{"id":2891,"date":"2025-04-22T12:34:37","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T19:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2891"},"modified":"2025-04-22T12:34:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T19:34:37","slug":"the-weekend-ive-been-waiting-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2891","title":{"rendered":"The Weekend I’ve Been Waiting For"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Once track and field gets outside, it doesn’t take long for things to heat up. The first couple of weekends or so, are kind of like letting the car idle for five minutes or so to make sure it’s ready to drive in the winter time. After everything is nice and warm however, it’s time to get out and let it run. For track that’s usually around MtSAC, Tom Jones weekend. Two nice facilities, with nice tracks, and nice weather. Both facilities and competitions lived up to these normal expectations, which is why so many athletes love to open up at Tom Jones and MtSAC. In addition, Jamaica had a meet focused on speed, and southern California was hosting another meet (Bryan Clay), so track and field was out in full force!<\/p>\n

I’ve been waiting for this weekend since the beginning of the outdoor season, because I knew that we would get a solid glimpse of what the year should become. Based on the weekend’s results this season could surpass last year’s success. The middle and long distance events have already given us fast times and records. As they prefer cooler weather for both training and competition. The speed events however, like things to be a tad bit warmer, and athletes took advantage of the California and Florida weather!<\/p>\n

Perhaps the shock of the weekend occurred in Florida at the Tom Jones Invitational, when Julien Alfred blitzed a 21.88 with zero challenge. Alfred looked to be in the same form she ended last year. We’ll see how long she is able to maintain this level of fitness. Shortly after I watched Makanakaishe Charamba float to a 19.99. One of the easiest looking sub 20’s I’ve ever seen. With NCAA Regionals just a few weeks off, he’ll be one to watch. As will his Auburn teammate Kayinsola Ajayi who blitzed a 9.96 of his own. Later we got a swift 9.97 from Courtney Lindsey, as he blitzed ahead of Christian Miller (10.02) and Christian Coleman (10.06). The track continued to be on fire with Anavia Battle getting a PB 10.98 in her 100m heat, just ahead of twin 11.02’s by McKenzie Long and Maia McCoy, with the trio taking over the world lists.<\/p>\n

The 400m got the speed treatment too. First Aaliyah Butler running 49.44, only the top finishers from Kingston being faster. The men saw several fast races led by huge PB’s by Jacory Patterson (44.27) in his heat. Then Christopher Robinson (44.15) in his heat. Huge breakthroughs by both men. I’ve been waiting for Patterson to do this for a couple of seasons now, as he has the ability to make the 400m look rather easy when he’s on. Robinson was a shock however, as he’s been a 400 hurdler to this point. Given this race he may want to rethink events in my humble opinion. Speaking of the 400m, we got a run over the distance by none other than Noah Lyles who decided to take a stab at the event after not running it since high school. He finished in his heat at 45.78. Not too shabby for a sprinter. This after he, Coleman, Erriyon Knighton, and PJ Austin teamed up for a 37.90 4×1, as Americans are beginning to run together more prior to championship meets! I would also be remiss if i didn’t mention two hurdle upsets. First Ja’Kobe Tharp failed to make the collegiate hurdle final after hitting a hurdle in his heat. In the Olympic Development final, Tre Cunningham (13.09) edged Grant Holloway (13.18) in an early season race. Very good opening season times for both. I’m impressed that Grant ran given his recent return from China.<\/p>\n

Speed wasn’t just the property of Florida, as there was also some fast running taking place in Southern California, though the depth didn’t nearly match that in Gainesville. In the men’s 100m, Jordan Anthony’s PB 9.98 stood out. Anthony could be one to watch as we near the NCAA Regionals in a few weeks. Also looking impressive was Fred Kerley winning the 400m in 44.73. He looked rather easy during the race and showed strong acceleration in the final 100m. Fred looked like he could easily return to the 400m and challenge.<\/p>\n

Based on the weekends results, the sprints and hurdles could improve yet again this year. Many more athletes are under 10.00 than there were at this time last year, and things are just beginning to “heat up”. The upcoming weekend will give us the Penn Relays and the Xiamen leg of the Diamond League, with top level athletes scheduled to compete in both meets. As we head into May, I expect things to get truly fast as we get closer to June. Let’s see how the next few weeks go.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once track and field gets outside, it doesn’t take long for things to heat up. The first couple of weekends or so, are kind of like letting the car idle for five minutes or so to make sure it’s ready to drive in the winter time. After everything is nice and warm however, it’s time to get out and let it run. For track that’s usually around MtSAC, Tom Jones weekend. Two nice facilities, with nice tracks, and nice weather. Both facilities and competitions lived up to these normal expectations, which is why so many athletes love to open up at Tom Jones and MtSAC. In addition, Jamaica had a meet focused on speed, and southern California was hosting another meet (Bryan Clay), so track and field was out in full force! I’ve been waiting for this weekend since the beginning of the outdoor season, because I knew that we would get a solid glimpse of what the year should become. Based on the weekend’s results this season could surpass last year’s success. The middle and long distance events have already given us fast times and records. As they prefer cooler weather for both training and competition. The speed events however, like things to be a tad bit warmer, and athletes took advantage of the California and Florida weather! Perhaps the shock of the weekend occurred in Florida at the Tom Jones Invitational, when Julien Alfred blitzed a 21.88 with zero challenge. Alfred looked to be in the same form she ended last year. We’ll see how long she is able to maintain this level of fitness. Shortly after I watched Makanakaishe Charamba float to a 19.99. One of the easiest looking sub 20’s I’ve ever seen. With NCAA Regionals just a few weeks off, he’ll be one to watch. As will his Auburn teammate Kayinsola Ajayi who blitzed a 9.96 of his own. Later we got a swift 9.97 from Courtney Lindsey, as he blitzed ahead of Christian Miller (10.02) and Christian Coleman (10.06). The track continued to be on fire with Anavia Battle getting a PB 10.98 in her 100m heat, just ahead of twin 11.02’s by McKenzie Long and Maia McCoy, with the trio taking over the world lists. The 400m got the speed treatment too. First Aaliyah Butler running 49.44, only the top finishers from Kingston being faster. The men saw several fast races led by huge PB’s by Jacory Patterson (44.27) in his heat. Then Christopher Robinson (44.15) in his heat. Huge breakthroughs by both men. I’ve been waiting for Patterson to do this for a couple of seasons now, as he has the ability to make the 400m look rather easy when he’s on. Robinson was a shock however, as he’s been a 400 hurdler to this point. Given this race he may want to rethink events in my humble opinion. Speaking of the 400m, we got a run over the distance by none other than Noah Lyles who decided to take a stab at the event after not running it since high school. He finished in his heat at 45.78. Not too shabby for a sprinter. This after he, Coleman, Erriyon Knighton, and PJ Austin teamed up for a 37.90 4×1, as Americans are beginning to run together more prior to championship meets! I would also be remiss if i didn’t mention two hurdle upsets. First Ja’Kobe Tharp failed to make the collegiate hurdle final after hitting a hurdle in his heat. In the Olympic Development final, Tre Cunningham (13.09) edged Grant Holloway (13.18) in an early season race. Very good opening season times for both. I’m impressed that Grant ran given his recent return from China. Speed wasn’t just the property of Florida, as there was also some fast running taking place in Southern California, though the depth didn’t nearly match that in Gainesville. In the men’s 100m, Jordan Anthony’s PB 9.98 stood out. Anthony could be one to watch as we near the NCAA Regionals in a few weeks. Also looking impressive was Fred Kerley winning the 400m in 44.73. He looked rather easy during the race and showed strong acceleration in the final 100m. Fred looked like he could easily return to the 400m and challenge. Based on the weekends results, the sprints and hurdles could improve yet again this year. Many more athletes are under 10.00 than there were at this time last year, and things are just beginning to “heat up”. The upcoming weekend will give us the Penn Relays and the Xiamen leg of the Diamond League, with top level athletes scheduled to compete in both meets. As we head into May, I expect things to get truly fast as we get closer to June. Let’s see how the next few weeks go.    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[529,523,521],"class_list":["post-2891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-holloway","tag-kerley","tag-lyles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-KD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":470,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=470","url_meta":{"origin":2891,"position":0},"title":"Texas A&M Prepping for Title Fights","author":"CHill","date":"April 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The main excitement during this portion of the track season is at the collegiate level, with conference championships on tap in about 4 weeks time and the NCAA Preliminary rounds set for May 26 \u2013 28. Which means that action will be heating up in the collegiate ranks any minute.\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=470#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh5.ggpht.com\/_q69RXDGKhjE\/TaT66JqosOI\/AAAAAAAAAJ4\/ZAZBoJSmd08\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2499,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2499","url_meta":{"origin":2891,"position":1},"title":"MtSAC and the Journey Begins","author":"CHill","date":"May 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been quiet for a bit. Just watching all of the exciting results pour in. After all, its been \u201cearly\u201d in the season, and while it's been fun to watch, the real running hasn't quite begun. 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This is not a negative about the people of Eugene, who have learned to put\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/11F5FC87-F351-451A-B0D9-79BF4D6794A0-150x150.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2606,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2606","url_meta":{"origin":2891,"position":3},"title":"Pre Championships Update","author":"CHill","date":"May 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This has been one of the hardest seasons to keep up with that I can remember. And that is actually a good thing. Literally every time I've tried to sit down and write about my thoughts on the season, news of something faster, further, or higher goes across my screen.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Adidas\"","block_context":{"text":"Adidas","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=adidas"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2A6245A3-AA6C-4120-AF41-52A4ACA1A12A-150x150.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2664,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2664","url_meta":{"origin":2891,"position":4},"title":"How to Repopularize Track in America","author":"CHill","date":"June 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"As we prepare for the start of our national championships, one of the biggest \"complaints\" about track and field in the United States, is that it's lacking in popularity! And the \"question\" that is always on the table is, \"how do we make it more popular\" or interesting. Personally, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/7189BF16-DD4F-45F9-810D-48FD106B310D-150x150.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":114,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=114","url_meta":{"origin":2891,"position":5},"title":"Weekend Chatter","author":"CHill","date":"March 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"A championship weekend of sorts, but I have to say it really didn't feel like one.Several collegiate conferences had their championships, the most notable being the SEC. 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