Sometimes we spend so much time wishing that the Bolt\u2019s, Gays, and Bekele\u2019s of the sport were competing, that we forget just how much talent there is in this sport! That was evidenced this weekend, because as early as it is in the season, there is still plenty to talk about while many stars have yet to take to the track. <\/p>\n
Case in point is the 21.87m (71\u2019 9\u201d) heave<\/a> by Reese Hoffa in Chemnitz, Germany. It was the best throw in the world so far this year, and Hoffa\u2019s best indoors since \u201806 when Hoffa tossed the shot 22.11m (72\u2019 6.5\u201d). That\u2019s a good sign for Hoffa, since he won the World Indoor title in \u201806 and followed up with the World outdoor title in \u201807! So for Reese it could be a portent of things to come. <\/p>\n Another athlete performing exceeding well early was Canada\u2019s Brianne Theisen who set a Canadian and NCAA record of 4555<\/a> pts in the pentathlon.Considering that she broke two records with the performance I would say it\u2019s a very good beginning. When you take into account that it was her first competition in 10 months, I would say it\u2019s pretty amazing. This Oregon Duck will certainly help lead her team in the battle for NCAA titles indoors and out, and could well be in the mix in the Heptathlon in London.<\/p>\n The same can be said for Belarus high jumper Aleksey Dmitrik who cleared a world leading 2.35m (7\u2019 8.5\u201d) in Hustopece<\/a>, Czech Republic. Only four men cleared higher in all of 2011, with Jesse Williams\u2019 world leader only .02m better! Dmitrik took shots at 2.41m (7\u2019 10.75\u201d) signaling that we could see a return to some serious attempts in the stratosphere this year. I will also note that 2nd place in the women\u2019s competition was Chaunte Howard (USA) in 1.93m (6\u2019 4\u201d) a nice return for her after a year off for maternity.<\/p>\n All the top performances weren\u2019t relegated to the field events however, and there were two pretty good meets being held in the U.S. this past weekend. One of which was the Texas A&M Challenge<\/a> in College Station Texas. As a matter of fact that\u2019s where Theisen set her records in the pentathlon. Also performing quite well in the multis was Grey Horn (FL) who scored 5971 in the men\u2019s Heptathlon \u2013 making him the #6 collegian indoors all time. There was also a nice long jump competition with Decathlete Ashton Eaton\u2019s 8.04m (26\u2019 4.5\u201d) taking the measure of Will Claye\u2019s 7.96m (26\u2019 1.5\u201d) as they moved to #\u2019s 2 & 5 on the season.<\/p>\n There were also some outstanding marks around the Texas oval as Joey Roberts (Tx A&M) 1:47.14 and Sam Obinwa (FL) 1:47.22 covered 800 meters in the the #1 & #3 times of the year globally. Demetrius Pinder, running in the Olympic Development section, also ran a world leader covering 200 meters in 20.58. And Oregon\u2019s Michael Berry proved that he is indeed a quartermiler that everyone needs to watch as he ran a sizzling 45.38 anchor in the 4×4 to bring Oregon from way back for the win. Something tells me this kid is just getting started. <\/p>\n