As the outdoor season slowly gets going there were two clear standouts on the track. First would be Iowa State’s Lisa Koll who set a collegiate record in the 10,000 meters. Koll set a new record of 31:18.07 at the Stanford Invitational, taking down the previous best of 31:25.45 set back in 2008. Koll’s mark was a world leader and made her the sixth fastest American ever over the distance. More importantly it puts her very close to the 31:00 barrier, which if she can get under that would put her in true world class and make her competitive against the rest of the world’s top distance runners. Running this well so early in the season bodes well for Ms Koll.

Also turning in a world class performance was Mississippi State frosh Tavaris Tate who blazed a world lead equaling 44.86 at the Alabama Relays. Tate ran un pressed as second in his heat was a country mile back in 48.35! Tate obliterated his outdoor best of 45.48 set last year in leading the nations high school sprinters in the event. He was also nearly a second faster than his indoor best of 45.80.

Interestingly enough Tate was missing from this year’s NCAA indoor championships as he competed instead for the US team in Doha running on the World Championship gold medal winning 4×4, but he gives the NCAA another hot quarter miler. Keep your eyes on the SEC 400 this year with Tate already under 45 seconds and Torrin Lawrence (Georgia), Kirani James (Alabama), Calvin Smith (Florida) and Tony McQuay (Florida) all possibly in line to join him! The NCAA 400 meter championship should run through the SEC.

Speaking of college championships, Texas A&M (39.35) and Florida (39.37) both showed that they will be forces once again at this year’s NCAA championships. A&M had the fastest collegiate time in the nation last year at 38.51, but Florida was national champion at 38.57.

The track should begin to heat up in earnest next weekend as the Florida and Texas Relays will both be on tap. Both typically have good fields, and the wind in Texas is known to kick up a notch here and there causing some hot times!

As I've said previously, this early portion of the season is dominated by relay meets at almost every level. Even what is generally the big kick off to the elite portion of the outdoor season (Penn Relays) features a "USA vs the World" section of relay events. However, with there being no global major this year and virtually no meets on the European Circuit offering relays, the Penn meet may just be the highlight of the season as far as international relay units are concerned Read More...

Such a quiet week in the sport. Coming off the indoor season it takes a minute before the elite athletes really begin to roll. We probably won't see them really hit their stride until some time after the Penn Relays in late April. So what to do til then?No brainer - high school and college meets! This is actually my favorite time of year when it comes to track and field, because it's the time of year when I can get up close and personal with the sport Read More...

As I start to look ahead at the season, one of the first things I've taken a look at is the new Diamond League. Of course, as has become the trend in the sport, the meets tend to be abbreviated versions of a "real" track meet - various events left out in an attempt to shorten/quicken the pace of the meet Read More...

Temperatures here on the West Coast are entering the 70's, and with the close of the indoor season that means that the spring portion of the track season is getting under way. I say the spring portion because that's the time of year dominated primarily by relay meets and the collegiate season - the summer being dominated by the Grand Prix Circuit in Europe Read More...

This was how the indoor season was supposed to be - closed in personal setting with lots of excitement. Give me eight to ten weeks of this every winter and I would be one happy camper. As a matter of fact, this is what track and field is supposed to be about - loaded fields and top notch competition competing in ALL of the available events! All available track event, all available field events and fans will stay glued all weekend long (let alone a full single day) as long as the competition is there!Plenty of articles out there covering all of the action, so I will hit what were the highlights for me - starting with the NCAA Championships Read More...

Another event where the NCAA meet could top the World Championships will be the men's 400 meters. The world leader along with half of the top 10 in the world will be in Fayetteville to square off.Top entrants with their seasonal bests:45.03 - Torrin Lawrence, Georgia45.24 - Kirani James, Alabama45.61 - Calvin Smith, Florida45 Read More...

The World Indoor Championships won't be the only "big meet" taking place this weekend. Half a world away the NCAA will also be holding its indoor championships in Fayetteville Arkansas. Always an exciting meet in it's own right, the NCAA could have one of the hottest races of the weekend - the men's 200 Read More...

The indoor season will end this weekend with the World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar. While the season itself has been somewhat unspectacular, the grand finale should be quite exciting as there are several high quality match ups. Perhaps the hottest match up of the weekend could be the men's 60 hurdles Read More...

World Indoor Championships Meet RecordsMen60 - 6.42 - Maurice Greene, US - '99200 - 20.10 - Frankie Fredericks, NAM - '99400 - Butch Reynolds, US - '93800 - 1:42.67 - Wilson Kipketer, DEN - '971500 - 3:33.77 - Haile Gebrselassie, ETH - '993000 - 7:34.71 - Haile Gebrselassie, ETH - '9760H - 7.36 - Allen Johnson, US - '044x4 - 3:02 Read More...