark blue and yellow “O” is for Onekama.

The light blue and white “B” is for Brethren.

How many schools has Spalding attended, anyway?

Actually, the same one since kindergarten.

It seems confusing, but is actually quite simple.

He runs cross country for Bear Lake in the fall and plays basketball for the Lakers in the winter. In the spring, Spalding does double duty, playing golf for Brethren while competing in track and field for Onekama, both of which co-op with Bear Lake.

Barrier too high results in steeplechase injury - ESPN
Updated: June 28, 2009, 7:33 PM ET
Runner hurt by barrier set too high
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Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. — A mix up with a water jump barrier cast controversy over the women’s steeplechase at the U.S. track and field championships.

Olympian Jennifer Barringer easily won the 3,000-meter steeplechase title on Sunday, two days after qualifying for the event was marred by the barrier being set too high.

Barringer, the American record holder, ran the event in nine minutes, 29.38 seconds, well ahead of second-place finisher Anna Willard and Bridget Franek, who finished third.

“Over the last 48 hours, there’s been a lot of drama in our sport,” Barringer marveled.

In the preliminary round Friday night at Hayward Field, Nicole Bush took a spill after hurdling the water barrier and fractured her right foot.

Bush, who had just finished her senior year at Michigan State, tumbled into the water on the third lap. Amazingly, she still finished the race.

It was later determined the barrier was set as many as six inches too high, perhaps at the men’s level. The barrier is at 36 inches for the men and 30 inches for the women.

USA Track & Field CEO Doug Logan said he takes responsibility for the mistake.

“It’s disappointing what happened,” he said. “It’s human error. I won’t go any further than that. I don’t throw people under buses … I’m embarrassed by it.”

Logan said he sought out Bush on Saturday to personally apologize and offer support with medical treatment and rehabilitation.

“She’s definitely in our plans for the future and I wanted to reaffirm that,” Logan said. “I indicated to [Bush and her coach] that I was going to do all in my power to make sure that human error did not occur again in any event.”

I have coached for over ten years at the middle school and then the high school level the past six years. Our programs were non-producing when I started and now they are at the state meet and competitive every year. I ran for Ron Warhurst at UM and Joe Piane at Notre Dame. I am well acquainted with Bill Lundberg (late 70’s KU) now Hillsdale College, Greg Meyer (graduate of the high school where I coach and last winner of the Boston Marathon) and Brian Diemer (Calvin, 84 LA Bronze and former Olympic Team Captain) and many others active in college coaching.

My athletes are just now beginning to transfer to the college level. For example Monica Kinney (now GVSU) is running today in the finals of the USTAF Jr 1500m. We have a dozen kids moving on to the college ranks between last year and this year. Our philosophy in high school has been to consciously under-train compared to high mileage programs around us that are successful but also burn out their athletes.

I really dig meet management and work regularly on making it fully automated and available on-line both for entry and for results.

I am very interested in coaching at the college level, but would only consider doing so at one of my dream institutions — and Kansas is one of only a handful of places I would want to be. I love Lawrence. I have been in love with Kansas since the days of Jim Ryan. I have been heavily influenced by your traditions … in fact see the picture of my girl finishing fourth at the state meet last October:

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v374/26/4/655830991/n655830991_1614450_2252.jpg

Busy scene, but I bet you found her. I tried so hard to find pink shorts six years ago when I started coaching. At that time they were hard to come by, so I eventually had polka dotted jerseys made … I want my kids to stand out. I am proud of the fact they are recognizable as were generations of KU runners. In big meets today we were both the polka dots and our pink shorts.

Anyway, I’d love nothing more than to discuss with you what I can bring to the table for you guys and then to see if we could work out the necessary details. I understand I am not your traditional applicant. If you take the time you’ll discover I bring much more to the table than might your typical applicant.

It goes without saying that I would do so with the highest level of integrity and amazing quantities of energy.

Impatience pays off for Grob — Pinckney senior is All-County boys track Athlete of the Year | livingstondaily.com | Livingston Daily
Tyler Grob can’t sit still.

At least that’s what Pinckney track and field coach Tom Carney would have you believe about this year’s All-County boys track Athlete of the Year.

“He was all over the place,” Carney said. “He has that athletic impatience. He wants to do everything, all the time, right now.”

That’s why both Carney and Grob believe the Pinckney graduate has found the right path.

Grob will compete in the decathlon at Saginaw Valley State University.

“He’s very adaptable because of his impatience,” Carney continued. “He can move from one event to the other and be OK with it and not get frustrated.”

MonroeNews.com - The Monroe Evening News, Monroe, MI
David Box might be the greatest wrestler in Milan history.
He might be the best football lineman in school history.
He might be the strongest athlete in school history.
He is the best discus thrower in school history.
No wonder Box has been chosen by The Evening News sports staff as the 2009 Region Boys Athlete of the Year. He received 29 of a possible 30 votes and edged Summerfield’s Tyler Glass.
In track and field, he broke Milan’s school record in the discus with a toss of 149-3 and reached 50-8 in the shot-put.

RunFalcons.com » Watch Kinney today at 12:40 Pacific Time
Watch Kinney today at 12:40 Pacific Time

Live Stream from the Jr. Nationals …